Preface
A New Earth
Ten Years subsequently
Ten years ago, A New Earth was first published. Since that time, the script has been read in forty-four languages by countless people all over the global. The in-depth webinar I did with Oprah Winfrey, during which we explored the independent themes of the reserve, has been watched thirty-five million time. So the question naturally arises : Ten years late —where are we ? Is a “ newfangled earth ” originate, a world where the egoic country of consciousness in its madly dysfunctional manifestations, both individual and collective, has dissolved or at least subside, and where humans nobelium longer create unnecessary suffering for themselves, one another, deoxyadenosine monophosphate well as other life-forms on the planet ? Or does a fundamental change in human awareness remain an unrealistic utopian sight, as one reviewer of the book suggested ?
If we go entirely by the data we receive on a daily basis through the news reports and the mainstream media, then our assessment of the state of matter of human affairs in this fresh millennium will inevitably be overwhelmingly negative, and we will most likely arrive to the depress decision that nothing has changed. After all, it continues to be true for millions of people that the greater contribution of human suffer is not due to lifelike disasters, but is inflicted by humans on one another. What we consume as the casual “ newsworthiness, ” vitamin a well as the commentaries on the newsworthiness, however, is not the whole picture. not infrequently, the way in which the news program is reported and commented upon, even by the alleged goodly newsworthiness outlets, already contains bias and distortion, and so, without realizing it, our worldview becomes conditioned. More important, the news tends to focus by and large on incidents and areas of our satellite that represent the most extreme forms of human unconsciousness, which more frequently than not means ferocity and war, or at least severe dysfunction. Of course, there is no denying that awful things happen on a daily basis, and besides that we are facing an increasing number of crises, but that is not the whole fib.
There are indeed many positive things occurring that are not considered newsworthy, but are in fact of a lot greater meaning than any of those daily acts of unconsciousness. Those changes in fact started to arise long ahead A New Earth and The Power of Now were written. Those books were written to speed up the process of religious awaken that had already begun, angstrom well as to enable greater numbers of people to become partially of that process and frankincense find a deeper intend in their lives that transcends the merely personal dimension of universe .
In many parts of the earth, there is an emerging sense of social department of justice that our ancestors couldn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate even have dreamed of. The oppression of one race by another, the domination of women throughout thousands of years and patriarchy, and the devalue of people based on social class are for growing numbers of us nightmares of the past. People of different gender orientations find themselves increasingly accepted just as people. The races marry and blend with less and less judgment. There is growing awareness of the intrinsic oneness of everything that exists, so that more and more we are seeing an awareness of and deep concern for our colleague humans, the countless animals that are our traveling companions, and the planet itself. such awareness implies that there is indeed a decrease of the self in a growing numeral of people, and in some parts of the planet more than in others. This diminishment of the ego gives rise to empathy and compassion beyond tribal, racial, national, or religious affiliations. It is those qualities that make us in truth human. As we no longer identify with our genial positions, we are able to be broad of early people ’ randomness beliefs and perspectives. We can temporarily shift our own perspective and see things through their eyes. With this comes the ability to compromise in our interactions with others, which is a prerequisite for any peaceful coexistence. In fact, it is precisely in those parts of the world where most people are as even ineffective or unwilling to compromise that most of the dysfunction or violence occurs. The ego, and peculiarly the collective ego, strengthens itself through emphasizing the “ otherness ” of others. In other words, the ego needs an “ foe ” for its continued survival. Hence its refusal to compromise.
Until the new consciousness, which is awareness-based, grows and becomes more hard established in the homo mind, impermanent regression to the egoic state of consciousness ( or preferably unconsciousness ) can well occur. I have noticed with concern, for model, that not only certain politicians, but besides some commentators in respectable publications are increasingly portraying Russia and/or China as the “ enemy. ” Thoughts can spread like a virus, and if thoughts proliferate in the collective soul, they distort our perceptions and cause us to act as if they were true, and sol subsequently they manifest as our reality.
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just as the caterpillar becomes dysfunctional curtly before it undergoes its metamorphosis into a butterfly, the egoic state of awareness, which is still more prevailing than the awaken awareness in most countries or organizations, will likely become increasingly dysfunctional and cause a growing phone number of acute crises affecting many parts of the planet, a well as convulsion and breakdown. To some extent, this is already happening. This is nothing to be afraid of. If you stay present and do not succumb to fear, if you do not believe the media when they tell you that you should be afraid, these things will not affect you deeply. Acute crises and dysfunction always precede or coincide with any evolutionary advancement or reach in consciousness. All life-forms want obstacles and challenges in order to evolve. In the case of the ego, most of the challenges it encounters are self-created through its unconscious patterns. finally, the ego brings about its own demise. In that sense, it can be considered a necessity harbinger for the adjacent stage in human evolution, which is the awakening of consciousness. We are at present in the early stages of this awakening process, but it is accelerating. If you are reading this, you are already an substantive part of this process .
The elementary factor in all of this is your country of awareness in the only fourth dimension there is : the now ! Make certain the deliver moment is your friend, not your enemy. Honor it by giving it your fullest attention. Appreciate it by being grateful for it. Become internally aligned with it by allowing it to be as it is. That is the rise of the new land .
—Eckhart Tolle