So I suppose I am in agreement with you, my only real beef with Tolle is that I think his work is really not that good. That of course, and the feminist nonsense he supplies along with it. He’s certainly a much more honorable man than the likes of Joe Vitale, whom I have written about elsewhere on this site.

My main beef is that I think he wrote a mediocre book, not that he has misled anyone. It’s the way it’s packaged that irks me – the message is artifically smooth and shiny and all difficulties are erased. He appreciates ‘being’ and ‘presence’ which are profound realities of our life as human beings, but at the same time I feel he lacks appreciation for human frailty and limitation. It reminds me in some ways of Anthony Robbins and his ‘do it or die’ school of human improvement.

Lastly, you write that most gurus’ backstories are “unverifiable by anyone”. You could say that about most experiences. Ultimately it depends on using reasonable standards of evidence suited to the issue at hand. Science is a materialist system and as philosopher of mind B. Alan Wallace writes, “there is no scientific evidence even for the existence of consciousness”.

Tolle is not claiming anything supernatural. He was not visited by aliens or ‘ascended masters’ . His mystical experience is one we can find throughout history. I suggest we can observe his behaviour and see if it supports or contradicts his claims. Ultimately the only way to verify his message is to test the mystic experience for oneself.

What really got to me about Tolle was his supposed mysterious backstory, which is completely unverifiable by anyone.

An all to common trait among so called “gurus”.

I am glad you enjoyed my article.

I am also glad you don’t judge me as a bad person for calling Tolle a looney feminist. I must admit though that I disagree with your assessment of that point entirely. It was nothing do do with my ego’s attachment to being male, nor does it relate it any way to any debate over which sex is superior. It should be quite obvious to anyone who isn’t blinded by bitterness that neither sex is superior, but wonderfully unique and different. Feminism does not represent the views of a gender, but rather the views of a small subset of a gender carrying around a gigantic chip on their shoulder, the origins of which are rather hard to pinpoint. There are ceraintly a lot of well meaning women out there calling themselves “feminists” who have no idea what feminism is all about. These women are not feminists, they are humanists who don’t realise it. Real feminists are rather radical and hateful.

So I stand by calling Tolle a looney feminist, as only the completely irrational could ever examine what feminism actually *is* and still desire to align themselves with it.

Cheers,
Jonathan

I think of the self as a conscious living being first, then the other characteristics follow being influenced by random chance, biology, genetics, hormones, upbringing, interactions, experiences, culture, etc. I don’t think the soul, spirit, or god has a gender, ethnicity, height, weight, or a preference for indie rock music. Gender, distinct from biological sex, is socially constructed to be a seen as a major distinguishing and divisive form of identity to which the ego may attach, not unlike skin color, religion, or age.

The quotes you gave of Tolle’s evaluative stance on the superiority of what he sees is feminine and bashing on his idea of masculinity is him attaching these ideas with the values and perceptions of his ego (formed by his experiences, culture, emotions, past hurts, observations, identity, etc.). I sense unresolved resentment from him, prompting him to have such a view. Why does he feel that way; Maybe patriarchy has harmed him, maybe he has not forgiven the men in his life, who knows? Knowing this about him, you can choose to listen to him or not, up to you! Hooray, you have the power!

That being said, I would also say that your reaction to his attachment (calling him a looney feminist) is a sign of your own attachment to your ego’s identification of being male. I honestly don’t judge you as a bad person for this. I know how it feels to want others to acknowledge or understand inequities that I face and it can become anger, prejudice, resentment, or jealousy. I see that this hurts me and creates more division rather than less. This debate of which gender is superior or which gender is more oppressed has less to do with justice and more to do with the ego attempt to heal its insecurities. Actually, O_o probably every serious debate about superiority has to do with ego, hehe.

Toodles!