Eckhart Tolle German writer Date of Birth: 16.02.1948 Country: Canada

1. Eckhart Tolle: Early Life and Education
2. Existential Crisis and Spiritual Transformation
3. Spiritual Teacher and Author

Eckhart Tolle: Early Life and Education

Eckhart Tolle was born Ulrich Leonard Tolle on February 16, 1948, in Lünen, Germany. He changed his name in honor of the German Christian mystic Meister Eckhart. His early childhood in Germany, up until the age of 13, was marked by a conflict-ridden home environment and an unwelcoming atmosphere at his elementary school.

At 13, Tolle moved to Spain to live with his father, who gave him the option of attending regular school or receiving home tutoring. Tolle chose home education and, until the age of 22, pursued his own unique path of learning in philosophy, creative writing, literature, astronomy, and languages. At 19, he moved to England and taught German and Spanish to business executives for three years at the London School of Business.

Existential Crisis and Spiritual Transformation

By the end of this period, Tolle experienced intense depression, anxiety, and fear. He embarked on a journey of self-discovery, "looking for answers in life itself." As he later recalled in an interview with the Telegraph:

> "By the age of 23... I became interested in the workings of the human mind. My mind was getting more and more active. I was looking for the answer within my mind—through philosophy, psychology, and literature—thinking the answer would be found within those realms of thought. This was when I was preparing for university and attending evening classes."

After completing the University of London External Programme, Tolle went on to Cambridge in 1977 as a graduate research scholar. In 1977, after several years of deep depression bordering on suicidal tendencies, he experienced a profound spiritual transformation. As he recounted in an interview with John Parker, he awoke one night with an overwhelming sense of depression that was "almost unbearable":

> "I can't live with myself anymore. Then there was a question that came out of nowhere: Who is the 'I' that cannot live with 'myself'? And who is this 'myself'? I felt drawn into a void. I didn't realize at the time what was happening: the conceptual mind-made 'unhappy me,' and the whole story of suffering associated with that unhappy me... projected into past and future, collapsed. It dissolved completely. The next morning I woke up, and everything was so peaceful. The peace was there because there was no more me. There was just beingness, or pure consciousness, watching."

Spiritual Teacher and Author

From that day forward, Tolle experienced a constant inner peace and presence. He spent time in London's Russell Square Park, sitting on a bench in a state of bliss and observing passersby. He lived with friends, sometimes stayed at a Buddhist monastery, and occasionally slept outside in Hampstead Heath. His family considered him "irresponsible or even insane." Many people, including his former Cambridge colleagues, wondered what had become of him and what he now believed.

Eventually, Tolle moved to Glastonbury, an alternative lifestyle community in Somerset, where he spent over five years before returning to London as a spiritual teacher.

In 1995, at the age of 47, Tolle settled in Vancouver, British Columbia. Shortly thereafter, he published his book "The Power of Now." By 2008, the book had been translated into 33 languages, including Arabic. Despite criticism from some media outlets, it made the New York Times bestseller list in August 2000 and was number one two years later. As of 2010, it remains on the list.

Tolle gives occasional public lectures and hosts a monthly Internet television show, Eckhart Tolle TV. He is ranked second behind the Dalai Lama on Watkins' Mind Body Spirit magazine's 2012 list of the 100 most spiritually influential living people.