A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (Oprah's Book Club, Selection 61)

This book is perhaps even more descriptive of the truth that Tolle points to in The Power of Now. Both books are wonderful, even revolutionary transmissions of truth. This is my review of TPON: "Tolle writes in simple sentences, with a direct tone and practical, modern language. However, what he describes is the timeless truth of the present moment, the very awareness that sages and masters have been pointing humans toward for millennia. I do not have adequate words to describe how the book has changed my state of being. I was in deep despair and anxiety in my Junior year of college, and my therapist gave me the book. He must have known intuitively that conventional psychotherapy couldn't help me. Within a few weeks of reading and re-reading, I had a very fearful and painful night, with the ego fighting for survival and my identification, and then peace arose the next morning. It has not left me since. I have given the book to around 30 people. It is the most simple and powerful spiritual book I've come across, with authors like Jeff Foster, Byron Katie, and Gangaji being close seconds. Here are some quotes from the book: "So when you listen to a thought, you are aware not only of the thought but also of yourself as the witness of the thought. A new dimension of consciousness has come in. As you listen to the thought, you feel a conscious presence - your deeper self - behind or underneath the thought, as it were." Ch-1 "Instead of "watching the thinker," you can also create a gap in the mind stream simply by directing the focus of your attention into the Now. Just become intensely conscious of the present moment. This is a deeply satisfying thing to do. In this way, you draw consciousness away from mind activity and create a gap of no-mind in which you are highly alert and aware but not thinking. This is the essence of meditation." Ch-1 "Why should we be addicted to thinking? ...Because you are identified with it, which means that you derive your sense of self from the content and activity of your mind. Because you believe that you would cease to be if you stopped thinking. As you grow up, you form a mental image of who you are, based on your personal and cultural conditioning. We may call this phantom self the ego. It consists of mind activity and can only be kept going through constant thinking. The term ego means different things to different people, but when I use it here it means a false self, created by unconscious identification with the mind." Ch-1 "To the ego, the present moment hardly exists. Only past and future are considered important. This total reversal of the truth accounts for the fact that in the ego mode the mind is so dysfunctional. It is always concerned with keeping the past alive, because without it - who are you? It constantly projects itself into the future to ensure its continued survival and to seek some kind of release or fulfillment there. It says: "One day, when this, that, or the other happens, I am going to be okay, happy, at peace." Ch-1 "Most humans are never fully present in the now, because unconsciously they believe that the next moment must be more important than this one. But then you miss your whole life, which is never not now." The book has the potential to set you free from compulsive worry and excessive thinking, if you are ready. $5 for a used copy is perhaps the greatest deal I've ever seen, I've bought about 45 copies." A New Earth describes the ego and the pain body in much more depth, and includes more of Tolle's observations about human society than TPON. These are two books that you should have around. -Ethan

In A New Earth, Eckhart Tolle draws from the teaching of many religious leaders. Instead of focusing on religious traditions Tolle focuses primarily on what William James would call religious personalities, and Tolle is undoubtedly one himself. Quoting William James in regards to religious personalities: "Thus, when a superior intellect and a psychopathic temperament coalesce - as in the endless permutations and combinations of human faculty, they are bound to coalesce often enough- in the same individual, we have the best possible condition for the kind of effective genius that gets into the biographical dictionaries. Such men do not remain mere critics and understanders with their intellect. Their ideas possess them, they inflict them, for better or worse, upon their companions or their age." Tolle borrows heavily from the teachings of two figures you are already familiar with: Jesus and Buddha, and also delves into Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christian Gnosticism. Almost everyone is familiar with these figures and movements, and that familiarity makes his message very accessible. Tolle, however, also draws upon another stranger tradition, one that has its roots in the Theosophical school of Madame Blavatsky, namely through the work and teaching of Jiddu Krishnamurti. Krishnamurti is an interesting figure, he lived recently and there are youtube videos of him giving public lectures and being interviewed. He advocates some of the same fundamental concepts as Tolle, for instance, the focus on being present is one of the main concerns of both men. If you haven't read either of them, the idea of being present is a great concept, and one that I use in my life. Basically, being present just means focusing on your senses and surroundings, rather than focusing on your inner monologue. For instance, and this is a paraphrase, Tolle asserts that there is no such thing as a problem when you are present, just a situation. Most of us can handle complicated situations, but complicated problems wear us down and destroy us. Therefore, a simple shift of perspective regarding how you view time can change the way you live from being based in problems - into being based in situations. This was a fundamental improvement in my life. An idea that Tolle doesn't mention specifically but probably influenced him is Krishnamurti's teaching that the things you feel are you. That's deceptively simple, but he gives a good example based on the emotion of fear. When you experience fear, you feel as though something is making you afraid. On closer examination, however, the fear is located completely within your own body and thoughts. This is an interesting point, because if the fear and you are identical, can't you manage the fear? They both also make fascinating points regarding what it means to enjoy life. How experiencing something by giving it your full attention is the way to be happy, as opposed to wanting to own and control things - which is really the desire for permanence. Desiring permanence is a rabbit hole that leads to unhappiness and not actually experiencing anything, because you are always wanting more and not focusing on what you do have. They both explain this better. This is a really great book. If you are interested in further reading check out books by Jiddu Krishnamurti (a bunch are on audible audio books for like 6 bucks), although Krishnamurti is not nearly as entertaining or understandable he makes some life changing points if you are willing to ruminate with the texts.

„A New Earth“ is one of the best books I have ever read.

EL SERVICIO DE AMAZON ES EXCELENTE Y EL LIBRO UNA JOYA

This book is absolutely amazing. It talks about humanity awakening to their true essence. Eckhart explains what happens during the awakening process and how we are moving towards an egoless earth. I found this book very helpful since I have started the awakening process and needed a guide to explain what is happening. I found this book at the perfect time when I needed it. This book is a must read.

Explains the deeper meaning to life in a wonderful manner. Biggest take ways - 1) present moment is all that matters. 2) living in the present moment by giving up physical forms and ego makes the present moment all the more enjoyable. 3) Ego deals in three ways a means to an end, an enemy, negative thinking... Whenever in a situation ask yourself these three questions and get back to the present if not already there 4) There is no good or bad situation, everything happening is just the way it is for a deeper meaning just accept it the way it is and keep moving on. 3) Three essentials that should be part of evey moment - acceptance, happiness, enthusiasm.

J'ai connu cet écrivain grâce à mon frère. Il avait lu "the power of now" et il m'avait envoyé en audio, j'ai bien aimé. Récemment je faisais des recherches sur la conscience, et c'est comme ça en effet que j'ai retrouvé Ekhart Tolle a New earth. J'ai été assez vite charmé de les premiers pages de ce livre. Après 40 pages lues, déjà je peux dire que je vois le monde d'un autre angle, et ça commence petit à petit à changer ma vie, de mal en bien évidemment. Il y a une connexion rapide qui s'est fait entre moi et ce livre, de que je le prends pour continuer ma lecture je m'en souviens très vite ce que j'avais lu des pages précédentes. Cela ne m'arrive pas à d'autres livres, en plus depuis longtemps j'ai une très mauvaise mémoire mais ce livre est magique, ça améliore ma mémoire, la capacité de concentration. Je suis très très satisfaite de cet achat