Archive for the ‘Books’ Category
Feel the Inner-Body
April 15th, 2008
So, you’ve read The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment and A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose and want to be more in the body so you can experience the present moment. I’ve noticed that some people have a hard time feeling their inner body and creating what Eckhart Tolle calls, “Inner-body awareness”.
Inner-body awareness
Creating inner-body awareness can take some amount of practice to be able to do it on demand. I can do it now because I’ve practiced it so much while I write. I try to keep that awareness while I’m writing and will stop writing to focus inside my body and listen for any insights.
Easy method to practice feeling the inner-body
I have found that it’s easier to feel the inner-body at certain times or while I’m doing certain activities. Let me see if I can remember when I could feel it most before I got good enough to feel it whenever I want. Hmmm, I do remember at least one. While I was Exercising the energy in my body moved around quite a bit and if I stopped exercising, either during a break or when I was done, I could feel the aliveness in my entire body all at once. You may think it’s just the blood coursing through the veins but when you really pay attention to the feeling you can tell that it’s so much more. Also try practicing at different times of the day and during different activities and figure out what works best for you.
Getting good at it
After a while of practicing during quiet times you can then use it to be more creative, tune into Source, bring you into the moment and help to diminish the pain-body by feeling your inner-body when the pain-body is active.
Conclusions
Just be gentle with yourself. I’ve found the classes with to be invaluable as a reminder during the week of what my goal is and I work more toward it. Not everyone becomes enlightened or looses their pain-body or ego overnight. The suffering that causes that is just way too intense and that’s why it works. Just be glad you have found these principles and can use them to free you from suffering and the pain-body now.
Read my reviews: The Power of Now, A New Earth
View book details at Amazon:
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment and
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life\’s Purpose (Oprah\’s Book Club, Selection 61)
Posted in Zen Shorts
March 31st, 2008
What this book is about
In this beautifully illustrated book, three children meet their new neighbor, Stillwater, a panda who teaches them Zen through the example of his life, his experiences with them and the stories he tells them.
My experience
I really enjoyed reading this to my daughter and she enjoyed the stories of the children’s experiences with the panda and the stories he tells them. She’s 7 so she had a lot of questions afterward.
Law of attraction caution
For those of you who don’t want to read anything to your children that they don’t want to experience you should know that one of the stories the panda tells is about a robber. Of course, the person being robbed (the panda’s uncle) gave the robber everything he had (which was only his robe) since the robber obviously needed it more than he did.
Conclusions
I really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading the other ones that are available or getting the stuffed panda. The pictures are beautiful and the stories inspiring.
View book details at Amazon: Zen Shorts
A New Earth on Oprah’s Book Club
March 1st, 2008
A New Earth on Oprah’s book club
Oprah has been studying this type of material for 20 years and now she is brought it into the mainstream by making A New Earth the next subject of study for the Oprah book club. The study of this book started on Monday, March 3, 2008 and it was a monumental event on the internet.
If you missed the class
Oprah offers a summer time study guide online at the Oprah book club.
Read Dawn’s review: A New Earth
A New Earth
February 29th, 2008
What this book is about
In A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, Eckhart Tolle has expanded upon the information in The Power of Now and created a road map to guide us to a complete awakening to our life’s purpose and creating a new earth. Topics include the consciousness of humanity, ego, how to break free, find who you are, what your purpose is and what "a new earth" means.
The new earth
What is the new earth? It’s been spoken about, fantasized about, written about and speculated about by many people. Some even fear it for what it will mean to the change in their lives. I’m supposing it will actually look different to everyone since there are many different "worlds" within our world. The ant and chicken worlds are very different from the bird, dolphin and human worlds. One of the sign-posts that Eckhart points to as evidence is the statement in the bible that the lion will lie down with the lamb. As Eckhart puts it, that points to an entirely different order of reality and it’s not Utopia. It’s from our transformed consciousness that we will experience a new earth, not because we are going to be saved in some future time. Heaven is within us and it’s now. It’s always been now. Be free of the ego and find yourself again to create heaven on earth. When enough people do this, we will know a new earth.
A new earth and religion
The "new" earth has been written about in many texts, not all of them religious. And although Eckhart references biblical examples in his books, all of his writings transcend religion to speak to the soul on many levels. No matter where you are, you will get just what you need. Come back and read the same book later and it seems to have a whole new relevance for you. It’s just amazing.
Your part
You may ask, "How can my life’s purpose be linked to a new earth?" Well, do you like earth so far? Eckhart explains it this way, the collective consciousness of humanity creates the earth: the physical world. What does that tell you about the consciousness of humanity at this moment? Volumes, huh?
Heaven is the state the mass consciousness of humanity must reach in order to create the new earth. Eckhart mentions that Jesus also taught that heaven was a state of consciousness, not a place. It’s not, "up there", it’s inside all of us and you can reach it at anytime. Just imagine if we all created our own personal heaven. That would be heavenly, now wouldn’t it? Well, if we all had our own personal heaven, then the earth would change to reflect the new state of consciousness that humanity had achieved and we would all be living in a new earth. Got it?
Rising above thought to achieve consciousness
A New Earth offers techniques to practice rising above thought, being in the moment, dissolving the pain body and staying conscious. It also warns against habits and practices that cause people to stop thinking that aren’t beneficial. These habits actually cause people to fall below thought and lose consciousness instead of rising above thought. In the book I found it helpful to read about what drinking alcohol, taking drugs and watching television do to the consciousness. There is advice offered on how to remain conscious while watching television and how to select programs that are thought-provoking and stay conscious while watching them. Also, beware of addictions. Not good, no.
What to do
If you’ve read The Power of Now you are familiar with the techniques Eckhart Tolle recommends to stay in the moment and dissolve the pain-body while reclaiming and converting its energy into "presence power". These techniques are enlisted to help us while we awaken to our life’s purpose and help the evolution of humanity and the earth. So, do your part by practicing being in the moment, dissolving the pain-body, and create your own personal heaven and the new earth will be born out of the collective humanity being conscious.
My experience
It’s actually taking me a while to finish this book. I think I purchased it last year and started reading it in the fall. I’m still working on it. I guess my Being is just taking as long as it needs to integrate the material. It’s so good and juicy that I’m digesting it a little at a time. It has some of the same information in The Power of Now and Practicing the Power of Now but A New Earth presents it in such a way that you can almost feel Eckhart guiding you along the path from where you are to your life’s purpose. It’s gentle and understandable and explained in a way that will inspire you to live a better life. One of the things I incorporated into my writing years ago was the suggestion (from The Power of Now) to toggle back and forth between creative thinking and inner listening while doing creative work. What that means is that I write for a bit, then stop and feel the inside of my body. When I do this, my writings are infused with Spirit and Presence. People who read what I wrote in this manner feel their hearts touched and are moved on an emotional level. I guess they are feeling the truth of their own Presence by my writings calling it up in them. Mmmmm, that’s so nice to see and feel.
A New Earth on Oprah’s book club
Oprah and Eckhart unlocked the secrets of this transformational book in her book club.
View book details at Amazon: A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose
Many Lives, Many Masters
January 17th, 2008
What this book is about
Brian Weiss discovered evidence of past lives the same way Edgar Casey did. During sessions they regressed their patients into the past, telling them to go back to when the trouble with someone or something in their current lifetime started. For Edgar Casey’s patient, it was trouble with is wife. For Brian Weiss’ patient, Catherine, it was panic attacks, anxieties and phobias. They told their patients to go back to when the trouble started, but they were startled when the patient reported events that happened in a previous life. As so the story, and this "new" type of therapy began. The difference with Brian Weiss’ patient, Catherine, is she also reported from the "between life state" messages from the "Masters" that were meant for Brian. Through the course of his therapy with Catherine, they both changed, grew and became more peaceful and intuitive. After you read this book you will probably be changed as well.
Messages from the Masters
While the messages from the Masters were meant for Brian, they have deep meaning and benefit for all who read them. I especially like the messages that remind us that just understanding and conceptualizing an ideal, like charity and kindness, isn’t enough. We have to put it into practice in order to make it permanent. He also continues to learn from the Masters. Near the end of the book Brian reports that he has dreams in which he is either lecturing or attending a lecture (I have also had dreams like that) and asking questions. He brings back what he can from those dreams and has shared some of them in this book. He wrote an entire book, Messages from the Masters: Tapping into the Power of Love, to share more of the Masters’ messages to human-kind.
My experience
During the course of this book I went from curious to interested to deeply moved to inspired and wondering if there would be benefit to having this therapy myself. I also considered that this therapy might help those in my life who are not feeling the peace and bliss they can feel while in the physical body. That actually brought me to a peaceful place of accepting their behaviors and way of being as probably stemming from early life traumas and past life traumas. While, although I know this therapy would benefit them greatly and make their lives more pleasant so they can enjoy their experiences here, it’s not my place to interfere with their growth or push them past their comfort zone. If they are ready for this type of therapy, they will be guided to it or ask about it.
My musings
I wonder if using Holosync® also helps to relieve issues carried over from past lives since Holosync restructures the brain at a higher level and releases unresolved emotional issues. It would be an interesting experiment. I wonder if Bill Harris would go for it?
Sharing this information with others
It is important to remember when wanting to help others: we must follow our own guidance when knowing when to share information with people. Trying to force someone, or convince them, that we know what’s right for them only causes resentment and anger. Learn from this material and allow it to bring you deep insights and inspire you on your path. Share it with others, if you feel guided but don’t force it on anyone. If they ask you, though, you are probably safe in sharing with them.
Having past life regression therapy yourself
If you are interested in having this therapy yourself, Brian Weiss’ office has recommendations on how to find an appropriate therapist.
Brian Weiss lectures and workshops 
I had the pleasure of seeing Brian at the 2007 Mind Body Spirit Expo and interviewing him for the September/October 2007 New Visions Magazine. He was fascinating, interesting, engaging and a delight to talk to. He was patient and kind answered all my questions. He was probably my teacher in a previous lifetime as he was in Catherine’s and one of his other patients from Same Soul, Many Bodies. The workshop at the expo was also interesting as he took the group through several guided visualizations to remember a past life. I recommend considering going to see him when he comes to your area.
Being a past life regression therapist
Brian is training others to do past life regression therapy at the Omega Institute. It sounds like something that will also advance you spiritually as well. Win-win, you learn how to do the work while getting the work done.
View book details at Amazon: Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives