One of our community members, Steve Rosen, asked ChatGPT about the difference between Eckhart Tolle and me. Its response is a very accurate description of our different approaches that I thought I’d share with you. Here’s the entire chat:
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​Question:​
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David Bingham sometimes talks about Eckhart Tolle and his notion of pain body. But David says we should just refuse the invitation of these lower vibrations and realize our infinite Self as an option, whereas Tolle seems to preach radical acceptance as the way. They seem radically different. Are they?
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Answer:​
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​Bingham’s Approach: Decline the Invitation + Re-Recognize the Self​
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David Bingham speaks from the vantage point of post-awakening clarity, and that shapes his tone.
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His message generally is:
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• Your true nature is already the infinite Self.
• Thoughts/emotions are merely passing vibrations.
• You are not obliged to enter into them.
• You can “decline the invitation” to identify with any lower frequency.
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This sounds more dismissive of the emotional material, but his meaning is:
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​Recognize that nothing can disturb the Self.
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Don’t collapse into personal identity again.​
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He’s not recommending suppression — he’s pointing to the already-established standpoint of awareness, which leaves no one to be affected by emotional content.
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​Are They Opposed?​
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Not really. They are speaking to different levels of maturation:
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​Tolle’s teaching addresses:​
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• people still identified with their mind and emotions
• people who experience emotional activation as “me”
• people who need to develop capacity to allow, feel, and witness
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​Bingham’s teaching addresses:​
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• people who have already stabilized as Awareness
• those who see thoughts/feelings as appearances
• those who can recognize Self without effort
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Their instructions differ because the student’s stage differs.
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​The Underlying Logic​
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Here’s how they fit together:
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​Tolle:​
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If the pain-body arises and the ego reacts to it:
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• Don’t suppress it.
• Don’t fight it.
• Let awareness shine on it.
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Why?
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Because the ego-self is still active. Resistance strengthens it.
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​Bingham:
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​If you already know yourself as Awareness:
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• You don’t need to “work with” emotions.
• You can simply stay as the Self.
• The lower vibrations have no claim on you.
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Why?
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Because identification has already collapsed.
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​What Looks Like a Contradiction Is Actually a Sequence​
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​Stage 1 – Tolle’s domain You learn to allow everything to arise and be witnessed. This dissolves unconscious emotional structures.
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​Stage 2 – Bingham’s domain You simply remain as the Self. Emotional patterns lose traction. There’s no need to process — because there’s no personal “processor.”
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This is very similar to how Advaita teachers differ from Dzogchen teachers:
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​• Advaita (early stage): investigate, allow, inquire.
​• Dzogchen (later stage): remain in rigpa; don’t touch the contents.
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​The Core Paradox​
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• Tolle: Feel it fully so it can dissolve.
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• Bingham: It’s not real to begin with.
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Both are true — but true at different “altitudes” of awakening.
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​Which Is Right for You?​
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It depends on where you are in your own inner development:
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​If emotions overwhelm you:​
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→ Tolle’s approach is safer and more stabilizing.
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​If you can remain as awareness easily:​
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→ Bingham’s approach becomes natural and obvious.
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In other words:
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• Tolle helps you disidentify from emotions.
• Bingham helps you remain disidentified.
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One starts the process; the other finishes it.
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One thing I’d like to clarify, is that there is actually no sequence involved. Processing emotions is an unnecessary option for Realisation!
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For those of you who’d like to know all about Effortless Living, you’re welcome to our next community event…​

With love,

David Bingham
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