They reiterate the idea that the faults we dislike most in others may exist unrecognized in us.
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Nicoll and Tolle describe how thoughts and emotions can “become you” through a process called identification.
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Compulsive thoughts are similarly described as old “gramophone records” playing in one’s head that sound like the monologues of people “muttering to themselves” in the street, only not expressed outwardly. This negative thinking is said to drain energy, according to Nicoll and Tolle, and they encourage readers to observe it in order to stop identifying with it.
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By becoming identified with emotional reactions to life, people “become” their reactions, they explain.
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Nicoll and Tolle often describe the transformative effects “the light of consciousness” has on unconscious reactions/patterns. This “light” must be directed within via self-observation.
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Nicoll and Tolle both emphasize a distinction between the external events of life and a person’s internal reaction to that event.
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Using the example of bad weather, both authors explain how people fail to distinguish between external situations (which are neutral / impersonal) and the subjective internal reactions to those situations.
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People identify more with their personality/psychological form and neglect essence, they say.
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To release oneself or withdraw—psychologically—from one’s identification with the false self is a great relief, the authors suggest.
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The false self/personality acts as a psychological substitute for our true or essential self, the authors say.
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