i just watched [1] up until minute 3:32 where a man comes to eckhart tolle about his anger issues. that he gets angry and thinks that all this spiritual stuff will not work anyway. and he also says that his heart is beating right now as he is speaking.
tolle then replies that he can let his heart beat, and then: that this feeling of “something is wrong” is not a personal problem of his, but a universal human condition. these words resonated with me, it makes me feel relieved because so often we think some problem is ours when in fact its not actually personal. and it takes the power of this thought, that its even okay that we think that something is not okay.
but one can also see that this man is suffering and he doesnt know how to deal with these angry thoughts and then i feel like what he might be feeling in that position: he tells him a personal feeling but then tolle replies with his theories. maybe the answer is not, in this case, what to do in general, and information, and what to do, but rather: look him in the eye, intuitively, and let him feel that he's okay, share with him your calmness. answer in a more personal manner. anyways i just want to notice that you can answer in a general, big, unpersonal way or in a specific, small and personal way. i remember phine telling me that my talking about all this zen stuff is so “far away” and she wants to bond personally. that being calm like this stereotypical image of the zen master is not human.
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but at 10:44 both faces are shown again and tolle is speaking but he is not really looking at the mans face, is he? he doesnt seem satisfied with his answer, he still seems to be struggling, he might block his words because he doesnt understand or because he already actually did understand! and maybe he might feel inferior because he doesnt have so much ““awareness power”” but i might also be projecting.
[1] youtube.com/watch?v=aqX5IFKYFWk