How the Eckhart Tolle Foundation Provides Spiritual Guidance to Communities in Need
By: Amandeep Khun-Khun
Tags: Support, Charity, Community, Guidance, Philanthropy

How the Eckhart Tolle Foundation Provides Spiritual Guidance to Communities in Need Amandeep Khun-Khun Mar 19·4 min read

Spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle encourages students to seek an awakened sense of consciousness through living in the present moment. Having written numerous books on the topic, Mr. Tolle suggests that finding an awakening through meditation and other methods eases suffering and allows human beings to evolve. In order to spread his teachings throughout communities worldwide, the teacher established the Eckhart Tolle Foundation in 2015.

In order to reach individuals who would otherwise not have access to Tolle’s teachings, including the elderly and those experiencing houselessness, the Foundation oversees several outreach projects, working with nonprofits that serve diverse communities. The organization also developed a number of programs and awards scholarships to those in need while also collecting monetary and material donations to help fund the group’s many initiatives.

Community Outreach

In order to spread Eckhart Tolle’s teachings throughout diverse communities around the world, the Eckhart Tolle Foundation partners with a variety of organizations to facilitate learning opportunities.

The Foundation partnered with the Inspiring Children Foundation and its Jewel Never Broken program — an initiative created by performing artist Jewel — which provides services to children such as family assistance, nutrition, and mindfulness activities. Mr. Tolle worked with the group as part of a Foundation event where he spoke with Jewel about his teachings in front of an audience of both Foundation members and youth.

Additionally, the Eckhart Tolle Foundation teams up with nonprofits, such as the Echoes of Hope, an organization focused on bringing the spirit of hope to children who were undernourished and young people, and Una Nueva Esperanza, a Mexico-based group designed to help children and people fighting cancer, to provide insights into finding an awakening.

Product Donation Program

In order to assist individuals served by its partner nonprofits, the Eckhart Tolle Foundation donates books and other educational resources to them. Mr. Tolle’s books guide readers toward their spiritual awakening. The Power of Now details the lessons the spiritual teacher has learned over the years teach readers how to escape their egos and live in the now. A New Earth explores the state of humanity and explains what each person must do in order to seek out a spiritual awakening for themselves.

These books, both of which have been published in about 52 other languages, are donated for free to those who could benefit, including youth organizations, groups that assist individuals without stable housing, veteran associations, and other community-focused nonprofits.

Additionally, these groups may also choose to provide access to an online course through the Eckhart Tolle Foundation. The course, The Power of Presence, gives students eight weeks to explore the teachings of Mr. Tolle. With more than 16 hours of video, those who attend learn a variety of presence practices and watch live teachings to support their spiritual awakening.

Organizations can apply to receive these material donations through the Eckhart Tolle Foundation’s website. Groups must identify which books they’d like to receive and to whom the books would be given. Recipients need to fall into one of eight categories, such as students and educators, people in the criminal justice system, or people with mental health challenges.

Event Scholarships

As a way to expand the offerings to individuals benefiting from the Eckhart Tolle Foundation, the organization also offers event scholarships to potential candidates as well. The scholarship funds attendance at Mr. Tolle’s events and courses. For instance, those who cannot afford the price of enrollment at The Eckhart Tolle School of Awakening may apply for full or partial scholarships.

Taught in partnership with Kim Eng, a spiritual teacher who guides awakening through movement, The Eckhart Tolle School of Awakening offers a series of monthly sessions over the course of six months while also incorporating retreats. The 2021 curriculum takes place virtually and includes live broadcasts and forums.

Students of The Eckhart Tolle School of Awakening also attend live sessions with both Eckhart Tolle and Kim Eng each month throughout the duration of the course. The teachers will answer questions while also going over new spiritual teachings that have not previously been shared before.

Those who complete The Eckhart Tolle School of Awakening, including scholarship students, receive a certificate of completion. It is signed by both teachers. Following completion, the students are invited to attend a final virtual retreat where they can reconnect and revisit the lessons they’ve encountered throughout the curriculum.

Monetary donations fund the scholarships awarded to those in need. Donors are asked to contribute to the nonprofit through an online form and those donors who have the ability to do so may set up monthly are yearly donations.

Overall, the Eckhart Tolle Foundation hopes to reach as many people as possible with the tools they need to reach awakening. Mr. Tolle hopes to lead humanity toward furthering evolution and finding inner peace. By reaching a wider audience, including groups normally overlooked by spiritual movements, the spiritual teacher seeks to encourage people around the world to live with the joy of presence.