A New Earth

Theres a reason Oprah decided to team up with Eckhart Tolle to create an unprecedented 10-
week course to teach the principles in A New Earthto hundreds of thousands of people: its a
remarkable book.
Tolle has a profound abilit to take the comple! ideas of spiritualit and consciousness and boil
them down into simple" powerful lessons easil #rasped and applied to our li$es.
%m e!cited to share some of m fa$orite &i# %deas from his book but %m barel #oin# to scratch
the surface of the depth of transformati$e ideas Tolle presents in this book.
%f oure feelin it" % recommend ou take some time to curl up with this #em and di$e deeper into
understandin# how we can transform our consciousness and create A New Earth.
'irst" lets start with some:
(OO) NE*+ , &A) NE*+
-A si#nificant portion of the earths population will soon reco#ni.e" if the ha$ent alread done
so" that humanit is now faced with a stark choice: E$ol$e or die./
Tolle starts A New Earthwith some #ood news and some bad news.
*ell start with the bad news. *e$e inherited a collecti$e dsfunction.
'or the histor of humanit" as Tolle bluntl states" we" as a collecti$e societ" ha$e been actin#
like a criminall insane person0with -chronic paranoid delusions" a patholo#ical propensit to
commit murder and acts of e!treme $iolence and cruelt1/
2ikes.
Accordin# to Tolle" the cause of this state is simple: -'ear" #reed and the desire for power./
The #reat traditions ha$e named this dsfunction of the mind. 3induism calls it maawhich
means -$eil of delusion./
&uddhism calls it dukkhawhich means -sufferin#" unsatisfactoriness" or 4ust plain miser/ and
directl translated points to bein# stuck like a potters wheel that screeches as it turns.
And" 5hristianit calls it -+in/ which" when stripped of all of its cultural ba##a#e and properl
translated from its (reek ori#ins" means -to miss the mark/0as in an archer missin# the tar#et.
Tolles point is simple: we carr a lot of inherited cultural ba##a#e.
The #ood news6
Those same traditions point to the -other/ side of the dsfunction03indusim 4u!taposes maa
A New Earth
Awakenin# to 2our 7ifes 8urpose
&2 E593A:T TO77E ; 8EN(<%N = >00? ; @1A 8A(E+
T3E &%( %)EA+
(ood News
B &ad news.
2our 5onsciousness
3ea$en or hell6
3ea$en and Earth
+tart with consciousness.
The E#o
%dentification is the issue.
-C/
C" m" m" m" m1
:ole-8lain#
2oure NOT our roles.
8ain-&odies
<ndissol$ed pain.
E$olutionar +upport
7ife helps ou #row.
+ufferin#
Embrace the #rowth.
+hadow
5heck our pro4ections.
2our Thou#hts
5hoose our responseD
One *ith 7ife
+ecret to the art of li$in#.
Enthusiasm
(od is withinD
1 8hilosophersNotes E A New Earth
-This book is about ou.
%t will chan#e our state
of consciousness or it will
be meanin#less./
F Eckhart Tolle
with enli#htenmentG &uddhism 4u!taposes dukkhawith awakenin#and 5hristianit points from
sinto sal$ation.
The first step6
To reco#ni.e our own insanit. As Tolle ad$ises: -To reco#ni.e ones own insanit is" of course"
the arisin# of sanit" the be#innin# of healin# and transcendence./
5an ou see it6 5an ou reco#ni.e our own fear" #reed and desire for power6
And can ou see how this results in our own mini-wars within our own consciousness and in
relationships with our famil" our friends" our collea#ues and our communit6
8ause for a moment and check in with our own embodiment of our inherited insanit.
Thats a powerful step toward creatin# a new earthD
2O<: +TATE O' 5ON+5%O<+NE++
-3ow Hspiritual ou are has nothin# to do with what ou belie$e but e$erthin# to do with
our state of consciousness. This" in turn" determines how ou act in the world and interact
with others./
8owerful.
Cakes me think of m childhood. *e went to church e$er +unda. I% was raised 5atholic.J %
alwas found it e!traordinaril odd that" after the ser$ice" m dad would be murmurin#Kellin#
about how poorl e$erone was dri$in# on the wa out of the parkin# lot. I:est in peace"
popsDD :J
E$en as a oun# bo" that alwas seemed 4ust a little off. :J
As Tolle sas" what we belie$emeans nothin#.
3ow we act0which is determined b our consciousnesss0is what its all about.
3ow about ou6
3ow do ou act6
%ts not enou#h to ha$e noble beliefs. *e$e #otta inte#rate them into our bein# so our
consciousness shifts accordin#l.
And" of course with a transformed consciousness our actions follow suit.
3EALEN AN) EA:T3
3ea$en and Earth. The path6
'irst" Tolle establishes the fact that -*e need to understand here that hea$en is not a location
but refers to the inner realm of consciousness./
Then6 -HA new hea$en is the emer#ence of a transformed state of human consciousness" and
Ha
new earth is its reflection in the phsical realm./
&rilliant.
1
+o" how do we transform our consciousness6
*e need to start b understandin# whats #ettin# in the wa.
T3E E(O
-E#o is no more than this: identification with form" which primaril means thou#ht forms. %f e$il
> 8hilosophersNotes E A New Earth
-3ow -spiritual/ ou are
has nothin# to do with
what ou belie$e but
e$erthin# to do with our
state of consciousness./
F Eckhart Tolle
-*e need to understand here
that hea$en is not a location
but refers to the inner
realm of consciousness./
F Eckhart Tolle
has an realit0and it has a relati$e" not an absolute" realit0this is also its definition:
complete
identification with form0phsical forms" thou#ht forms" emotional forms. This results in a
total unawareness of m connectedness with the whole" m intrinsic oneness with the +ource.
This for#etfulness is ori#inal sin" sufferin#" delusion. *hen this delusion of utter separateness
underlies and #o$erns what % think" sa" and do" what kind of world do % create6 To find the
answer to this" obser$e how humans relate to each other" read a histor book" or watch the
news
on tele$ision toni#ht./
*ow.
Thats definitel worth a slow re-read.
The basic idea is this: To the e!tent we are e!clusi$el identified with our thou#hts Ior an other
-relati$e/ formJ" we are separate from +ource. *hen we are separate from +ource" were in
trouble. All the sudden we fail to see the interconnectedness of each of us and e$erthin# in our
world. *e are in maa" dukkha" sin. And from that place" we are insane. *e do bad thin#s.
2ou want to see what that looks like manifest6
As Tolle tells us" watch the news toni#ht. Or lo# on to 5NN. I%m A7*A2+ blown awab the
insanit of their home pa#e0so and so killed this person" this bomb went off here" etc." etc."
etc.J
-C2/
-The reason wh such acute sufferin# occurs is concealed in the words -m./
-C./
C to. C car. C house. C spouse. C countr. C life. C" m" m.
+.N. (oenka" the teacher who led the silent 10-da Lipassana meditation class % took" had a
hilarious stor about -m./ %ma#ine someone elses watch #ot stolen. +omeone elses car broke
down en route to an important meetin#. +omeone elses order was messed up at the restaurant.
+omeone elses spouse cheated on them. <nfortunate" but not thatbi# of a deal for ou" ri#ht6
Alri#ht.
Now ima#ine this: -Cwatch was stolen./ -Ccar broke down./ -Corder was messed up at
the restaurant./ -Cspouse cheated on me./
Takes on a whole new meanin# when we add the -C"/ doesnt it6D6 :J
%ts time to Muit takin# oursel$es Muite so seriousl. 7ets witness our reactions to thin#s" de$elop
the abilit to see oursel$es as an actor in this #ame of life and loosen our #rip on all thin#s -m./
:J
:O7E-87A2%N(
-*hen ou are completel identified with a role" ou confuse a pattern of beha$ior with who ou
are" and ou take ourself $er seriousl./
Newsflash: we are NOT the roles we pla in our li$es.
+tep back. ITake a deep breath.J
:eali.e ou are much bi##er than an onerole ou pla. 7i#hten up. 7au#h. 5onnect to +ource.
8A%N-&O)%E+
-&ecause of the human tendenc to perpetuate old emotion" almost e$erone carries in his or
her
ener# field an accumulation of old emotional pain" which % call Hthe pain-bod.
8ain-bodies.
@ 8hilosophersNotes E A New Earth
-There are people who ha$e
renounced all possessions
who ha$e a bi##er e#o than
some millionaires./
F Eckhart Tolle
-<suall people are
completel unaware
of the roles the pla.
The are those roles./
F Eckhart Tolle
A fascinatin# concept Tolle presents in detail throu#hout the book.
%n short: -An ne#ati$e emotion that is not full faced and seen for what it is in the moment it
arises does not completel dissol$e. %t lea$es behind a remnant./
That remnant shows up in our -pain-bod./ %ts that ener# that ou can almost feelfrom fi$e
feet awa when oure near someone whos sufferin#.
The ke to dissol$in# it6 Accept what is.
&ecome whole as ou reali.e that our pain and our challen#es are simpl:
ELO7<T%ONA:2 +<88O:T
-7ife will #i$e ou whate$er e!perience is most helpful for the e$olution of our consciousness.
3ow do ou know this is the e!perience ou need6 &ecause this is the e!perience ou are
ha$in#
at this moment./
% lo$e that. :J
:eminds me of &ron 9atie. +he sas: -3ow do % know that the wind should blow6 %ts
blowin#D/
+he adds:-% reali.ed that its insane to oppose it. *hen % ar#ue with realit" % lose0but onl
100N of the time./
3ah.
(uess what6 *hats happenin# is happenin#. *e can fi#ht it or we can embrace the
opportunit
to #row with it.
%ts OalwasO our call.
+<''E:%N(
-One of the e#os man erroneous assumptions" one of its man deluded thou#hts is H% should
not
ha$e to suffer. 1 That thou#ht itself lies at the root of sufferin#. +ufferin# has a noble purpose:
the e$olution of consciousness and the burnin# up of e#o./
&rilliant.
3ow do ou respond to our sufferin#6
)o ou sa to ourself that it -shouldnt/ be happenin#6
Not a $er empowerin# position to take" eh6
*hat if we could learn to embrace our sufferin# as a process ser$in# our enli#htenment6
7ets embrace :umis wisdom:-This discipline and rou#h treatment are a furnace to e!tract the
sil$er from the dross. This testin# purifies the #old b boilin# the scum awa./
And" as we embrace the noble purpose of sufferin# in the process of polishin# our souls lets
remember another #em from :umi: -%f ou are irritated b e$er rub" how will ou be polished6/
+3A)O*
-The particular e#oic patterns that ou react to most stron#l in others and mispercei$e as their
identit tend to be the same patterns that are also in ou" but that ou are unable or unwillin# to
detect within ourself./
This idea that what we find most annoin# in others is reall an indicator of what we find
IunconsciouslJ most annoin# in oursel$es is a powerful one.
P 8hilosophersNotes E A New Earth
-Nothin# e$er happened in
the past that can pre$ent
ou from bein# present
nowG and if the past cannot
pre$ent ou from bein#
present now" what power
does it ha$e6/
F Eckhart Tolle
-*hen ou want to arri$e
at our #oal more than
ou want to be doin#
what ou are doin#" ou
become stressed./
F Eckhart Tolle
-The shadow dis#uises
itself in our pro4ections"
when we react intensel to
a trait in others that we
fail to see in oursel$es./
F 5onnie Qwei# from
:omancin# the +hadow
Run# called it our -shadow/ and said: -<nfortunatel there can be no doubt that man is" on the
whole" less #ood than he ima#ines himself or wants to be. E$erone carries a +hadow" and the
less it is embodied in the indi$iduals conscious life" the blacker and denser it is. %f an inferiorit
is conscious" one alwas has a chance to correct it. 'urthermore" it is constantl in contact with
other interests" so that it is continuall sub4ected to modifications. &ut if it is repressed and
isolated from consciousness" it ne$er #ets corrected and is liable to burst forth suddenl in a
moment of unawareness. At all e$ents" it forms an unconscious sna#" thwartin# our most
wellmeant intentions./
The fastest wa to identif our shadow6
Take a look at what bothers ou in other people.
Can teachers" like relationship e!perts (a , 9atie 3endricks" call this -pro4ectin#./ *e
pro4ectour own issues onto others0we focus on the most unappealin# aspects of anothers
personalit that mirrorour own challen#es.
2ou annoed when people are impatient6 (uess what6 7ook at how ou show up as an
impatient
4erk in our life more often than oud like to admit and our reaction to -impatience/ ma 4ust
dissol$e.
2ou annoed when people are inauthentic6 Are #reed6 Are self-obsessed6
+ame thin#. 7ook within. And watch our reactions dissol$e.
This is a reallpowerful e!ercise.
Tr it out. The ne!t time oure upset" pause for a moment. Take a deep breath. IThen another
one. :J
%dentif what it is oure findin# frustratin# in the other person. Ask ourself" -3ow am % that6D6/
And see how this is reall 4ust an issue 2O< need to address in our lifeDD
+ome more thou#hts on shadow from 5arl Run#: -To confront a person with their own shadow
is to show them their own li#ht./
And: -One does not become enli#htened b ima#inin# fi#ures of li#ht" but b makin# the
darkness conscious./
2O<: T3O<(3T+
-%f there is nothin# ou can do" face what is and sa" H*ell" ri#ht now" this is how it is. % can
either
accept it" or make mself miserable. The primar cause of unhappiness is ne$er the situation
but our thou#hts about the situation. &e aware of the thou#hts ou are thinkin#. +eparate them
from the situation" which is alwas neutral" which alwas is as it is./
Another truth thats echoed across cultures and across millennia.
'rom Epictetus in his Enchiridion: -*e cannot choose our e!ternal circumstances" but we can
alwas choose how we respond to them./
To +hakespeare in 3amlet: -There is nothin# either #ood or bad" but thinkin# makes it so./
To Liktor 'rankl in Cans +earch for Ceanin#: -E$erthin# can be taken from a man but
one thin#G the last of the human freedoms - to choose ones attitude in an #i$en set of
circumstances" to choose ones own wa./
Are ou a $ictim to our circumstances" or do ou reali.e that ou ha$e the power IalwasDJ to
choose how ou respond to a situation6D6
A 8hilosophersNotes E A New Earth
-%f ou think ou are so
enli#htened" #o and spend a
week with our parents./
F :am )ass
-The primar cause
of unhappiness is
ne$er the situation but
our thou#hts about
the situation./
F Eckhart Tolle
-)ont seek the truth. Rust
cease to cherish opinions./
F Qen sain#
-7o$e and do what ou will/
F +t. Au#ustine
ONE *%T3 7%'E
-There are three words that con$e the secret of the art of li$in#" the secret of all success and
happiness: One *ith 7ife./
+o true1
The essence of Tolles work can certainl be distilled into these three words: -One *ith 7ife./
%s there somethin# oure resistin# ri#ht now that ou can embrace a little more6
ENT3<+%A+C
Enthusiasm come from the (reek -enthousia.einSthatT means Hto be possessed b a #od. *ith
enthusiasm ou will find that ou dont ha$e to do it all b ourself. %n fact" there is nothin#
of si#nificance ou cando b ourself. +ustained enthusiasm brin#s into e!istence a wa$e of
creati$e ener#" and all ou ha$e to do is ride the wa$e./
% absolutello$e that.
Ca we be One *ith 7ife and ride the wa$e of the (od dancin# within as we create hea$en on
A
New Earth"
%f ou liked this Note"
oull probabl like1
The 8ower of Now
:umi
+e$en +piritual 7aws
of +uccess
:alph *aldo Emerson
About the Author of -A New Earth/
E593A:T TO77E
+piritual Teacher and author was born in (erman and educated at the
<ni$ersities of 7ondon and 5ambrid#e. At the a#e of twent-nine a profound
inner transformation radicall chan#ed the course of his life. The ne!t few ears
were de$oted to understandin#" inte#ratin# and deepenin# that transformation"
which marked the be#innin# of an intense inward 4ourne. 7ater" he be#an to
work in 7ondon with indi$iduals and small #roups as a counselor and spiritual
teacher. +ince 1UUA he has li$ed in Lancou$er" 5anada. Eckhart Tolle is the
author of the V1 New 2ork Timesbestseller The 8ower of Now Itranslated
into @@ lan#ua#esJ and the hi#hl acclaimed follow-up A New Earth" which are
widel re#arded as two of the most influential spiritual books of our time. Ifrom
EckhartTolle.comwhere ou can learn more about Eckhart and his teachin#sJ
About the Author of This Note
&:%AN RO3N+ON
&rian Rohnson is a lo$er of wisdom Iaka a -8hilosopher/J and a passionate
student of life whos committed to inspirin# and empowerin# millions of people
to li$e their #reatest li$es as he studies" embodies and shares the uni$ersal truths
of optimal li$in#. 3e harts his 4ob.
&rian Rohnson"
5hief 8hilosopher
W 8hilosophersNotes E A New Earth