Without consciousness there would be no world.

In this episode Eckhart discusses excessive thinking as the source of enormous unhappiness for millions of people.

He goes on to explain that it's not the circumstances of one's life

that makes people miserable.

It's the overthinking that causes their suffering.

Eckhart shares a story from his own life just after he experienced this awakening.

He was homeless and spent many days on a park bench.

He admits he would have been justified if he were filled with anger and resentment, but he wasn't.

Instead, he was deeply aware of the aliveness and beauty everywhere.

He says it's possible to awaken even in the midst of extreme difficulties. He says what

eliminates the world without which there would be no world is consciousness.

So the present moment is a doorway that opens up out of complete identification with what has become

excessive thinking,

because you think you need to think continuously

in order to sustain your sense of identity.

And so at night you wake up and you think about your life.

There's no action you can take right there and then,

but you're thinking about it.

And usually it's not pleasant.

All the things that went wrong or could go wrong and it hasn't worked out

the way it should have worked and you go oh it's so difficult this my life that's and then the next day you said let me tell you about my life. You say to someone you meet

You think you had it had a difficult life?

...