Higher Consciousness and Personal Peace
| Sync! Anumber of vectors have come through my life recently which I wanted to share with you. I can’t say definitively that “this is the answer,” although I stronglysuspect that it is, and I strong recommend that you consider what Eckhart Tolle is teaching and other people are amplifying.
I’m going to link to some resources below, but let me report first the sequence of my own discovery. Those of you who have seen the video of Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor’s talk at the TED Conference know of her first hand report of herexperiences and insights as a result of a stroke which paralyzed her left hemisphere. If you haven’t seen it, here it is (and be sure to watch it before going further): |
About this talk:Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: She had a massive stroke … and watched as her brain functions — motion, speech, self-awareness — shut down one by one. An astonishing story. |
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| Okay. You have her report. Hold that thought. There’s more:
The next piece of the puzzle is Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth, which I downloaded as an audiobook. I had been given his earlier book, The Power of Now, but I simply couldn’t get into it — it was too abstract. Perhaps I wasn’t ready. But LISTENING toTolle read the audiobook version of A New Earth really made it comealive for me — for a number of reasons. First, I was in nature,walking the dog — a setting more conducive to spiritualconsiderations. Second, much of the meaning of his written work isbetter conveyed by the pauses, the inflections and the almostmeditational quality of his voice. Third, I simply learn better aurallythese days. And fourth, there was no hurry … the words were going tocome at the pace of the recording … there was no possibility ofreading ahead or skimming. Anyway, I strongly recommend the audiobookversion, even though it takes 9 hours. It’s worth it. |
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| For those of you who would like to sample Tolle’s work, here are the audiobook files if you want tolisten to them in your web browser.If you want to use your iPod, you can download this zippedfile of all chapters and follow these instructions to load your iPod.. |
PleaseRespect CopyrightIfyou like the sample, buy the work
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Eckhart Tolle and Oprah Winfrey |
As I was listening tothe audiobook, I became aware of an innovativeprogram Oprah Winfrey was conducting with Eckhart Tolle. It was a 10week “class” held on the web.Each week she would discuss one chapter and take questions (over videoSkype!) from “students” from all over the world. I added the audiorecordings of these to my iPod and listened to them.
You can easily watch or listen to them online on Oprah.com.Just click on the link for the episode (chapter) you want. You can also get a podcast version of these episodes/chapters bysubscribing (for free) to the “Oprah Spirit Channel” on iTune Store by clickinghere. These 10 Tolle “lessons” were posted in the summer of2008. |
| The second time I wentthrough the material, this time with Oprah and Tolle taking questionsfrom the audience, it made even more sense. I found myself lookingforward to walks with the dog, or drives, so I could hear more.
The teaching focuses on staying in the present moment — of being awareand available. Integrating that with my “to do list” workaholism washard to do, but on occassion, I got a glimpse of what they were talkingabout. It was joyful and “beautiful,” . . . as Jill Bolte Taylor said.I definitely want to increase my attention and awareness in this way. |
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 BecauseI had subscribed to Oprah’s “Spirit Channel” series of podcasts, therewere othershows that had downloaded in the background. When I finished the 10shows with Eckhart Tolle, the next interview(actually, the next 4 interviews) were with … Dr. JillBolte Taylor! Serendipity or fate? You decide.
I remembered Jill from the TED talk (above) and was fascinated as shedescribed to Oprah the details of her stroke, her recovery and her lifenow. She specifically correlates her experiences and insights withTolle’s work. And, as a scientist, she is able to speak clearly to the”mind / body” duality — better than Tolle does, IMHO. I recommend you listen to all 4 here — they are about 25 minutesapiece. Just click each link on the right. Or, if you want to downloadthem to your iPod, just download the zipped file here andsync to your iPod. (Instructions) |
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