Two Streams of Existence

Living here in Spain, there are many typical American magazines that are out of reach, they are not available on newstands, and even when you subscribe, they frequently do not arrive due to lackadaisical postal service. Hence, when someone lends me something - as recently happened with the May 2008 issue of Oprah's magazine - I thoroughly enjoy the foray into them.

In that issue Oprah interviewed Eckhart Tolle, and a few phrases he said caught my attention:

"Sometimes people ask me if things are getting better or worse, and my answer is, at the moment, both: things are getting better and worse. There are two streams in existence now: One stream is the old, unenlightened, egoic consciousness, which is still continuing. You see it when you watch the news. The other stream is us sitting here now, talking. I'm not saying we're special, but the fact that we're addressing this and that many, many people are reading it and it's meaningful to them means there is another stream here, which is the stram of humanity awakening. Both are present at this time."

I believe this is important because many people insist that the world is not conscious; they insist this is so due to global political turmoil, graft, rampant crime, and so on. They are right insofar as those events continuing to happen, but Tolle is also right insofar that there are many people interested in the type of topic he addresses.

What will happen when the awakened mass overtakes the other one in numbers?

Later in the interview Oprah asks him this: "Do you think it will ever be possible to live peacefully in the now, or is that too much of a lofty goal?"

Tolle answers (isn't this beautiful?): "Rather than asking if you can ever be free, because "ever" is a huge amount of future time, ask if you can be free at this moment. The only place where you can or need to be free is this moment. Not the rest of your life. Just now."