Saturday, March 1, 2008

A New Earth

I just finished A New Earth: Awakening to your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle. This is a very enlightening book.


From back cover blurb:

"In A New Earth, Tolle expands on these powerful ideas to show how transcending our ego-based state of consciousness is not only essential to personal happiness, but also the key to ending conflict and suffering throughout the world. Tolle describes how our attachment to the ego creates the dysfunction that leads to anger, jealousy, and unhappiness and show reader's how to awaken to a new state of consciousness and follow the path to a truly fulfilling existence." I believe that the back cover blurb explains the book better than I could.

This is a book about spirituality. It does not focus on any specific religion, but Tolle incorporates different leaders of religion into his explanations, esp Jesus and Buddha. He also use little stories that usually involves monks to help illustrate his points.

The first part of the book, which is about the ego and the feelings that the ego can create; I understood. I could relate to what Tolle was saying about the ego. But the second part of the book, which talks about the pain body and finding your inner purpose is where he lost me. I am thinking if the ego is you thoughts how can you find your inner purpose. Because if you self dialogue to find your inner purpose; is it your ego talking? I am just confused about this part of the book. Hopefully when I take the Internet class with Tolle and Oprah it will clear somethings up

I chose this book because I am trying to find my happy place again. Somewhere down the ages, I lost my happiness, my life purpose so I am reading books that will help guide me back. I was just tired of being mad. angry, frustrated all the time. I will continue down this path until I find who I am again.

Enjoy the moment.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Readingmama,

"I am thinking if the ego is you thoughts how can you find your inner purpose. Because if you self dialogue to find your inner purpose; is it your ego talking?"

I read the book until Chapter 5 and I didn't understand it that the Ego is your thoughts. There are different thoughts and some of them are egoic. For example "What a lovely day", "I want to hug you" are not egoic, but some thoughts like "I want this at any price" and others that serve the self, the ego, and not the other people, they are egoic. The egoic thoughts separate, the not egoic unite.

He talkes also about the people who work without any self-seeking, those who lessen the ego of the others. I think that those people can do that with presence, but also with words. And words come from thoughts. So this is another example that thoughts are not egoic.

Have you ever tried self-dialogue? I haven't tried it, but maybe if I had to do it, I will not look only from my point of view, but from a more bigger perspective.

Pabast said...

erdtek

Around chapter 5 is were I started to lose it too. Everything before that seemed to make sense and then I was lost. I am hoping Oprah's webcast will help clear some of the things up. I agree with you that there are different thoughts; some egoic and some not. It does not make sense that all thought are from the ego.

No, I have not tried self-dialogue. In time maybe I will try it.