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Book Review – A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose

By dougnau on Jun 30, 2009 in Book Reviews, Personal Growth, Spiritual Coaching

Background

Eckhart Tolle is a highly acclaimed spiritual teacher and author.  Most known for his #1 New York Times Best Seller The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose has become a powerful encore rapidly following the suit of its predecessor.  Published January 2008, this 336 page book is available in both audio and paperback formats.

Book Review & Commentary

For those that have read The Power of Now, you’ll find much of the material in A New Earth, to be a review.  If you have not yet read The Power of Now, I suggest you read my book review on the topic first (Book Review – The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment).  A New Earth is a discussion of the ego, of pain bodies, of living in the moment, the fleeting aspects of form, forgiveness, breath, disattachment with possession, and enlightenment.  The alluring title refers to Tolle’s suggestion that humanity has evolved to a new level of consciousness, and that we are in the process of undergoing our next great shift as a species.  This is a shift which recognizes the ego and is able to become at peace with the moment, and enjoy our true essence of being. 

The ideas are provocative, and Tolle cites examples of this shift in consciousness which depending on your perspective coming into the literature may or may not be compelling.  While I read through the material, it was difficult not to notice the striking similarity of this book to The Power of Now.  Other than the way the message was packaged (ie: we are entering a new area of humanity), the concepts and principles were essentially the same.  If anything, A New Earth is an elaboration of the materials, it goes into greater depth as to what the ego is, how it has infiltrated society, how it acts.  It provides a similar expanded description of pain bodies, how to manage these, universal intelligence, and states of being which promote an egoless self.  Indeed, if I were to recommend that one were to read either this or The Power of Now, I’d suggest this book (if you can handle a longer read) because for the most part it is an elaboration of the same materials. 

On a personal level, I love Tolle’s books and agree in principal with most of what he says and therefore would recommend this book to any personal development enthusiast.  However, I’d be unlikely to recommend it to someone that has already read A New Earth, if they felt those topics have already been pretty well explained and are looking for something different.  I did enjoy several new stories of zen masters and the like which do a good job at providing life coaching (self thought and introspection) on many of the hooks which draw us back into the ego. 

Who is this book for?

If you’ve read The Power of Now, and are looking to delve deeper into the topics, this will be a great refresher and will allow you to explore further.  Similarly, if you are new to the concepts of the ego, pain bodies, living life in the moment, and meditation, this book is a very detailed discussion of these and related topics.  It can be a bit ethereal, and for those who look for scientific evidence supporting claims being made (as opposed to an intuitive knowing) you may be disappointed or frustrated with what is presented.  But if you are looking to educate yourself, to begin to practice the capacity to experience the moment, and are looking at philosophies which may guide you to finding a better oneness with your true nature, than this book is a fantastic starting point.

 

Be Well

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