Safe Harbor ~ Eckhart Tolle Study Group
Facilitated by Cathy Ginter, Spiritual Healer
"I am a hole in a flute that the Christ's breath moves through - listen to this music." -Hafiz
Wednesday, May 21st ~ Addiction to Suffering (Afternoon Session)
The addiction to suffering is the compulsive need for conflict that perpetuates our bondage to the world of form. Liberation is knowing our Self beyond form. When we bridge the gap between ego (form) and consciousness (Self), we discover our compassion for one another.
The Safe Harbor ~ Eckhart Tolle Study Group meets the 3rd Wednesday evening of each month at 7:30 PM. Following Eckhart's guidelines, we will maintain silence during the video program (except for laughter, which is always welcome). After the program, we will share an enlightened conversation for anyone who wishes to participate.As many of you know, Oprah and Tolle have just finished the webcast for Eckhart's book, A New Earth. For those of you, who would like to meet in a smaller and more personal forum and/or wish to make practicing presence a way of living and being in the world, please know that you are welcome to join us - feel free to bring any questions and/or revelations you might like to share.Cost ~ Free Will Offering
SAFE HARBOR
CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL HEALING
CATHY GINTER, SPIRITUAL HEALER & MASTER TAROTOLOGIST
Committed to the Path of Wisdom and Inner Peace
I am devoted to our One Self... that is LOVE!!!
Nearing wisdom's gate,
A thought teases the master
Like clouds pass the sun.
448 Fisher Road
Cabot, PA 16023-2110 USA
(30 miles north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
(724) 352-4692
"Wisdom's Gate" Haiku by Cathy Ginter ~ March 2008
Photograph of Lagoon Nebula compliments of the Hubble Space Telescope
Photographs of Cathy Ginter and Safe Harbor by Melody Rose Nolan
This website, including the poetry, articles, essays and reviews
unless otherwise noted, is the design and creation of:
CATHY GINTER © MMI-MMVIII
"You are here to enable the divine purpose of the universe to unfold. That is how important you are."
Safe Harbor ~ Eckhart Tolle Study Group Programs from the Past
The Power of Now
A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
Silence Speaks
Practicing Presence
A Guide for the Spiritual Teacher and Health Practitioner
The Realization of Being
Living the Liberated Life and Dealing with the Pain-Body
Even the Sun Will Die
An Interview with Eckhart Tolle
A New Earth
Awakening to Your Life's Purpose
Living a Life of Inner Peace
In the Presence of a Great Mystery
Eckhart Tolle's Findhorn Retreat
Stillness Amidst the World
Practicing the Power of Now
An Invitation to A New Earth ~
I began the Safe Harbor - Eckhart Tolle Study Group in early 2004. After reading the Power of Now when it was first published in the autumn of 1999, I realized that this was a truly special expression of the teaching. And what is the teaching? Simply put, Eckhart is inviting us to:Move beyond the emotions and the counter-productive antics of the ego aka the unobserved mind;Connect with a deep inner stillness that exists within each of us as our true state of Being;Rediscover a lasting peace, love and compassion that naturally flows outward into the world around us;Be enJOY... so that the touch of Grace might dance through us!4 Simple, Yet Helpful Pointers for Reading or Listening to Tolle
Drop your shoulders, relax your brow and breathe deeply while you are reading.Read the entire chapter. Then, go back and read it again before moving forward.Remember to check on the breath from time to time.Trust that there exists an intelligence within you that already understands exactly what Eckhart is pointing to... Meditation ~
Close your eyes. Exhale. Then inhale deeply.Visualize the life energy of your breath, filling every cell of your body.When a thought stream begins, watch it arise and fall like a wave in the sea.See that there is no need to resist the thought or to create a belief or a conflict out of it.Gently remind yourself: "I can have peace instead of this thought, belief or conflict."Simply see the thought float away into the vastness of the ocean to become as though it never was.Now ask yourself: "Who am I without this thought?"Abide as That... I AM...Practicing Forgiveness ~
Often when you first begin to awaken, you become aware of past, unconscious behavior that you perceive has caused harm to another or to self. This realization can trigger feelings of guilt or shame. Keep in mind that this mind-set is once again the ego, pulling you back into a never-ending cycle of more unconscious behavior. However if you can bring forgiveness into the present moment, a space will arise in which the mistakes of the past can be healed once and for all.To practice forgiveness in the present moment, visualize a stream of pure white light radiating from your heart center. Now, see that white light extend outward until it surrounds each person involved.Also remember that true forgiveness is a gift of Love, given freely and without expectation. When forgiveness is offered unconditionally, there is no separation between the giver and the receiver... and the offering itself becomes unlimited in its potential... Like a stone tossed into the stream of Life, it ripples on forever... into the Infinite Eternal. I see forgiveness, as well as Love, as the breath of Consciousness.Last but not least if you can be in complete acceptance and without judgment, you have also moved beyond the need for forgiveness... at that point, healing has already taken place.
You might also be interested in:
(an account of my very personal spiritual journey)
Or for more information, please contact:
Cathy Ginter
A Glossary of Key Terms in Practicing Presence
As Eckhart so often reminds us, all words are merely pointers.
Unmanifested: the spaciousness or stillness from which everything arises and falls; God; the Infinite/Eternal; Life.
Manifested: all of form, including our thoughts, beliefs, emotions and personality as well as physical objects.
Ego: the identification with form. Ego gains strength through desire, attachment and the need to be special.
All expressions of the ego, including anger, jealousy, indifference, judgment, resentment and suspicion, are rooted in the universal fear of loosing the little 'me.' When we act from the ego, suffering is the eventual consequence.
Pain Body: a heavy, dense field of energy that is attracted to the suffering and emotional outbursts in others.
Presence: that awake and aware state which brings conscious attention into the Now aka the present moment.
Presence can dissolve the ego and transform the pain body. I equate this awakening from the egoic state with the wizard in the Wizard of Oz. Once you draw back the curtain, you can see the trickster for the illusion that it is!
Conscious Relationship: a connection between two awake beings that is free from the needs and attachments of the ego; a relationship based solely on love, mutuality and respect.
Surrender: that state of complete acceptance to what is, so that peace might arise.
