Topic: A New Earth

[Angela]

I've been reading Eckhart Tolle's book "A New Earth".  I've found much healing power from his words.  One section that comes to mind today, after reading some posts here, starts on page 68 of the book, which can be found online (page 109 in the actual soft back copy):


http://new.scribd.com/doc/3910816/A-New-Earth-Eckhart-Tolle

But, please read the book in it's entirety ... IMO, it's truly amazing

Much Love to All,
A

[daphne]

One section that comes to mind today, after reading some posts here, starts on page 68 of the book,

http://new.scribd.com/doc/3910816/A-New-Earth-Eckhart-Tolle

This part jumped out at me (so to speak)...  page 68... "And don't be concerned with how other's define you. When they define you, they are limiting themselves, so it's their problem."

 

[Angela]

This part jumped out at me (so to speak)...  page 68... "And don't be concerned with how other's define you. When they define you, they are limiting themselves, so it's their problem."

 

 

I like this part also (pg. 69-70) ...

"Whenever you are in a negative state, there is something in you that wants the negativity, that perceives it as pleasurable, or that believes it will get you what you want.  Otherwise, who would want to hang on to negativity, make themselves and others miserable, and create disease in the body?  So whenever there is negativity in you, if you can be Aware at that moment that there is something in you that takes pleasure in it or believes it has a useful purpose you are becoming aware of the ego directly.  The moment this happens, your identity has shifted from ego to awareness.  This means ego is shrinking and awareness is growing.

If in the midst of negativity you are able to realize "At this moment I am creating suffering for myself" it will be enough to raise you above the limitations of conditioned egoic states and reactions.  It will open up infinite possibilities which come to you when there is awareness - other vastly more intelligent ways of dealing with any situation.  You will be free to let go of your unhappiness the moment you recognize it as unintelligent.  Cleverness pursues its own little aims.  Intelligence sees larger whole in which all things are connected.  Cleverness is motivated by self-interest, and it is extremely short-sighted.  Most politicians and businesspeople are clever.  Very few intelligent.  Whatever is attained through cleverness is short-lived and always turns out to be eventually self-defeating.  Cleverness divides; intelligence unites."

[tangerine dream]

Thanks Ang,

I have now added this to my list of to reads.. started reading a bit right now.

Found this:

Complaining is one of the ego's favorite strategies for strengthening itself.  Every  complaint  is  a little  story the mind makes up that you completely  believe   in.   Whether   you   complain   aloud   or   only   in   thought   makes   no  difference.

Some egos that perhaps don't have much else to identify with  easily survive on complaining alone. When you are in the grip of such and  ego, complaining, especially about other people, is habitual and, of course,  unconscious, which means you don't know what you are doing. Applying  negative   mental   labels   to   people,  either   to  their   face   or   more  commonly  when you speak about them to others or even just think about them, is often  part of this pattern. Name¬calling is the crudest form of such labeling and of  the ego's need to be right and triumph over others: “jerk, bastard, bitch” ¬ all  definitive pronouncements that you can't argue with.

On the next level down  on the scale of unconsciousness, you have shouting and screaming, and not  much below that, physical violence.  Resentment is the emotion that goes with complaining and the mental  labeling of people and adds even more energy to the ego. Resentment means  to feel bitter, indignant, aggrieved, or offended. You resent other people's  greed, their dishonesty, their lack of integrity, what they are doing what they  did in the past, what they said what they failed to do, what they should for  shouldn't   have   done.   The   ego   loves   it.   

Instead   of   overlooking  unconsciousness in others, you make it in to their identity. Who is doing  that? The unconsciousness in you, the ego. Sometimes the “fault” that you  perceive   in   another   isn't   even   there.   It   is   a   total   misinterpretation,   a  projection by a mind conditioned to see enemies and to make itself right or  superior.   At   other   times,   the   fault   may   be   theirs,   but   by   focusing   on   it,  sometimes to the exclusion of everything else, you amplify it. And what you  react to in another, you strengthen in yourself.

Going to remember this :

"And what you  react to in another, you strengthen in yourself. "
 

[Angela]

Your welcome.

When we realize our imminent death and that this human life is such a Huge Gift ... to me that puts a lot of what we do and how we behave into a much greater Light.