Thursday 5 June 2008

Eckhart Tolle: A New Earth

A New Earth is Eckhart Tolle’s second book on the power of living in the present moment. Like The Power Of Now, his first book, A New Earth is special to read. Words are powerful carriers of energy, and both of Eckhart’s books emanate the love, peace and joy that he obviously experienced while writing these from a place of presence and high level of consciousness.

The book takes its title from a Biblical prophecy that refers to the emergence of a new heaven and a new earth, the deeper meaning of which relates to the transformation of human consciousness and the reflection of this higher level of awareness in the physical world. Although the title has its basis in a Christian teaching, A New Earth is a spiritual book and as such can be read by people of any religion or people of no specific religion. In fact, it is interesting to note that the feedback received from the webcasts done recently by Oprah and Eckhart Tolle has indicated that many people have found that reading the book enabled them to understand the teachings of their religions in far greater depth and to apply them with far greater insight than they had previously had.

While The Power Of Now was written in question and answer format, A New Earth reads more like a traditional book, and it is therefore often the preferred introduction to the topic for many people. It was certainly Oprah’s choice for the webcasts that she and Eckhart conducted! Having read both books, I would probably recommend starting with The Power Of Now; however, this really is a personal choice and either will do as a starting point. The important thing is to read at least one of these books, and to reflect on and practice the teachings contained within them. Increasing your awareness and living in the present moment can be a challenging process, particularly when you start, but the rewards are immense. If you haven’t yet read my earlier review of The Power Of Now, you can find it and read about these rewards here.

In addition to going in-depth on subjects such as the ego and the pain-body, A New Earth addresses the topic of conscious creating, particularly in Chapter 10. Although Eckhart never refers to this as The Law Of Attraction, the principles that he discusses provide a spiritual view on the process of creation. If you’ve ever felt disillusioned by the very materialistic view of The Law Of Attraction, then Eckhart’s description of how consciousness creates may be just the antidote that you need!




6 comments:

Ray Gratzner said...

Thank you for this fine post. Sadly the last paragraph is rather short. I would have been interested in further details of the content.

Anonymous said...

Welcome, Ray! Thanks for the feedback - I appreciate it, and will include more on the content the next time I do a book review.

MamaFlo said...

Although Eckhart Tolle's books are a fascinating read, Ken Wapnick's books are even a deeper read. This way of of thinking and living life has brought me untold happiness.

Anonymous said...

I haven't read any of Ken Wapnick's books, Mamaflo - thanks for the recommendation!

Anonymous said...

I have yet to read A New Earth, do want to read it. I did read The Power of Now and was able to make some changes in my life due to what I learned in it. I am so glad that so many people are opening up to this thanks to Oprah!

Anonymous said...

Hi Ash - yes, Oprah's endorsement has made Eckhart's work accessible to so many people. As you've discovered, the ideas in The Power Of Now and A New Earth are transformative!