Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth

http://eckharttolle.com/ for his official website with many resources.

Building on the astonishing success of The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle presents readers with an honest look at the current state of humanity: He implores us to see and accept that this state, which is based on an erroneous identification with the egoic mind, is one of dangerous insanity.

Tolle tells us there is good news, however. There is an alternative to this potentially dire situation. Humanity now, perhaps more than in any previous time, has an opportunity to create a new, saner, more loving world. This will involve a radical inner leap from the current egoic consciousness to an entirely new one.

In illuminating the nature of this shift in consciousness, Tolle describes in detail how our current ego-based state of consciousness operates. Then gently, and in very practical terms, he leads us into this new consciousness. We will come to experience who we truly are—which is something infinitely greater than anything we currently think we are—and learn to live and breathe freely.

Re: Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth

To me, Eckhart Tolle is Krishnamurti in an easier-to-comprehend package, more readily accessible to more people.

His teaching comes down to one thing: BE PRESENT - directly translatable to K's teaching: STOP RESISTING WHAT IS.

Frans

Re: Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth

Yeah, Frans, I've noted that too.  He even sounds like Krishnamurti in some of the things he says, but he presents his material in a way that is easier to grasp – but also possibly more comfortable and less challenging than K. 

I don't say this to detract from him, though.  I enjoyed The Power of Now years ago when I read it – but I also felt at the time that I was reading a “repackaging” of K, so there was a sort of echo effect that maybe got in the way of my listening to him “innocently” and directly.

On the one hand, I think it's good that he has found a way to present these sorts of teachings to a wide audience in a way that moves and inspires people.  On the other, I admit I fear what our culture will do to this sort of teaching…

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One of the things that I have noticed over and over again as I grapple with spiritual teachings, is that they all seem to echo one another.  This awareness is how I was able to discard my “fear” of worshiping a “false God” (Lord knows I had that pounded into my head with my Christian based upbringing!).  Even Mother Theresa, a woman chained to the Catholic Church, basically said and lived the same way as Tolle, Dyer, Budda, & on & on.

I was curious, Balder, about what you fear our culture will do with this sort of teaching?

Re: Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth

Hi, Ayla, what I mean is that I fear that, by commercializing this sort of teaching, a challenging, transformative vehicle of transformation may be turned into a sort of leisure product or toy.

But to be clear … even if that happens, I don't think that's all bad.  That may be the only way our culture can allow this sort of thing “in,” at first.  Once in, it may begin to do its work in its own way. 

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Thank you for clarifying, Balder.  It is often hard for me to swallow (in whole) much of what is presented by Oprah just because of commercializing.  Not that I think Oprah is “bad” or any such thing, it's just that Oprah is synonymous with Big Business.  Ah, maybe I'm jealous of her (lol). 

I really enjoyed the class for about 30 minutes until the video stuttered and then finally stopped.  I have a feeling that it will be jamming up again today as we all eagerly try to access the archives at Oprah's website.  This will be a good test of patience and staying with what is as it is, eh?

Re: Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth

Ayla! Wonderful to have you here, welcome. Great comments too.

I guess i'm jealous of Oprah too lol.

Love,

Nicole

Re: Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth

I agree that predominant cultural belief systems will seek to incorporate any deviance from the accepted belief system (what we agree is the truth) that is currently part and parcel of the time period (or our shared pardigm).

Tolle is being easily incorporated primarily because he employs his thinking to make money (Thanks to Oprah). I'm not saying he should not, I'm simply stating that this demonstrates to the mainstream culture that his thinking CAN be assimilated into the mainstream and our eveyday thinking. Thus we can continue to seek ego goals without compromising our belief system. This assimilation can be seen simply by examining all the “zen” related websites on the worldwide web that also advocate “self-development strategies” when, in fact, zen addresses the detachment or dis-identification with the “self” (self is suffering). Thus, Zen has become a billion dollar industry. Thus, it is up to each individual to extract what resonates as “pure.”

Yet, I do agree with Balder that this isn't “all bad” since I think this is evidence of the fits and spurts of the evolutionary process that we seem to be in. If more of these deviant “micro” belief systems (in other words, non-maintsream) are incorporated into the predominant “macro” belief system then slowly they do tend to make significant alterations to the macro system itself, albeit, very slowly.

Thanks
mike S

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Hey Bruce,

I think that's what we're seeing all around us - the commercialization of spirituality through the mass media and the internet.  Maybe what looks initially like a downfall will have something good spring from it in the long run.  For some (hopefully for many) it will be just a first step (I've seen that happen a few times with people who were initially “The Secret” admirers…)

Frans

Re: Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth

it just arrived in the mail the other day from amazon. woot! my first oprah book club book : )

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Woo hoo Joshua! :)

Love to you,

Nicole

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I really enjoyed A New Earth when I read it last year.  I'm happy that Tolle is getting more exposure through Oprah.  The Power of Now was a powerful book for me 7 years ago.  It wasn't so much that this was new information.  Much of the writing was a re-confirmation for me that I was n't the only one that was relating to this thinking.  I had a lot of yes's happening.

Ultimately I think this is a wonderful thing for mainstream culture to experience, at whatever level of understanding and development people are.    I can relate relate to new perspectives when I read things again years latter.

I'm looking forward to watching the version that keeps playing.  :)    I'm downloading it now with iTunes. 

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Listening to last night's class on itunes right now!!!
Last night I was moved to tears that we as a collective were joined in purpose to raise the vibration of ourselves and the planet. Soo exciting.

I think folks will attend next mondays class simply for the vibrational pull and joyful resonance of like vibrational awareness. Soo Fun.

Warmly,
Jen

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Warm welcome, Mark and Jan! Thanks for jumping right in… very inspiring,

love,

nicole

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I see all this from yet another angle. Having nothing to do with the book, I myself and a bunch of people I know personally, and some here in the Gaia Community, went through a quantum jump in consciousness/Beingness and in body-personality as well during February, and if it could be captured in one phrase, that indeed would be CEASING TO RESIST WHAT IS. Realizing, with a capital R, that anything that is, is God. Realizing that even brushing our teeth is a deliberate act by the One Infinite Being. My blogs Update and Further Update give a few specifics about my own experience, and the comments reflect the experience of some others. Each person's experience of the shift is radically different, but I recognize the exact exact same theme within the very different specifics.

Thus, I see the February phenomenon of 3.5 million people buying Tolle's book during that month, and 500,000 trying to participate in the Internet thing (reported to be the largest simultaneous internet event ever) as simply one further manifestation of this quantum leap. My image or story or metaphor is that waves of specifically focused or flavored vibration-increasing energy go through the planet, from time to time, and all those receptive to that particular upgrade, experience that particular upshift in consciousness/Beingness/self/Self. This has been happening for years. I have been watching it, seeing the patterns among diverse unrelated particulars, for maybe 20 years.
 
Thus, I am not at all concerned about dilution or commercialization. I see a Bigger Picture operating, in which everything is evolving toward the expansion of the One Consciousness, including the human portion of it !!! A couple of folks earlier in the thread said something essentially similar, that even though there might be a dilution or commercialization, nonetheless there is a step in evolution being taken. I just don't see the process as slow. i see it as an acceleration which is itself accelerating: the rate of change is increasing.
 
Hey, this is my first post in this pod, and I shall explore more. The question is there a God is not a question for me, but I feel some resonances with various Boards and threads, so maybe I fit in here.
 
BTW Living Metaphysics pod/Group has a study group participating in the Oprah-Tolle thing.

Oh, and Oprah, I see her in the Big Picture too. Carefully and very gradually opening and preparing people, over the years, slowly bringing them to the point of the acceptance of this quantum leap, and the future leaps into expanded consciousness. She is semi-conscious (maybe less or more I really dunno) about being herself an actual spiritual teacher. She has had more influence than the rest of us put together, and I admire the heck out of her. Envy, ladies, not jealousy. Envy says me too. jealousy says me instead.

Gotta run now.

Blessings,
Rev. O.M. Bastet

Re: Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth

That's really interesting…. thank you for sharing that and your blog posts too. Sounds very exciting!

Love,

Nicole

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Oprah follows her guidance from source, and enjoys her life along the way. She is a brilliant, compassionate business woman, and conscious in every sense of the word. Her Angel Network initiatives support the children of the planet, and the ones who have been forgotten. She looks to others as teachers, and rests in her humility, which is to be a true master teacher. Ask her if there is a God…there is the answer.

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Thanks, Janie! I do appreciate this.

I believe her heart is warm and her intentions the highest. But I was very sad about the
fiasco of the African school she opened, for example.

I understand anyone can make an honest mistake and I'm sure that her grief and remorse were genuine. However, to me it shows the limitations of money without presence.

Love

Nicole

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“However, to me it shows the limitations of money without presence.”

Nicole.

This is a perfect encapsulation of our collective condition.

I envy those who can convey profundity is just a few simple words. (I tend to rather wordy and and UNprofound).

“…the limitations of money without presence”

This should be a thread of its own…

Thanks, Nicole
mike S

Re: Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth

Thanks Mike! Feel free to start a new thread :)

Love,

Nicole

Re: Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth

Nicole,

I've been meaning to come here ever since I found out about your pod through the Mod Pod.  In a roundabout way, I finally made it here today.  Someone emailed me, a woman named Myrna sent me an email yesterday -

“Hi Deborah, I found you when I was googling Ekhart Tolle.  Then I came to your comment.  I haven't been on this site for a few yrs but I met Brian when he first started his blog at zaadz. I have no idea where to start at gaia but I've seen it so much all over the internet. I'm on so many other social networking sites…oh my, that's all I can say.  Well, here's my hello. I'd like to invite you to come take part in an online hour talk about A New Earth.   I'm so enjoying Eckhart Tolle.  I write about it on <a href=”http://myrnaslist.com/“>my blog, Myrnas List</a>.  Would love you to come over and visit.  Warm wishes, Myrna”  I did visit and I signed up for her “list”.

Curious, I googled Eckhart Tolle.  I never did “find” myself.  I found a blog by Brian (founder of Zaadz) and C4Chaos and made comments on each of those.  And I found (and just checked, it is still so) that your pod is coming up #1 in the google search “Eckhart Tolle A New Earth Gaia”.  Ah, so here I am and here is OM and I appreciate her giving our discussion in the Living Metaphysics pod (http://pods.gaia.com/living_metaphysics) a plug.

I got the book a year ago when my very first friend at Zaadz mentioned she was reading it and added “you have to read it at the “right” time in your life”.  It sat on my bookshelf for a year.  Then, I decided to buy an iPod for myself for Christmas, and then I just happen to finally get around to reading A New Earth, only to find out afterwards about the Oprah thing.  The iPod is indispensible for me to watch the classes.  It is hard for me to pull out 90 min of continuous time from my family during the evening dinner/get ready for bed time and I'm finding that with the 2nd Episode, the iPod Nano gives me, not only the crystal clear audio and ability to listen to a specific section over and over if need be, but now I have the video too with the 2nd Class podcast.  Digitally crystal clear.  When I tried to catch it real time last Wed, the picture was blurry (now this may have been due to over-reaching Fair Access on my satellite and them clamping down our speed, I'll try again for Class 3).  In the real time class, the audio was choppy and another person in our LM group said it was for her too.  Class 1 - I could not get into at all but I know I wasn't alone in those problems.

I'm not concerned about commercialization.  Compensation for services given is a spiritual idea.  Whatever gets people to think about how we've been living and how we could make it a heaven on earth with some adjustment in consciousness - the end justifies the means - as far as I'm concerned.  Like OM, I'm new in this pod and will look around and comment elsewhere, after I become better acquainted.

Deborah

PS to OM - I love the way you differentiate envy and jealousy.

Re: Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth

Fascinating, Deborah. Welcome to this pod. First post and you have already made a significant contribution!

Love to you,

Nicole