You may have noticed that I have a new column of recommended books in my sidebar. These are some of my very favorite, and I’m thrilled to be sharing them with you!  Listed in no particular order, I’ll be going through and talking a bit about them.

First up is A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose.  The author of the incredible The Power of Now, Tolle’s A New Earth is a #1 New York Times Bestseller and was chosen by Oprah Winfrey for her book club.  In this book Tolle gives us the tools to get us to the place where we understand the benefits of raising our awareness, and more importantly, he actually gets us to want to do go do it.

From Publisher’s Weekly:

According to Tolle, who assumes the role of narrator as well, humans are on the verge of creating a new world by a personal transformation that shifts our attention away from our ever-expanding egos. This idea is well realized through Tolle’s remarkably well-paced narration. Naturally, the author understands his material so thoroughly that he is able to convey it in an enjoyable manner, but Tolle’s gentle tone and dialect begs his audience’s attention simply through its straightforward approach. Something about this reading just seems profoundly important, whether one agrees with the material or not, and listeners’ attention is sure to be captured within seconds of listening to Tolle’s take on the universe in which we live. Originally released in 2005, both book and audiobook were reissued when Oprah Winfrey chose the title for her book club this year.

Echart Tolle fick följa med till jobbet idag. Vi samarbetade väl. Jag producerade kretskort medans han berättade om livet, Mitt sanna jag, Mitt ego och hur det påverkar mitt liv. Han är den första som gett mig ett konkret sätt att förstå att mitt sanna jag utan alla illusioner om vem jag är faktiskt existerar. Ungefär så här enkelt… Rösterna du hör i ditt huvud som du vanligtvis identifierar dig med. Dina tankar. Vem är det som hör dessa röster i ditt huvud? Helt plötsligt fick allt en till dimension! Han är en sann mästare på att hitta rätt ord för att jag ska hitta nya vägar. Jag har lyssnat mig i genom ungefär halva “A New Earth” och för första gången på länge upplevde jag “Aha! känslan”. Jag ser verkligen fram i mot att fortsätta i morgon… Så många gånger jag påbörjat denna ljudbok för att nästa direkt stänga av eftersom jag tröttnat på hans röst. Men den är unik på något vis. Från att jag upplever den monoton till att den är behaglig tar ett tag. men det händer när jag ger Echart… eller snarare mig lite tid.

Second_Dimension by celsojunior @ deviantart.com

Sorry guys, it’s been a long time since I’ve done a book give-away.  The book is “A New Earth” by Eckhart Tolle and was made famous with the help of a woman named Oprah.  I borrowed and read this book before it was an Oprah pick and loved it enough to go buy my own copy. It’s been on my bookshelf now for 2 years and I haven’t gotten back to it, so it’s time to pass it on.  If you are interested in winning the book just leave a comment on this post.  I will check the comments on Friday night at 8pm, put all the names in a hat, and draw a winner.  I will post the winner on Saturday morning.  Once I have the winner and necessary mailing info, I will send the book out on Monday! Thanks and good luck!  Now go, comment!

Dan je počeo više manje ustaljenim ritmom. Prvo pregledam što mi je ostalo od jučer, što mi je danas za raditi. Projekat prvi, projekat drugi, pa malo vremena se nađe i za tračanje… moja svakodnevnica.
Uskoro dobivam email kako korisnik već dugo čeka na rješenje jednog od problema, te da se mora nešto pod hitno napraviti. Šaljem email čitavom timu s molbom da se obrati pozornost na problem… ubrzo dolazi odgovor koji mi dan pretvara u pakao.

Prvo je počelo sa nabrojavanjem koliko sam planeta preskočio, ugrozio planetu… uništio svu budućnost malog zeke. Odgovaram na lijep način kako bi štovani kolega vlasnik poslanog emaila trebao svoju energiju okrenuti prema rješavanju problema. No… na moju veliku žalost priča ne prestaje nego ide dalje sa nabrajanjem najnevažnijih stvari na ovoj planeti… te kako bi moj kolega na kraju zaključio… projekat se ne može realizirati zbog toga što im (sada više nije on… nego oni)  ja ne omogućujem slobodu rada.

Ono što sigurno još moram naučiti u životu je svakako… kako posao odvojiti od osobnosti, kako uvrede promatrati kao poraz onoga koji uvrede kreira, a ne mene koji uvrede prima.

Eckhart Tolle u svojoj knjizi A new Earth na lijep način opisuje što je to ego, i koliko je ego jak. Navođenje “činjenica” kako bi se problem prikazao u boljem svjetlu su najbolji način da izazovete bjes onoga kojem se obraćate. S druge strane Dale Carnegie u svojoj knizi How To Win Friends & Influece People navodi načine kako ljudi reagiraju na poruke koje nama izgledaju logički i “iskrene” jer se drže činjenica, u stvari kod drugih ljudi daju sliku našeg ega.

Iako sam obje knjige pročitao više puta, nisam uspio iskoristiti priliku i poslušati ono naučeno.

Sutradan sam se probudio sa jednom jasnom idejom. Danas rješavam ono što se danas rješiti mora. Odlučio sam, zanima me samo kritika upućena meni… želim naučiti što sam pogrešno napravio. Prvo sam porazgovarao sa osobom koju smatram dovoljno zrelom da mi otvoreno kaže što misli o tome što mi se desilo, te sa drugom osobom koja nije zrela niti da zaključi što je to ego. Sve u svemu… dobio sam potvrdu onoga u što sam sumnjao.  Moja poruka je izazvala negodovanje čovjeka koji se prepoznao u navedenim činjenicama, te sam tom porukom aktivirao njegov ego… koji se kasnije obrušio na mene svom silinom.

Kontaktirao sam dugog kolegu i zamolio ga za pomoč u rješavanju korisničkog problema, te nakon nekog vremena se uključio još jedan kolega. Nakon par sati rada smo uspjeli rješiti problem. Poslali smo obavjest korisniku kako je problem riješen. Naš management te management s korisničke strane su bili oduševljeni tako brzom reakcijom…

No što se desilo sa mojim Mr. Ego kolegom. Istog dana smo se uspjeli sastati, ja sam mu se ispričao ako sam ga bilo čime uvrijedio te mu obećao kako slijedeći put neću upotrbiti email nego osobno doći i zamoliti ga za pomoć. Njegov ego je ostao još uvijek veliki, on će otići kući misleći kako je prošao još jedan dobar dan.

Ja sam naučio kako pobjediti svoj ego i pronašao sam nove kolege koje mi mogu i žele pomoći. Osvojio sam nove bodove u pronalaženju novih lica i novih prjatelja…

Ego ostavljam svom Mr.Ego kolegi, kojem toplo prepuručam ove dvije knjige.

Currently I am listening to Eckhart Tolle’s   A New Earth.  It is extremely thought provoking and I recommend it to everyone.  I wish I had learned some of this information earlier.  Wouldn’t it be helpful if as children we learned that thoughts cause suffering?   If some of these concepts were taught in school would violence  and greed decrease?  

Our World

In the last few years I have become concerned about the environment.  Learning from John Robbins’ Diet For A New America and Food Revolution, how commercially raised animals are treated, that agribusiness is responsible for pollution, water depletion, global warming and that through their heavy use of antibiotics they are also responsible for the creation of super bugs such as MRSA, has been chilling.  Genetically modified organisms, animals injected with human genes that are then introduced into the food chain, seeds with terminator genes; it’s like watching a horror movie.  I had been spending a great deal of time worrying about the whole thing, talking about it and doing what I could to lessen my own impact on the environment.  I still do what I can to reduce my carbon footprint; as a matter of fact I have just come back inside from hanging the laundry outside.  I always turn the light off when it is not needed, and I dream that when I own a house again, it’ll be green.

My dilemma here is as follows; the Universe is governed by the Law of Attraction, and when we give our attention to something the Law of Attraction brings us more of the same.  So, by worrying about the environment, by fighting global warming, by being sick in the stomach with agribusiness and their lack of values; what have we achieved?  And for that matter, what has the war against terrorism achieved?  Nothing!

It is becoming apparent that making wars, any kind of war only makes things worse.

Eckhart Tolle makes the same point in A NEW EARTH.

I suppose that as with everything else, we should focus on what we want. Do what feels right to us, such as not wasting water for instance, and then focus on the solution, not the problem.

I was watching television a week or two ago.  John McCain was asked about the war in Afghanistan, and he gave his opinion that the problems in Afghanistan would get a lot worse and that a lot more troops were needed. I was struck by the realization that it is precisely by thinking and speaking like that that we make no progress.

I think that starting with all the news channels, Congress and the White House, we should spend one day (to start with) speaking only of what is good in the world.  We should look for things to appreciate and write lists of all the positive things that we can think of, and whoever writes the longest list wins a pound of organic vegetables from the White House gardens.  Want to bet that the world would be a better place within twenty-four hours?

Come on let’s give it a try, let’s petition Oprah to help us with this.  Oprah, we need your help.  Let’s see how long it takes her to answer the call.

Oops, I just realized that I should ask Michelle Obama about the vegetables, shouldn’t I?

See you tomorrow

Your friend,

Success

Nine dollars and twenty-nine cents to become just a bit more enlightened and perhaps a lot more self-aware. Can you hack it? I think you should. The book A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle certainly has its critics. I’m not one of them.

My wife tried to push it onto me many months before I agreed to read it. I thought it would take about 50 pages for me to get into it. It took about 10. Admittedly, you need to be in the right place for this book to work for you. If it’s not the right time, put it down and give it a few months. Or give it to someone else. But if I, with the attention span of a flea, could enjoy this book, I think you will too.

Here is what I took away from it:

1. We have an opportunity to “wake up” both individually and collectively.

2. The upside of waking up is a re-discovery of ourselves and an opportunity to build an expanded individual and collective consciousness. Not to be dramatic, but the downside of not waking up is that we could easily be on a course to blow ourselves up or otherwise obliterate human life on Earth as we know it. Some would say we’re clearly on this course right now. Others, like me, would say we’re at a critical inflection point.

3. The key to waking up is living in the present moment.

4. We need to recognize that we’re so much more than our physical bodies. Hey, have you ever had a conversation with yourself with that inner voice? Of course you have! Well, have you ever asked yourself who is speaking with whom? Yeah, that’s right….

5. We need to recognize the limitations of our egos. This is the most important and frequently discussed concept in the book. Interestingly, the more content I read from folks like Wayne Dyer, the more I realize the notion of a “healthy ego” is indeed a paradox. “Keep that ego in check” is a more productive mantra.

Sound esoteric? Actually, the biggest detractors of this book say it’s anything but esoteric. They claim it’s largely a rip off of Eastern thinking. This could be true. But I prefer to say it’s a synthesis and re-presentation. And I have a huge admiration for people like Tolle who re-interpret and re-present information to make it far more consumable.

All I know is this. A New Earth is a book you’ll likely underline to pieces and re-read a number of times. I’ve only read it once so far, but I had an experience immediately after my first read that convinced me Tolle has written what will eventually  be considered a transformational work.

Sure, I’ve read many a tome that says to ‘live in the present.’ But Tolle says it in a way and provides such vivid examples that it’s impossible not to toy with actually doing it. So I did, on my way driving to work one day, and what is ordinarily a short commute but one with frequent minor annoyances (i.e., other drivers!…  i.e., my EGO talking) was this vivid and full experience with colors and sounds, and yet a stillness and peace —  that literally made me feel very full and content. It was simply an opportunity to be still and quiet…and all this while driving.

Many a podcast further exploring this book–including ones from Oprah Winfrey, who interviewed Tolle in a 10 part series in which she analyzed each of the chapters of the book–adorn iTunes. This enables you to go deeper, if you so choose. Incidentally, Oprah has expressed her strong admiration for this book. Hey, have I mentioned to give Oprah a break or my wife will come after you?

Seriously, it will cost you nine dollars and twenty-nine cents for A New Earth. Give it a whirl.

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Sitting in bed wearing flannel pajamas on a rainy Saturday morning with my partner, David and my two Westies, Lucky and Gracie, I wondered “What price would I put on this experience?”  I sat in a comfortable bed, with the sight of towering trees and rain drops streaming down the windows, enjoying the warm colors of the Christmas lights (I light year-round), savoring my coffee, listening to David read from a favorite book of ours, and feeling contentment.  What would I pay for this experience?  It was priceless. 

I notice and appreciate aspects of my day that I used to take for granted. I’ve begun putting a pretend “price-tag” on moments in day-to-day activities which I tended to gloss-over or use as a means to an end. This exercise has shown me how truly how rich I am.  Why?  Because my “price-tags” read “price-less.”

The price-tag is a visual tool I use to connect with abundance.  When I think to myself, “What would I pay for this?” I notice the richness of the moment.  Simple, spontaneous things like cutting up vegetables with David, watching Lucky and Gracie play with each other, and enjoying the smell of fresh herbs are priceless. When I started realizing that I could not place a price on these moments, that money was no compensation for them, I realized true abundance.  The money part is unimportant, it’s a vehicle to get me in touch with the pricelessness of every moment I’m given.

Eckhart Tolle says in A New Earth,  “The warmth of the sun on your skin, the display of magnificent flowers,… biting into a succulent fruit, or getting soaked into an abundance of water falling from the sky.  The fullness of life is there at every step.  The acknowledgement of that abundance that is all around you awakens the dormant abundance within.  Then let it flow out.

What would you pay for the sunlight on your skin, or the experience of biting into a wonderfully succulent fruit?  When you realize how much of your day is full of these moments, you may see how rich you truly are.

The Discovery of Inner Space

The sense of balance and perfect peace which comes with finding one’s center is pure joy.  Eckhart Tolle quotes the phrase This, too, will pass to point the way through adversity and unanticipated changes.  My Mother’s preferred version was And it came to pass. The key, here,   is  in not getting hooked into roller coaster emotions, but maintaining   a sense of perspective.   In  A New Earth, Tolle wrote:

Once you see and accept the transience

of all things and the inevitability of change,

you can enjoy the pleasures of the world while they last

without fear of loss or anxiety about the future.

He went on to say that it is through detachment that we gain a higher point of view which allows us to see and experience the wholeness of life as a journey rather than as a specific event.  Last Sunday I talked about making choices without expecting or demanding the cooperation of others.  If I choose to arrive at work early and get organized for opening, co-workers may choose to let me do all of it.  I can get angry and self-righteous at being “used”.  Or I can acknowledge that my choice is just that–my choice.

Tolle defines nonresistance, nonjudgment and nonattachment as the path of true freedom and enlightenment.  And in a helter skelter world, it is also the path of peace, a life focused on the journey rather than the destination.

Rev. Claudia Naylor

Whacking bad feelings on the head

Hi – You know; since starting this project I feel so much better.  In the morning I feel like, “Yeah I’m awake, I can play.”

By nine am I have already done two hours of writing.  And that is great, because since I gave up smoking three years ago, I have found it hard to get going in the morning.  But now, I wake up at six-thirty, jump out of bed and wake up my son. I pack his lunch, make myself a big latte macchiato, hug him goodbye and… back into bed.

Don’t jump to conclusions, I don’t go back to sleep. I sit up, I look around my room in appreciation, I meditate and then I dive into my Apple laptop and write.  Then I read.  Sometime I read a bit first and then I write.

The other thing I’ve noticed is that now that that food has moved into the background. I used go to sleep planning tomorrow’s meal, and wake up itching to cook it.  Simon Majumdar would understand.  He is the one who wrote Eat My Globe, a foodie’s memoir.  These days, it is often the afternoon before I realize that I haven’t thought about food, and I haven’t a clue what I am going to cook for dinner.

“Which reminds me…oh, shit!  I have no idea what I’m going to cook today.  Wait, what about one of those frozen Mediterranean tomato, basil and mozzarella tarts I made from scratch in August?  Defrost one, a nice salad, fresh bread… and done!” It sounds good, doesn’t it?

So now, where was I…oh yes, since I started reading Abraham-Hicks, my stance has shifted, I am aware of how feel.  And like in the game Whack-a-Mole, I whack bad feelings on the head with good ones.

Feeling good has a high energy vibration, as a result I often feel sort of charged and have boundless energy.

I am more present and when I focus on something, it seems to be more… there.  Maybe this is the Presence that Eckhart Tolle tells us about in; The Power of Now and A New Earth.

Well that’s it for now.  My husband comes back tomorrow night.  Lets see how ready I am to interact with someone else’s energy at such close quarters.

I’ll let you know!

See you tomorrow

Your friend,

Success

ps. Before you ask, Zucchine with an e at the end, not an i, is the correct spelling for zucchine.  You see, zucchina is feminine and so it goes, one zucchina, two zucchine.

Feel better now?  Thought so.

“Just a Ball of Confusion, that’s what the world is today, hey”             -Temptations

“It must be parvo.  He doesn’t get the booster shot.  That stray had parvo, and now he’s throwing up.  I don’t know what to do.  I’ll die if anything happens to him!”            -Me, yesterday

The saying goes that cats have 9 lives, but my friend, Dandy, must have at least 20.   When visiting the animal shelter in Memphis 8 years ago, I knew immediately that he was the one.  Although shivering, wet, and coughing, he ran up to the gate of his pen and began licking me through it and was literally bouncing with affection.  His violent cough turned out to be kennel cough (bordatella), but he received many vaccinations before they would let me take him home.  Vaccine protocols say that sick animals should never be vaccinated.

The animal shelter in Memphis is not the most inviting environment to look for a furry friend, because unlike the Humane Society of Memphis & Shelby County, animals will not get a chance at life if they are not adopted- sometimes after only 3 days.  Although I do not know the beginning of Dandy’s journey to the shelter, I do know the end.  There was a pair of women in Fayette County, TN, that were supposedly taking in stray animals to “help” them.  The TV news insinuated that these women were mentally ill and eventually some neighbors called the authorities.  A horrific scene waited: many dogs and cats and even a horse were being severely neglected and abused.  The dogs were kept locked in kennels in a garage where they were sleeping in and eating their own feces.

How can an animal endure such a horrendous life but continue to be open and willing to give as a pet and a friend?  Children that are abused often grow up to be abusers themselves, yet here’s Dandy, so mistreated, so sick and still so full of love.  Animals are actually very resilient and adaptable and have an amazing ability to be mindful and in the present.  Too bad we all can’t effortlessly let go of the past!  Then maybe I could stop listening to Tolle’s A New Earth in my car over and over…  :-)

At the time I found Dandy, there was a saint of a woman going to the shelter daily taking pictures of all the animals and posting them on her personal website along with their scheduled “date to go out.”  It is estimated that approximately 3.7 million animals were euthanized in the nation’s shelters in 2008.  Bob Barker was really on to something when he urged us after the showcase showdown to, “Help control the pet population.  Have your pet spayed or neutered.” 

I saw the cutest little face on that saint of a women’s website, went to sleep that night, and dreamed that I adopted him and called him, “Dandy”.  The name comes from my Papa’s (my grandfather’s) affectionate expression to animals, “He’s a dandy.”   It turned out to be the perfect name, as he appeared to be a purebred, miniature chocolate poodle.  A male poodle personifies the interpretation of a dandy, a fancy dressed man.  

Dandy was so dirty and matted that when I took him to the groomer, he ended up with staples over a hip because his skin tore when they attempted to cut his hair.  Very soon after arriving home, Dandy’s health began quickly deteriorating.  He became listless and violently ill and began exhibiting symptoms of both distemper and parvo.  He tested positive for distemper at the vet where I was told there was no treatment and that my only option was to leave him to receive fluids and most likely die.  Of course, I did not take this for an answer.  Instead, I scooped him up and took him home.

To be continued…

The Army of Mary

~

Boundaries… It is why

people fight,…why they get angry,

Why they die, become weak or overcome by fear.

As a cancer invading the body, not knowing when to stop,

Human boundaries have become feeble and unclear,

unable to defend it-SELF, as in a state of shock…

When will this havoc stop?

…

When we all stand up! To our own child,

our spouses, our family and friends, our fears and demons.

With Love always, inspired by a joyful Presence and

Smile, ever so strong in it’s Power of Peace,

that Conflict must fall away!

…

And it will, if it is your will!

Begin with one person in your life; with this one,

be oh so true about your harmonious and precious inner and outer space,

let no one bring you to the brink of despair before you stop them,

so that Love can still gently say: “! I understand,

but no.”  Can you say no?…

Without the guilt!?…

Good for You!

…

Good for you if you gain the strength,

to be Light instead of Fight.

Really, good for you!

Good for us…

]]> http://decaturunitychurch.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/a-new-earth-awakening-to-your-lifes-purpose-5/ Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:00:37 +0000 Admin http://decaturunitychurch.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/a-new-earth-awakening-to-your-lifes-purpose-5/

Finding Who You Truly Are

i press my feet to the ground. the black pavement feels cool against the hot afternoon. ipod on. clear screen, and only the faint whisper of a thumbprint. deep breath. maybe this will shake the ceaseless expedition. my thoughts blocking my 5 minutes from now. Eckhart Tolle says that “seeking is the antithesis of happiness”… and I hear his words, I close my eyes and picture them on my wrist, countless corners of scratch paper filled with notes from meetings. i know the writers block is still there. I know the seeking still lives within me. I stretch my legs in front of me, feel the pull of my hamstrings – the harmless pinch of excercising once a week.

it feels like the empty houses next to me are watching. waiting for me to run. pick up the pace and just go.

and so, i propel.

i feel the wind shoot through my lungs, my legs feel insubstantial against the chaos spilling behind my eyes. the eyes that i’m constantly trying to perfect. the right eyeliner. the perfect shade of bronze to make the green stand out just a little bit stronger.

i run by another house that looks exactly the same as the previous 15 before. the concrete jungle of track housing reminds me why i wanted to leave in the first place, and yet i stayed. and i turn my head as i pass by the mother who is relieving her 2009 white highlander of groceries spilling out of plastic bags, her 4 year old little girl peering at me with big blue eyes, her white blonde hair  – a stranger to the Sunday night at dusk. It’s almost as if I could read her eyes, “Who is She?”

I turn to look ahead, look down towards the black pavement that continues to absorb my relentless pounding of frustration.

And as I look ahead all I can think to myself is… “God, I have no idea.”

I roll the wheel on my bright red ipod flushed, skip to the next song – hoping that this will be the one that will push me to the point where i can stop focusing on how hard it is to breathe. it’s lonely but it could be worse. i stop briefly, slowing down my pace to an apathetic sail of what appears to be a speed walk.

a car comes from behind me, passing by and i peer into the rearview mirror. Maybe that will be him. Maybe that will be who I am looking for. Maybe he’ll pull into his driveway and be 27 years old, perfect, dark hair, dark eyes. And Tolle’s words crush me again, seeking is the antithesis – krysten, you need to stop thinking; stop seeking. God damnit. just stop looking.

i start running again. blasting against the heavy anticipation of unforgiving reminders that i’m not approaching the world right. the sun is beginning to muffle it’s excessive heat and i can feel my cheeks turning to the crimson red of my ipod. just me and my ipod. how far have i gone now? i’m on my way down the ridge, the the air hinting the pungent smell of freshly laid bark in someone’s front yard. A lemon yellow sign puncturing the front yard with “Grandparents Crossing” filling it’s frame.

And i close my eyes; The Temper Trap’s inside out harmonies and melodic sweeping against the gentle hushing movement of trees that have yet to succumb to the copper encrusted hello of Fall.

Legs burn. Lungs screaming to dismiss the smoke from a Parliament light that I had yesterday. I hold my hands to my waist, waiting now for my feet to kick start my body again. My head continues to swirl, despite the frustration that physically pains me. I dip back into the dramatic twilight, feel myself fall back into the music that feels like a siren serenading to me while I float aimlessly in a sea of neutral colored garages.

Not like I needed another but Elizabeth Gilbert pops into my head and I’m thinking about the part where she is seeking spiritual enlightenment in India – and she’s fighting against her thoughts too, and she feels like I feel right now, in this moment, this angst – this utter dissapointment of not being able to abide to a concept that should feel so seamless. easy. simple.

And i wait for it, her thoughts – her words, and they come as easy to me as red droplets of wine cry themselves down a wine bottle after an imperfect pour. Cease your relentless participation. Watch what happens.

I breathe again, my lungs feeling a little more whole now… Cease your relentless participation… I have no idea how.

Tuesday, during an evening of meditation practices around the Equinox,  I had the opportunity to “put vision” on my want for awakening and enlightenment. This basically looks like sitting in pairs, in eye contact, and going through a meditation practice with a topic.

It was a really beautiful experience. My partner is a friend of mine, and I was glad to have the opportunity to sit with her, in this space, on this topic.

Basically, I can see how my focus on “fixing” the things “wrong” with me is ever so easily fodder for delusion. On the one hand, “deconstruction” is very helpful and maybe even essential to spiritual development. I have experienced the opening that follows recognition of an old pattern as “not me” or for whatever it is, and then Light flows in.  On the other, I could chase all of these things that are “wrong” for eternity. It’s very easy to go from someone with a genuine desire to transform, to someone with a laundry list of  ”things I have to fix before I can…”

The space of real seeing into what I’m looking forward to becoming was like…almost like a tunnel and a clearing of perfect space at the end. The single most important realization of the session was the experience–not just conviction–that enlightenment is THE simplest thing. Of course this has been said over and over, but experiencing the simplicity brought a monumentally different level of understanding.

So this morning, I sat down to Chapter 1 on Oprah.com/anewearth to refresh my Eckhart Tolle batteries. While there are many pieces I’m walking away with this time, a particularly big one is seeing how I can do my enlightenment homework every day, for at least most of it. Eckhart pointed out that the majority of the day is taken up performing mundane tasks that we perform all of the time. Showering, cooking, walking to and fro. Really not much of it is taken up with more complex tasks. Sure, at work I have complex thinking tasks to perform, but they happen in bits and pieces, with lots of checking email and getting up to go to the sink or bathroom in between.  Every mundane task is an opportunity to practice Presence.  I will start with that and see where it goes first. Then I’ll put emphasis on speaking to others with Presence (well, I put emphasis on this here and there anyway), and then…?

(photo by roldan f. smith)

Article Contributed via the  The Daily Om 

Though we humans are self-aware, we nonetheless cannot distance ourselves from the world around us and have a natural tendency to ascribe meaning to all that we experience…

The significance we perceive in our experiences is rooted in our observation of patterns as they relate to ourselves. One situation has the power to teach us about life because it exposes us to something unfamiliar. Another touches our emotions deeply by enabling us to see how fortunate we are.

Yet our initial impressions of an experience may not wholly reveal the true significance of that occurrence because our full response to an experience is like an onion with many layers that all have disparate meanings. Consider that a sunrise may stun us visually while simultaneously evoking memories of childhood and reminding us that each new day is a rebirth.

If you take the time to examine your experiences closely, you will discover that your original impressions may only be a part of a larger story of significance. Peeling away the layers of an event or incident can be a fun and interesting process if you allow it. To begin, relive your experience in your mind’s eye and from multiple perspectives if possible.

Your interpretation of any situation is based not only on facts but also on feelings, beliefs, and your values. As you ruminate upon your experience, spend a few moments contemplating how you felt when it began and how your feelings had changed by its end. Ask yourself what abstractions, if any, it awakened in your mind. If an experience stirs up questions within your soul, it may be that in striving to answer them a new layer of meaning may reveal itself to you.

The significance of an experience may remain hidden to you for some time. The meaning of an event can change when viewed from another context or may only become apparent after intense meditation. An incident that seemed superficial may unexpectedly touch us deeply later in our lives. If you take a truly open-minded approach to your examination of each new level and do not shy away from revelations that could prove painful, you will learn much about your relationship to the world around you. And the refined impression you glean from your experiences after contemplating their significance can add a new richness and texture to your life.

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Maybe I’m stupid, but maybe I’m not the only one. I do not “get” personal branding. I don’t understand what it is, and I don’t understand why it’s important. And I really really don’t understand what it means. In his blog about personal branding, Dan Schawbel, says it is “how we market ourselves to others.” Market ourselves to others? I don’t want to market myself to anyone. I just want to BE myself.

Schawbel  also describes how important personal branding is if you are a corporate employee (which I am). He says, “If you work for a company, and enjoy doing so, then personal branding becomes the cornerstone for how you move up the hierarchy and become recognized as a leader.”

But I do not see the connection between marketing myself to others at work and getting promoted. In fact, the path I see to promotion at my job isn’t branding, it’s hard work. Sure I could follow all of the personal branding advice out there that tells you to discover what you want, create your brand and communicate it to others. But I think I would rather follow my own personal branding mantra, which I borrowed from Eckharte Tolle’s book “A New Earth.”

“Nothing you can find out about yourself is you. Nothing you can know about you is you. Knowing yourself is being yourself.”

And so that is how I am going to give myself a “personal brand.” I am going to be myself.

Mini “earth” trend here after The Pillars of the Earth.

I was happy to see that I would be reading non-fiction again.  I wasn’t too put off by it seeming to be a self-improvement book; I think reading The Artist’s Way this spring helped inspire me to start the Book Club project and I like to read about cycling training lately.  Self-improvement is a good thing and books can definitely be helpful and inspirational.

Initially, A New Earth resonated with some things I had thinking about.  Tolle talks a lot about meditation and observing your own consciousness.  I am a failed meditator (so far, keep meaning to try some more), but I see a lot of value in it for quieting the running monologue and putting the day’s stresses in perspective.

Tolle’s formulation is unappealing, however, because he says that the goal of meditation is to let go of everything that makes one an individual (interests, intelligence, values) because it is “of the earth” and to get in touch with a universal consciousness.  He challenges readers to look past the actions and characteristics of others to see the universal consciousness in them as well.  But how can I be interested in one person rather than another if I only see their fragment of a universal constant?  The things I love about the people in my life are what make them unique, even if flawed.  I found this aspect of the philosophy recognizable as an outgrowth of various religious traditions of seeking God or the universal in everyone, but taken too far, diminish the meaning of human relationships.

Where  really wrote off Tolle was his leap to the global effect of a lack of higher consciousness.  First, he seems to believe global warming is one such effect, not in the sense that if people were more in tune with themselves they would be more conscious of their effects on the earth, but in the literal sense that lack of transcendance has an effect on natural phenomena.  He also indulges in some “law of attraction” nonsense, which I think is more like blaming the victim.

At times I wanted to put this book down because it so frustrated and annoyed me, but I couldn’t help wondering where it was going.  I found myself mentally rewriting sections to turn Tolle’s ideas into something reasonable and palatable to me.  As with Follett, I know Tolle is immensely popular, but on the basis of this book, I can’t see why.

Why do we fear silence? What is it about stillness that is threatening?

What would we discover when we are still and contemplate the reality of our existence. How many of us would find ourselves fulfilled and satisfied?

Our natural inclination is to add and distract (TV, meetings, dinners, books, music, friends).

What do you fear you will discover in the quiet of the night? And why are you allowing that fear from discovering truth. When we are still, when we are absolutely – in – the – moment, we are engaging in the timeless practice of existence. For we can do nothing about the past. Nor can we change the future. But we can do something about the present. We can live in it.