Authors: Eckhart Tolle, Eckhart Tolle
ISBN-13: 9780786555390, ISBN-10: 0786555394
Format: MP3 Book
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA), Inc.
Date Published: November 2007
Edition: Unabridged
Eckhart Tolle is a renowned contemporary spiritual counselor and bestselling self-help author. At the core of his simple yet profound teachings lies the transformation of consciousness, a spiritual awakening that he sees as the next step in human evolution.
Book Synopsis
Building on the astonishing success of The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle presents readers with an honest look at the current state of humanity: He implores us to see and accept that this state, which is based on an erroneous identification with the egoic mind, is one of dangerous insanity.
Publishers Weekly
According to Tolle, who assumes the role of narrator as well, humans are on the verge of creating a new world by a personal transformation that shifts our attention away from our ever-expanding egos. This idea is well realized through Tolle's remarkably well-paced narration. Naturally, the author understands his material so thoroughly that he is able to convey it in an enjoyable manner, but Tolle's gentle tone and dialect begs his audience's attention simply through its straightforward approach. Something about this reading just seems profoundly important, whether one agrees with the material or not, and listeners' attention is sure to be captured within seconds of listening to Tolle's take on the universe in which we live. Originally released in 2005, both book and audiobook were reissued when Oprah Winfrey chose the title for her book club this year. A Penguin paperback. (Feb.)
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Table of Contents
The Flowering of Human Consciousness 1
Evocation 1
The Purpose of This Book 5
Our Inherited Dysfunction 8
The Arising New Consciousness 13
Spirituality and Religion 17
The Urgency of Transformation 20
A New Heaven and a New Earth 23
Ego: The Current State of Humanity 25
The Illusory Self 27
The Voice in the Head 30
Content and Structure of the Ego 34
Identification with Things 35
The Lost Ring 38
The Illusion of Ownership 42
Wanting: The Need for More 46
Identification with the Body 49
Feeling the Inner Body 52
Forgetfulness of Being 53
From Descartes's Error to Sartre's Insight 54
The Peace That Passes All Understanding 56
The Core of Ego 59
Complaining and Resentment 61
Reactivity and Grievances 64
Being Right, Making Wrong 66
In Defense of an Illusion 67
Truth: Relative or Absolute? 69
The Ego Is Not Personal 72
War Is a Mind-set 74
Do You Want Peace or Drama? 77
Beyond Ego: Your True Identity 77
All Structures Are Unstable 79
The Ego's Need to Feel Superior 81
Ego and Fame 82
Role-playing: The Many Faces of the Ego 85
Villain, Victim, Lover 87
Letting Go of Self-Definitions 89
Pre-established Roles 90
Temporary Roles 93
The Monk with Sweaty Palms 94
Happiness as a Role Vs. True Happiness 95
Parenthood: Role or Function? 97
Conscious Suffering 101
Conscious Parenting 103
Recognizing Your Child 104
Giving Up Role-playing 106
The Pathological Ego 109
The Background Unhappiness 112
The Secret of Happiness 114
Pathological Forms of Ego 118
Work-With and Without Ego 121
The Ego in Illness 124
The Collective Ego 125
Incontrovertible Proof of Immortality 127
The Pain-Body 129
The Birth of Emotion 131
Emotions and the Ego 134
The Duck with a Human Mind 137
Carrying the Past 139
Individual and Collective 141
How the Pain-Body Renews Itself 144
How the Pain-Body Feeds on Your Thoughts 145
How the Pain-Body Feeds on Drama 148
Dense Pain-Bodies 151
Entertainment, the Media, and the Pain-Body 152
The Collective Female Pain-Body 154
National and Racial Pain-Bodies 157
Breaking Free 161
Presence 164
The Return of the Pain-Body 167
The Pain-Body in Children 169
Unhappiness 172
Breaking Identification with the Pain-Body 174
"Triggers" 177
The Pain-Body as an Awakener 180
Breaking Free of the Pain-Body 183
Finding Who You Truly Are 185
Who You Think You Are 186
Abundance 190
Knowing Yourself and Knowing About Yourself 192
Chaos and Higher Order 194
Good and Bad 195
Not Minding What Happens 198
Is That So? 199
The Ego and the Present Moment 200
The Paradox of Time 204
Eliminating Time 206
The Dreamer and the Dream 208
Going Beyond Limitation 210
The Joy of Being 213
Allowing the Diminishment of the Ego 214
As Without, So Within 217
The Discovery of Inner Space 223
Object Consciousness and Space Consciousness 227
Falling Below and Rising Above Thought 229
Television 230
Recognizing Inner Space 233
Can You Hear the Mountain Stream? 236
Right Action 238
Perceiving Without Naming 239
Who Is the Experiencer? 241
The Breath 243
Addictions 246
Inner Body Awareness 248
Inner and Outer Space 250
Noticing the Gaps 253
Lose Yourself to Find Yourself 254
Stillness 255
Your Inner Purpose 257
Awakening 259
A Dialogue on Inner Purpose 262
A New Earth 279
A Brief History of Your Life 282
Awakening and the Return Movement 284
Awakening and the Outgoing Movement 288
Consciousness 291
Awakened Doing 293
The Three Modalities of Awakened Doing 295
Acceptance 296
Enjoyment 297
Enthusiasm 301
The Frequency-holders 306
The New Earth Is No Utopia 307
Notes 311
About the Author 315
Subjects