May/June 2002 Spirituality
Eckhart Tolle: "We Are Already Home"

An interview with Karen McPhee By Russelle Baltzell and Margie Paxton

Karen McPhee is a soft spoken woman. She lived and searched for peace and enlightenment in Calgary Canada. When Karen met Eckhart Tolle she was still searching.

R&M: Karen, tell us about the meeting with Eckhart Tolle.

KM: Something profound happened, I just opened; recognizing without thinking. Eckhart had no agenda. He accepted me exactly as I was. His ‘deep rest” opened for me an inner reality of who I am. It was the most familiar thing I have ever experienced; so known to me, it was as if previously, I was an actor in a dream.”

R&M: You moved to Vancouver where you worked closely with Eckhart and assisted him with bookings and correspondence. Tell us what shifted you into teaching.

KM: One day a woman phoned and I experienced an instant inner awareness that I could help the woman. When Eckhart and I later reviewed his message list, Eckhart had a similar recognition. At his suggestion, I met with the woman. That was the beginning of my outreach to help others, and this has grown steadily since. I now alternate between group and private sessions, although I am continuing to work on my own deepening through stillness.

R&M: The Power of Now teaches that the past and the future are illusory projections of the mind. You have made the transition from thinking in linear time to being in the now. Would you please share of the story of your journey with us?

KM: The journey is only relative. In absolute terms, we are all already 'home'. There is no one to even go on a journey from a certain perspective...so it is helpful to hold it in that context.

There were many years of seeking, lots of meditation, and yet no lasting peace. Just at the moment when I gave up, realizing the futility of all practice, The Power of Now found its way to me. Finally there was a 'way' to access the peace moment-to-moment, so I immersed myself in the teaching, totally. Presence grew, that's how it seems to work.

I went to Vancouver to be near to Eckhart, realizing he was the clearest opening I had encountered. I suppose somewhere I knew he represented salvation. My only intention was to be present. There never was an intention to 'teach'; there still isn't. Something happens but I don't see it as teaching, nor myself as a teacher. This apparent role of being a reflector of presence just started to happen. No one became a teacher.

The main thing that I see now is that Life is joy. Living is joy. Joy arises through accessing the inner stillness. Truly, truly freedom is ever present in everyone. All that is required is to bring attention to that ever-present freedom. It’s alive, right now and can be entered through the inner stillness. Then we see we are already home. There's nothing left to 'do' except to rest in this space of home.

R&M: This is very comforting, it speaks to the tendency many of us have to search desperately for enlightenment. Almost as if we are looking for an “enlightenment” structure to replace the dogma that we are now rejecting, yet I still yearn for a word from God. You say there is nothing left to do except to rest in this space of home, but what is our obligation to deal with worldly wrong?

KM: It is our primary duty to be the ever alert guardian of our inner space. If we cease to create pain in ourselves and others, and become a living embodiment of peace, then we will have a profound impact on every single person we interact with. By living totally in the moment, we live the truth that we are one with the source and we access the intelligence that is greater than mind. This may raise us to positive action. Presence is never opposed to anything. You become an opening through which life moves…a vessel of peace.

R&M: Thank you, Karen, for your time and for your beautiful life's work.

Karen McPhee is leading a three day meditation and presence intensive, sharing the deepening teachings of The Power of Now June 7th, 8th and 9th At Still Meadow Retreat Center. Contact Russelle Baltzell 503-493-7351 for information.