I have spent many hours reading the books of Eckhart Tolle and listening to his talks. He said in a recent video, “The enemy lives between your two ears.” By this he meant, as in a similar colloquialism, “You are your own worst enemy.” No one wants to hear this of course. Most people prefer to blame another person, an event, or even god for the calamities that befall them. We have also heard that a concept simply passes into one ear and out the other. Our brains are useful and necessary in this physical life that we find ourselves in; but if we want to find true peace, we must realize that it does not lie outside of us somewhere. Neither does it lie in that space between our ears or anywhere within the circumference of our head. Our head is inhabited by our ego, which cares only for itself.
It is only by aligning ourselves with our center that we can access true wisdom. It cannot be found in our hands or in our feet or in our head. Balance lies at the position of our solar plexus; whether we are seeking balance in our physical body or balance in our soul. I learned years ago that if you try to stand on one leg while looking around yourself, it is quite difficult. Most of us will begin to wobble immediately and lose our balance. However, if you place your attention on your navel, you can maintain physical balance almost indefinitely. The same is true whenever we seek emotional balance or wisdom or answers to problems. Our body is the home that we have chosen to live in for the duration of our lifetime. Our center can be thought of as our front door. If we attempt to understand the world outside of us by only looking through the windows (our physical senses and emotions) or through the backdoor (our head) we may encounter all manner of troubled waters. If we spend some quiet time indoors (within ourselves) on a regular basis, we can then walk through the front door and the turbulent waters will part and move out of our way. Whenever the world becomes too scary, all we need to do is retreat inside for a little while; place our focus on our center and on our breath. This shuts out the loud commotion that lies between our ears, allowing us to wrap ourselves in the cocoon of our own being for a moment, so that we emerge renewed. I think Jesus referred to this as “the renewing of your mind”. Each time you do this, you weaken the enemy that lives between your ears and you strengthen and nourish the true you, that lives at the center of your being
