The Bottom Line
Eckhart Tolle delivered a book with a message easy to digest for people of all spiritual levels. The book was chosen as the 61st selection of Oprah's Book Club and was the first to have a spiritual message. The book was featured as a 10 week web course taught by Oprah and Eckhart Tolle and was viewed by millions of people around the world.
Pros
- The book delivers a spiritual message for people of all religions.
- The author is accessible through the Oprah.com web classes.
- The life benefits from the message are immediate.
Cons
- The book is for people who are ready for the message.
- Much of the information is repeated throughout the book.
- The concepts can be difficult to understand.
Description
- Published in 2005.
- Published first by Dutton in 2005 with an additional printing by Plume, part of the Penguin Group, in 2006.
- 10 chapters with 309 pages
- Chapter 1: The Flowering of Human Consciousness
Chapter 2: Ego: The Current State of Humanity - Chapter 3: The Core of Ego
Chapter 4: Role-playing: The Many Faces of the Ego - Chapter 5: The Pain-Body
Chapter 6: Breaking Free - Chapter 7: Finding Who You Truly Are
Chapter 8: The Discovery of Inner Space - Chapter 9: Your Inner Purpose
Chapter 10: A New Earth
Guide Review - Book Review : 'A New Earth'
While the book is for individuals ready for its message, what is written could change the way you look at your life.
I gave the book such a high rating because the message did just that in my life. While I have heard from people who think the text is against organized religion or Christianity, I found that the writing took teachings from all religions and delivered a spiritual message for people of all paths. Eckhart Tolle includes Buddhist teachings, passages from the Bible, words from A Course in Miracles and insight from Einstein, Shakespeare, Lao Tsu, Nietzsche and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
The first passage that caught my undivided attention and stirred my emotions started on page 5: "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 passage struck such a chord with me that I knew the rest of the text would ultimately change my life by making me a person who was aware of my true self and able to recognize the humanity in others.
It is difficult to review such a personal text and one that has touched my life so deeply. My recommendation for others would be to pick up the book and read the first chapter. As Eckhart Tolle states on page 7, "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."
Oprah was so moved by this book that she and Eckhart Tolle taught a 10 week webcast seminar in 2008 covering the topics in each chapter in depth with an additional feature for summer school. Oprah has expressed that in sharing the message of this book that she is living out her life's work.
