Eckhart Tolle: A New Earth

 I normally shy away from books like this, which I tend to view as Pop Spirituality.  Just like Pop Philosophy, these sort of books tend to dilute their source material, breaking it down and digesting it for an audience that, rightly or not, is seen as unable to understand and internalize the older, deeper books whence they derive.  I admit that it feeds my ego to look at those original texts, and to scoff at the modern distillations. But the name of this author had been coming up in multiple contexts, and with something of a ring of authority and validity.  I decided it couldn't hurt.

To a certain extent, what Tolle says here is exactly what I expected.  He takes ancient truths about the self and reality, drawing largely on Buddhist and Hindu ideas, and phrases them in a way that is innocuous and approachable.  In these moments, he is at least not insulting or pedantic in his approach, though often repetitive.  But there were also moments where he threw in elements that seemed to come not from religion, but from philosophy: Descartes, Nietzsche, and Jung.  In these moments, it was as if he had rotated the ideas and understanding that I already possessed in such a way that they clicked together and opened up an entirely new level of awareness.   

I drew especially juicy grist from his discussion of time.  The distinction he so clearly highlights between the moment and the content of that moment has proven to be no less than a new glass bead in the grand game of ideas, a new fundamental operation of reality that is reflected in all truths and at all levels. The distinction between the moment and the happening of that moment is perfectly reflected in the relationship between the mind and the thought, the silence and the word, the ocean and the fish, the void and the attention.  Most immediately practical, this is also the connection between the true self and the ego.  To that end, he rightly observes, "The elimination of time from your consciousness is the elimination of ego.  It is the only true spiritual practice" (207).

My particular ego is addicted to doing (as contrasted to some who are built on the illusion of having).  Each task is immediately followed by a quidnunc impulse to rush to the next thing, accomplish the next step, tackle the next task.  This impulse is not only diametrically opposed to my goal of spiritual awakening, it is also manifestly harmful--causing anxiety and self-loathing, and reducing joy.  It has already been deeply helpful to have words to put the lie to this impulse: this moment is not simply something to be endured until the next moment.  The next moment is an illusion, as is time itself.  Freed from this illusion, one can realize that this moment, which is the only moment and all moments, is itself beautiful, abundant, powerful, and perfect.