If I had to point to the book that changed the way I see the world for the better, it would be A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle.
I found this book four years ago, when we were moving my stepson to college.
It was the day we moved him into the dorms, and my husband I were walking around the college’s cute downtown area. We walked into a used bookstore and A New Earth was on the table featuring their “Must Reads”.
The cover wasn’t new to me. In fact, I felt like the book had been following me all summer.
I’d seen it in bookstores, and it had come up as recommended reading on my Kindle and in an email from GoodReads.
Being that I’m a huge Oprah fan, and her coveted seal of approval was right on the front cover, I was a little surprised that the book was published in 2005 and I still hadn’t read it.
I decided to pick it up, and I finished it in a few days.
I have to say it sincerely changed the way I view so many things in my life.
A few weeks ago, I got the itch to read it again. I just finished it up and it wowed me all over again.
There are so many things that I highlighted and scribbled in the margins of the book four years ago that still resonate with me today.
What’s even more exciting is I picked up on new insights re-reading the book. His concepts are so simple, but they can completely change your life for the better.
For those not familiar with Eckhart’s work, the idea is really basic, yet in practice, it can feel incredibility complex at times.
All he suggests- Live in the moment.
To expand it a little further, his point is that all we have is right now. As in this instant.
Not in the sense of you just have this moment, so run off to Vegas and marry that guy you you’ve been seeing for a week. But literally- You have this moment.
Everything else is a memory. And all your thoughts about the future aren’t real- they are just your ego (think of it as the little voice in your head) making things up.
So truly all you have is right now. Just take it in. Enjoy it. Move with the flow of life, not against it.
How do we move against the flow of life? By resisting the present moment.
Simple example: You are in a disagreement with your significant other. You can’t let it go till they “see it your way”. You go rounds with them trying to prove you are right.
Later, you make up- but not really, because you are still angry. You spend the next few days replaying what happened in your head.
Clearly you are not in the moment. You are in the future during the fight because you are thinking of your next point. You are in the past for days after the fight thinking about what happened.
Do you feel better? I can only speak from my experience, but I’m guessing no.
Once you get the concept, you can see how you do it to yourself time and time again.
Maybe you lack confidence because you are told you are shy, or not naturally smart. These things were told to you when you were little, and you’ve adopted them as part of your personality.
Every time you walk into a meeting, you struggle with thoughts of being less than equal with the group. Social situations bring on stress and anxiety.
And why? Because all those thoughts you have swirling around in your head are what you are focusing on. Not the people you meet, nor the things you discussed, just your past repeating and reinforcing it’s belief about “you”.
So how do you make a shift out this cycle?
Well, in total honestly, I would highly recommend reading A New Earth. I mean, really, it’s a best seller and Oprah’s favorite book for a reason!
But what can you do right now? Just take this moment in.
Like right now. I’m sitting at a Pete’s Coffee enjoying the feeling of putting the current thought in my mind into this post. When I start to pull away from this moment and worry about what people will think when they read it, I lose my flow. When I just write, it feels different.
Just start there. Feel each moment. Take a deep breath when thoughts take up space that should be reserved for the moment you are experiencing.
It’s so simple- but this meaningful shift has certainly brought me peace and joy. You should try it.
