Read "A New Earth"

A powerful read. A lot of things really clicked for me. I can feel a deeper sense of peace taking root.

to make a little space a little more every day. To just stop and take a conscious deep breath is really working for me.

I started Chapter 3 today. I find I can take it in best if I read it slowly digesting the bit sized sections throughout the day. My thoughts so far…

I find it repetitive to a lot of things I have read and have greatly moved me in the past – Joseph Campbell and Alan Watt’s Wisdom of Insecurity in particular. What I find uniquely profound is the way he has tied this teaching to a vision for world transformation. Enforcing our potential as individuals with the potential of a shift in collective consciousness. Similar to the Celestine Prophecy. But for me his vision is clearer and easier to digest.

And I can feel it. It is truly amazing that so many are participating in this undertaking. It feels like its moving towards mainstream. People in my family, friends, at work, and on 43 Things are all reading it and openly discussing it. Snowball effect. It is a powerful thing.

Sometimes I struggle with my attention span and want to rush ahead to gain the knowledge. Then, in the second paragraph on page 52, I found a tool to help shift my attention away from my running mind. Tolle says “If you are not familiar with ‘inner body’ awareness, close your eyes for a moment and find out if there is life inside your hands… instead of asking your mind, go to the hands directly. By this I mean become aware of the subtle feeling of aliveness inside them…” I did it and was amazed at the results. I can feel the life in my hands, and in my feet. And now when I struggle to quiet the mind, I bring my attention to this sensation. A sensation I have had all of my life but have felt now for the first time.

I like the suggestion of trying it as I listen to someone. He says “Body awareness not only anchors you in the present moment, it is a doorway out of the prison that is the ego.”

Another part of the book that really rang true for me is when he speaks of loss as a catalyst for transformation. On page 56; “Then suddenly and inexplicably, the anguish or intense fear they initially felt gave way to a sacred sense of Presence, a deep peace and serenity and complete freedom from fear… Whenever tragic loss occurs, you either resist or you yield.” I experienced both during Ryan’s injury and recovery. First resistance, then yielding. “Yielding means inner acceptance of what is. You are open to life.” This was the gift of suffering. Peace born of pain.

In those trying times, as painful as they were, my priorities were clear and my value of life and experience of being alive was magnified. For me and for my family. As the moments of crisis spread out and we all sank back into routine, it seemed to slip through my fingers like sand. Later I found myself dwelling on tragedy wherever I could find it. Craving that sense of Presence, but not knowing that it there are other roads back to that place inside myself.

Hope to spend some time with it in my hammock this weekend.