Bestselling author Eckhart Tolle is ranked among the world’s most spiritually influential living people. Self-observation is central to his self-help message. Yet the way he conveys this present-moment practice owes much, I argue, to the earlier work of Maurice Nicoll, a Jungian psychiatrist turned Fourth Way teacher. This is an introduction to a series of articles examining their many similarities on the subject.
Mindfulness or present-moment awareness is popular today. Many modern sources emphasise having awareness in life’s everyday activities, not just meditation sessions. This trend owes something to the early 20th century Fourth Way tradition, I argue, which advocated pursuing spiritual development in ordinary life—by consciously observing and changing one’s unconscious reactions in the moment.
Copyright © 2021- Jack Dawes