Photo by David W. Levin; 2025
Ekhart Tolle hooked me early-on when reading A New Earth for the first time. As good as the book’s insights and teachings are (and they are), what most endeared me was the rather meta heads-up he provided about the experience of reading his books. Something along the lines of (paraphrasing) …don’t be surprised if you find yourself distracted while reading this book. The words I’m sharing are about disempowering the ego. And the ego hates to lose. As you read words that may resonate with the deeper truth of your being, your ego may try to fight back by causing distractions that may compel you to put the book down.
As the kids say, “I FELT SEEN!”
Ekhart gave words to my experience absorbing teachings that resonate deeply with me. Without exception, the most applicable, meaningful things I’ve ever read, watched, or heard took the longest to consume. In a way, it’s counterintuitive: one would think that the best teachings would thoroughly capture one’s attention and not let go. It would be one of those “can’t put it down,” I-read-this-cover-to-cover-in-one-sitting type of situations.
Not so with me.
The more something touches me deeply, the more my intuition suggests that I’m taking in something that’s real, truthful, and helpful, the slower the whole thing goes. Why? As Ekhart illuminated, I become almost comically distractible by my own mind.
As soon as I start highlighting a few key quotes, dog-earing a handful of pages and beginning to have that “this is good stuff” feeling, part of my conditioned mind starts pinging me with all sorts of ideas designed to get me to stop. I should get some water. The reading glasses in the other room are better. Wouldn’t some background music be good? This good stuff calls for making more coffee right now. I wonder what the market is doing. What’s that sound? A different reading light would be better. Dinner tonight — leftovers?
Prior to Ekhart’s teaching I would have continually flogged myself for poor reading or focusing habits. Even worse, I might have interpreted my wandering mind as a sign that the teachings weren’t of merit or suitably attention-earning. How fortunate I am to be better able to discern when my distracted mind suggests material that is either genuinely uninteresting or supremely special.
How do I know the difference? When taking in something that is uninteresting or unappealing to me, my mind yearns for a different activity. I want to go somewhere or do something else. These distractions are slower in frequency, stronger in sensation. I’m enticed to put the book down and not return. By contrast, when absorbing something high-magnitude and potentially life-changing, my mind’s distractions almost chirp. They happen more frequently and almost always relate to doing quick tasks under the auspices of improving my reading conditions: a beverage, my physical setup, my surroundings. These types of distractions are annoying and frequent, but not fatal to my study.
When it comes to indulging these distractions, I’ll admit to giving into them 80+% of the time. I’d love to say it’s less often — that I’ve perfected the skill of ignoring my mind and keeping my focus fixed on the material — but not yet. I’ll refill my water. I’ll adjust my light. I’ll get up and check on that noise from outside.
And then I’ll return to the source of the teaching with pen in hand, ready to resume, grateful for the time to indulge slow, meaningful learning.
I hope you find this helpful.
Thank you!