Casey from Asheville, North Carolina
Casey asked Eckhart and Oprah whether her attachment to material things was in conflict with her spirituality.
"When I put out into the universe—when I ask God—for things like hopes and dreams and material things, a lot of times I get them. Those material things, I think they may be coming from the ego, and I just wonder, Mr. Tolle, is that wrong?" Casey said.
Casey's desires weren't wrong, Eckhart said, but if fulfilling those desires hadn't brought her joy, it would have been a sign of the ego at work.
"That's a good learning process," he said. "You can manifest things, and if you see, 'Oh, that's not satisfying,' it must have been the ego."
It would be an illusion, though, to expect material things to bring ultimate joy. Things don't bring happiness, Eckhart said. Happiness comes from a deeper place.
"If you expect some kind of satisfaction, then you will always be frustrated," he said.
This dissatisfaction, Eckhart said, is not a good starting point for changing your life.
"The ego may tell you that, but it isn't. You need to find a place of acceptance. No matter where you are, come to terms, become friendly with the present moment," he said, "because if you do not become friendly with the present moment, you are not friendly with life."
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