A New Earth: by Eckhart Tolle

[bashmaki]

I bought this book by Eckhart Tolle last weekend and I'm about half through it. So far I love it. It started out a bit slow but I think it was because I was very familiar with the material in the beginning.

In Mr. Tolle's defense, it is awful hard to start a book like this one without giving some background; especially this type of subject matter.

The tools he explains how to use once one is familiar with the awareness principal are so simple yet powerful. I am bowled over at every turn.
Clearly Mr. Tolle is intimately familiar with this subject or he would not be able to explain it so clearly.
I highly recommend it.

[shesgg]

Originally Posted by bashmaki

I bought this book by Eckhart Tolle last weekend and I'm about half through it. So far I love it. It started out a bit slow but I think it was because I was very familiar with the material in the beginning.

In Mr. Tolle's defense, it is awful hard to start a book like this one without giving some background; especially this type of subject matter.

The tools he explains how to use once one is familiar with the awareness principal are so simple yet powerful. I am bowled over at every turn.
Clearly Mr. Tolle is intimately familiar with this subject or he would not be able to explain it so clearly.
I highly recommend it.

He participated in 10 week classes based on A New Earth. The classes are still on oprah.com. You have to register but having him explain in great detail each chapter is WONDERFUL!

Register at the site and then go here to listen, chapter by chapter. You can watch the videos at the site, download to your ipod or just listen.

Watch A New Earth Web Classes on Oprah.com

Have fun!

GG

[Hirinaki]

I've just started watching the videos and really I recommend it to everyone. It's fantastic and so inspiring.

I read The Power of Now a few years ago and loved it so much. The video puts me in the same state of mind as when I read the book. It's fascinating and we are indeed truly in the present when listening to Eckhart Tolle! It's also very well made as each chapter is separated in several segments, which is very handy as I could listen to this guy all night long!

Love and light to everyone,

Hirinaki

[Tiago Basilio]

Hello, everyone :-)

I just bought the latest book of Mr. Tolle, and it really makes sense all the introspection about the ego.

But, regarding another famous and highly regarded book: 'The secret', a question comes in to mind - If the ego is not who we really are, but purely some criation of our intelect, and everything that we crave for emotionally and materially, in general, are cravings from the ego trying to fullfill itself, how is it possible that if we wish it so much, it happends? Because our ego isn't who we really are, it is not in touch with the unity of the universe, as our true counscience is, how can he move universal forces towards is material goals?

It sounds like a paradox to me... Who is wrong? Is it me :-) ?

TB

[bashmaki]

Originally Posted by Tiago Basilio

Hello, everyone :-)

I just bought the latest book of Mr. Tolle, and it really makes sense all the introspection about the ego.

But, regarding another famous and highly regarded book: 'The secret', a question comes in to mind - If the ego is not who we really are, but purely some criation of our intelect, and everything that we crave for emotionally and materially, in general, are cravings from the ego trying to fullfill itself, how is it possible that if we wish it so much, it happends? Because our ego isn't who we really are, it is not in touch with the unity of the universe, as our true counscience is, how can he move universal forces towards is material goals?

It sounds like a paradox to me... Who is wrong? Is it me :-) ?

TB

I have this same question rolling around in my head too Tiago. I try not to think about it and stay open to everything concerning this question because there are so many out there talking about it. There has to be an explanation that coordinates all this.
I don't know . . . I try not to ask to many questions about stuff anymore. It seems when I'm asking a question; I am getting in the way of a perfectly good experience that would give me more than the answer to any lame question I could come up with.

gus

[D. James Albert]

Originally Posted by Tiago Basilio

But, regarding another famous and highly regarded book: 'The secret', a question comes in to mind - If the ego is not who we really are, but purely some criation of our intelect, and everything that we crave for emotionally and materially, in general, are cravings from the ego trying to fullfill itself, how is it possible that if we wish it so much, it happends? Because our ego isn't who we really are, it is not in touch with the unity of the universe, as our true counscience is, how can he move universal forces towards is material goals? It sounds like a paradox to me... Who is wrong? Is it me :-) ?

Originally Posted by bashmaki

I have this same question rolling around in my head too Tiago.

I really love it when people ask questions such as this - it demonstrates an intelligent expression of curiosity into what often seems a paradoxical subject: the apparent separation between our true nature and our nature as a human being. I'd like to offer an answer and bridge the 'gap' so to speak by pointing out that these two aspects of our consciousness are not actually separate in an 'absolute' sense.

The answer lies in understanding that whilst the ego is a different form of expression to that of our true nature, it is not something removed from our true nature as if it was some form of new being entirely. When reference is made to the ego as not being 'who we really are', it is not a reference to say that the ego is somebody else, or a manifestation of an all new, completely individual consciousness with no relation to our own, or that has no connection whatsoever to the essence from which it springs. It is more of a reference to an alternative expression of who we are.

Perhaps an iceberg offers a great analogy. Your conscious mind (what I like to call the Temporal Mind for it is as temporary as your human life is temporary) can be parallelled to the tip of an iceberg. Just because the tip of the iceberg pokes its head above water, and appears to be small, does not discount the fact that it is fundamentally connected to that aspect of itself that resides beneath the surface of the water. The tip might appear to be something separate, but without the mass beneath the water, it would have no 'seeming' individual expression above the water.

A second analogy that comes to mind might be that of an actor. An actor assumes a role and places themselves into the shoes of a different person, and to all appearances they become, at least for a time, somebody else. Yet, when their time to portray that person is over, they revert back to who they really are. The person they portrayed may have been someone completely different, and despite appearances, the actors own consciousness was never separated in order for the actor to pretend to be someone else. Does that make sense? Our human self is, in a sense, a kind of act. The more we tune into our obsession with the physical realm and material things, the more closely we associate to our 'act' than we do our 'essence'.

So, regardless of the nature of ego versus the nature or awareness of truth, there is never any actual disconnection - perhaps 'disassociation' is a better word. The important thing is that your timeless, endless self is quite aware of your human self - it is your human self that through its physical realm obsessions becomes distant from the awareness of your true nature. Your true nature is in sync with the Source from which you emerge, and so this is why it can be said the more you associate to your human ego, the less unity you have with the Universe. Even without operating in harmony with the universe around you, it remains true that you are fundamentally connected to the universe, that you are experiencing the universe, that you are participating within the universe, and so forth. The person with the most disconnected consciousness is nonetheless intricately connected, even when operating out of harmony or out of balance with it.

Sort of like being the tip of the iceberg and being able to see nothing of yourself except for that which sits above the water, and categorically denying that there is anything more to you, despite the fact that the mass under you makes your current ability to perceive and interact with the world above the water possible. The tip of the iceberg can assert its individuality and its above water individuality all it wants, but it won't change the fact that the bulk of its existence is nonetheless still there just under the surface level.

When it is said that your ego is not in harmony with the nature of the universe or with your true essence, this lack of harmony does not imply that your Celestial self (your true essence) is not listening to what your human self pays attention to. Without this absolute 'split' between your human self and your celestial self, can you now see how the process of creative attraction is no longer paradoxical? If not, think of it this way. Your human mind pays attention to a certain thing, and sends the signal of what it is paying attention to from the Temporal Mind into the Celestial Mind. The Celestial Mind, as and of Source, begins to draw the object of your Temporal Mind desire into existence. It doesn't reason whether or not that thing is good for you - reason is a function of the Temporal Mind. And so, no matter how much you identify yourself as nothing more than a human being, no matter how much you might be materially obsessed, it makes no difference to the signal you send related to the desires you want to fulfill.

Despite the fact that your human self might be out of tune with your true nature and that of the universe, you can creatively attract into your life that which you isolate your attention and action upon. The experience of life is, in this regard, almost completely your choice (not completely however as this is a co-creation world). However, your experience of life is vastly different when the object and experiences of your attention are more in tune with your true nature than with what you identify with as your human material wants. Life lived in tune with your inner nature and that of the nature of the world around you, one lived with connection and awareness, is far more enjoyable and profoundly happy than one lived purely for the purpose of having a TV in every room and a house full of pretty trinkets.

Hope this helps or is clear enough. The biggest difficulty in discussing this kind of a subject is the limitation of words. I suggest always look at the concept rather than the words used.

[Montana Keith]

Friends,
Thank you for your presence as I share some of my thoughts here. Please know. Your gift of presence is so appreciated and so beneficial to me. It allows me to “find my way.” I love these words.

“To sit and listen while someone talks and allow that person to be with her feelings and experience her emotions without comment, and to create a safe space for that person to find her way through whatever passage she is making is an act of service.”

(As found in Caroline Myss’ book Invisible Acts of Power, p. 186)

Darren, I am so grateful that you have come into my awareness. What you wrote above assists me in considering things differently. I think because of your openness to the Source—to the Universal Mind—that you are really insightful. And at the same time that I am grateful for how your words are helping me to see differently, I am also noticing jealousy is present with me. There is “some thing” in me that wants to compare and come out on top intellectually—a part of me that wants to elevate myself above others as a little bit wiser, a little bit smarter. And when I run into someone who is younger than me—or less educated, or female, or whatever—and who speaks with such clarity, this “some thing” in my presence feels threatened.

Reflecting upon what I’m learning through “The Sedona Method,” (Sedona Method (official site) The Secret self-help program; self-improvement technique)I can choose to notice this “some thing” with curiosity and gratitude for the awareness it is bringing me. The process suggested by “The Sedona Method” is to first ALLOW, then WELCOME, and finally to LET GO of these “guests” that come into my awareness—this consciousness or “guesthouse” of whom my true essence is.

Having acknowledged and allowed this “guest” of jealousy, I wish to continue on with this post. There are many sources and many people that pass in and out of our awareness. As the poet Rumi says in his poem The Guest House, “each has been sent as a guide from beyond.”

At this time in my life, one of these “guests” is my good friend and fellow Project Meditation forum member Darren, aka D. James Albert, from Australia. Currently, I am on page 305 of his 345 page book The Realization System. If any of you are interested in learning practical ways how to implement the “law of attraction” into your lives, I highly recommend that you consider reading and pondering this excellent book. (See: The Realization System )

I had posted more here, but I moved it because I felt that it probably fit better on my thread "Another Meditation Success Story" in the Meditation Chatter Box forum. If any of you are interested, here is the link: Another Meditation Success Story

Take care. --Keith

[D. James Albert]

Keith, thank you for your kind comments. It is a pleasure to think I may have contributed constructively to your unfolding path - my appreciation for your grateful comments knows no bounds

In return, I'd say so have you contributed to mine - in more ways than one. I had heard of the term 'Sedona Method' but before now had not looked into it and so I knew nothing about it. I visited the link you posted and read 'bridges that gap between A New Earth and The Secret'. My interest is now tweaked so I will look into this further and anything I gain from it will be thanks to you pointing the way. .

I'm not sure if Tiago Basilio or Bashmaki are aware of it either, so perhaps they too may find in The Sedona Method additional perspectives to assist with their difficulty reconciling the two.

Thanks again!

[Edwin]

D. James Albert...

I cannot begin to thank you enough for your explanation of ego or "human self" and celestial self.
You have made so much clear to me in a way that never made sense to me when reading Eckhart Tolle's books.
This is something I can work with !

The idea of communication between human and celestial self as being one-way traffic so to speak also made very much sense to me. That the celestial self knows what goes in in the human self, but the human self might refuse or even deny contact back !

This isn't just about law of attraction, it is about enlightenment !

[chris063]

I've been enjoying this discussion too! It is something which has always seemed very contradictory to me, that we should be aiming to live as our highest possible selves, and yet 'The Secret' and all similar works say that we can also bring all our more material and physical desires into our lives, and indeed already are whether we like it or not... A huge pile of reading material on the subject came into my life recently, and I have come to the conclusion that we can live in tune with our highest essence or self, and use the 'Law of Attraction' without conflict. If we are here on the physical plane for a reason, and I think that we are, to learn, experience, create, then why not have some fun and use what we have been given to make our experiences work for us. If we believe that the things we dwell on come into our lives regardless of whether helpful or not so helpful, it would make sense to work consciously to bring the more 'helpful' things to us.