A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (Oprah's Book Club, Selection 61) [Paperback]

I've read Tolle's The Power of Now and I found A New Earth a delightful companion. If you're reading just 'another spiritual book' than it will be just 'another spiritual book' that you can argue(!) over. Is it better than his first? Does he repeat himself? Is Tolle saying anything new? Etc. Etc. But there's so much listening between the words... it's a wonderful meditation.

This book really speaks to me. My mind is so busy that sometimes I absentmindedly arrive at a place and then ask myself what I wanted to do here. Within a few moments my mind goes through a number of different thoughts forgetting about the reason that directed me to a certain place. And this is why this book is so helpful. Eckhart Tolle provides simple solution to people like me. The solution is simple but in no way it is easy! The solution is getting rid of the noise in the head and focusing on the present moment and the one single activity that you are undertaking in this moment.

In a way this book is -- to a certain degree -- a rehash of the author's previous work titled "The Power of Now." However, if you have already read The Power of Now I still suggest getting "A New Earth" as there is still a great amount of new material. In a way in both books Tolle deals with the same subject matter, but in my opinion he is doing a much better job explaining the subject in this book. The author's soft-spoken manner permeates the whole work and makes it an easy and relaxed reading.

A big part of the book is devoted to identifying the many faces of (and dealing with) the "EGO" ("the voice in the head that pretends to be you") which is the culprit of our mental suffering that author calls "The Pain-Body" ("the emotions that are the body's reaction to what the voice in the head is saying"). Tolle suggests ways for breaking free of the Pain-Body and finding who you really are.

Unhappiness and negativity are everywhere around us. Surprisingly they are felt more deeply in the affluent western world, as we are more deeply identified with forms and trapped in our egos. The joy of being, the only true happiness, cannot come to us from anywhere, we can only experience it from the formless dimension within us after we allow the diminishment of the ego.

This book is not to be read like a novel. I suggest reading it slowly - just a few pages at a time, and practicing the author's suggestions. In the realm of spirituality no-one of us will probably have the same experience, but I dare say that the deeper you get into it the more powerful the experience will be. The secret is getting to the awareness outside of thinking, to the awareness of true being. Get the book and try it out. It might also speak to you.

Other recommended readings:
The Power of Now
The Secret
Can We Live 150 Years?

I have to be very honest here. I like this book because it is a very simple read and may communicate more easily with the general public but personally I find it very basic. I suspect its popularity came about due to the media coverage and the Oprah Winfrey show. I believe that if one is looking for a profoundly informative and in depth understanding of how to achieve consciousness and awareness, the book The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle is the better book to read. It is deep and requires great thought from the individual, but change and growth come from going deep within oneself and listening, recognizing ones default settings as they say and changing old belief systems.

Mary Wozny