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

• Buddhism repackaged

  
  By ARK5SAGVLW3FY on 2008-04-14
  This is an interesting book to review because I can tune in and see what is happening to people who read it and get a close up look at the author using his philosophy to answer questions. While I applaud Oprah for this novel approach to bettering the human race, I take issue with both this author and his book.
  
  I read Tolle's first book and found it to be a boring rehash of Buddhism. Because Oprah was so high on his second I figured I'd give him another try and join the book club. I thought it would be interesting to see a book "in action" and discuss it with others. I even sent a copy to my sister who could use a bit of computer recreation since she now lives in a very small town. This book is better than the first in that it is a better compilation of Buddhist thought. However, it rambles constantly, draws conclusions from encounters that are not necessarily justified and the attitude of its author (who sees himself as enlightened and continuously "conscious" and egoless), is laughable. Tolle's vanity is nothing short of astounding. Buddhism isn't a pill, it is a practice and awakening has many layers. In spite of this, Tolle has tons of people saying that they have awakened. On one hand adherents claim to be valiantly battling their ego's while on the other they flaunt their "awakening", telling others who claim to be in serious pain to simply read page such and such or tell their "pain body," to effectively shut up and go away. Yikes!!! While it is true that you can't blame the messenger for what people do with the messenger (Jesus protect me from your followers!) Tolle adopts a similar attitude toward others on the streaming video. His dead pan delivery of jargon in response to questions does not impress me as enlightened or egoless. It might behoove him to remember that those Zen stories he includes in the book were once used by master to deliver highly specific teachings that met the needs of particular students. He has turned awakening into a race....to what I am not sure, but I do know that enlightenment is not a competitive event. A few months from now there are going to be a lot of people with one hell of a philosophical hangover caused by all those subconscious drives they never bothered to examine and thought they'd left in a dumpster somewhere.
  
  I keep waiting for the day when someone writes a version of Buddhism for the working mom. I think that person should herself be a mother with at least one ADHD child. She should be clinically depressed and have a couch potato for a husband. If she manages to help the child grow into someone with a good marriage and a real profession, I'll buy all of her books. Unfortunately what we keep getting are philosophies created by self-satisfied, introverted, childless, hermits like Tolle. There is nothing wrong with an introverted, childless, hermit being self-satisfied. What is wrong is suggesting that his way of being represents THE path to enlightenment for everyone. I would say that all he has found in Buddhism is a treatment for his (self acknowledged) form of depression and suicidal thoughts. I am glad he is well and happy and wish him the best....but I won't buy anymore of his books because they are just Buddhism repackaged and linked to an attitude I am not fond of.
  
  
  

• Simple but Not Easy

  
  By A1MC7MB9K2JLVC on 2008-04-02
  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:
  Power of Now
  The Secret
  Can We Live 150 Year?
  
  
  

• Awawened Master? The Meek Equals Egoless?

  
  By A1IHT31N8RLPN8 on 2008-05-18
  The book is 316 pages, & has 10 chapters with 2-11 parts in each. This book is better than the first in that it gives more details on Buddhist beliefs.
  
  However, the authors vanity & EGO are sometimes shocking. He jumps to conclusions from experiences that don't appear "egoless." He has made the pursuit of being "awakened or enlightened" into a western style competitive race. Chapter 5 was drivel pyschbabble & even had historical mistakes. Ex: The pre-Christian cultures he mentioned on page 156 revered females? If that was true, why did they sell their own women into slavery?
  
  Also, the ideas the author presents are not original & his tone is a bit patronizing & contradictory. When he states that you should not dwell on the future, but stay in the present. But, a moment later he states that you must focus on a vision or goal that you are striving to reach. One could simply read the works of the authors he listed on page 131. Life is far more complex & transitory than he seems to indicate.
  
  "Dukkha, or suffering is part of life." Mindful practice is all we can truly focus on. It is not an escape from the stresses we all have in our daily lives. On page 273, he states "the decision arrives ready made. It comes through awareness, not through thinking." I can't speak for others, but one often will have to think to be fully aware. I found pages 234-7 to be the wisest examples in the book. Then again, I learned these things from episodes of the 1970's show "Kung Fu." Lastly, I recommend folks read Daniel Goleman's "EQ," for both ego & emotional information. While "mindfullness" is well covered in the Dalai Lama's "The Art Of Happiness."
  
  

• A very odd book by a very odd man

  
  By A2ZSZNMR425OTW on 2008-02-01
  What I find simultaneously most fascinating and infuriating about Tolle is his failure to grasp the fundamental contradiction of his book, as well as the New Age movement as a whole: that you cannot discount the role that the mind itself plays in life, even when (maybe especially when) you're claiming to have found a new and exalted level of consciousness or supposed inner meaning. There is no escape from the conscious and especially the subconscious mind; it is always active, and in fact may be heavily influencing Tolle's own sense of his inner being, even when he himself doesn't think so! Also, Tolle's explication of his concept of The Now is absurdly simplistic and out of sync with the realities of modern geopolitical living. Consider that he once replied thusly to an interviewer's question about how he (Tolle) would've handled 9/11 and the response to same: "I don't know what I would do, because I can only know what is right in an actual situation which demands a response. It's very hard when you look at hypotheticals." Ah yes, but the whole concept of preparedness and contingency planning is based on hypotheticals and the ability to step out of Tolle's beloved "Now" so that one can gain the benefit of experiential learning (i.e. the past) and planning for the worst (i.e. the future). So what is Tolle going to do when an emergency blindsides him and he suddenly realizes that--in his perpetual state of Now-ness--he didn't plan for it? It's absurd. This book is manna for the masses--telling people what they want to hear--and as one who has intensively studied the New Age movement, I urge you to pass on it. [...]
  
  

• Some good points made, but not a keeper for me

  
  By A3PHF9UV3F177L on 2008-03-01
  I have mixed feelings about "A New Earth". While I thought some very good points were made, I didn't find it easy to read because the style of writing is so dense. Many of the ideas that Tolle presents are not original (e.g. how we interpret people or events is a result of our own thoughts or egos, we must strive to live in the present moment), but they are still well made and thought-provoking.
  
  Some parts of the book do get hard to follow. While Tolle acknowledges this, he also tells us that if we find the book incomprehensible and meaningless, it means that we have not begun the process of awakening - i.e. any fault is with the reader, which strikes me as a cop out. Tolle also implies that his view is the only correct way of viewing the world, with sentences like: "If you don't become speechless when looking out into space on a clear night, you are not really looking, not aware of the totality of what is there."
  
  My main criticism of this book is that I didn't find it of much help in a practical sense. Tolle talks a lot about how you can effect change in yourself by bringing awareness to situations. This has not been my personal experience - while I agree it's the first step, I think sometimes we need a little more "how-to" guidance if we are to make real change. Often when I was reading this book I'd think: "wow, that's such a great point he's just made", but then it would get kind of lost as the book moved on. And ultimately it comes across as being a bit selfish. This idea that your spouse may leave you and your friends may drift away when you achieve spiritual growth, but that's all for the good.
  
  To get the most out of "A New Earth", you probably want to read it slowly and let each chapter sit with you for a while before moving onto the next. Even better, have someone to discuss it with as you go and help you to explore the apparent contradictions e.g. when Tolle says on one hand that you don't want to dwell on the future but stay in the present, and then on the other hand he says that you must have a goal or vision that you are working towards. There is definitely a lot of interesting material in here, but I have found other books to be more accessible and useful.
  
  
  
• More egocentric drivel from Mr. Tolle
  By A25E3CEEER8R7B on 2008-02-12
  Oprah fell for this latest nonsense new age babble from Mr. Tolle and made him a wealthy man. If you want to learn about yourself, read 'The Prophet' or anything by Kafka, not Mr. Tolle's mumbo jumbo. For reasons I now forget, I read Mr. Tolle's 'The Power of Now' and had to use all of my present moment energy to get through that one, which was at best a minor attempt at intellectual depth. I decided to give him another chance since, well, if it is in Oprah's bookclub, it must be brilliant. How could a greedy ego-maniac like her be wrong? Bottom line: 'A New Earth' is stupid. Don't waste your time or money. And if you want to learn about flowers, buy a book on Garden Design. Or better yet, read this excellent suspense novel: Drachman's Dilemmas You will gain insight you did not know you had.
  
  
• An alternative to Christianity, where God is Me
  By A2Z9HJM4KMQH1I on 2008-02-27
  Simply enough, Tolle's book is so attractive and popular because it removes the distractng reminder of a God who loves us enough to die for us, but who also loves us too much to acquiesce when we deliberately choose to spend Eternity apart from Him. Follow Tolle's philosophy and you'll break the second commandment; namely, you'll make a god in your own image (yours!) God wants for us what Tolle's book supposedly offers, but He is the only one who can get us there.
  
  
• Another Oprah Brainwashing
  By A2LNR0U93CEJ2Q on 2008-02-01
  Just another lemming reaction to an Oprah selection. It's sad commentary that so many people will wait until she puts her approval on a selection and then rush to purchase it and then feel that they belong in the select few. If you want to improve your spiritual life try the one book that has always been the answer, THE BIBLE!!
  
  
• No New earth.
  By A38T4BMK7OUD88 on 2006-08-09
  i have read nearly all of Tolles books. All have been incredibly disappointing. This one probably the most disappointing.I understand the reviewers below, some who have not finished the book but have been hooked on the future promise of better things. ( Like a horoscope). Had there been no other books on the market of exactly the same nature before tolle started writing then I would have probably enjoyed some aspects. But really there is nothing new here. Certainly no New earth. That is another fantasy, living in the future idea. The reincarnation idea is also not new and Hindus have practised this for centuries. Obviously new readers will be impressed but those who have searched a little themselves will see the lack of substance in this book before the end. I could not even pass it on to someone else. I thought that would not be a nice thing as i found it so poor in the end.
  
  
• More New-Age Garbage
  By A1JURFCT9KM3M5 on 2008-02-29
  This book and books like this, insert out of context scripture to ease Christians into believing that this is what God wants them to be reading and doing, when actually it is leading you away from the truth and away from God. It worked on Oprah, and it will work on many others too.
  It's amazing how many new-age "spiritual" books have been written. Why? Because the "spiritual seekers" that are reading and writing them haven't found what will truly fulfill them. The WORD of GOD.
  
  
  
• The Proof is in the Pudding
  By A2SX5WRAR2M29U on 2005-10-17
  I have been a life-long spiritual seeker (one of those seekers/never-finders that Eckhart refers to - rightly). This book is absolutely marvelous and stunningly practical. I find Eckhart's orientation toward spiritual teachings to be refreshingly direct and free of traditional dogma, yet touching on all the perennial threads that are the underpinnings of all spiritual teachings. I have great respect for his ability to approach ideas and concepts that are effectively ineffable and communicate them well and with a gentle and encouraging invitation to try them out for yourselves.
  
  And that is where I find his teachings have the greatest strength and potential to improve immediate, personal, and eventually collective, lives - by trying out the teachings and practices that he suggests.
  
  In particular, I am very grateful for the emphasis he places on the power of watching and witnessing our own thoughts - and how that small, but profound act can begin to permit us to view our thoughts and life-patterns in a different way. This, to me, is a deeply liberating concept.
  
  Read his books, or better, buy some of his audio works. I found them to be more powerful because some quality came through the voice that doesn't on the printed page.
  
  There is goodness to be had here.
  
  
• A New Earth is Born
  By A1IOR49EWC8IQG on 2005-11-26
  If you got the concepts in the Power of Now, and love the simple, easy-to-understand message of that book, you will find a "going deeper" happening with this one.
  
  I've always been one to disagree with spiritual teachers about the ego - that it's basically all bad. If it's bad, why did God create it? My feeling is if it is here on Earth, it belongs, even though we may not understand why.
  
  That said, Eckhart clearly defines, with excellent examples, how our identification with the ego (and not the ego itself, mind you) keeps us from simply being in the present and instead tied to thoughts, concepts, mind-stuff, endless identification with people, places, and things. He shows us the many forms and faces that the ego takes up, and shows us the fallacy of identifying with forms in the first place.
  
  To identify so completely with form is to identify with that which is doomed to extinction, causing us loss and sadness. Wouldn't it be better if we simply observed things from an aware state, and not get so caught up in them? This is Eckhart's goal, to get us to a place where we can see the benefits of raising our awareness, and actually wanting to do so.
  
  Ah, easier said than done, I hear you say. Within the pages of A New Earth, Eckhart gives us precisely the tools we need to recognize and become aware of own folly. From that higher state of awareness, the flowers of enlightenment can bloom. And voila, a New Earth is born.
  
  I find this book a great comfort.
  
  
• Cult rhetoric
  By AXZPCDN9WOFBN on 2008-03-25
  Tolle's philosophy is intellectually primitive and spiritually immature. There is nothing new in what he says and is reminiscent of the 60's culture when Timothy Leary and drug use was so popular. It's the same hippy "free love," amoral, surrender your ego rhetoric Charles Manson and other cult leaders have used to brainwash followers.
  
  It lacks logical consistency and demonstrates a superficial understanding of the ego. It is mostly a fantasy that attempts to recapture human infancy experiences and claim that they are reality. Like many gurus of this sort who use such rhetoric about the 'ego,' 'ultimate reality,' 'space,' 'time,' and 'oneness,' the main idea is a regression to an infantile state of mind where there are no inhibitions and thus no morality, as well as no sense of self as a separate individual. For infants there is only 'now'. Consequently, Tolle's books invite readers to de-evolve, or at least arrest their developmental progress, and return to the paradise of infancy. "Refuse to grow-up" would be a better title for his book.
  
  
• Read this only if you are not thinking about suicide!
  By A90R5PR3BF7JW on 2007-07-16
  The book can be condensed into one chapter. Ideas are repeated and repeated and repeated...
  The ideas are age old. Nothing new here except perhaps the misrepresentations of Bible passages.
  About as insightful as a George Bush speech.
  
  
  
• kindergarten philosophy
  By A3CPGFMA2C48LG on 2008-03-13
  Tolle's books are a collection of vague clichés and ambiguous platitudes; a combination of kindergarten philosophy and New Age mysticism. There are millions of books available, written by so-called enlightened individuals who all churn out the same stuff. Does this prove there must be something to them? Not at all. Billions of fast food joints doesn't prove that fast food has much nutritional value for the body. Similarly, thousands of self-described enlightened writers putting out books like these doesn't prove that fast-food spirituality has much nutritional value for the spirit. Eckhart Tolle admits that his enlightenment came spontaneously. Clearly he didn't need a book like his to become enlightened. Why should anyone else? I'm just going to wait until I become spontaneously enlightened too.
  
  
• Don't bother with this one
  By A8DMQT6S54CZR on 2006-11-03
  After reading The Power of Now and listening to the book on CD several times, I greatly anticipated his subsequent books. I am very disappointed in his re-hashing the same information in his other books. In A New Earth, Tolle speaks with a strong disdain for his fellow humans. After a while I got tired of hearing about how "sick" and deranged we are. In Conversations with God, many of the same things are said, but you leave feeling uplifted and hopeful. Tolle's reading of his book leaves one feeling either depressed or irritated. Perhaps Tolle is so enlightened that he finds it difficult to be among his "unenlightened" brethren. To me, a sure sign of not being enlightened is judgment, and he seems full of that in this book. Not that I'm judging!
  
  
• Another repeat
  By A9XUKAGWODF9Z on 2006-07-18
  How strange. Last week on this site the last ten out of twelve reviews were very negative of Tolles latest copy. Today they have all been deleted. No wonder Tolles books sell well if only positive reviews are kept. I expect this will go after a week or so. Watch and see.
  Lesson here is do not wrote a negative review. It will be deleted. How? Simple. One or two of Tolles fanatical disciples will complain. Yet Tolles says everything is perfect so how come they do not seem to follow this part of his story?
  
  
• "too many words, very little substance"
  By A3Q2HJ74HF6VR2 on 2008-03-08
  Tolle's book contains many philosophical errors. His idea about relativism (page 70 is simply wrong.) Tolle's writing is wordy with very little substance. I gave up reading this intellectually empty book at page 72. Best wishes to those who choose to go further.
  
  
• An Ancient Idea - In a New Form
  By APOADUSX3G9JB on 2008-02-07
  Through the centuries man has been searching for ways to be "as God", or to live without God - "working life" on his/her terms.
  
  God's laws of nature - much of which we don't totally know or understand - are gradually being discovered by man. It's the desire of man -- to be as God - remember the Genesis (Gen. 3:5) account between Eve and the serpent ... she was willing to disobey God's only "rule" so that she would be like Him.
  
  So, here we are - another case of man discovering more of what God has made, yet not giving any of the acknowledgment to Him - taking Godly principles and duplicating them - so "we" can be like God, or even gods ourselves.
  
  If you believe there is only one and true God, then reconsider buying into this Metaphysical stuff - it's only a weak copy of what the true answer is about how to live "successfully". Don't get sucked in, like Eve did - it's a slippery slope.
  
  Consider how Scripture has already addressed each issue that book topics like these are being expressed. Just two examples of how to think and/or talk:
  
  Ephesians 4:29 (The Message)
  29 "Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. "
  or
  Philippians 4:8 (The Message)
  8-9 "Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious--the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. "
  Sound like the "positive thinking" stuff being taught by our Metaphysical friends? A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose
  God taught it first.
  
  Again, another "discovery" of how to live successfully by Man - and, all along, the answers are in the Scriptures already, all one has to do is read the Bible.
  
  
• Disappointed
  By A2WJLT27855F35 on 2008-03-12
  The book was a disappointment to me after all the Oprah hype. It is interesting, and I am almost finished with the book. However, it is a struggle for me to read, and I feel that I am not understanding a lot of it. I condider myself to be of average intelligence and wonder about the book's appropriateness for the masses, which I think was Tolle's intent. It would have been a lot more meaningful to me if it were told in a simpler, less complicated way. Once I struggle through a few pages, I can sort of see what he's trying to say, so why doesn't he just say it?! I know there's a message in there somewhere - if I could just find it!
  
  
• A sad state of affairs...
  By A1943U8OWV993U on 2008-03-06
  I find no clearer indictment of the American mind than the success of this book. What the author says of philosophy he gets wrong, and what he attempts do with religion is shameless. The author is heavily influenced by Eastern religious traditions and, considering how he is attempting to peddle his wares to an American audience, he splits the difference, attempting to dress his slant on "spirituality" as if it is somehow congenial with Western religious traditions of Judaism and particularly Christianity. There is no intellectual merit to this book, and those who find it life changing apparently have little exposure to great literature, be it philosophy or theology. If you have found merit and enjoyment in reading this book then you should congradulate yourself on how narrow your reading horizon is and, consequently, the shallow depth of your mind.
  
  
• A TOTAL JOKE!!!
  By A3UURLL9A2C953 on 2008-05-01
  I think I've found my true calling in life. Create a joke of a new age cult and get a self absorbed talk show host to peddle it and then the sheep will line up to purchase it. I couldnt get through chapter one. Please, a moment of silence for everyone throwing their money away, feel the oneness with your fellow sheep. I wish there was a zero star option!!!
  
  
• got ya
  By A2SHPWX9QVGS8O on 2005-12-31
  I gave one star to get your attention.
  In this relative world of "ours" as it is well proven by all the reviews posted here, all the negative as well as all the positive points of view towards the book, some call it better/and /or worse than his previous work. It's all relative, the fact that you choose to cling to one idea of how things work or how things should work is irrelevant, the author doesn't even care, he is just stating facts that you may or may not be aware of.
  I myself feel like I'd jumped in the bandwagon, and joined all the supposedly reviews of the book which are no more than mere opinions of their own either contradicting the book or agreeing with it. (duhhh)
  So here it goes, I am the typical 32 year old man who wakes up in the
  in the morning wondering why am I here at all in this world. I am afraid of death as most people are, I am also in a constant state of unhappiness, the only thing that provides some satisfaction is
  as with most man sex, yet the rest of the day is just a waiting period untill I go to sleep and then the same thing the next morning, this book addresses all these subjects and lot more with such an unusual perspective that either you love it or hate it, as I stated in the begining it's all relative, but what really matters
  is that is has the power to shake the very foundations of any beliefs that you hold to be true at the present moment.
  I know that you don't care what makes me happy, what my gender is or any of the things I descrived here about myself, this so called "review" is for all those men who share the same miserable
  life as I do to go ahead and give this book a chance. Don't be afraid, be prepared though because is not easy to digest such profound content.
  Also I got tired of the tone of most reviews here the stereotypical guy who meditates all day and thinks that "he's made it" just by reading the book.
  No, it won't solve your problems,,, just buy the dammed book you'll be glad you did, or will you? ...
  
  
• falls short
  By A3GHGWNT0L9VLT on 2006-07-21
  I am surprised to see so many positive reviews of Tolles latest book considering the criticism in recent studies. Paula Marvellys new bestseller Teachers of one, for example showed the inadeqacy of Tolles doctrine based on non duality and this a a very indepth study. Recent customer reviews of his old book Power of Now also expose the problems with Tolles work. AS a self help book then certainly it may be helpful for a short time but for those interested in going deeper and getting satisfying answers Tolles work falls very far short.
  
  
• More Than A Bit Confusing
  By A3I0TJJCRUQSCQ on 2008-04-01
  OK, I saw the movie and since movies never seem go into the character of characters very well compared to the written word I felt as if the book would be a good place to start to understand what the author was trying to definatate.
  
  But the book is very confusing and the plot doesn't seem to be anything like the flick. For example the name of the Will Smith character is different in the book (Loren) which is ok since as we all know the Incredible Hulk was "Bruce Banner" before it went on TV since that time Bruce was considered a sissy name (Bruce Willis might not agree, but then again his alter ego is called Bruno so may some validity lies upon that contention?).
  
  But to the point, the scene where Major Will has to kill Sam his dawg because she is turning into a vampire mutant isn't in the book, or at least in my copy.
  
  So what gives??
  
  This book must have been really modified when they screenplayed it.
  
  Unless Eckheart Toole really does think that mutantism is good and the wave of the future which I don't know since the book couldn't be finished and in fact I've returned it to the bookstore.
  
  Be cautious about this book. It might not be what you think!!
  
  
• There are better books, better teachers...
  By A1GUQ6OC330LLC on 2008-03-13
  I understand the need to help others in their quest for meaning, certainly after experiencing what Tolle experienced when he was 29. I was younger when Consciousness overwhelmed my egoic self with BLISS and perfect safety in a world most fear and certainly do not feel safe in. Mystics who've allowed this Enlightenment/Gnosis/Cosmic Consciousness (so many names, so many who've been there, are there, are going there, as we all are when we "die") have been trying since the year dot to guide people towards that same awakening. Ancient mystery religions taught all this and initiated people into direct experience of the divine. Here Tolle is trying to explain the nature of reality and he does a somewhat fair job of it. He can't compare to the Sutras or Lao Tzu or Seth or a number of others I've read but he's trying...perhaps too hard and in language lacking the kind of poetry that catches at the heart and drags the soul along. Tolle is riding a crest of a global search for meaning, and good for him. But there are better sources out there. I KNOW, as do many, what he's trying to describe. If you want a grand adventure as well as beautiful accessible writing as well as a real grasp of what Tolle is laboriously trying to say, I HIGHLY recommend The Secret Magdalene: A Novel by Ki Longfellow. This book is my touchstone for all others.
  
  
• All about Eckhart
  By AC1N84015OOSY on 2008-05-04
  While there are elements of truth in what Eckhart Tolle is saying, his emphasis on himself as an awakened or enlightened being is very suspect to me. Also, his implication that we should (and can) all just wake up by listening to his brilliant words seems to me to be a superficial fix to a subtle and thorny problem. Anyone can be mindful for an instant, staying mindful, though, can be the work of a lifetime. As several reviews have noted, his writings are largely warmed-over Buddhism.
  
  For those of you looking to wake up, I'd recommend reading Mindfulness in Plain English; it's getting at the same issue using a much more structured, time-tested approach, and best of all, it's free to download on the Web --just google it.
  
  
  
• Tolle eludicates Buddhism
  By A3NE4D4E5312GV on 2006-10-03
  I've read most of the reviews and all of the negative ones. I've also left comments to them if any reader is interested. Quite frankly, all of the negative reviews are from people who don't understand the main premise of this book. Some interestingly enough were from Buddhists, who seemed uncharacteristically and extraordinarily negative. Buddhism of course is where the concept of Spiritual materialism, using one's religious identity to further support and prop up the ego, first was formalized. To this day that concept has not found much traction in Christianity where Spiritual Materialism is taken as par for the course, but I am digressing.
  
  This book is about the forces that are present in aiding us, and how we, individually can transcend mythology and ideology. Something that either will happen for us as a species or will become extinct in the very near-- in geological time-- future. And until it happens things will only get worse. For example right now China is building up its military to invade Taiwan. An event that quite possibly and most probably will lead to a nuclear exchange between the U.S. and China. China has already publicly stated that this will be the result of the U.S. coming to Taiwan's defense. And consequently China is developing missile technology to defeat the U.S's missile defense system. This could happen in as little as a couple of years from this review date. This is only to demonstrate one way things may continue to get worse until a different sort of consciousness emerges on this planet. There is no middle ground or "political" solution, our old ways of thinking will lead to our own destruction.
  
  Some reviewers have stated that this book has nothing to do with awakening to your life's purpose, but I disagree. What is your life's purpose other then to evolve, which means, of course, also surviving. Your purpose is to become fully conscious. We are the part of the universe evolving into full consciousness of itself. One stage on that journey was emergence of the human mind. But this mind has grown into a monstrous reality, as the twentieth century so eloquently testifies. The mind has highjacked us and we live in the world where our own inventions can and may destroy us. Part of why this is so is that the mind itself is an unconscious tool. Tolle's opinion, is that the purpose of life is to become fully conscious, to become more than the limits of your own mind. That, first this is possible, and then how one achieves it is the point of this book.
  
  Tolle, who is a gifted communicator, articulates this message in refreshingly modern terms. It is the same message of the historical Buddha, and arguably of an historical Jesus. How you awaken to your life's purpose is simply by clearly seeing the nature of your own mind.
  
  Lama Yeshe in his book, Make your Mind and Ocean, says as much:
  
  Lord Buddha says that all you have to know is what your are, how you exist. You don't have to believe in anything. Just understand how your mind works, how attachment and desire arise, how ignorance arises, and where emotions come from. It is sufficient to know the nature of all that; that alone can bring you happiness and peace.
  
  What Eckhart does in A New Earth is articulate this same old spiritual message, that few seem to truly have realized, in a way exceeding accessible for our times.
  
  
• It Really Is Up To Us
  By A35OKGOGLVQXBV on 2005-12-13
  As former Editor of Science of Mind magazine, I've read so many books about personal evolution and most of them sound like a broken record with the same tired phrases. Eckhart Tolle's books always explore new spiritual terrain. Just as The Power of Now tempts you back into practicing the power of the moment, this new book impresses you with the urgency of personal commitment for global change. Eckhart Tolle keeps me on my spiritual path and lights a new pathway with each new book. Thank goodness for his light.
  Elaine Maginn Sonne, PhD, Author of Stellar Secrets
  
  
• Mixed Review
  By A1X13AUPCTPL0P on 2005-10-20
  I've read all of Tolle's books, and I've always had a mixed response to him.
  
  I appreciate what he says about living in the now. He presents this idea clearly and forcefully.
  
  But I find his concept of the "pain body" to be reductionist and over-simplified. The "pain body" is not so easy to deal with as Tolle would have us believe. "Just be present," is an all but useless prescription for someone truly in the grip of their "pain body".
  
  I'm not sure what I feel about the more Buddhist concepts of "non-attachment" and being "ego-less". Tolle often quotes Jesus in his works. Was Jesus non-attached to life? One could make a compelling argument that He was supremely attached to life.
  
  As for the ego--things get a bit fuzzy. Are we to have an ego, or are we to dissolve the ego and become ego-free? And what does all that mean, anyway? It seems to me that one of the great tricks of the ego is to convince us that we can be ego-free.
  
  There is always a certain coldness about Tolle's writing. This may be intentional, but it doesn't make the state of being in the now seem very appealing. I've found that so many of the people attracted to Buddhist or Buddhist-like practices are intellectuals. They are attracted by the concepts of Buddhism. They are attracted by the concept of seeing themselves existing in the now. When they practice, are they trying to be in the moment, or are they trying to be their concepts?
  
  Tolle's writing is highly conceptual. Some of it borders on gobbledy-gook, unfortunately. He claims to be using language to point beyond language, but does he have to use such abstract language: form, being, etc...?
  
  This book is essentially an expanded--and, unfortunately, padded--version of "The Power of Now". That book is still the standard. Perhaps Tolle really has nothing more to say. The key now is to really practice.
  
  

• Post-it Highlighter Pen with 50 Flags, 3 Pen pack, Assorted Colors, Blue, Yellow, & Pink, Total 3 Pens, Total 150 Flags
• Gateways to Now (Inner Life Series)
• Living a Life of Inner Peace
• Eckhart Tolle's Findhorn Retreat: Stillness Amidst the World
• The Eckhart Tolle Audio Collection (The Power of Now Teaching Series)