 BOOK
TALK
A New Earth
by Gayl Woityra
Last month in Book
Talk we reviewed The Power of Now by Eckhart
Tolle (New World Library, 1999). Now we shall
examine his newest work, an Oprah Book Club
choice, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s
Purpose (hardcover: Dutton, 2005; soft cover:
Plume 2006). Clearly, the two works are
inter-related. Both deal with spiritual
awakening in individuals. A New Earth, however,
takes the transformation a step further,
relating it to the world around us as well as to
the individual. Readers will also discover much
greater insights into dealing with the
troublesome ego that blocks so much of our
attempt to move forward spiritually.
Just as in his
first book, author Tolle intends A New Earth to
be more than just something inspirational to
read. In an article published on the Borders
website, he notes how a person can be awakened
by a book. He names three conditions to be met.
“First, there must be a readiness on the part of
the reader, an openness, a receptivity to
spiritual truth... Secondly, the text must have
transformative power. This means the words must
have come out of the awakened consciousness
rather than the accumulated knowledge of a
person’s mind... Thirdly, the terminology used
needs to be as neutral as possible so that it
transcends the confines of any one culture,
religion, or spiritual tradition. Only then will
it be accessible to a broad range of readers
world-wide, regardless of cultural background.”
The author notes
that these conditions were met in The Power of
Now and it is clear that they form his intention
in A New Earth. But he has “new perspectives,
new signposts” and “an added sense or urgency”
to reach “an even wider audience.” Like many
writers and teachers today, Tolle believes that
“we are running out of time.” He warns,
“Spiritual awakening is not an option anymore,
but a necessity if humanity and the planet are
to survive.” And so let us examine Tolle’s New
Earth to learn ways in which we can evolve and
awaken spiritually.
(Note: the book
has 10 chapters. Oprah Winfrey and Eckhart Tolle
began 10 weekly website classes in March on
http://www.Oprah.com.)
Chapter one states
the purpose of this book, which is to facilitate
a “transformation of consciousness,” through the
means of the book itself. “As you read, a shift
takes place within you.” In order to achieve an
“awakening,” however, each of us has to
recognize the “unawakened us” – the ego.
Therefore, this book, in much greater detail
than Tolle’s previous work, clearly depicts “the
main aspects of the ego and how they operate in
the individual as well as the collective.” This
is definitely a key issue. Unless we really
recognize and catch the ego in action, it will
effectively block any and all progress that we
might intend to make. Moreover, Tolle says, “The
act of recognition itself is one of the ways in
which awakening happens.” In this chapter as
well, Tolle relates his insights to original
teachings in the great religions and spiritual
traditions. He also refers to “the voice in the
head” and encourages readers that the voice “is
not who I (you) am (are).” He concludes this
introductory chapter with a reference to “a new
heaven and a new earth.” This single chapter,
like all Tolle chapters, is rich in insights.
Chapters two
through five all deal with the ego. Readers will
find a plethora of insights in these chapters.
It’s a fact that all of us are currently living
in what might be called “ego-states.” We think
we are what we appear to be. We perpetuate this
state with labels and words. When asked to
describe ourselves, we usually refer to gender,
profession, nationality, race, religion, roles,
or we tell the “story” of our past, “things that
happened to me!” All this and more becomes the
“I” for each of us. In this and following
chapters, Tolle helps us move from this limited
perception to a far broader one.
We learn how
ego-identification creates attachment to
“things.” Now obviously, some “things” in
ordinary life are necessary. But as Tolle points
out, we are living at a time that emphasizes
“more” in every sense of that word. Even our
government seems based on constant “growth” of
the economy. Tolle also emphasizes how we often
“identify” with things. If I have “more” things
than you, does that mean I’m superior (more
important, more powerful, smarter)? The
implications of ego-attachments are astonishing.
Tolle urges us to “just be aware of your
attachment to things.” Of course, to get to the
real point of the chapter, the objective is to
“realize your true identity as consciousness
itself... The ultimate truth of who you are is
not I am this or I am that, but I AM.”
Chapter three will
surely resonate with readers. It is rather like
a mirror in which we can view ourselves as well
as everyone we know. Titled “The Core of Ego,”
it describes how the ego behaves. First, its
intention is to protect and enlarge itself in
order to survive. The ego believes it is us. We
need to realize that it isn’t our real Self, but
to survive it acts in many recognizable ways. A
favorite behavior is complaining “especially
about other people.” It labels and name-calls.
It feels resentment, expressing this as
bitterness, indignation or being offended by
this or that. It resents all situations not to
its immediate liking. It takes everything
personally and often moves to a stronger
emotion, such as anger.
The ego builds its
strength by being “right” and making others
“wrong.” This provides the ego with “moral
superiority.” All of this behavior is apparent
not only in individuals, but also in collective
groups: “Nations, races, tribes, religions and
other ideologies.” Given that all such
ego-driven behaviors lead to an “us versus them”
mentality, in turn it drives violence everywhere
in the world.
Eckhart Tolle does
more than point out all the faults of our
ego-driven selves and groups. He teaches us what
we need to do to change this behavior. A
surprising point is that we cannot “fight” it.
He says, “unconsciousness, dysfunctional egoic
behavior, can never be defeated by attacking
it... whatever you fight, you strengthen and
what you resist, persists.” The key point,
emphasized over and over, is: “All that is
required to become free of the ego is to be
aware of it.”
We might say that
one way to discover our true self is to
recognize what we are not. We are not the ego,
the persona, the personality that for so long a
time we have believed to be our identity. We can
only move on to spiritual awareness when we can
finally realize that this ego is the major
distraction preventing us from reaching that
goal. Author Tolle helps us by identifying the
ego’s behavioral clues so specifically that we
are able to recognize them and act from a point
of the aware observer.
We might take a
look again at the sub-title for A New Earth:
Awakening to your Life’s Purpose. What does
Tolle say about that? He says, “Awareness is the
power that is concealed within the present
moment... The ultimate purpose of human
existence, which is to say, your purpose, is to
bring that power into this world.” Are we
getting the message? It should start to become
clear that we have a double purpose: first to
work on our own spiritual awareness; and
secondly, with that awareness, add that to the
world and thereby raise the level of the world’s
awareness.
I keep thinking
that each chapter in Tolle’s book is a little
book in and of itself because each chapter
contains so many helpful insights that open our
perceptions to a clearer view of who we are. His
chapter on “Role-Playing: the Many Faces of the
Ego” clearly depicts how we role play throughout
our lives. It is as if we are actors in a drama,
but unlike true actors, we come to think we are
the roles we are playing. One very common role,
Tolle notes, “is the one of victim and the form
of attention it seeks is sympathy or pity or
others’ interest in my problems, ‘me and my
story.’” If this doesn’t sound like you, no
doubt you know this person as a friend or
relative. And guess who is playing that role of
victim? Did you figure out it is the ego?
Given that we live
in a world of role-players, it is interesting to
note what Tolle has to say about the famous and
powerful: “Most of the people who are in
positions of power in this world, such as
politicians, TV personalities, business as well
as religious leaders, are completely identified
with their role, with a few notable exceptions.”
What we learn here is that “when you don’t play
roles, it means there is no self (ego) in what
you do.” In other words, the advice is to just
be there “as a field of conscious Presence.”
In The Power of
Now Tolle devoted large portions of the book to
discussions of what he calls “the pain-body.” In
A New Earth he limits discussion of the
“pain-body” to two chapters, focusing more on
the ego and our need for awareness of that part
of us. Step by step Tolle helps us understand
the relation of emotions to mind and to ego. For
example, “an emotion can... be a response to an
actual situation or event, but it will be a
response to the event seen through the filter of
a mental interpretation.” Moreover, the body
“cannot tell the difference between an actual
situation and a thought. It reacts to every
thought as if it were a reality.” If you have
trouble accepting this point, consider why you
cry at the movies. The ego, “the voice in the
head tells a story that the body believes in and
reacts to” with emotions. When we experience a
negative situation (or thought), the ego, the
voice in the head, on and on “spins tales, still
thinking and talking about it days, months, or
years later. As far as the body is concerned,
the fight is still continuing.”
Thusly, Tolle
explains what he terms the “pain-body.” He says,
“Most people carry a large amount of unnecessary
baggage, both mental and emotional throughout
their lives.” This “accumulation of old
emotional pain” is the “pain-body.” The
pain-body doesn’t just relate to individuals,
but also relates to “pain suffered by countless
humans throughout the history of humanity.”
Tolle speculates that “the collective pain-body
is probably encoded within every human’s DNA.”
Tolle’s discussion
of the pain-body is extremely significant
because he points out how it gains control of
our thinking, making us become very negative. He
devotes an entire chapter to “Breaking Free” and
once again, first steps are important. “The
beginning of freedom from the pain-body lies
first of all in the realization that you have a
pain-body.” So we see, once again, that as in
dealing with the ego with awareness, the same
awareness – recognition – works with the
pain-body. Becoming the observer, the witness,
is the key and Tolle helps readers understand
how to accomplish this.
Tolle assures us
that “it is not the pain-body, but
identification with it that causes the suffering
that you inflict on yourself and others.” We can
all acknowledge that when we hurt, we aren’t all
that nice to the other folks in our lives. But
we can choose to be more conscious and aware. Of
course, it takes practice as well as
understanding and that is what this book helps
us achieve.
There is so much
more in this book. Tolle’s concluding four
chapters deal with “Finding Who You Truly Are,”
“The Discovery of Inner Space,” “Your Inner
Purpose” and “A New Earth.” We can only touch
upon a few points and that isn’t easy because my
copy of Tolle’s book is so heavily highlighted
and underlined! But as I often do in Book Talk,”
I’ll use this opportunity to share a few choice
quotations that may tempt readers to explore
this exceptional work.
Tolle says,
“Nothing you can know about you is you...
Knowing yourself is being yourself, and being
yourself is ceasing to identify with content.”
I was reminded of
the delightful Beatle’s song Let it Be when I
read the following: “To be in alignment with
what is means to be in a relationship of inner
nonresistance with that happens. It means not to
label it mentally as good or bad, but to let it
be.” Tolle continues, “The Master responds to
falsehood and truth, bad news and good news, in
exactly the same way: ‘Is that so?’... Events
are not personalized.”
Given that Tolle’s
first book was The Power of Now, we expect to
find references to the Present Moment in this
book as well. Tolle says: “You discover that
there is only ever this moment. Life is always
now.”
A very helpful
piece of advice for me, especially in this year
of political debates, is to “consciously allow
the diminishment of ego” by “occasionally
refraining from expressing your opinion when
everybody is expressing his or hers, and seeing
what that feels like.” How about that?
Here are some more
words of wisdom: “Nonresistance, non-judgment
and nonattachment are the three aspects of true
freedom and enlightened living.”
Finally, I would
urge readers of Tolle’s A New Earth or his
previous work, The Power of Now, to share their
thoughts and experience with others. That is,
both books are perfect vehicles for group study,
whether that group is just one other person or a
group of friends or a classroom of sorts.
Discussing the insights in these books with
others helps clarify and reinforce their
message. No doubt, this is why Oprah Winfrey and
Eckhart Tolle elected to present ten “classes”
on the book on the Oprah website.
Tolle says, “We
are in the midst of a momentous event in the
evolution of human consciousness, but they won’t
be talking about it in the news tonight.” But
you can hear Tolle and Oprah talk about it. And
you can read about it in these books and share
the thoughts with some friends. Thereby, you can
become a part of that new earth and an awakened
consciousness.”
Eckhart Tolle’s
website is:
www.EckhartTolle.com.
Oprah Winfrey’s
website is:
www.oprah.com.
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