--- ## Notes [[Theory of constructed emotions]] [[Having mode]] [[Mindlessness]] ## Highlights Psychological research on people’s attachment to material items backs up Tolle’s assertion that material items play a large role in forming our identity. Experts explain that we begin relying on material items for a sense of identity as early as toddlers—we often grow up with a favorite toy or blanket that we feel lost without. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/39be54e7-bed5-49c2-8124-a7aec17849d8)) ^bq9ien Material Elements Material elements are the physical things that we identify with—typically, our possessions and our physical body. For example, your clothing, hairstyle, and home tend to represent the image you see of yourself and how you want to be seen by others. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/ef6e11b1-68ed-49d4-a713-0691677c0187)) - 💭 is there a healthy extent to which we use items as reminders of our identity? Thought Elements Tolle explains that thought elements are the recurring thought patterns we identify with, such as the roles we play (like mother, customer, or employee) and the ideologies we believe in (like morals, values, and religions). ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/4ce0278a-5e08-4c82-adc0-d1bef0921d23)) - 💭 Barrett calls this the theory of constructed emotions. Barrett elaborates that whenever we experience external stimuli, the brain needs to process what it’s seeing to formulate an appropriate response. It does this by comparing these stimuli to past similar experiences and forming a “concept” of what the stimuli are and how to respond. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/2183c55d-2e19-4008-a9cd-65f998dd4ca8)) - 💭 our emotions are learned, first by observation then by our own personal repository of knowledge The Current State of Humanity Tolle argues that humanity currently exists in a state he calls object consciousness—when our reality and priorities are entirely centered around enhancing our self-image. We’ll call this state mindlessness ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/76176795-2d72-42b5-b170-8e0bf90a9c31)) ^ywymq8 identifying with elements and becoming superior to others won’t eliminate the fear of being nothing. This is because there will always be someone who has more or better elements than us. Therefore, the ego will always crave more elements to gain superiority, resulting in what Tolle calls the endless cycle of wanting—no matter what we have, we will always want more. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/448825a1-3c3c-4ebf-a35d-07b1eb76e1e7)) because of this cycle, humans are only able to experience the present moment in one of three dysfunctional ways: ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/cfaa8880-440c-4014-9823-7e598cc9aded)) Mindfulness ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/c0856d75-e69b-47fd-8194-29ab6d7c3212)) When we’re unable to be mentally present because we’re consumed with wanting, our ego can control our thinking and behavior, trapping us in a dysfunctional state of mindlessness. Tolle argues that the only way to escape this state is to evolve our consciousness to a higher level—one where we are present in each moment rather than constantly wanting ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/cec3725f-60a4-4d6e-bb70-56ed93655e5c)) The Tao Te Ching also asserts that the state of wanting is contrary to how we should live, explaining that earthly desires and “success” are distractions that prevent us from living as one with the Tao ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/4b5b2bc2-47d9-4867-80bc-245d6714353d)) The Inner Self ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/c5d63a5e-d88f-4400-95e2-b2f007ce315b)) the key to achieving a state of perpetual mindfulness is to connect with our inner self, rather than the false self-image created by our ego. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/38cb14ce-dcab-4101-82ba-f238aaf24ede)) our inner self is pure conscious energy, the same sophisticated energy that created the functional universe we live in. It’s the force that directs planets to rotate around stars and galaxies to rotate around a center mass—an order that allows for life to exist. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/c560eacf-fa2c-4e2a-af14-4e662347da99)) ^kr3qd3 Tolle’s philosophy about the inner self, the universal energy, and the purpose of human life very closely aligns with the teachings of the Advaita Vedanta, a branch of Hinduism. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/1208934c-0014-4c76-8f3f-ac14d053e911)) ^t23de1 These teachers and their respective religions all preached the same two-fold fundamental truth that is the basis of Tolle’s argument: (1) The normal state of the human mind is inherently dysfunctional, and (2) a radical transformation of human consciousness to overcome this dysfunction is possible and necessary, and it’s the purpose of human life. ([View Highlight](https://www.shortform.com/app/highlights/03e776be-be34-4eb7-a677-5cbf26b281d0)) ^qfj4m7