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The newest selection from Oprah’s Book Club

Illuminating, enlightening, and uplifting, A New Earth is a profoundly spiritual guide to creating a better way of living and a better world to live in.

Building on the astonishing success of The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle presents readers with an honest look at the current state of humanity: He implores us to see and accept that this state, which is based on an erroneous identification with the egoic mind, is one of dangerous insanity.

Tolle tells us there is good news, however. There is an alternative to this potentially dire situation. Humanity now, perhaps more than in any previous time, has an opportunity to create a new, saner, more loving world. This will involve a radical inner leap from the current egoic consciousness to an entirely new one.

In illuminating the nature of this shift in consciousness, Tolle describes in detail how our current ego-based state of consciousness operates. Then gently, and in very practical terms, he leads us into this new consciousness. We will come to experience who we truly are-which is something infinitely greater than anything we currently think we are-and learn to live and breathe freely.


The Flowering of Human Consciousness
Evocation

Earth, 114 million years ago, one morning just after sunrise: The first flower ever to appear on the planet opens up to receive the rays of the sun. Prior to this momentous event that heralds an evolutionary transformation in the life of plants, the planet had already been covered in vegetation for millions of years. The first flower probably did not survive for long, and flowers must have remained rare and isolated phenomena, since conditions were most likely not yet favorable for a widespread flowering to occur. One day, however, a critical threshold was reached, and suddenly there would have been an explosion of color and scent all over the planet?if a perceiving consciousness had been there to witness it.

Much later those delicate and fragrant beings we call flowers would come to play an essential part in the evolution of consciousness of another species. Humans would increasingly be drawn to and fascinated by them. As the consciousness of human beings developed, flowers were most likely the first thing they came to value that had no utilitarian purpose for them, that is to say, was not linked in some way to survival. They provided inspiration to countless artists, poets, and mystics. Jesus tells us to contemplate the flowers and learn from them how to live. The Buddha is said to have given a "silent sermon" once during which he held up a flower and gazed at it. After a while, one of those present, a monk called Mahakasyapa, began to smile. He is said to have been the only one who had understood the sermon. According to legend, that smile (that is to say, realization) was handed down by twenty-eight successive masters and much later became the origin of Zen.

Seeing beauty in a flower could awaken humans, however briefly, to the beauty that is an essential part of their own innermost being, their true nature. The first recognition of beauty was one of the most significant events in the evolution of human consciousness. The feelings of joy and love are intrinsically connected to that recognition. Without our fully realizing it, flowers would become for us an expression in form of that which is most high, most sacred, and ultimately formless within ourselves. Flowers, more fleeting, more ethereal, and more delicate than the plants out of which they emerged, would become like messengers from another realm, like a bridge between the world of physical forms and the formless. They not only had a scent that was delicate and pleasing to humans, but also brought a fragrance from the realm of spirit. Using the word "enlightenment" in a wider sense than the conventionally accepted one, we could look upon flowers as the enlightenment of plants.

Any life-form in any realm?mineral, vegetable, animal, or human?can be said to undergo "enlightenment." It is, however, an extremely rare occurrence since it is more than an evolutionary progression: It also implies a discontinuity in its development, a leap to an entirely different level of Being and, most importantly, a lessening of materiality.

What could be heavier and more impenetrable than a rock, the densest of all forms? And yet some rocks undergo a change in their molecular structure, turn into crystals, and so become transparent to the light. Some carbons, under inconceivable heat and pressure, turn into diamonds, and some heavy minerals into other precious stones.

Most crawling reptilians, the most earthbound of all creatures, have remained unchanged for millions of years. Some, however, grew feathers and wings and turned into birds, thus defying the force of gravity that had held them for so long. They didn't become better at crawling or walking, but transcended crawling and walking entirely.

Since time immemorial, flowers, crystals, precious stones, and birds have held special significance for the human spirit. Like all life-forms, they are, of course, temporary manifestations of the underlying one Life, one Consciousness. Their special significance and the reason why humans feel such fascination for and affinity with them can be attributed to their ethereal quality.

Once there is a certain degree of Presence, of still and alert attention in human beings' perceptions, they can sense that there is more there than the mere physical existence of that form, without knowing that this is the reason why he or she is drawn toward it, feels an affinity with it. Because of its ethereal nature, its form obscures the indwelling spirit to a lesser degree than is the case with other life-forms. The exception to this are all newborn life-forms?babies, puppies, kittens, lambs, and so on. They are fragile, delicate, not yet firmly established in materiality. An innocence, sweetness and beauty that are not of this world still shine through them. They delight even relatively insensitive humans.

So when you are alert and contemplate a flower, crystal, or bird without naming it mentally, it becomes a window for you into the formless. There is an inner opening, however slight, into the realm of spirit. This is why these three "en-lightened" life-forms have played such an important part in the evolution of human consciousness since ancient times; why, for example, the jewel in the lotus flower is a central symbol of Buddhism and a white bird, the dove, signifies the Holy Spirit in Christianity. They have been preparing the ground for a more profound shift in planetary consciousness that is destined to take place in the human species. This is the spiritual awakening that we are beginning to witness now.

The Purpose of This Book

Is humanity ready for a transformation of consciousness, an inner flowering so radical and profound that compared to it the flowering of plants, no matter how beautiful, is only a pale reflection? Can human beings lose the density of their conditioned mind structures and become like crystals or precious stones, so to speak, transparent to the light of consciousness? Can they defy the gravitational pull of materialism and materiality and rise above identification with form that keeps the ego in place and condemns them to imprisonment within their own personality?

The possibility of such a transformation has been the central message of the great wisdom teachings of humankind. The messengers?Buddha, jesus, and others, not all of them known?were humanity's early flowers. They were precursors, rare and precious beings. A widespread flowering was not yet possible at that time, and their message became largely misunderstood and often greatly distorted. It certainly did not transform human behavior, except in a small minority of people.

Is humanity more ready now than at the time of those early teachers? Why should this be so? What can you do, if anything, to bring about or accelerate this inner shift? What is it that characterizes the old egoic state of consciousness recognized? These and other essential questions will be addressed in this book. More important, this book itself is a transformational device that has come out of the arising new consciousness. The ideas and concepts presented here may be important, but they are secondary. They are no more than signposts pointing toward awakening. As you read, a shift takes place within you.

This book's main purpose is not to add new information or beliefs to your mind or to try to convince you of anything, but to bring about a shift in consciousness, that is to say, to awaken. In that sense, this book is not "interesting." Interesting means you can keep your distance, play around with ideas and concepts in your mind, agree or disagree. This book is about you. It will change your state of consciousness or it will be meaningless. It can only awaken those who are ready. Not everyone is ready yet, but many are, and with each person who awakens, the momentum in the collective consciousness grows, and it becomes easier for others. If you don't know what awakening means, read on. Only by awakening can you know the true meaning of that word. A glimpse is enough to initiate the awakening process, which is irreversible. For some, that glimpse will come while reading this book. For many others who may not even have realized it, the process has already begun. This book will help them recognize it. For some, it may have begun through loss or suffering; for others, through coming into contact with a spiritual teacher or teaching, through reading The Power of Now or some other spiritually alive and therefore transformational book?or any combination of the above. If the awakening process has begun in you, the reading of this book will accelerate and intensify it.

An essential part of the awakening is the recognition of the unawakened you, the ego as it thinks, speaks, and acts, as well as the recognition of the collectively conditioned mental processes that perpetuate the unawakened state. That is why this book shows the main aspects of the ego and how they operate in the individual as well as in the collective. This is important for two related reasons: The first is that unless you know the basic mechanics behind the workings of the ego, you won't recognize it, and it will trick you into identifying with it again and again. This means it takes you over, an imposter pretending to be you. The second reason is that the act of recognition itself is one of the ways in which awakening happens. When you recognize the unconsciousness in you, that which makes the recognition possible is the arising consciousness, is awakening. You cannot fight against darkness. The light of consciousness is all that is necessary. You are that light.

INTRODUCTION

The Power of Now established Eckhart Tolle as one of the leading spiritual teachers writing today. Now, his long-awaited follow-up brings his inspiring and profound message to a whole new audience.

Building on the astonishing success of The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle takes us beyond our own lives to show that we now have the opportunity to birth a new, more loving world. This involves a radical inner leap of consciousness from the current identification with our ego to an entirely new way of thinking about who we are. For this to happen, the very strictures of the human mind need to undergo an evolutionary transformation.

In A New Earth, Tolle shows how this transformation can occur not only in ourselves, but in the world around us. In illuminating the nature of this shift of consciousness, Tolle describes in detail how our current ego-based state of consciousness operates. He then gently and in very practical terms leads us into this new consciousness. We will come to experience who we are truly are, which is infinitely greater than anything we currently think we are.

ABOUT ECKHART TOLLE
Eckhart Tolle is a contemporary spiritual teacher who is not aligned with any particular religion or tradition. In his writing and seminars, he conveys a simple yet profound message with the timeless and uncomplicated clarity of the ancient spiritual masters. There is a way out of suffering into peace. Tolle travels extensively, taking his teachings throughout the world. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.


DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:


In Chapter One, Tolle discusses the reasons for reading A New Earth, and what leads people towards awakening. He writes: "For some, it may have begun through loss or suffering; for others, through coming into contact with a spiritual teacher or teaching, through reading The Power of Now or some other spiritually alive and therefore transformational book." Discuss why you decided to read this book and seek spiritual awakening. What led you to want it? Do you think you were already on the path when you began reading A New Earth? How did the book help you with your enlightenment?

Discuss the following passage: "If the structures of the human mind remain unchanged, we will always end up re-creating fundamentally the same world, the same evils, the same dysfunction" (p. 22). Do you agree with this statement? What changes does Tolle argue for? What can humans do as a people to make change happen? What can you do as an individual?

Why does Tolle tell the story of "The Lost Ring" in Chapter Two? Have you ever felt as the woman in the story feels? Why does Tolle teach the importance of disassociating ourselves with our physical possessions? Why do you think people are so quick to identify so closely with their possessions? How can we stop? Why should we stop?

On page 52, Tolle discusses the importance of feeling the inner body. He says we should "Make a habit of feeling the inner body as often as you can." Why is this so important to do? How is your inner body different than your outer body? What can we learn from our inner bodies?

In Chapter Three, Tolle delves into "Reactivity and Grievances." Discuss a grievance you've had with someone. Have you let go of it? How or why not? Why is it so important to let go of grievances? How does holding on to grievances damage your ego?

In what outward behaviors does your ego manifest itself? Pride? Superiority? Criticism? Examine the outward face of your ego. How can you conquer these issues and let go of them? Now consider the internal manifestations of your ego. What are you holding on to? How can you try to let go? Discuss.

"In Zen they say: ‘Don't seek the truth. Just cease to cherish opinions'"(p. 121). What does this statement mean to you? How can you practice this in your own life? What other sayings or thoughts help you to see beyond your own mind to get beyond your ego?

What unconscious assumptions (ie. "Nobody respects me" or "I don't deserve love") have you had to fight against? Have you been able to conquer these assumptions? How? Are there any you are still trying to conquer? Why are some harder than others? Why is it so important to get unconscious assumptions out of our minds?

Discuss the parable of "Carrying the Past" on page 139. What does the story mean? How does it relate to the larger themes in this book? Are you carrying baggage from your past? How can you unload it? If you have unloaded past baggage, explain to the group how you managed it.

What is Tolle saying when he writes about the pain-body? How does the pain-body manifest itself in you? How can you break free from it? How is the pain-body stilting to spiritual growth and awakening?

How have the lessons in this book helped you to identify who you truly are? How can you expunge negativity and unhappiness to find your true self? What techniques have you tried? What has worked and what hasn't? Discuss with the group.

How is your true identity different than your inner purpose? How can you find your inner purpose? What in this book has helped you to uncover it? Do you feel that you have reached an awakening? What more do you have to work on? Discuss ways to help one another to reach the awakening you seek.

How can you help other towards enlightenment? Do you think "The New Earth" that Tolle writes about is possible to achieve? How can the human race a whole be helped by his teachings?

Oprah's Book Club™ Selection

CHAPTER ONE

The Flowering of Human Consciousness 1

Evocation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Purpose ofThis Book . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Our Inherited Dysfunction . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The Arising New Consciousness. . . . . . . . . 13
Spirituality and Religion. . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
The Urgency of Transformation. . . . . . . . . 20
A New Heaven and a New Earth . . . . . . . . 23


CHAPTER TWO

Ego: The Current State of Humanity 25

The Illusory Self. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
The Voice in the Head . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Content and Structure ofthe Ego. . . . . . . . 34
Identification with Things. . . . . . . . . . . . 35
The Lost Ring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
The Illusion ofOwnership . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Wanting:The Need for More . . . . . . . . . . 46
Identification with the Body. . . . . . . . . . . 49
Feeling the Inner Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Forgetfulness ofBeing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
From Descartes’s Error to Sartre’s Insight. . . . . 54
The Peace That Passes All Understanding . . . . 56


CHAPTER THREE

The Core of Ego 59

Complaining and Resentment . . . . . . . . . . 61
Reactivity and Grievances . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Being Right,Making Wrong . . . . . . . . . . 66
In Defense ofan Illusion . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Truth: Relative or Absolute? . . . . . . . . . . . 69
The Ego Is Not Personal . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
War Is a Mind-set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Do You Want Peace or Drama? . . . . . . . . . 77
Beyond Ego: Your True Identity . . . . . . . . . 77
All Structures Are Unstable . . . . . . . . . . . 79
The Ego’s Need to Feel Superior . . . . . . . . 81
Ego and Fame. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82


CHAPTER FOUR

Role-playing: The Many Faces of the Ego 85

Villain,Victim,Lover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Letting Go of Self-Definitions . . . . . . . . . . 89
Pre-established Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Temporary Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
The Monk with Sweaty Palms. . . . . . . . . . 94
Happiness as a Role Vs.True Happiness. . . . . 95
Parenthood:Role or Function? . . . . . . . . . 97
Conscious Suffering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Conscious Parenting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Recognizing Your Child . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Giving Up Role-playing . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
The Pathological Ego . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
The Background Unhappiness . . . . . . . . . 112
The Secret ofHappiness . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Pathological Forms ofEgo. . . . . . . . . . . 118
Work?With and Without Ego. . . . . . . . . 121
The Ego in Illness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
The Collective Ego. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Incontrovertible Proofof Immortality . . . . . 127


CHAPTER FIVE

The Pain-Body 129

The Birth ofEmotion . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Emotions and the Ego. . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
The Duck with a Human Mind . . . . . . . . 137
Carrying the Past. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Individual and Collective. . . . . . . . . . . . 141
How the Pain-Body Renews Itself . . . . . . . 144
How the Pain-Body Feeds on Your Thoughts . 145
How the Pain-Body Feeds on Drama. . . . . . 148
Dense Pain-Bodies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Entertainment, the Media, and the
Pain-Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
The Collective Female Pain-Body . . . . . . . 154
National and Racial Pain-Bodies . . . . . . . . 157


CHAPTER SIX

Breaking Free 161

Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
The Return ofthe Pain-Body . . . . . . . . . 167
The Pain-Body in Children . . . . . . . . . . 169
Unhappiness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Breaking Identification with the Pain-Body. . . 174
“Triggers” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
The Pain-Body as an Awakener . . . . . . . . 180
Breaking Free of the Pain-Body . . . . . . . . 183


CHAPTER SEVEN

Finding Who You Truly Are 185

Who You Think You Are . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Abundance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Knowing Yourself and Knowing About Yourself 192
Chaos and Higher Order . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Good and Bad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Not Minding What Happens. . . . . . . . . . 198
Is That So?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
The Ego and the Present Moment . . . . . . . 200
The Paradox ofTime . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Eliminating Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
The Dreamer and the Dream. . . . . . . . . . 208
Going Beyond Limitation . . . . . . . . . . . 210
The Joy ofBeing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Allowing the Diminishment of the Ego . . . . 214
As Without,So Within. . . . . . . . . . . . . 217


CHAPTER EIGHT

The Discovery of Inner Space 223

Object Consciousness and Space Consciousness 227
Falling Below and Rising Above Thought . . . 229
Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Recognizing Inner Space. . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Can You Hear the Mountain Stream?. . . . . . 236
Right Action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Perceiving Without Naming . . . . . . . . . . 239
Who Is the Experiencer?. . . . . . . . . . . . 241
The Breath. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Addictions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Inner Body Awareness. . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Inner and Outer Space. . . . . . . . . . . . . 250
Noticing the Gaps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Lose Yourself to Find Yourself . . . . . . . . . 254
Stillness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255


CHAPTER NINE

Your Inner Purpose 257

Awakening. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259
A Dialogue on Inner Purpose . . . . . . . . . 262


CHAPTER TEN

A New Earth 279

A BriefHistory ofYour Life. . . . . . . . . . 282
Awakening and the Return Movement. . . . . 284
Awakening and the Outgoing Movement. . . . 288
Consciousness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Awakened Doing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
The Three Modalities of Awakened Doing. . . 295
Acceptance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Enjoyment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297
Enthusiasm. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301
The Frequency-holders . . . . . . . . . . . . 306
The New Earth Is No Utopia . . . . . . . . . 307

Notes . 311
About the Author . 315

INTRODUCTION

The Power of Now established Eckhart Tolle as one of the leading spiritual teachers writing today. Now, his long-awaited follow-up brings his inspiring and profound message to a whole new audience.

Building on the astonishing success of The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle takes us beyond our own lives to show that we now have the opportunity to birth a new, more loving world. This involves a radical inner leap of consciousness from the current identification with our ego to an entirely new way of thinking about who we are. For this to happen, the very strictures of the human mind need to undergo an evolutionary transformation.

In A New Earth, Tolle shows how this transformation can occur not only in ourselves, but in the world around us. In illuminating the nature of this shift of consciousness, Tolle describes in detail how our current ego-based state of consciousness operates. He then gently and in very practical terms leads us into this new consciousness. We will come to experience who we are truly are, which is infinitely greater than anything we currently think we are.

ABOUT ECKHART TOLLE
Eckhart Tolle is a contemporary spiritual teacher who is not aligned with any particular religion or tradition. In his writing and seminars, he conveys a simple yet profound message with the timeless and uncomplicated clarity of the ancient spiritual masters. There is a way out of suffering into peace. Tolle travels extensively, taking his teachings throughout the world. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The 10th anniversary edition of A New Earth with a new preface by Eckhart Tolle.

가장 최신의 오프라 북클럽 선정 도서, 에크하르트 톨레(Tolle, Eckhart)의 A New Earth : Awakening to Your Life's Purpose. 33개 언어로 번역된 뉴욕 타임즈 베스트셀러 '지금 이 순간을 살아라(The Power of Now)'의 저자 <에크하르트 톨레>의 새로운 저서가 출간되었습니다.

비추어라, 밝혀라, 드높여라! 영적 지도자인 에크하르트 톨레(Eckhart Tolle)의『New Earth : Awakening to Your Life's Purpose』는 현재 우리의 삶과 세계를 더 나은 방향으로 인도해주는 영적 안내서(가이드북)입니다.