6 Responses to “A New Earth: Awakening To Your Life’s Purpose”

1. Julia Flyte
   April 27th, 2010 @ 1:15 pm

   I have mixed feelings about “A New Earth”. While I thought some very good points were made, I didn’t find it easy to read because the style of writing is so dense. Many of the ideas that Tolle presents are not original (e.g. how we interpret people or events is a result of our own thoughts or egos, we must strive to live in the present moment), but they are still well made and thought-provoking.

   Some parts of the book do get hard to follow. While Tolle acknowledges this, he also tells us that if we find the book incomprehensible and meaningless, it means that we have not begun the process of awakening – i.e. any fault is with the reader, which strikes me as a cop out. Tolle also implies that his view is the only correct way of viewing the world, with sentences like: “If you don’t become speechless when looking out into space on a clear night, you are not really looking, not aware of the totality of what is there.”

   My main criticism of this book is that I didn’t find it of much help in a practical sense. Tolle talks a lot about how you can effect change in yourself by bringing awareness to situations. This has not been my personal experience – while I agree it’s the first step, I think sometimes we need a little more “how-to” guidance if we are to make real change. Often when I was reading this book I’d think: “wow, that’s such a great point he’s just made”, but then it would get kind of lost as the book moved on. And ultimately it comes across as being a bit selfish. This idea that your spouse may leave you and your friends may drift away when you achieve spiritual growth, but that’s all for the good.

   To get the most out of “A New Earth”, you probably want to read it slowly and let each chapter sit with you for a while before moving onto the next. Even better, have someone to discuss it with as you go and help you to explore the apparent contradictions e.g. when Tolle says on one hand that you don’t want to dwell on the future but stay in the present, and then on the other hand he says that you must have a goal or vision that you are working towards. There is definitely a lot of interesting material in here, but I have found other books to be more accessible and useful.
   
   Rating: 3 / 5

2. bunnyrabbit4
   April 27th, 2010 @ 1:56 pm

   This is an interesting book to review because I can tune in and see what is happening to people who read it and get a close up look at the author using his philosophy to answer questions. While I applaud Oprah for this novel approach to bettering the human race, I take issue with both this author and his book.

   I read Tolle’s first book and found it to be a boring rehash of Buddhism. Because Oprah was so high on his second I figured I’d give him another try and join the book club. I thought it would be interesting to see a book “in action” and discuss it with others. I even sent a copy to my sister who could use a bit of computer recreation since she now lives in a very small town. This book is better than the first in that it is a better compilation of Buddhist thought. However, it rambles constantly, draws conclusions from encounters that are not necessarily justified and the attitude of its author (who sees himself as enlightened and continuously “conscious” and egoless), is laughable. Tolle’s vanity is nothing short of astounding. Buddhism isn’t a pill, it is a practice and awakening has many layers. In spite of this, Tolle has tons of people saying that they have awakened. On one hand adherents claim to be valiantly battling their ego’s while on the other they flaunt their “awakening”, telling others who claim to be in serious pain to simply read page such and such or tell their “pain body,” to effectively shut up and go away. Yikes!!! While it is true that you can’t blame the messenger for what people do with the messenger (Jesus protect me from your followers!) Tolle adopts a similar attitude toward others on the streaming video. His dead pan delivery of jargon in response to questions does not impress me as enlightened or egoless. It might behoove him to remember that those Zen stories he includes in the book were once used by master to deliver highly specific teachings that met the needs of particular students. He has turned awakening into a race….to what I am not sure, but I do know that enlightenment is not a competitive event. A few months from now there are going to be a lot of people with one hell of a philosophical hangover caused by all those subconscious drives they never bothered to examine and thought they’d left in a dumpster somewhere.

   I keep waiting for the day when someone writes a version of Buddhism for the working mom. I think that person should herself be a mother with at least one ADHD child. She should be clinically depressed and have a couch potato for a husband. If she manages to help the child grow into someone with a good marriage and a real profession, I’ll buy all of her books. Unfortunately what we keep getting are philosophies created by self-satisfied, introverted, childless, hermits like Tolle. There is nothing wrong with an introverted, childless, hermit being self-satisfied. What is wrong is suggesting that his way of being represents THE path to enlightenment for everyone. I would say that all he has found in Buddhism is a treatment for his (self acknowledged) form of depression and suicidal thoughts. I am glad he is well and happy and wish him the best….but I won’t buy anymore of his books because they are just Buddhism repackaged and linked to an attitude I am not fond of.
   
   Rating: 1 / 5

3. James E. Carruth
   April 27th, 2010 @ 3:27 pm

   If you got the concepts in the Power of Now, and love the simple, easy-to-understand message of that book, you will find a “going deeper” happening with this one.

   I’ve always been one to disagree with spiritual teachers about the ego – that it’s basically all bad. If it’s bad, why did God create it? My feeling is if it is here on Earth, it belongs, even though we may not understand why.

   That said, Eckhart clearly defines, with excellent examples, how our identification with the ego (and not the ego itself, mind you) keeps us from simply being in the present and instead tied to thoughts, concepts, mind-stuff, endless identification with people, places, and things. He shows us the many forms and faces that the ego takes up, and shows us the fallacy of identifying with forms in the first place.

   To identify so completely with form is to identify with that which is doomed to extinction, causing us loss and sadness. Wouldn’t it be better if we simply observed things from an aware state, and not get so caught up in them? This is Eckhart’s goal, to get us to a place where we can see the benefits of raising our awareness, and actually wanting to do so.

   Ah, easier said than done, I hear you say. Within the pages of A New Earth, Eckhart gives us precisely the tools we need to recognize and become aware of own folly. From that higher state of awareness, the flowers of enlightenment can bloom. And voila, a New Earth is born.

   I find this book a great comfort.
   Rating: 5 / 5

4. A Constant Reader
   April 27th, 2010 @ 3:57 pm

   I understand the need to help others in their quest for meaning, certainly after experiencing what Tolle experienced when he was 29. I was younger when Consciousness overwhelmed my egoic self with BLISS and perfect safety in a world most fear and certainly do not feel safe in. Mystics who’ve allowed this Enlightenment/Gnosis/Cosmic Consciousness (so many names, so many who’ve been there, are there, are going there, as we all are when we “die”) have been trying since the year dot to guide people towards that same awakening. Ancient mystery religions taught all this and initiated people into direct experience of the divine. Here Tolle is trying to explain the nature of reality and he does a somewhat fair job of it. He can’t compare to the Sutras or Lao Tzu or Seth or a number of others I’ve read but he’s trying…perhaps too hard and in language lacking the kind of poetry that catches at the heart and drags the soul along. Tolle is riding a crest of a global search for meaning, and good for him. But there are better sources out there. I KNOW, as do many, what he’s trying to describe. If you want a grand adventure as well as beautiful accessible writing as well as a real grasp of what Tolle is laboriously trying to say, I HIGHLY recommend The Secret Magdalene: A Novel by Ki Longfellow. This book is my touchstone for all others.
   Rating: 3 / 5

5. Brunello
   April 27th, 2010 @ 4:18 pm

   The insights Tolle talks about have been around for at least 2000 years. Basically he is talking about principles of Bhuddism and Taoism that have been studied and taught for generations. His “enlightenment” has been shared by adepts by the thousands.

   If you’ve never been exposed to these teachings, this will be valuable.

   If you’ve read any contemporary books on Bhuddism or Taoism or mindfulness, this will just be old stuff rewritten. It isn’t new revelation by a modern prophet.
   Rating: 3 / 5

6. Farah Vile
   August 27th, 2010 @ 10:54 pm

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