Reflecting on The New Earth

I've had some time to reflect after finishing Eckhart Tolle's The New Earth Awakening to Your Life's Purpose. And in so doing, several things are very obvious to me.

1. I want to listen to the book again,

2. I certainly recommend it - but not as a 'light, vacation' read, and

3. I am woefully unqualified to accurately explain it's impact on me.

As I indicated in my previous post, I saw myself in much of what he spoke. And while it wasn't initially pleasant, the 'awakening' to this observation was powerful.

Below is a reader's question from Tolle's website along with his response. There are others as well but this particular one resonates with me:

Question:

Is there any way in which your spiritual teachings may be applied to everyday life? Can your teachings make us any happier today? How?

Answer:

At the core of the teachings lies the simple practice of living in the present moment. It is true, of course, that everybody already lives in the present moment, but unfortunately they haven’t noticed, and they pretend that past and future are more important than now. In reality, your entire life unfolds in the space of now. Nothing exists outside of the now. So I am talking about making the present moment conscious. That is also the quickest way beyond ego. Thinking about past and future keeps feeding the ego. Past and future have no existence except as thought forms in your mind, and when you become conscious of the present moment, all the old structures of your mind cease to operate. The mind is then no longer your master, but your servant. A new state of consciousness arises: Presence. Instead of denying the now – which is ultimately the ego’s denial of life – you accept it, acknowledge it, make it your friend instead of your enemy. When you live in alignment with the now, you embody peace, but you also embody power, the power of life itself. It goes deeper than happiness.