Are you having a difficult time reading A New Earth? Don't be so hard on yourself. Even Oprah only read five pages at a time! These five suggestions will help you ease into your reading experience.
  1. Be patient and easy on yourself as you read. A voice in your head may say you're not smart enough or spiritual enough to understand the concepts (or it may say you are too smart or too spiritually advanced!) Allow the voice to jabber on for a while, then notice it quiet down and let it go. Continue with the book and the course.

  2. Have two markers on hand while you read. Highlight favorite sentences with one color and lines that confuse you with another. Oprah offers tips on how to highlight and flag passages in A New Earth.

  3. Don't worry about skipping portions—flag them and come back to them later. As you read deeper into the book, some of the passages that may have confused you earlier will be clarified. You may be surprised to discover how quickly you will be able to understand terms and concepts.

  4. Use the practices in the Awakening Exercises part of the website as you read. They will help you better understand what you are reading. It can help to do the exercises with a friend or in a group.

  5. Eckhart says A New Earth is about you. "It will change your state of consciousness or it will be meaningless" (p. 7). How will you know if your state of consciousness is changing? There is one certain criterion by which you can measure your success in this practice: The degree of peace that you feel within.
Published 06/09/2008