Subtitled: Awakening to your life’s purpose
This book is dense! And powerful. Aannnnnnd took me twice as long as usual to read it!
Which isn’t a big deal unless it means I miss my commitment to do a book review every other Tuesday. Then it becomes a deal. At least in my own mind:
“Why aren’t I reading this faster?”
“If it’s not finished and polished, don’t do the review.”
“People know me for these reviews – don’t let them down.”
“What will people think if I don’t do this right”
My ego was having a field day.
You know what’s hilarious? The ego is a main theme of the first half of this book!
My ego was wanting to keep me safe – avoid the exposure of being seen as weak, not smart or disciplined. So I leaned into the lessons of the book, took Tolle’s advice and did a video review anyway.
How often does your ego get in your way? Do you find yourself saying no to opportunities for fear of failure? Or maybe overexplaining in order to be seen as smart and capable?
And yet, these attempts to protect ourselves actually keep us from truly connecting with ourselves and others.
Once he has us getting more familiar with ego, he discusses other big concepts like consciousness, suffering, Being and Presence and many other more spiritual aspects of Life. And while this is listed in the “spiritual’ book category, each of these absolutely impact our work and career.
It’s easy to see how chasing awards and accomplishments are feeding our ego, but our egos also squash activity as well. When we’re afraid to post content or meet someone new at a networking event – that’s our ego trying to protect itself. And by doing so, we’re losing touch with our true self and the chance to honestly connect with others.
As the book wraps up, Tolle gives us an even more direct sense of how the work we do can be part of a spiritual awakening and contribute to A New Earth – one that is full of contentment, joy and enthusiasm.
By being completely present in the work we are doing at any given moment we are raising our energy levels of ourselves, those around us and those who will benefit from the work itself. This can happen at three levels:
1) acceptance -the work we need to do (laundry, driving, even TPS reports)
2) enjoyment – the work we do which aligns with our purpose
3) enthusiasm – the work we which aligns with our purpose AND has a goal or big vision, especially if it’s related to the greater good
Each of these though has to have that core element of us being completely present.
This idea dovetails beautifully with the research Mihaly Csikszenmihalyi conducted around the flow state – we find ourselves in flow when we are fully present in the activity and this leads to creativity, happiness, satisfaction and so much more.
So while A New Earth is full of many fascinating ideas, my top takeaways are all around being centered, grounded and fully present. The more that happens, the more connected we’ll be to ourselves and to others.
Have you read this one or other pieces by Eckhart? I’d love to hear your takeaways! I’ve just barely scratched the surface of A New Earth and look forward to swapping ideas with you.
