A New Earth, Ch. 1, Section 1.6, 1.7
Eckhart Tolle - The Urgency of Transformation, A New Heaven and a New Earth
As I probably have mentioned, I have read this book at least twice before, and each time it hits me in different ways. While written more than 15 years ago with some references that date it, the message of the book feels more pertinent to me now than before; maybe that’s what powerful messages do. It’s why we can turn again and again to wise words, be they from religious/spiritual texts or from our favorite poets or philosophers, and find relevance, hope and solace. This book is all that for me.
And it’s a call for action. Section 1.6 begins with these words.
When faced with radical crisis, when the old way of being in the world, of interacting with each other and with the realm of nature doesn’t work anymore, when survival is threatened by seemingly insurmountable problems, an individual life form - or a species - will either die or become extinct or rise above the limitations of its condition through an evolutionary leap.
Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
While this section felt relevant to me the first time I read this book, maybe 10 or 12 years ago, it feels more so now. As we are in the process of shifting from old ways, there is a strong pushback as we cling to our current state, afraid of changing. There is a lot of ego at play, and it thinks it is protecting our way of life.
Fighting against the pushback comes from our ego as well and will only feed the fire. Before we get clear on action, we need to find compassion within. To find that, we need to practice letting go of our own egos, our own righteousness, and connect deeply to our oneness.
If evil has any reality - and it has a relative, not an absolute, reality - this is also its definition: complete identification with form - physical forms, thought forms, emotional forms. This results in a total unawareness of my connectedness with the whole, my intrinsic oneness with every “other” as well as with the Source.
Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
(If you find this a little confusing, don’t worry, that’s why we have a whole book ahead of us!)
We seem to have drifted away from connectedness with the whole, with each other.
Eckhart tells us to look to the world, history or current news, and see the manifestation of our state of consciousness. This can feel depressing, perhaps especially as I am an American, watching a crumbling of civility and kindness. What has replaced it? A need to be right, to make enemies of anyone who disagrees with me, and a strong tendency to never admit a mistake. How have we gone so far away from e pluribus unum? I grew up in a very conservative part of the US, but we (meaning my family), were anything but. Somehow it didn’t matter; we still were good friends with our neighbors of all beliefs. We could count on each other. Discussions were had, and yet, we walked under an umbrella of respect that allowed us to weather storms and sun together.
It is my hope that this pushback is a natural symptom of our evolution, of our shifting from being ego-led beings to something better.
But it is yet unclear as to whether we will shift. Collectively we are still so afraid, so connected to how it’s always been done. Eckhart references life forms evolving from sea to land, about how difficult it must have been for the first creatures to walk with gravity pressing down on them after the ease of movement in the sea. And yet, some did. Perhaps there was “a radical crisis” that caused it, sea creatures somehow cut off from their known environment.
Regardless of why it happened, I am pretty sure if I had been a sea creature I would have had no interest in in evolving to move to land, and if I somehow had done so anyway, I can imagine that I would have not had much hope that life on land would grow and come to thrive. And yet it did. And then the dinosaurs learned to fly.
This gives me hope in today’s world. It can seem that there is no hope for our survival as a species and that we are choking off our earth and ourselves. We do this in the name of egoic wants; profits, riches, more for me/less for you. And yet, we were able to move from sea to land, from land to air. Who knows what is possible.
So we have a choice. A rather stark choice.
Evolve or die.
Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
And if we are to evolve, it will be unlike anything we have known before.
…the heart of the new consciousness is the transcendence of thought, the newfound ability of rising above thought, of realizing a dimension within yourself that is infinitely more vast than thought…What a liberation to realize that the “voice in my head” is not who I am. Who am I then? The one who sees that. The awareness prior to the thought…
Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
Huh?? This still isn’t clear to me in many moments, but with curiosity, openness, and gentle determination, I have continued to practice and learn. I know together we can step into the deeper place within us that is beyond thought more and more often. I think of it as remembering that within me reside the deep waters that aren’t affected by the surface drama but are always there, calm, seeing, knowing.
And what of this new heaven and earth he refers to? In the final section of Chapter 1, he explains the title of the book and his inspiration. Found in the new and old testaments of the Bible, the arising of “a new heaven and a new earth” occurs from the collapse of the existing system.1
Eckhart invites us to understand that heaven isn’t a place, but an understanding of deeper consciousness. And earth? It’s the outward reflection of that inner consciousness.
Confused? Great. It’s a required step to learning. Maybe try closing your eyes and being with the experience of confusion. Let go of judging it for just a moment and notice what it feels like, especially in the body. Is there a place you feel it? What’s it like? Can you allow yourself to feel it, giving it space? Then perhaps remind yourself that overwhelm and confusion (now or anytime) aren’t permanent and are often required before understanding or moving to a clear path can come.
And remember you’re not alone. I’m still confused and overwhelmed often; I have learned to go with it, knowing that clearer skies will come, all in good time. If I find myself impatient for the clarity, for the answers, I know my ego has slipped in again. I smile, thank her, and tell her I’ve got this. My inner self is practicing patience and we’re good.2
I’m taking a break as my daughter is getting married next week. I’ll be back with you before the end of October. Thanks for reading/listening!
Revelation 21:1 and Isaiah 65:17 (New Revised Standard Version
I did a workshop years ago where we were given a tiny comfy chair for our egos. The prompt was to invite the ego to grab a seat, put up her feet and take a much deserved break. She wants to protect me from hurting myself, looking bad, etc. But it turns out theres’s a bigger game I’d rather play, and she (finally) gets to rest.
I so enjoy listening to your voice and comments.