# Talk:Eckhart Tolle

I work for Eckhart Tolle and there are a few edits we would like to make to this Wikipedia page. Some of the edits are to correct factual inaccuracies, some are to update numbers/data, and some are to add more information. I realize we have a conflict of interest, and would like to know the best way to submit edits. Also wondering about citing certain information when it is coming directly from Mr. Tolle. Any help/advice is appreciated. SheilaLSharma (talk) 21:38, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

 Not done No edit has been requested. Please see instructions at Template:Edit COI/Instructions. Note also that it is usually best to make no more than 1 to 4 requested edits/changes at a time. Softlavender (talk) 03:45, 3 January 2024 (UTC)

As mentioned in my topic above, I have a COI as I work for Eckhart Tolle, but I will start by requesting 1 edit, just to make sure I am submitting correctly:
Edit Request #1: Please add Stillness Speaks (2003)
Current:
His books include The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment (1997), A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (2005) and the picture book Guardians of Being (2009).
Proposed Edit:
His books include The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment (1997), A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (2005), Stillness Speaks (2003), and the picture book Guardians of Being (2009). SheilaLSharma (talk) 19:13, 4 January 2024 (UTC)

 Done, but in chronological order. Done because the book is already mentioned and cited in the body text, and therefore this edit request did not need a citation, but most edit requests require a citation to be provided.SheilaLSharma. please make sure your template appears properly when you post it. It should open up into an actually image with text in it. If your template is not posted properly, no editors who normally respond to these requests are ever going to see it. I just happened to see it because this article is on my watchlist and I happened to log on to Wikipedia today and checked my watchlist. Softlavender (talk) 05:40, 5 January 2024 (UTC)
I've reverted the edit. Please indicate why it deserves such high prominence in the article. --Hipal (talk) 19:32, 5 January 2024 (UTC)

What I think should be changed: Could we please add Eckhart's Alma Mater to the infobox on the right?
Alma Mater   King's College (University of London); Gonville and Caius (University of Cambridge)

Why it should be changed: It is already cited (7) that he attended these Universities, but it would be great to add these specifics to the infobox as well for quick reference.
References supporting the possible change (format using the "cite" button):
SheilaLSharma (talk) 17:34, 5 January 2024 (UTC)

I'm unclear what reference you're referring to. #7 is Walker 2008, which doesn't appear to verify the information. A quote would help if I'm overlooking something. --Hipal (talk) 19:37, 5 January 2024 (UTC)
Although there are many inaccuracies in the Walker 2008 article used as #7 citation, it does include this quote: "Despite all this, he went to the University of London and is acknowledged by Cambridge University to have matriculated as a postgraduate student there in 1977..." However, I will provide further citation in my reply to Softlavender below if that is more helpful...  SheilaLSharma (talk) 22:00, 5 January 2024 (UTC)
Comment: Cambridge would not be an alma mater; there's no indication that he received a degree from it or did anything more than enroll as a postgraduate student there in 1977, but very soon afterwards (1977 or early 1978) he became depressed, had a spiritual experience, and stopped studying for his doctorate. University of London can be added to the infobox (but not King's College London unless there is a citation for that); that would be a standard edit. Softlavender (talk) 19:57, 5 January 2024 (UTC)
Unfortunately the (#7) cited article is incorrect on the timeline of events. I can provide a different citation if it is better with this article: https://www.good.is/features/the-power-of-then This article includes the following: “...Tolle enrolled in King’s College London...and in 1977 he graduated with honors...But with no plan post-graduation, he became increasingly depressed and anxious. That spring, something changed...He lay in bed one spring night, his head a whirlwind of sadness and despair. “I can’t live with myself anymore,” he recounted. And as he thought that, he says, he had another thought: “Who is myself? And who am I?”...Still, Tolle applied and got into Cambridge to work on a doctorate in Latin American literature...After four years, he decided it wasn’t for him. He left abruptly and moved to London..." If the definition of Alma Mater is a school, college, or university which one has attended or from which one has graduated, is Cambridge not considered an Alma Mater in Eckhart's case? SheilaLSharma (talk) 22:18, 5 January 2024 (UTC)
My concern is that that 2013 Good.is article could be revisionist history. The Independent, which is a much more reliable source, checked with Cambridge in 2008 and reported that "[Tolle] is acknowledged by Cambridge University to have matriculated as a postgraduate student there in 1977" [1]. The problem with Tolle is that his education and its timeline is murky and the story seems to keep changing. Why did he not post all of this educational information in 1997 or 2005? My sense is that it's because it may not be fully accurate. Softlavender (talk) 22:45, 5 January 2024 (UTC)
The article was written in 2013 but based on a 2008 interview "Five years ago, I sat across from Eckhart Tolle...He said he didn’t like talking to press...But, Tolle told me...the universe had told him to grant me this interview...", however I understand your point. I will keep looking for a more solid citation. In the meantime, are you able to add the University of London as an Alma Mater in the infobox? Or do you need me to submit a separate edit request for it on its own? SheilaLSharma (talk) 22:57, 5 January 2024 (UTC)
Template:infobox person says "It is usually not relevant to include either parameter for non-graduates", so I do not believe Cambridge should be in the infobox at all. I will however add the University of London. Softlavender (talk) 23:30, 5 January 2024 (UTC)
Many thanks! SheilaLSharma (talk) 23:32, 5 January 2024 (UTC)
 Partly done The university Tolle graduated from has been added to the infobox. Per the infobox guidelines, the university he did not graduate from has not been added to the infobox. Softlavender (talk) 15:22, 6 January 2024 (UTC)

Is there a way we can summarize the "Spiritual experience" section in the lede? Should we?
An attempt to do so by inserting Tolle claims to have experienced a spiritual awakening in 1977. before the sentence about Oprah seems problematic. It undercuts the Oprah sentence, which is part of hist notability, and needs qualification as a "claim".
Looking through the "Spiritual experience" section, it seems a bit of a just-so story and self-promotion, padded with quotes. There's not really much here, and I don't see anything that can be briefly summarized without distracting from what's clearly important. --Hipal (talk) 19:05, 11 February 2025 (UTC)
Do any of the references establish when he began working as a spiritual teacher. If so, are any of them independent of Tolle? --Hipal (talk) 21:32, 12 February 2025 (UTC)

Is this not significant for his career as a spritual teacher? All collaboration is an essential part of ones career, no matter what you do. If you work with a director as an actor, that is part of your career. If spiritual teachers collaborate, that is part of their career. If you have a problem with the source, by all means, include a new one but it seems to be extremly odd not to include this aspect.  Johnnyleon121 (talk) 20:37, 31 July 2025 (UTC)

Thanks in advance for your answer  Johnnyleon121 (talk) 20:38, 31 July 2025 (UTC)
I can't find any references that suggests the interviews you cited are significant, nor of any "collaboration". --Hipal (talk) 21:52, 31 July 2025 (UTC)
If they meet up and hold a speech together/have a public and recorded conversation, it is a collaboration. They don't paint a picture or create a movie, they are spiritual teachers. Writtten Words and speeches are the works here. This - in  this specific context - means collaboration. The conversation with Wayne Dyer has been published on DVD, the conversation with Ram Dass published on his official account with over 2.5 million views.   Johnnyleon121 (talk) 22:08, 31 July 2025 (UTC)
Both Ram Dass and Wayne Dyer are also extremely well known and "signifcant" spiritual teachers who have sold many millions of books. To put in another movie analogy: its like Tom Cruise working with Brad Pitt, normally one would regard it as significant enough to include  Johnnyleon121 (talk) 22:21, 31 July 2025 (UTC)
Without independent sources, we can't justify inclusion. --Hipal (talk) 01:47, 1 August 2025 (UTC)

On December 7, 2023, a user added false information stating that Eckhart Tolle's website sells fundraising courses. This is incorrect. Please ensure that this false and potentially defamatory claim is not published again. Best regards  Johnnyleon121 (talk) 16:38, 16 August 2025 (UTC)

Is there current content you are disputing? --Hipal (talk) 17:42, 16 August 2025 (UTC)
No, I deleted that false claim on 31 July 2025 (05:44), but it stayed on this page for one and half years. Just trying to raise awareness regarding this issue and potentially the adding of more false and defamatory claims.  Johnnyleon121 (talk) 19:10, 16 August 2025 (UTC)
Correction: No, I deleted that false claim on 31 July 2025 at 05:44, but it remained on this page for a year and a half. I'm just trying to raise awareness about this issue and the potential for more false and defamatory claims to be added. Johnnyleon121 (talk) 21:42, 16 August 2025 (UTC)