The webinar is a little over 1/2 done and each week, several million more people are downloading and streaming it. People call in and ask Oprah and Eckhart great questions about the concepts in the book. It's a great pleasure to watch Eckart Tolle teach the spiritual principles calmly and peacefully and when he becomes excited by a certain concept, he half chuckles and giggles, which is fun to watch!
I went to my Oral Surgeon today for an implant, carrying "A New Earth" under my arm. The surgeon immediately made a comment about the book and the webinar on Oprah.com.
So we discussed the ideas in the book. What I noticed is that he "got it." He knew exactly what I was talking about when I said that the book is about how to live mindfully, consciously and in the Now. When I said the Egoic Mind can be eradicated by present moment living, the surgeon went into a rant about rude behavior, unkind people and violence in American Society.
I said, Yes but you don't need to react to the chaos. Inner peaceful presence is always available for your pleasure and inward sense of solace.
I wondered if he was referring to a client who was having a melt down in the waiting room as I was led back to my exam room. She insisted that the office did not call her that morning to tell her about her rescheduled appointment. The woman was angry, tense and had the look of someone who was just about to commit a violent act right there in the waiting room.
The other people there looked anxious as she kept yelling at the receptionist.
Eckhart Tolle would call this woman's negative energy her "pain body."
As we reacted negatively to her energy, our own pain body was triggered.
The pain body is the energy field of old emotions that live in almost every human being. The pain body is not just individual in nature. It accounts for all the suffering of collective humanity as in the case of rape, pillage, tribal warfare, wars, slavery and genocide.
The pain body is an addiction to unhappiness.
So there it was in the waiting room today: A living breathing pain body that triggered everyone else's pain body to react, to feel better than, to judge this woman and even to use her as an example as to why people in today's society are so screwed up.
Since so few of us like going to the Dentist let alone an Oral Surgeon, the pain body is perhaps more easily triggered in places such as these.
This is a beautiful example of an activated pain body, but every day we can find at least one. The beauty is found when reaction ceases, and we become the Compassionate Presence or witness who really is a spark of our own divinity.
True happiness arises out of present moment attunement and is always available as soon as we allow it!
I loved the way Tolle describes dogs: as Guardians of Being.
As I watched and absorbed the webinar, I simultaneously took care of my dog Mukunda, as he recovered from major surgery, the removal of 3 large cysts: 1 from the left side and 2 from the right.
Both of my dogs, Mukunda and Ulysses, like it best when I'm focused on their antics, when I hang out with them exclusively, when I walk with them, throw balls for them, swim in the river and ocean with them, and stroke, brush and tell them how much I love them.
When I absorb myself in cyberspace, read a book or especially when I talk on the phone, Mukunda barks excitedly, reminding me to resume my love affair with him.
The world tells me these dogs are spoiled. But I know that they are telling me to Be Here Now, to look to them to best teach me exactly how to do this.
So I look to them to teach me how this is done.
And they have been my best teachers, counselors, companions and all around best pals.
I look to them.
I look up to them.
They are my Guardians of Being.
The waiting rooms of the world may always have unhappy people in them, people who still can absorb the truth that the present moment is exactly where their happiness is found, even if the Nowness is found in the waiting room of an Oral Surgeon.
I can't take my dogs there. But they will always be found in my heart, where ever I go, in the joy of the quiet mind.
The present moment is a quick brief breath. It is the only moment that you have to do the work, to create, to inspire, to lead, to pick yourself up. Do you think that you have some day or tomorrow? No, there is no other day. Because when the next day comes it is today once again. Your life is made up of increments of present moments that flow together to create another present moment, and another.
Your actions in this present moment determine your future. Is your present moment one of complaining? So change it in the next present moment. Is your present moment one of gratitude? Take it to the next higher level. In this present moment you are perfectly fine. You don't need anything. You do not need to change. You are peaceful. If you choose to change, then you can do so by focusing on what you want to become. If you are worrying or fretting, then you are not exactly in the present moment but you are concerned about a projected moment somewhere in the future or a moment that has already passed. These are projected future moments that may never come to pass. A past moment is done, but it keeps going on in your mind and your heart. I wasted a lot of my life worrying about the past and the future. I realized how much I missed because I was preoccupied with that future or what was already done that I wanted to go back in time to change. You can't change what is behind you. You can only readjust, readapt, recreate yourself now. Don't wait.
Time is always on the move. Do you want to master something in your life? Spend time now. Do you want to tell your friends how much you love them? Take this moment to express it. They won't be here tomorrow. Listen to how we always put things off: Someday I'm going to learn how to paint. Someday when I have some money. Someday I'm going to travel. Someday I'm going to do volunteer work. Someday I'm going to learn to ride a horse. Someday I'm going to write the next great mystery novel. Someday I'm going to make a film.
There are a lot of people who want to get to the end without doing the work and without passing through the moment. Each and every moment is necessary to arrive at a precise coordinate of an event coming into existence. A book is not written in one day. A defining moment in your life comes about by choice, by preparation, by working through it, and embracing each moment as it presents itself and unfolds. If you are not living completely in the present moment you may miss what is right in front of you. It may be a huge opportunity, or a small pathway, but if you are spending your moment in misery and worry, that also becomes your next moment and maybe your next. Ask yourself this question. Is my environment controlling me or am I directing myself in the environment? Make a conscious choice in this moment.
Really choose the moment. Since now is the only time we fully have, this is the time to put into effect any transformation that we want. For example, so many people have a challenge with their appearance and their weight. Do you want to change your appearance? Do you feel that you are carrying around too much weight? Are you being controlled by the thought of food or overeating? This moment is the only one that you have to change it, to say, ?I choose to be free of this addiction in this moment. I want to be something different.? If you consistently choose moment by moment, your body will be transformed. If you wish to drop or change a habit, this is the moment to say, ?I choose something other than. This no longer works for me.?
You can clearly design your life. It starts right now. Forget whatever you did in the past. Don't concern yourself with your age, or that you may have failed in the past. Take in a big breath, and walk into a new moment. Stop belittling yourself, pick yourself up, clearly think about who and what you want to become and start doing it right now.
If you have never done anything like this before, or you don't fully know how to do it, just let that thought and the fear go. You become by practicing, by doing, by putting one foot in front of the other, by putting one word after the other on a page. If you have always wanted to act in a play, go to a local community theater and make yourself available as an actor. It's not the big time, but it is fulfilling a part of you that has wanted to be creative. If that is not enough, take acting classes.
Learning your craft will hone your skills and open another opportunity for you to step into. If there are no resources around you like that, create a group on your own. Or read the newspaper or any written thing out loud to practice your verbal skills or your interpretation skills. Whatever is necessary start doing it now. In this moment, call yourself, as you want to become. Don't criticize or judge your efforts. Just do it now.
Some of us use the excuse that we are not talented, or we don't know how. With the power of the Internet you have unlimited resources of subjects that you can learn and gain knowledge on. If you did something every day for an hour per day, in one year's time you would have 365 hours under your belt. If you kept at it you would rapidly become an expert. Even if you don't have an hour per day, start with fifteen minutes or thirty minutes per day. Lets say that you want to become a writer. If you wrote just one page per day, in one year's time you would have a 365 page book written. If you don't start, how many pages will you have completed?
You don't have to quit any job that you have now while perfecting who you want to become. Just make time, for your dreams, for your learning, for your creative work. If you feel that you want to quit your job, know the consequences of that action, that you could be without money or funds until your project gets up and running or produces some flow or income. Don't let that stop you, though. Often, lack is a great motivator to make something happen. Experience that present moment fully and your choices. If you don't like your life and you want to change your future, right now is the moment and the answer. copyright 2006 Yoga Kat
Both Kate Loving Shenk & Katheryn Hoban are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Kate Loving Shenk has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fitness, self improvement and motivation and Pixel Advertising. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-Kate Loving Shenk is a writer, healer, musician and the creator of the e-book called "Transform Your Nursing Career and Discover Your Calling and Destiny." Click here to find out how to ord. Kate Loving Shenk's top article generates over 90500 views. to your Favourites.
Katheryn Hoban has sinced written about articles on various topics from self improvement and motivation, Alternative Medicine and Culture and Society. Yoga Kat teaches children's yoga ages 3-6, 7-12yrs and Adults in NJ. The Author of the book DAUGHTER BELOVED and created a children's affirmation CD and an adult affirmation CD. Available for speaking and reached at yogakat@verizon.net or 201 970-9340-. Katheryn Hoban's top article generates over 60500 views. to your Favourites.