Hi,
I had one question that kept coming up and thought I'll post it here.......
I have a problem with planning, in the sense that I don't plan things well enough, taking everything, all variables into account.....
.... and naturally things go haywire. I've found that when I take sometime to really plan well, schedule, breakup tasks, put myself tasks and deadlines, then things fall into place and more or less go keep going in an organised way.
But, in The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle says, if planning is what is to be done in the Now, that is fine, but don't make a mental movie out of it.
I am in a conflict as to how to plan well without running a movie of a planned task in mind - I'll leave out many details if I don't do.....
Please help me, enlighten me...
Thanx,
Lotsaluv.
Going into the Now and Planning
I think I can actually say a few useful things about this. 
Firstly, I am getting the feeling that are taking Eckhart's words as some sort of ideal that you must live according to.
He says one thing, and you feel that it would be better for you to act differently than what he says, and there's a conflict between the two. You know why you should run "mental movies", because it helps you plan better, but tell me, what reason is there for you not to do it?
Because Eckhart Tolle said so, and he's an enlightened person who knows better than you how you should live your life?
This is not religion, it's not about blindly following certain rules about what you can, and what you cannot do. It's about being a certain way. Don't get caught up in the words, try to see the meaning behind them.
Now with all that said, I'd like to point out that I think there is actually absolutely no conflict between Tolle's teaching and planning in as great detail as you may need to.
There seems to be a common misunderstanding. Many people, it seems to me, get the impression that Eckhart Tolle is saying they must give up the future and past completely, and focus almost entirely on the present. But I don't think it matters so much how much time you spend thinking about the future or the past. It's about changing your relationship with the past and future, not just avoiding it mentally.
Planning and getting caught up in mental scenarios, or "mental movies" is very different. You can learn the difference by becoming more aware of your mental activity. I think in short, when you plan, you consciously place yourself in the future and examine certain things, decide about others, while the other is quite unconscious, you just kind of get lost in some future scenario which you live through emotionally as well as mentally. I don't know, maybe someone else would be able to explain the different between the two better than I am able to right now.
Firstly, I am getting the feeling that are taking Eckhart's words as some sort of ideal that you must live according to.
He says one thing, and you feel that it would be better for you to act differently than what he says, and there's a conflict between the two. You know why you should run "mental movies", because it helps you plan better, but tell me, what reason is there for you not to do it?
Because Eckhart Tolle said so, and he's an enlightened person who knows better than you how you should live your life?
This is not religion, it's not about blindly following certain rules about what you can, and what you cannot do. It's about being a certain way. Don't get caught up in the words, try to see the meaning behind them.
Now with all that said, I'd like to point out that I think there is actually absolutely no conflict between Tolle's teaching and planning in as great detail as you may need to.
There seems to be a common misunderstanding. Many people, it seems to me, get the impression that Eckhart Tolle is saying they must give up the future and past completely, and focus almost entirely on the present. But I don't think it matters so much how much time you spend thinking about the future or the past. It's about changing your relationship with the past and future, not just avoiding it mentally.
Planning and getting caught up in mental scenarios, or "mental movies" is very different. You can learn the difference by becoming more aware of your mental activity. I think in short, when you plan, you consciously place yourself in the future and examine certain things, decide about others, while the other is quite unconscious, you just kind of get lost in some future scenario which you live through emotionally as well as mentally. I don't know, maybe someone else would be able to explain the different between the two better than I am able to right now.
"Be sincere; don't ask questions out of mere interest. Ask dangerous questions—the ones whose answers could change your life."
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Joan Ofarc
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2005 3:25 pm
Hi,
Thankyou very much for the reply - it helped me a lot.
This statement of yours - " It's about changing your relationship with the past and future, not just avoiding it mentally. " made me really take a good look at what was happening whenever I tried to do some good planning activity - I recognised my anxiety....
And, I did'nt mean to give an impression that I would like to accept and follow others' ideas even if does'nt ring true for me....
I believe that conflicts of any kind can only occur in this realm, and not in the absolute world..., conflict again created only by our own inner resistance of some kind.
When I asked this question, I asked for help in clarifying my understanding of the concept.
Thanx again,
Cheers.
Thankyou very much for the reply - it helped me a lot.
This statement of yours - " It's about changing your relationship with the past and future, not just avoiding it mentally. " made me really take a good look at what was happening whenever I tried to do some good planning activity - I recognised my anxiety....
And, I did'nt mean to give an impression that I would like to accept and follow others' ideas even if does'nt ring true for me....
I believe that conflicts of any kind can only occur in this realm, and not in the absolute world..., conflict again created only by our own inner resistance of some kind.
When I asked this question, I asked for help in clarifying my understanding of the concept.
Thanx again,
Cheers.
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heidi
- Moderator
- Posts: 2703
- Joined: Tue Nov 23, 2004 12:37 am
- Location: 42nd parallel, Massachusetts, USA
- Contact:
Ha ha ha, I am having a HUGE party on Saturday, and am about to sit down with pad and pencil and create my mental movie of preparing and having the party, and as I create my movie (no drama involved) I'll make lists of what to get and what needs to be done. So, I conclude, the mental movie is a good planning tool as long as there's no drama involved 
Oh my god! Where are they all going to park??? 
And speaking of movies (this is really another topic) Can drama exist where there's no dishonesty?
Oh my god! Where are they all going to park??? And speaking of movies (this is really another topic) Can drama exist where there's no dishonesty?
