I just finished listening to one of the best audio books that I have EVER listened to. Why was it so good? Was the suspense keeping me on the edge of my seat? Were the characters riveting, beyond belief? Did it have the right amount of romance, to keep me enticed? Nope. Nada. None of the above.
The book of which I speak, is "THE NEW EARTH", by Eckhart Tolle.
I was first exposed to the writings (and teachings) of Eckhart Tolle, a few years ago, while delivering mail, in the Sugarhouse (a community in Salt Lake City) area. One of my customers (and good friends), Sean, had given me two of the three compact discs, that accompanied the first Eckhart Tolle book, "THE POWER OF NOW". In that book, Mr. Tolle teaches how we need to learn to bring ourselves to "the Now", by letting go of the past, and not dwelling on the future. In this practice, we can reach Enlightenment, and find greater happiness, in our lives. I fully believe this philosophy, as I have people close to me, that suffer with insecurity, as well as depression, based on life experiences. In that book, we are taught that we need to really only focus on the Now... or the present. By doing so, the only part of our lives that remain important, are those experiences that we are currently going through.
These teachings transcend "THE POWER OF NOW", and continue in "A NEW EARTH". In "A NEW EARTH", Mr. Tolle addresses the Ego. Not the ego, as we often think of it... although related to our traditional definition.... at least, MY traditional definition of it. I always associated "ego" with conceited people. Those that felt they were in a class better than others. The following is the definition of "ego", as found in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary.
- Main Entry: ego
- Pronunciation: \ˈē-(ˌ)gō also ˈe-\
- Function: noun
- Inflected Form(s): plural egos
- Etymology: New Latin, from Latin, I — more at i
- Date: 1789
This really struck me as the definition as described by Eckhart Tolle. The self, especially as contrasted with another self or the world. Interesting...
In "A NEW EARTH", we are challenged to overcome ego. Too many times in life, we are controlled by ego.... by how we label ourselves.... or a worry about how others may label US. We worry about the clothes that we wear. Do we fit in a certain class? Will I be accepted by my rich friends? Do I look poor?
I have known people, through the years of my life, that exhibit ego in one way or another. I once knew a young man who was a compulsive liar. His entire life story was either fabricated, or at the very least, exaggerated, in order to make his life seem superior to the lives of others. It was sad to see. What this young man had gone through, during his life, to cause him to act like this, is a mystery. By worrying about what people thought of him, he was never able to truly be "himself".
The second portion of this book deals with the "sick body". According to Mr. Tolle, the "sick body" is a part of us that affects the way we deal with people. The sick body is not actually a part of our essence, but something that we pick up as we move through this phase of our existence. From the moment we are born (when we are actually free of the "sick body", we go through experiences that create a sick body. It may be poor living conditions. It may be abuse. It may be simply living in an environment that is devoid of love. It may be two parents that don't truly love each other, that cause our sick body to grow. We don't even need to be directly abused (whether physically or mentally) to have this pain body grow within.
The "pain body" manifests itself in many ways. Whether through insecurity, anxiety, depression, fear, hate, anger, pain and suffering... these are ALL ways that the pain body oppresses our true self. Because our true self (spirit) is a pure being, the "pain body" is actually a separate entity. Although it is part of who we are, it is NOT part of our true self. Mr. Tolle challenges us to free ourselves from the "pain body", by practicing a few principles, in our lives. First, we need to free ourselves of ego. We need to continually remind ourselves of our TRUE self, and not attach labels to ourselves. We need to free ourselves of titles, such as "dumb", "ugly", "smart", "successful", etc., because by doing this, we put ourselves over (or under) others.
Another principle that Mr. Tolle challenges us to follow, is that of living in the Now. Being completely present. By doing this, we free ourselves of much of the sorrow that we encounter in our lives. He uses the example of getting a flat tire, out in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, in a rain storm. This could be an experience that not only made us completely miserable for 20 minutes, but could ruin an entire day. But, IF we face the situation, simply telling ourselves, "It is, as it is", it reminds us that this is just a part of life. If we approach the situation with a peaceful demeanor, not only will we remain centered (helping to remedy the situation in less time), but our good energy will benefit the situation, including those around us.
In listening to this book, I really began to think about how I live my life... how people perceive me... (keeping in mind that I am just observing, and not judging myself)... and how I perceive others. I think we all work with (or interact with) people who are not pleasant to be around. They are a constant stream of negativity, and we find ourselves at a distance, from these people. These are people with dense "pain bodies". For whatever reason, their lives have been one that has accumulated a dense pain body. Eckhart Tolle likens the pain body to a parasite. As a parasite likes to invade a host body, and feed off of the host bodies nutrition, the pain body invades our natural self, and feeds off of the goodness that naturally dwells within ourselves. This same pain body will also draw us to people with similar pain bodies, creating an even greater negative energy.
Mr. Tolle talks about how there are some places on the earth, get off the plane, and sense a negative energy. I believe this to be true. He comments that this is more common in countries that have been around for thousands of years. A good example is that of the Middle East countries, where there often tends to be hostility (mainly religious, although sometimes based off of gender or nationalities) that creates a dense pain body, among the people of those countries.
Even in a country as young as the United States, there is a reasonable amount of negativity brought on by the collective pain body, because of the history of our country, and it's people. From the initial persecution of the Native Americans, to the slavery of thousands upon thousands of black people, to the several wars that we have been involved in, over the years, we push ourselves further and further, from the true Self.
It is up to each and every one of us, to let go of Ego.... and then let go of the pain body that lives inside each and every one of us. It isn't something that can be done overnight, but as Mr. Tolle teaches, if you but RECOGNIZE the pain body, this is the first step in overcoming it's hold. And with more practice, with a constant reminder to ourselves of all the things contained in this book, we can change this world, for the better. We may not be able to create a Utopian society, but at the very least, we can make OUR lives richer... spiritually speaking... and even touch the lives of those around us.
I recommend that each and every person read this book. It isn't a book for Christians... Hindus... Buddhists... or non-spiritual people, specifically.... it is for EVERYONE. Mr. Tolle calls upon the teachings of Christ, of the Buddha, of different philosophers and teachers throughout the history of the world. He uses their messages, in conjunction with his message, to create a recipe that can not only bring peace to ourselves.... but to the world as a whole.
