Someone’s net worth doesn’t dictate the size of their ego. I’ve learned that your relationship with money/stuff is more important than the money/stuff itself. The ego may be clever, but it is not intelligent. Cleverness pursues its own little aims. Intelligence sees the larger whole in which all things are connected. Cleverness is motivated by self­ interest, and it is extremely short­sighted. Most politicians and businesspeople are clever. Very few are intelligent. Whatever is attained through cleverness is short-­lived and always turns out to be eventually self­ defeating. Cleverness divides; intelligence includes.“ A large­-scale opening of spirituality outside of the religious structures is an entirely new development. In the past, this would have been inconceivable, especially in the West, the most mind­-dominated of all cultures, where the Christian church had a virtual franchise on spirituality.” In the book, Tolle asserts that everyone can find "the freedom and joy of life" if they live in the present moment. [4] The book describes human dysfunction, selfishness, anxiety, and the inhumanity we inflict on each other, as well as mankind's failed attempts to find life meaning and purpose through material possessions and unhealthy relationships. [1] It asserts that thoughts can have a powerful and beneficial "effect on the healing process" [4] and puts forth a concept of "evolutionary transformation of human consciousness" which prompts the reader to participate in "honest self-evaluation [that] can lead to positive change." [4] Synopsis [ edit ]

You are more powerful, more effective, when you are completely yourself... Just stop adding unnecessary baggage to who you already are.' In form, you are, and will always be inferior to some, superior to others. In essence, you are neither inferior nor superior to anyone. True self-esteem and true humility arise out of that realization. In the eyes of the ego, self-esteem and humility are contradictory. In truth, they are one and the same.' Everybody's life really consists of small things. Greatness is a mental abstraction and a favorite fantasy of the ego. The paradox is that the foundation for greatness is honoring the small things of the present moment instead of pursuing the idea of greatness.' Without the impairment of egoic dysfunction, our intelligence comes into full alignment with the outgoing cycle of universal intelligence and its impulse to create. We become conscious participants in the creation of form. It is not we who create, but universal intelligence that creates through us.“ Blessed are the poor in spirit,’ Jesus said, ‘for theirs will be the kingdom of heaven.’ What does ‘poor in spirit’ mean? No inner baggage, no identifications. Not with things, nor with any mental concepts that have a sense of self in them. And what is the ‘kingdom of heaven?’ The simple but profound joy of Being that is there when you let go of identifications and so become ‘poor in spirit.’

Become a Member

What really matters is not what function you fulfill in this world, but whether you identify with your function to such an extent that it takes you over and becomes the role you play. here's another one: "Every ego is therefore schizophrenic, to use the word in its popular meaning of split personality. You live with a mental image of yourself, a conceptual self that you have a relationship with. Life itself becomes conceptualized and separated from who you are when you speak of "my life." The moment you say or think "my life" and believe in what you are saying (rather than it just being a linguistic convention), you have entered the realm of delusion." ... huh?? Be aware of your breathing. One conscious breath is enough to make some space where once before there was the uninterrupted succession of one thought after the other. One conscious breath (two or three would be even better) taken many times a day, is an excellent way of bringing space into your life.

He allows the form of the moment, good or bad, to be as it is and so does not become a participant in human drama. To him there is only this moment, and this moment is as it is. Events are not personalized. He is nobody’s victim. He is so completely at one with what happens that what happens has no power over him anymore. Only if you resist what happens are you at the mercy of what happens, and the world will determine your happiness and unhappiness.“ The density of the ego depends on the degree to which you – the consciousness – are identified with your mind, with thinking. Thinking is no more than a tiny aspect of the totality of consciousness, the totality of who you are.“ Often it is impossible for the mind to understand what place or purpose a seemingly random event has in the tapestry of the whole. But there are no random events, nor are there events or things that exist by and for themselves, in isolation.”

An article in Success magazine describes A New Earth as a "self-improvement book" that encourages its readers to live their lives in each present moment and to create happiness for themselves without emphasizing material possessions. [2] Tolle's intent is to change the way human beings think, and he envisions a world population that is increasingly humble, enlightened, and pure. [2] According to Tolle, the book's 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". [3] Many people don’t realize until they are on their deathbed and everything external falls away that no thing ever had anything to do with who they are. In the proximity of death, the whole concept of ownership stands revealed as ultimately meaningless. In the last moments of their life, they then also realize that while they were looking throughout their lives for a more complete sense of self, what they were really looking for, their Being, had actually always already been there, but had been largely obscured by their identification with things, which ultimately means identification with their mind.”

Whew, where to begin? A New Earth is by far one of the most life-changing books I’ve ever read. But, it’s not the easiest read. In fact, I started it and stopped at least three times before ever making it the entire way through. Maybe I just wasn’t ready the last few years. So, how did I finally make it to the end? To be aware of little, quiet things... you need to be quiet inside. A high degree of alertness is required. Be still. Look. Listen. Be present. If we go exclusively by the information we receive on a daily basis through the news reports and the mainstream media, then our assessment of the state of human affairs in this new millennium will necessarily be overwhelmingly negative, and we will most likely come to the depressing conclusion that nothing has changed. After all, it continues to be true for millions of people that the greater part of human suffering is not due to natural disasters, but is inflicted by humans on one another. What we consume as the daily “news,” as well as the commentaries on the news, however, is not the whole picture. Not infrequently, the way in which the news is reported and commented upon, even by the so-called respectable news outlets, already contains bias and distortion, and so, without realizing it, our worldview becomes conditioned. More important, the news tends to focus mostly on incidents and areas of our planet that represent the most extreme forms of human unconsciousness, which more often than not means violence and warfare, or at least severe dysfunction. Of course, there is no denying that dreadful things happen on a daily basis, and also that we are facing an increasing number of crises, but that is not the whole story.So your physical body, which is form, reveals itself as essentially formless when you go deeper into it. It becomes a doorway into inner space.” The moment you become aware of the ego in yourself, that emerging awareness is who you are beyond ego, the deeper ‘I.’“ heres a nice quote from the book: "Enlightened collectives will fulfill an important function in the arising of the new consciousness. Just as egoic collectives pull you into unconsciousness and suffering, the enlightened collective can be a vortex for consciousness that will accelerate the planetary shift." ... what the hell is he talking about?!? Another pointer to the truth in you is contained in the statement: 'I am never upset for the reason i think.' Emotions and even thoughts become depersonalized through awareness. Their impersonal nature is recognized. there is no longer a self in them. They are just human emotions, human thoughts. Your entire personal history, which is ultimately no more than a story, a bundle of thoughts and emotions, becomes of secondary importance and no longer occupies the forefront of your consciousness. It no longer forms the basis for your sense of identity. You are the light of Presence, the awareness that is prior to and deeper than any thoughts and emotions.”