Books
A New Earth – Awakening to You Life’s Purpose by Eckhart Tolle
By Cheryl Shainmark
Eckhart Tolle was born in Germany, where he spent the first thirteen years of his life. After graduating from the University of London, he was a research scholar and supervisor at Cambridge University. When he was twenty-nine, a profound spiritual transformation virtually dissolved his old identity and radically changed the course of his life. The next few years were devoted to understanding, integrating and deepening that transformation, which marked the beginning of an intense inward journey.
Feb 28, 2006, 07:18

Fans of Eckhart Tolle’s last bestseller, The Power of Now, have been waiting eight long years for the follow up, and now their patience has been amply rewarded.  A New Earth – Awakening to your Life’s Purpose is a phenomenal book, written with real warmth, humor and a huge amount of insight.  If you’re a newcomer to Tolle’s work then by all means, start with this one – A New Earth stands on its own merits, and is guaranteed to win the author a wide new readership.

A New Earth is, very simply, one of the best offerings in the field of personal growth and spirituality to come out in years.   No matter how near or how far you are along your own spiritual path, you can benefit (and save some steps!) from reading this book.  Like his last book, this one is all about finding more joy and purpose in your life right now, and who doesn’t need that?

The key to more joy and purpose is by living in the present moment.  Rather, “being” in the present moment.  How do you do that?  According to Mr. Tolle, it comes by a slow dismantling of the ego, and it’s endless attachment to the world of “form”.  Many authors have written about the desirability of living “in the Now,” but few have laid out such a clear, concise method for doing so as Eckhart Tolle has.  This book is really  trans”form”ational on several levels! 

Indeed, one gets the feeling that Mr. Tolle has spent the last several years wisely and well.  A New Earth offers one insight after another that one can only imagine must be the product of endless hours, days and months thinking, experiencing, (Being?), getting tripped up, and starting over again.  He gives us concrete examples, anecdotes, tips from his years of counseling and, best of all, he details some of the signposts of progress as well as the common pitfalls.

As for the “Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose” part of the title – that is, in fact, our purpose – to grow in consciousness by being in the present moment.  This is the next wave of evolution that will lead to “A New Earth.”  But if you are thinking more along the lines of “I’m unhappy in my current job, but I can’t figure out what I really want to do,” then don’t despair – Tolle gives plenty of solid advice for how to tie in what he calls your primary purpose (consciousness) with what he calls your secondary purpose (what kind of rewarding work you want to do).

Recognizing and dismantling the various aspects of our ego can be a long, hard, and sometimes painful process, so it would be fair to ask, why do it at all?  Perhaps because the only thing that is harder and more painful is the way we are living right now.   Or, that in our attachment to “forms,” – material things, emotions, old thoughts, the need to feel superior, etc., we are manifesting a world that is hostile, chaotic, polluted and depressing.  “Being present” is as simple as not allowing the ego’s games to drag you into either the past or the future – “consciousness” is as simple as recognizing the ego’s attempts for what they are: an endless effort to make you unhappy, dissatisfied, anxious, angry, afraid, and more.  For this clarity and conciseness, thank Mr. Tolle.

The author deals with potentially heavy issues with a wonderful, light touch.  His descriptions of the ego’s ploys are spot on, and his suggestions for countering these ploys and growing in awareness are practical and clear.  But best of all is the news that this new awareness – this evolutionary growth in consciousness – is already happening.  And because it’s now in the collective conscious, those of us who are catching up get to “ride the wave,” so to speak, building on the momentum of those who have gone before us, like Mr. Tolle.  That also means that if we start doing the work now, we don’t necessarily have to “wipe out” and learn the hard way.  If building or manifesting A New Earth becomes a purposeful, joyful experience, it will be because of people like Eckhart Tolle. 

© Copyright 2006 MerrynJose.com

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