The Joy of Being: Awakening to One's True Identity

Fulfillment and Joy Through the Realization of Our Essential Identity

When challenges arise in your life, what happens inside of you? For many of us, the
larger the “problem,” the more we resist, contract, and react unconsciously. On the other
hand, explains Eckhart Tolle, in any given moment we have the chance to remain open to
life, align with what is, and experience the natural sense of peace and aliveness that he
calls “the joy of being.”

The Joy of Being is a four-session program that explores the process of awakening
to our identity beyond the limits of thought, and the impact this transformation can have
in the world. Speaking after a three-year teaching hiatus, Eckhart discusses:

• Working with whatever conditions arise as your guide for the continuing practice of
presence

• Using the inner body and sense perception as anchors to the Now

• Freedom from suffering—the spiritual seeker’s best motive

• The practice of “being the space” for the situations and circumstances you often find
difficult

“The joy of being is derived not from something that happens, or from some
object, but from the essence of who you are,” teaches Eckhart. “To know yourself as that
is joy.” The Joy of Being points to a revolutionary phase in human development—where
thinking is no longer the dominant aspect of our lives, and unconditioned awareness
expresses itself through and as each one of us.