Title: A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose
Author: Eckhart Tolle
Questions and Answers with P.T.
1) How did the book help you in your daily life?
It helped me understand why its so important to be positive which is more beneficial than someone just telling me to be positive. Also, I realized that I’m not my thoughts. Instead, I’m more than just my thoughts, I’m actually the awareness of my thoughts. I didn’t realize this until after I read this book. For instance, a while back, I used to worry about school and had was constantly worried about school and thought that those thoughts defined me to be a stressed out person, however, now I know that those thoughts don’t define me, they are just thoughts.
Second, I learned to appreciate myself for who I am instead of trying to be someone else in terms of my spiritual quest. I can just be myself instead of trying to be or look like someone else. In other words, I’ve come to accept that I can still be spiritual inclined without looking a certain way.
In terms of everyday living, after reading this book, I’ve become more positive as a person.
2) What are the teachings presented by Tolle in this book?
The teachings presented in this book are universal. There’s nothing new. He talks about things that you know exist but don’t really think about. Its not a new religion. The main teaching is to be in the present moment, and to be aware of your thoughts. To achieve this, he suggests that meditation can really help you be in the present moment.
He also writes about gratitude.
Worrying, suggests Tolle, is just wasteful energy because when you worry you are not really doing anything what you are worrying about.
Instead, he suggests that we take a small period of time out during your day to worry or think things out or to make a plan to solve certain problems. Then, after that period of time you blocked out for worrying, move on and act on your plan and stop worrying or thinking and scheming or planning.
3) Why should I take time out of my day to read this book?
It helps you grow as an individual. You learn to be more appreciative even of small things. Its for anyone who wants to grow spiritually and be happier, and helps us know how to deal with negativity.
4) Why is it so important to be in the present moment?
The past can’t be changed and the future is unpredictable. The present is what we have. Tolle stresses that we are always chasing something and thus our attention is never in the present moment. In other words, we keep chasing a moment that we never attain. For example, when I was in highschool I always wanted to go to univeirystiy. When I finished university, I wanted a job. Now I’m thinking of buying a house. On the other hand, if you are dwelling on the past, you keep on regretting, and thinking “this person was so bad to me, I should have done this or that”.
On the contrary, when we think in terms of the present moment, the troubles and problems that we worry about in our minds don’t seem as grand. Also, if you are fully in the present moment you can focus on the task at hand. For example, student who has an exam tomorrow should stop thinking and worrying about how the exam will be and how hard the questions will be and just focus on what he/she has to accomplish right now in order to meet their goal.
5) According to Tolle, what is the ego?
The ego wants drama. The ego could be in a person who is very boisterous or even shy, in the boisterous person it craves gossip, drama and attention. In the shy person it wants to be famous and it makes up scenarios in the mind. The ego craves for more, and the ego is when we think we are too much or that we are not good enough. It keeps you in fear.
6) According to Eckhart Tolle, how do we deal
with negative emotions and negative individuals?
Tolle suggests that we can deal with negative emotions and negative individuals by being in the present moment and realizing that its not really that person who is talking. Instead, its just the person’s ego. In addition, we shouldn’t fuel the person by adding in your own ego.
According to Tolle, what should I do if someone is yelling at me and wants to argue?
He would suggest that when someone is yelling at you, your ego will feel hurt and its going to want to attack back, instead its better to stay focused on the objective of the argument and try not to say negative things back (For example, swearing or insulting the other person). Instead, we should stay calm and state the reasons instead. “You just being a drama queen about it won’t solve anything” (P.T.)
7) How can I apply the teachings right now?
The first thing would be to BE IN THE PRESENT MOMENT. To help us be in the present moment, Tolle talks about Body Awareness. This process involves closing your eyes and focusing on a part of your body such as your hand, then direct your energy to your hand and feel your energy in your hand and that will help you be in the present moment because you can feel the energy in your hand and be aware of the energy. Slowly, then you can move on to the rest of your body, by doing this you are moving and focusing on energy and hopefully doing this process will help stop or quiet the internal chatter and talk within.
Another method to help be in the present moment suggested by Tolle is Breath Awareness. This is where you just focus on your breath to eliminate thinking and chatter, which is often past and future oriented.
This can be practiced as long as you can, I suggest to start small and work your way up. This is helpful in coming to the present moment and should help you in eliminating your thinking. In the present moment you are breathing, it’s the simplest thing (breath) because that is what’s happening now.
The second thing is to RECOGNIZE. Tolle, suggests that we recognize our thoughts. Recoginizing it is enough. If it’s a negative thought and you are conscious of the thought then you can choose your next step of action. On the other hand, if you are unconscious (You are unaware of your thoughts) you may have negative thoughts which are causing you to feel depressed or negative, however, if you are aware of your thoughts you can change your internal dialogue, you can have this bad tape recorder that says “I am bad, worthless etc” the moment you are aware YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THAT! So once you know that you have this internal dialogue, you can switch it
8) Do these teaching contradict my religion?
No it doesn’t its universal, its kinda what every religion says but its clarify what we don’t fully understand in our religion.
Deepak Chopra’s The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.
What I learned from this book:
(Please be advised that this is just a pre-write and needs to be edited still).
I learned that there are certain laws of success or living that if I align with these laws I can achieve success much more faster. He talks about people think that by hard work and just toiling really hard they will be successful but what happens is that these people die early because of too much stress and get hearty attacks so instead he suggests these leaws that will help us alightn with the natural laws of the universe to get what we awwant, the laws that I remember ware the law of pure potentiality , the law of giving, the law of consequences, the law of defenselessness, the law of intention and desire, the law of detachment, the law of dharma.
So the law that I found most beneficial to me was the law of intiension and desire because he introduced me to a fprofound idea, he says that if we can go beyond our mind we can enter a feield that he calls the gap and he aays that if we can enter the gap we can introduce an intenstion andl leave it in the field and leave it up to God to bring about the meands to achieve the result that we want, and he was saying that the key is to have a silenced mind he talked about a river and a quiet walter, so if there is a pool of water and there is no movement in the water then you can drop a stone in the water and you will see it ripple in the same way if our mind is still and then when we put in our desire or intention is will ripple out and be processed, but if our mind if chattereing and too much is going on then we can drop whatever we want but it won’t be processed instead it would be carried away by the stream, this is the sxexample he was giving.
HE also outlinged certain steps to follow to achieve what it is you want, the first is to maybe have a list of what you want or intend to have and then look at the list before going into meditation and once in meditation, you can release your intentions and even when you get out of meditation you can read your list, the key is to release your intentions when you are in the gap or stillness of the mind, then he was saying that you shouldn’t rush and ask how wllong will it take he says to trust in the infificnte orgainizaing power of the universot to bring about the means to what you want.
The other law that I found to be really usefull to me was the Law of giving and receiveing, where he says that if you apply this law in your laife you can create good karma and good karma makes life easier, of course, reading this I was really interested in how to make my life interesteding, so this is how it works, he suggests that you should give what you seek, if you seek money, give money or help others make money, if you seek knowledge, give knowledge or help others get knowledge, if you seek love, give love, if you seek happinesss, give happiness. And he menatsions that some giving such as caring for someone, or glistenint g to someone or gjust giving a blessing is a lot as well, and he was weven suggetsting that for that one day that you are practiving this law give something to every one you meet, but it adoesn’t have to be material ift could even be a completment or a blessing, whatever.
The ther law that really dtouched me was the Law of Dharma or purpose in life, khe says that when we find what we really love to do and put this to the service of others we create lots of success and fulfuilliment in outr lives he stresses that each one of us have a unique talent or expression of a talent that is better than anyone else in the world and when we find that, it’s the spark to create success, he says that when his kids were small he never told them to get the best marks in school or to be rich etc, he just asked,them: tell me what you love to do, and how you can serve the world with that. Another method of finding what your purpose is to task yourself if you had all the time and wmoney in the world what would you tdo? The snananswer to this question will help you find out what your purpose ma ybe. And Then he stressed that they autuoomatically got into the best schools and got the best marks because they were focused on how they can serve.
In conclusion, after reading this book I found out that the traditional means of being successful might not work for me and that by giving this book a chance and trying it ourt parractically I achitually have been happier, I learned that meditation is important and quieting your mind is good to help you achieve a connection with your inner being and helps you get fulfillinment iof desires and that its important to give what you seek to create good karma which will make life easier. The End.
Notes:
Page 7 –
he went to a saint who asked him to surrender his mind, body and soul to him, he rejected him because he thought that this saint wants his body and possessions and that he was to not use his mind and intellect. His reasoning was that he wanted to see some competence in the saint first and then he would surrender to him.
It says that it is usually the fear that kills a person, I think he is suggesting that one should not be afraid but to instead go into the situation and act and then you will see that there was nothing really much to be afraid of.
6hours of meditation as a minimum was instructed to him by his spiritual teacher.
Our intention is to share knowledge to help you in your journey of fulfilling your purpose.
Let’s Start Networking!
Interested in joining the network? Please join our facebook group: Mentormatch Toronto. Feel free to contact the admins with any questions and comments.
Title: A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose
Author: Eckhart Tolle
Questions and Answers with P.T.
1) How did the book help you in your daily life?
It helped me understand why its so important to be positive which is more beneficial than someone just telling me to be positive. Also, I realized that I’m not my thoughts. Instead, I’m more than just my thoughts, I’m actually the awareness of my thoughts. I didn’t realize this until after I read this book. For instance, a while back, I used to worry about school and had was constantly worried about school and thought that those thoughts defined me to be a stressed out person, however, now I know that those thoughts don’t define me, they are just thoughts.
Second, I learned to appreciate myself for who I am instead of trying to be someone else in terms of my spiritual quest. I can just be myself instead of trying to be or look like someone else. In other words, I’ve come to accept that I can still be spiritual inclined without looking a certain way.
In terms of everyday living, after reading this book, I’ve become more positive as a person.
2) What are the teachings presented by Tolle in this book?
The teachings presented in this book are universal. There’s nothing new. He talks about things that you know exist but don’t really think about. Its not a new religion. The main teaching is to be in the present moment, and to be aware of your thoughts. To achieve this, he suggests that meditation can really help you be in the present moment.
He also writes about gratitude.
Worrying, suggests Tolle, is just wasteful energy because when you worry you are not really doing anything what you are worrying about.
Instead, he suggests that we take a small period of time out during your day to worry or think things out or to make a plan to solve certain problems. Then, after that period of time you blocked out for worrying, move on and act on your plan and stop worrying or thinking and scheming or planning.
3) Why should I take time out of my day to read this book?
It helps you grow as an individual. You learn to be more appreciative even of small things. Its for anyone who wants to grow spiritually and be happier, and helps us know how to deal with negativity.
4) Why is it so important to be in the present moment?
The past can’t be changed and the future is unpredictable. The present is what we have. Tolle stresses that we are always chasing something and thus our attention is never in the present moment. In other words, we keep chasing a moment that we never attain. For example, when I was in highschool I always wanted to go to univeirystiy. When I finished university, I wanted a job. Now I’m thinking of buying a house. On the other hand, if you are dwelling on the past, you keep on regretting, and thinking “this person was so bad to me, I should have done this or that”.
On the contrary, when we think in terms of the present moment, the troubles and problems that we worry about in our minds don’t seem as grand. Also, if you are fully in the present moment you can focus on the task at hand. For example, student who has an exam tomorrow should stop thinking and worrying about how the exam will be and how hard the questions will be and just focus on what he/she has to accomplish right now in order to meet their goal.
5) According to Tolle, what is the ego?
The ego wants drama. The ego could be in a person who is very boisterous or even shy, in the boisterous person it craves gossip, drama and attention. In the shy person it wants to be famous and it makes up scenarios in the mind. The ego craves for more, and the ego is when we think we are too much or that we are not good enough. It keeps you in fear.
6) According to Eckhart Tolle, how do we deal
with negative emotions and negative individuals?
Tolle suggests that we can deal with negative emotions and negative individuals by being in the present moment and realizing that its not really that person who is talking. Instead, its just the person’s ego. In addition, we shouldn’t fuel the person by adding in your own ego.
According to Tolle, what should I do if someone is yelling at me and wants to argue?
He would suggest that when someone is yelling at you, your ego will feel hurt and its going to want to attack back, instead its better to stay focused on the objective of the argument and try not to say negative things back (For example, swearing or insulting the other person). Instead, we should stay calm and state the reasons instead. “You just being a drama queen about it won’t solve anything” (P.T.)
7) How can I apply the teachings right now?
The first thing would be to BE IN THE PRESENT MOMENT. To help us be in the present moment, Tolle talks about Body Awareness. This process involves closing your eyes and focusing on a part of your body such as your hand, then direct your energy to your hand and feel your energy in your hand and that will help you be in the present moment because you can feel the energy in your hand and be aware of the energy. Slowly, then you can move on to the rest of your body, by doing this you are moving and focusing on energy and hopefully doing this process will help stop or quiet the internal chatter and talk within.
Another method to help be in the present moment suggested by Tolle is Breath Awareness. This is where you just focus on your breath to eliminate thinking and chatter, which is often past and future oriented.
This can be practiced as long as you can, I suggest to start small and work your way up. This is helpful in coming to the present moment and should help you in eliminating your thinking. In the present moment you are breathing, it’s the simplest thing (breath) because that is what’s happening now.
The second thing is to RECOGNIZE. Tolle, suggests that we recognize our thoughts. Recoginizing it is enough. If it’s a negative thought and you are conscious of the thought then you can choose your next step of action. On the other hand, if you are unconscious (You are unaware of your thoughts) you may have negative thoughts which are causing you to feel depressed or negative, however, if you are aware of your thoughts you can change your internal dialogue, you can have this bad tape recorder that says “I am bad, worthless etc” the moment you are aware YOU HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE THAT! So once you know that you have this internal dialogue, you can switch it
8) Do these teaching contradict my religion?
No it doesn’t its universal, its kinda what every religion says but its clarify what we don’t fully understand in our religion.
By: mentormatch on January 17, 2009
at 6:07 pm
Deepak Chopra’s The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success.
What I learned from this book:
(Please be advised that this is just a pre-write and needs to be edited still).
I learned that there are certain laws of success or living that if I align with these laws I can achieve success much more faster. He talks about people think that by hard work and just toiling really hard they will be successful but what happens is that these people die early because of too much stress and get hearty attacks so instead he suggests these leaws that will help us alightn with the natural laws of the universe to get what we awwant, the laws that I remember ware the law of pure potentiality , the law of giving, the law of consequences, the law of defenselessness, the law of intention and desire, the law of detachment, the law of dharma.
So the law that I found most beneficial to me was the law of intiension and desire because he introduced me to a fprofound idea, he says that if we can go beyond our mind we can enter a feield that he calls the gap and he aays that if we can enter the gap we can introduce an intenstion andl leave it in the field and leave it up to God to bring about the meands to achieve the result that we want, and he was saying that the key is to have a silenced mind he talked about a river and a quiet walter, so if there is a pool of water and there is no movement in the water then you can drop a stone in the water and you will see it ripple in the same way if our mind is still and then when we put in our desire or intention is will ripple out and be processed, but if our mind if chattereing and too much is going on then we can drop whatever we want but it won’t be processed instead it would be carried away by the stream, this is the sxexample he was giving.
HE also outlinged certain steps to follow to achieve what it is you want, the first is to maybe have a list of what you want or intend to have and then look at the list before going into meditation and once in meditation, you can release your intentions and even when you get out of meditation you can read your list, the key is to release your intentions when you are in the gap or stillness of the mind, then he was saying that you shouldn’t rush and ask how wllong will it take he says to trust in the infificnte orgainizaing power of the universot to bring about the means to what you want.
The other law that I found to be really usefull to me was the Law of giving and receiveing, where he says that if you apply this law in your laife you can create good karma and good karma makes life easier, of course, reading this I was really interested in how to make my life interesteding, so this is how it works, he suggests that you should give what you seek, if you seek money, give money or help others make money, if you seek knowledge, give knowledge or help others get knowledge, if you seek love, give love, if you seek happinesss, give happiness. And he menatsions that some giving such as caring for someone, or glistenint g to someone or gjust giving a blessing is a lot as well, and he was weven suggetsting that for that one day that you are practiving this law give something to every one you meet, but it adoesn’t have to be material ift could even be a completment or a blessing, whatever.
The ther law that really dtouched me was the Law of Dharma or purpose in life, khe says that when we find what we really love to do and put this to the service of others we create lots of success and fulfuilliment in outr lives he stresses that each one of us have a unique talent or expression of a talent that is better than anyone else in the world and when we find that, it’s the spark to create success, he says that when his kids were small he never told them to get the best marks in school or to be rich etc, he just asked,them: tell me what you love to do, and how you can serve the world with that. Another method of finding what your purpose is to task yourself if you had all the time and wmoney in the world what would you tdo? The snananswer to this question will help you find out what your purpose ma ybe. And Then he stressed that they autuoomatically got into the best schools and got the best marks because they were focused on how they can serve.
In conclusion, after reading this book I found out that the traditional means of being successful might not work for me and that by giving this book a chance and trying it ourt parractically I achitually have been happier, I learned that meditation is important and quieting your mind is good to help you achieve a connection with your inner being and helps you get fulfillinment iof desires and that its important to give what you seek to create good karma which will make life easier. The End.
By: mentormatch on January 17, 2009
at 6:12 pm
The Harry Potter books are very interesting. It has a different plot line than any other book.
By: Poonam on January 17, 2009
at 6:13 pm
Sant Kirpal Singh Biography: http://www.scribd.com/doc/18961124/Sant-Kirpal-Singh-Early-years
Notes:
Page 7 –
he went to a saint who asked him to surrender his mind, body and soul to him, he rejected him because he thought that this saint wants his body and possessions and that he was to not use his mind and intellect. His reasoning was that he wanted to see some competence in the saint first and then he would surrender to him.
It says that it is usually the fear that kills a person, I think he is suggesting that one should not be afraid but to instead go into the situation and act and then you will see that there was nothing really much to be afraid of.
6hours of meditation as a minimum was instructed to him by his spiritual teacher.
By: mentormatch on August 10, 2010
at 12:53 am
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at 11:19 pm
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