I thank you E.H. for joining in this discussion and wish more people on this board would do so. I value everyone's opinion and everyone of us brings about a perspective that can create the whole picture.

Calling all posters new and old : )

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I bought this book and it's one of the worst I've ever read. First off the book is Buddhist, not New Age. I keep seeing repeating buddhist themes in the book. The book repeats things over and over again until it's blue in the face, I skipped four chapters and then eventually put away the book.

It did nothing to help me "awaken to my life's purpose". It just reminds me that all "new age" books aren't good.

I joined Oprah's book club, but now I won't bother, since I've done the book cover to cover and it was the most boring book I've ever read by far.

I regret buying it. It gets...1 out of 5 stars.

I know this is an old post, but this question never really got answered, so I'll take a stab at it. i did read the book, but I am going to answer from my own background rather than the book.

As soon as you name something, label it, you are no longer dealing with the actual object. You are, from that moment on, dealing with your perception of that object, with your concept of that object. If you do no label it, do not name it, you can BE with it. In fact, you are it. there is no separation of seer, seen and sight until the point at which you label it. Then a separation occurs and you are the subject and it becomes the object, only it is not even just the object, it is the object with every concept you have in your mind, memory and background about that name and form.

I hope I have explained that with enough clarity to shed some light on the subject. If not, sorry, the fault is mine.

While I'm posting, I'll add that I thought the book was good and I enjoyed reading it, but it only scratched the surface. In my opinion, there is not enough information for someone to make a lasting practice out of the concepts presented.

Thank you for the great post.

I might add that according to Tolle everything has Presence (God) in it. If we label something we see and experience the label and not the Presence.

I would have to disagree that The New Earth doesn't have enough information. How many ways can one say be the witness to your pain body/ego? When you are the witness that is Presence. You are presence. You are the now. When one continues to watch the is more space for Presence. When you don't label you experience Presence in yourself and in all things.

It does take practice and time to learn to surrender to the now. I don't think you can just read the book and you get it. I joined a Tolle study group and we work with the principles together. I understood the book immediately, really getting it and practicing it is a different matter.

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Yes, I think that is what I meant to say - thank you for your concise statement. Many people, especially those who might never have been exposed to any type of spirituality similar to that and just checked it out because Oprah recommended it are probably not going to be as astute. The mind requires a certain attitude to be able to accept and receive that type of information. If I remember correctly Mr. Tolle states something similar either in the introduction of the first chapter. If one is already in that state of grace in which the information can be absorbed, all they need to do is pursue it. I think my comment about not having enough information to practice it would be more appropriate to the new person who has never heard any of this before.

Again, thanks for the clarification - your observation is accurate.

I agree, I thoroughly enjoyed his first book, "The Power of Now," but "A New Earth" was just awful.

A New Earth is more challenging to the ego.

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Can someone give me a brief synopsis of the book? Besides Oprah recommending it, why should I read it?

Not that Oprah recommending a book to the mass populous should ever be a reason to read one. But congrats to those who have rediscovered the love of reading because of it.

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I would suggest reading the book if you feel drawn to it and for no other reason. I've read two of Tolle's books, watched one DVD, listened to several sets of his CD's and have attend a weekly Tolle study group for six months.

For me it has been a life changing experience. If you are interested in learning the role of ego in your life and want to learn how to give space to higher consciousness, this book is for you. Two words that describe what you receive from the book are "nonjudgmental awareness."

The following is a link to the thread where we discussed the book chapter by chapter.

Discussion: A New Earth

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