6/8/08

Crazy busy this week. I did read the next few chapters of "A New Earth" though; here are some thoughts and notes.

Chapter 2 Ego: The Current State of Humanity

For the most part, I really enjoyed this chapter and his descriptions on how the ego works and how it gives rise to suffering. The statement on page 41 - "One thing we do know: Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness." Considering Tolle has yet to attribute God as a personal conscience being I fail to see how a power life "Life" can know anything and recognize what you need. I would rewrite it..."God will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your soul so you will be a part of Him again." Tolle also uses the imagery of a person on his/her deathbed when all external worldly things fall away and you get to the root of who you really are. But prison works for some people also. Tolle also uses the term "I AM" to describe your inner "being". I wonder if he used this term because that is the name of God translated into English or if it was unintentional. Like I said, the chapter on a whole is pretty good but if falls apart on the last page and in his summary on page 58. The statement on negativity about "...the universe will not be on your side; life will not be helpful." Doesn't that contradict his earlier statement that Life will give you what you need to evolve? On the same page, he falls away from his pantheistic view of God and uses the term "creative intelligence" and also states that once you are aligned with this creative intelligence then "coincidences happen". But it is not a coincidence if you are dealing with an intelligent creative force or a personal God and it is not a coincidence if that is what is supposed to happen once you are in harmony with an unintelligent god or life force of universal laws. So either way the statement is wrong. So far (and it is early in the book) I fail to see how Tolle can interchange the words "Universe", "Life", "Creative Intelligence" and "God". If he is in the mind set of God as a pantheistic "presence" a law of the universe to be viewed as other laws of the universe such as gravity or if you want to be spiritual, Karma, then there is no room for intelligence at all. Gravity doesn't think and act on which objects to interact with and which ones to ignore; it acts on all things equally, it is a force. I'm not saying a pantheistic view of God is wrong, but I do wish he would pick a viewpoint and terminology to go with it and stick with it. Whether you agree with his point of views or not, the book would be stronger if he did so. In my opinion all would be tied together if he just came out and said there is a personal intelligent being that oversees all, including the forces of the universe, that we call God. Well, that's all my thoughts on Chapter 2.