Thank you for your insights. I read most of those pages you quoted last night. I am a woman in my 50s. I read with great interest the interplay a parent could potentially have with their children. My parents did not help us learn "being". As a parent myself, I took on the role of "giving" and find that although I believed I was helping to teach "being", in fact, I was not. As a distracted single mom I could not be "present" as often as my children needed me to be. I see it very clearly now. I also see the same lack of presence in my relationships with my sisters. Ego, Roles, Identity.....how we take them all on and wear them without much thought!

All is not lost. My "role" as mom helped me to love my children unconditionally and my "role" as daughter helped me see what needed changing in my parenting generally.

The dance of "being" and relationships requires we all be present. If that is not possible, it requires compassion and understanding from those who are aware of the Being behind the person (role). I am working toward my Being. I have had many experiences in Nature and with others that feel full of awareness and Being. Magical Connected Moments with the promise of more.

Do these words give the notion of knowing who I am? I wonder if they do. Just like a chance meeting on the street, words can give an impression. But, these words are not who I Am. Just occurred to me as I was writing all of this......

cellio

PS: I do not find the Book depressing. I am learning so much about how the thoughts and patterns in our minds can form our reality.

FYI- I just got off the phone with my husband. I told him I am summarizing the book by typing the positive principles of Tolle's inner purpose.

My husband said I am taking this a little too serious. He told me to download the 80's song: 'Don't worry, Be Happy', then he told me to post the words to the song here.

Oh well.....

-Angela

angelwitha, you go girl! You are awesome!

WOW! Your children are sooooooooo blessed to have you educating them now on life. It's never too late.

Watch the past with detachment, teach them what you now know.

I am impressed .....VERY IMPRESSED WITH YOU.

-Angela

THanks! My husband told me I need a cause..so I just donated some money to our local food bank.....still...I can't stop thinking about this "MOST DREPRESSING BOOK I HAVE EVER READ!"

-Angela

thank you joezen for pointing out that we are all "awake" and all equal. reading the posts here about this book it almost seems like some people are bragging about being awake and enlightened (i don't mean this towards anyone in particular--just in general)--and it makes me feel like they are missing the point. i don't think think its a case of some being more awake then others though--but just that some realize it and some don't. its something that you find was there all along.

blessings,
diane

When I hear someone speaking about this book as depressing to them, I hear a lot of fear coming out of them. What is it that scares you? What you said about Schindler's List also is the same thing. What scares you about seeing the realities of war in this world? Ken Burns just showed last year his movie The War which I watched every episode with great interest and afterwards commented how glad I was to finally see what REALLY went on during those times of war which the people here in our country were never told.

It is very informative and helpful to know the truth because it helps us to see all the negative stuff in our own individual lives we have taken for granted or have avoided looking at. When we keep turning our eyes away from those things to dwell only on the positive, it doesn't mean that the "bad" things or negative things we don't want, go away or are no longer there. Matter of fact, they remain there and sometimes become stronger influencing us without us really realizing it. Nobody on earth can ever say they have no problems and those who have met with greater success are those who talk about how they have overcome and worked out the problems by dealing with it much the same way E. T. reveals in his book, A New Earth. We have to look at this ego, accept our own ego when it arises, see it for what it is and not identify with it as who you are. If we continue to ignoring and looking away, we are showing our ego our fear. However, if we can face it and deal with it, we see our own true strength.

In this way, I see A New Earth as not depressing in any way but the exact opposite is true. It has been a real inspiration and eye-opener for me. It is a book that does not glamorize the atrocities and horrors in life but shows us how to see it for real. It's not false or pretending to be something it is not. This glamorization of war as it was done during the great war years by Hollywood was just a lot of propaganda. This was particularly appealing to the ego to draw in more support how to fight the enemy. Who is this enemy after all? As Eckhart Tolle says, we are each our own worst enemy learning to face that ego by staying present. That was, has been always, and will be our greatest challenge as long as we are living here in the physical dense phase of existence. This is why we are here.

No man can ever say that he has no problems or no challenges. Nobody is better than another. Let's learn to stop pretending to be in a beautiful utopian world. Let's start seeing our humanness that which we all have in common and help each other where we can. I wake up more in the mornings creating my day knowing everything has meaning related to its cause and so grateful for everyone I meet and interact with, all those who come on this message board to express their freedom of speech. In this positive frame I attract the same, however, I also know if something negative comes that "triggers" my ego or pain-body or both, I am so grateful to know now the importance of seeing it objectively for what it is. I say to myself, "Now this is not who I am and I can handle this or anything else that arises." I deal with it and let it go.

What a tremendous philosophy E. T. has put out there in this book. We are connected with all there is. We are One with Life and One with God. I can't see how God could be separate from anyone or thing that has life in it. Life flowing through us is God. We are everlasting Life. We don't have it. How can we have something we already are? It is something I just hear through the language of my soul that is inexpressible in any words I am using here. I am sensing the truth in my soul that is not a false sense of self. That false sense of self is the ego: Egding God Out.

Depressing, not to me, I found it so hopeful.. Interesting, are you afraid??? did you finish it?? I am surprised by your response, but certainly accept it as it is, I'd revisit it, put it down for a week and revisit the book, breathe, make some space in your thoughts, you sound absolutely endearing, love your hubbies response, I agree, relax, its just a book, or is it? peace, ann

THank you for teaching me the error of my thinking.

The reason I cannot get this book out of my head is NOT because it is depressing....it is because it makes me think.

You asked me what I fear.

Whenever I fear, I give it to God. This is an exercise that took me a while to accomplish. But I works for me. I trust God. I have complete confidence in life.

I apologize to everyone I have offended. Please do not let my opinions deter you from any of the readings I originally referenced. Those books are gems. True gifts from God. They changed my life....and the lives of my family and friends.

-Angela

Thank you for expressing yourself so honestly. Everyone is on their own personal journey. What stimulates one does not necessarily stimulate others in the same way. That's what makes us each so unique and special. We are all special. You are also so special just as I am and anyone else. I hope you keep reading this book along with all of your other books. Accept and allow change. We are living in a time that is evidence of more change for the better. I see good in all the bad and vice versa as well. Whatever bad comes, there is more than likely to be good to come out of it.

I can't help hear what you are saying now:

"Whenever I fear, I give it to God. This is an exercise that took me a
while to accomplish. But I works for me. I trust God. I have complete
confidence in life."

When you fear, are you needing connection with God? Do you have a sense of connection with God? Is this why you "give it to God" because He is someone you can trust? And when you say you trust God, do you then trust yourself or is it that you are afraid you can't trust yourself so you need God because there is nobody else you can trust? In other words, is God a "crutch" to lean on? Have you found your true sense of identity or are you still "thinking" ("identifying") yourself as inferior, not worthy to be trusted, and so forth? This is what E. T. means to see yourself objectively if the ego in yourself is what you are identified with. We are all struggling with this and it feels good when I can come to the realization of it when it happens. that is God there within me as soon as I am aware of it.

You have been on my mind since I last replied to you mainly because I realized that what I asked you, "What do you fear?" did not get answered. You then told me what you do when you fear. This has really helped myself as well and I hope that by now you have been reading other people's threads on this forum and beginning to see what everyone is also really saying. The idea behind why Eckhart Tolle has emphasized so much in the first half of the book the ego is this very thing what people are opening up here and doing.

We need to observe that shadow form, the ego and see it objectively in ourselves as we also see it being expressed in others to us and by becoming aware consciously of what it is specifically that troubles you or me, then we have a true awakening as to the purpose of life here in this shadow form.

It is the paradoxical statement that is so apparent here:
"The purpose of life is to discover the purpose of life."

Faith alone is not enough without the observing objectively and questioning to go along with it. We are here to discover for ourselves through self-expression in a complete spiritual democracy.

I realized for myself what is was five years ago that I was afraid of. Thanks to my own response to you, I began to open up a better understanding of my fear. I was simply afraid all those years on my job to face the administrators who seemingly had more authority over me. This was a pain I was unconscious about until now and when I realized it for myself, I felt a tremendous relief and satisfaction. I can now face more confidently life and meet more challenges self-assuredly. I know I can handle anything that arises because I am Present, Conscious, Aware, however you want to put it.

Your voice is powerful....

I am listening...

I continue to learn....

I am grateful....

-Angela

I am grateful too.

We are all powerful in the presence.

Thank you, You said it perfectly in your first paragraph. This is one of my ah ha moments. I am a grower of beautiful things and somtimes I just don't understand where others are speaking from and you just put a wonderful picture in my mind. With LOVE from Ann

I believe we need to be able to see the negative and positive in order to stay balance in life. Seeing the negative side of things can help us appreciate the positive in life. If you think about it, life is like a battery, it comes with both negative and positive energy. The sole purpose of a battery is to give power to a thing; therefore, you can see the reason why the author talked about both negative and positive issues in the book, as a balancing act and not so much as to bring depression to anyone. Because you can't or shouldn't hide the negative in your life, because without the negative side of the battery you have no power in life...stay energized..!

much life,
stay conscious, connected, balanced, responsible, and active...!

Dionne a.k.a. Dazzling Dee