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幫助孩子們超越
問：我們是否可以幫助我們的孩子們，和其他我們深愛的人，超越他們的無意識？還是他們必須靠自己來走這一趟覺醒之旅？
埃克哈特：現在，有越來越多新生的孩子可能不必經歷成年人所經歷的，當然也是我所經歷過的深度無意識。同時，也有越來越多新生孩子們的父母正處於意識覺醒的過程之中，或者這些父母已經相對來說更有意識。在我成長的年代，我想不出有任何有意識的父母。或許也有一些這樣的父母，但是非常罕見。現在他們雖然依舊人數不多，但已經不像從前那麼稀有了。我愛我的父母，但是他們非常無意識。所以，問題是如何幫助孩子們保持相對的有意識，從而不被集體無意識所吞沒，這集體無意識現在依舊遍布在主流的文化中，也滲透在加速了無意識和上癮行為的科技之中。
最有力的教導不是你對他們說了什麼或做了什麼，而是你在家裡的意識狀態。你的意識狀態正是教育孩子的基礎所在。它與教育無關，意識轉化的基礎甚至不帶任何要轉化他們的意識的期望，而只是當你在家中與他們互動時，保持那個臨在的空間。而且，當你在與丈夫互動時，也盡量保持臨在的空間。這裡總是有一個關係會影響到孩子們：你與臨在的關係，或者是你與痛苦之身的關係。
最關鍵的事情就是，在你哪怕只是想到去做任何事情之前，成為有意識的。他們觀察你的種種表現，他們在某種程度上採納你的行為。當然，另一個影響是主流文化，因為他們更多時間是在學校裡。有時也許你可以給他們指出一些東西，好讓他們與即刻的、感官的體驗保持聯結。不要讓他們失去與大自然的聯結。現在有那麼多的小孩沈迷於電腦遊戲之中，他們不再體驗到大自然。大自然對他們來說顯得如此陌生。這真的是一件非常有害的事情。這是一個巨大的損失，對大自然的世界的直接體驗被剝奪了，而大自然可以讓你與你的存在更深處連接。在家中養一隻動物會有很大的幫助。當孩子們與小狗連接時，這是一個超越思考的關係。你可以摸摸小狗，照顧小狗。定期地離開家裡，走入大自然，別讓孩子們帶著那些不離身的電子產品。
看電視是半昏迷的催眠狀態。要放下這些活動可能不太容易，因為其他所有人都在做著這一類的事情。並不是說你必須完全消除這一類的活動，而是勸導孩子們不要將100%的業餘時間都花在這些事情上。帶他們到大自然中去，沒有電子產品。鼓勵他們去獲取直接的感官體驗 – 去觸摸、去感覺、去觀察。鼓勵他們去辨識出真正的知識或體驗，與頭腦的貼標籤之間的區別。
當孩子們學習語言時，鼓勵他們不要將概念等同於事實。當你教他們某一個東西時，鼓勵他們去觸摸它、觀察它、感覺它，而不是只是說“這個叫做這個或那個”。繼續觀察它。否則，你終止了體驗 – 你所獲得的全部就只是一個頭腦的標籤而已。
提問者：他們也同樣給自己貼標籤。我在我女兒身上注意到這一點，她會回到家裡，宣稱在這方面或那方面“我很笨”。
埃克哈特：這是一個很好的機會去鼓勵她不要與她的念頭認同。如果你可以指出這不過就是一個念頭而已，他們不必相信每一個來到他們頭腦裡的念頭。如果你能夠以某種方式引導他們，令他們意識到他們不是他們的念頭，這樣在他們和他們的念頭之間就有了一個空間，去觀察他們的念頭，然後當念頭來了，你可以向他們解釋“這不過就是一個念頭而已”，它也許不是事實，它也許不是真的。
絕大多數人都有痛苦之身。藉著向他們指出痛苦之身而幫助他們擺脫與痛苦之身的認同。我經常說不要對孩子們使用“痛苦之身”這個詞。給它一個名字，叫它某個別的東西，一旦他們被痛苦之身接管的時候，提起這個名字。然後當痛苦之身平息之後，向他們指出它：“剛才是什麼？是什麼掌控了你？”這樣覺知的層面就開始發展了。有情緒存在，同時也有覺知。鼓勵這個覺知的發展，這樣他們就能夠看著那個一次又一次接管他們的情緒。在情緒爆發的事件之後，而不是在事件之初，對他們說:“昨天你開始尖叫的時候，是什麼掌控了你？那是什麼？”，然後說“它感覺起來像什麼？”或者發明一些遊戲，這樣你就可以使它成為他們能夠明白的某個東西。然後“讓我們等待它下一次的到來，看看它感覺起來怎麼樣”。如果你有了痛苦之身的名字，那麼你就可以在你從痛苦之身中醒來之後辨識出它 – “同樣的事情又發生在我身上了”。教育的關鍵是向他們顯示出“成為有意識的”的可能性，而不是總是與他們頭腦中升起的一切認同。
Helping Children Transcend
Q: Can we help our children and others that we love to transcend their unconsciousness? Or is it necessary for them to go through it on their own?
ET: There are more children born nowadays who may not have to go through the deep unconsciousness that [adults] had to go through, certainly that I had to go through. And also there are more children born nowadays to parents who are in the awakening process, or relatively conscious parents. In my generation, I can’t think of any conscious parents. There might have been some, but it was rare. They are still rare now, but much less rare than before. I loved my parents, but they were deeply unconscious. So, the question is how to help the children stay relatively conscious, so that they do not get drawn into the mass unconsciousness that still pervades mass culture, and the technology that promotes unconsciousness and addictive behavior.
The most powerful teaching is not what you say or do to them, but your state of consciousness at home. That’s the very foundation for teaching your children. It has nothing to do with teaching, the foundation for transmitting consciousness is not even wanting to transmit consciousness to them, but to hold the space of presence as you interact with them at home. Also, to hold presence as much as possible as you interact with your husband. There’s a relationship there that will infect them, with either presence or painbody.
The most vital thing is, before even thinking of doing anything, is being conscious. They observe how you behave, and they take that on board to some extent. Of course, another influence is mass culture, as they spend more time at school. Occasionally there may be things that you can point out to them, so that they stay in touch with immediate experience, sensory experience. Don’t let them lose touch with nature. So many children these days are so involved in technological games, they don’t experience nature anymore. It’s something totally alien to them. That’s a very harmful thing. It’s a great deprivation, to be deprived of the immediate experience of the natural world, which puts you in touch with deeper levels of your own being. To have an animal at home is a great help. If children relate to the dog, it’s a non-conceptual relationship. You can touch the dog, look after the dog. Getting out into nature periodically, without the gadgets that [kids] usually have.
[Watching] television is a state of semi-comotose hypnosis. It may not be easy because everybody else is doing that kind of thing. It’s not that you have to eliminate that kind of activity completely, but discourage them from spending 100% of their free time with those things. Take them into nature, without the gadgets. Encourage them to direct sensory experience – to touch, to feel, to look at things. Encourage them to not confuse conceptual labeling with true knowledge or experience.
When [kids] are learning language, encourage them not to equate concepts with reality. When you teach them what something is, encourage them to touch it, to see it, to feel it, not just to say, “this is called such-and-such”. Continue to look at it. Otherwise, you stop experiencing – and all you have is a mental label.
Questioner: They label themselves, as well. I’ve noticed this with my daughter, she will come home and say “I’m stupid” at this or that.
ET: That’s a good way to encourage her not to identify with her thoughts. So if you can point out that it’s just a thought, and that they don’t have to believe in every thought that comes. If you can somehow work with them to have them realize that they are not their thoughts, so that there’s a space between them and their thoughts, to observe their thoughts, and when thoughts come you can explain “it’s no more than a thought” and it may not be the reality, it may not be true.
Most humans have painbody. Dis-identify from the painbody by pointing out that this is the painbody. I’ve often said not to call it “painbody” for the children. Give it a name, call it something, and mention it when occasionally they get taken over by it. Point it out to them afterwards, “what was that, that took you over?” so that an awareness develops. There’s the emotion, and there’s the awareness. Encourage that kind of thing, so that they are able to look at the emotion that takes them over from time to time. And after the event, not during the event initially, say to them, “What was it that took you over when you started screaming yesterday? What was that?” and say, “What does it feel like?” or invent some game, so that you can make it into something that they can be aware of. Then “let’s wait for next time it comes, and see how it feels”. If you have it, then you can point out after you’ve woken up from your painbody – “the same thing happened to me”. The key in education is to show the possibility of being aware, rather than always being identified with what arises in their mind.
