Eckhart Tolle on Abortion
Abortion is once again on the front pages in conjunction with the healthcare overhaul.
Advocates on both sides of the debate remain tense as Democrats and Republicans negotiate the fine details of proposed legislation.
One detail is whether the final package will include what is now known as a "Hyde Amendment," outlawing the use of federal funds to pay for abortions.
In the midst of this 37-year-old debate, perhaps it would be enlightening to consult one of America's most beloved spiritual teachers, Eckhart Tolle, for some guidance on the subject.
Unfortunately, Tolle has never spoken to the issue. One can only assume that his reticence is motivated by a desire that his message remain unencumbered by such a hot-button, wedge issue, guaranteed to shut off half the population to anything else he might have to say.
While Tolle may not tell us his exact view on this and many other topics, we might be able to glean a Tollian approach to it.
At the personal level, he would advise the individual to remain present, to feel the changes in her body, feel what it's like to drive to the clinic, experience fully what the actual procedure feels like.
Don't get swept away with thoughts and the emotions they create, either about the past or about the future. The past, he would say, only holds one possibility: regret. And the future, only worry. But right here, right now, there is never a problem.
His point is that the problem starts when you label it a problem, when you judge it as negative. Until then, it's just a situation.
In The Power of Now, Tolle writes: "Should a situation arise that you need to deal with now, your action will be clear and incisive if it arises out of present moment awareness."
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