Eckhart on Oprah 9

Finally had a chance to watch the 9th class of Eckhart on Oprah, this one on Purpose. Here are a few notes.

There is no substitute for finding your purpose. There are 2 purposes:
Outer Purpose: about the future, your work, etc. It is secondary.
Inner Purpose: to be here, now. Same for everyone, always fully with the present moment.

Fulfillment and satisfaction are only found now. Be totally doing it, what you are doing right now. This one step, give it your best. Then the next moment comes at its best. There is always only this one step, the destination (future) is secondary. The end and the means are one. The result carries the energy it took to get there.

It is not about what you do but what you are. When inner purpose is in place, outer purpose follows, comes into alignment. When you align with inner purpose, everything flows. Against the flow is suffering, life seems hostile.

From inner purpose, thinking becomes the servant, mind becomes a useful tool.
The light of God flows through you. Not what you do but how you do it. Even seemingly insignificant work can change the consciousness of the world.

Your purpose does not come out of your head. You can’t figure it out. It comes from silence, or it comes from life. Its a feeling. [mine showed up from the outside and it was immediately obvious that it had been there all along in the seeming random pattern of my life]

Awakening is in the separation of thinking and awareness. The present moment is sacred. It is the intention, the consciousness that flows into what you do. The evolutionary impulse of the universe is the growth of consciousness. [evolution = growth and development if you have trouble with the word]

Serendipity shows up when we are in alignment with purpose. Be true to the small moments, then everything is fueled by Being.

#10, the last show will be 2 hours. Oprah mentions they plan to continue the Monday series with other spiritual teachers from her XM Radio show.

D