Transcript Healthy Congregations

“A New Earth” by
Eckhart Tolle
Presented By:
Martha Creek
Great Lakes Unity
Churches
Chapter 1:The
Flowering of
Consciousness
“To recognize one’s own
insanity is, of course, the
arising of sanity, the
beginning of healing and
transcendence.” pg 14
Practices:
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Every time you walk up and down the stairs
in your home or office, pay close attention to
every step, every movement…even your
breathing. Be totally present.
When washing your hands, pay attention to
the sensory perceptions of the activity; the
sound and feel of the water, the movement
of your hands, the scent of the soap, etc.
When you get into your car, pause for a few
seconds and observe the flow of breath.
Become aware of the silent powerful sense of
presence.
Chapter 2: Ego: The
Current State of Humanity
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“Ego uses words and labels as a means of
disguising the miracles with which we are
continually blessed.”, pg 26
“Life will give you whatever experience is
most helpful for the evolution of your
consciousness.”, pg 41
Tools the ego uses to ensure its
continuance are: making yourself right
and others wrong, stimulating your
appetite for “more” and identifying with
the body.
Practices:
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Throughout the day, listen quietly for the
voice in your head, the stream of
continuous chatter/self talk.
Pay attention to the gap between
thoughts.
Ponder these questions. Just be with the
questions, without trying to answer them.
Am I the thoughts in my head?
Am I the one who is aware of the
thoughts?
Chapter 3:
The Core of the Ego
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“Egos only differ on the surface. Deep down
they are all the same. They live on identification
and separation.”, pg 60
“Fighting unconsciousness draws you into
unconsciousness yourself.” Unconsciousness,
dysfunctional behavior can never be defeated by
attacking it.”, pg 75
“The underlying emotion that governs all activity
of the ego is fear.”, pg 80 This is so because the
ego arises by identifying with form—and it
knows that all form is impermanent.
Practices:
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Be patient.
Be a witnessing presence.
Become aware of your breathing.
Feel your inner energy field.
Ask you what “problem” do you really have
right NOW, not next year or tomorrow!
What is wrong with this moment? Who
would you be if you did not call it wrong?
Give up waiting. Catch yourself and come
into the present moment. Enjoy waiting.
Chapter 4: Role Playing:
The Many Faces of Ego
“Behind every positive self concept
is the hidden fear of not being
enough. Behind every negative selfconcept is the hidden desire of being
the greatest or better than others.”
pg 86.
 “If there is unhappiness in you, first
you need to acknowledge that it is
there.”, pg 95
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Practices:
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Use the negativity as a reminder to become
more present. “alarm clock”
When you notice negativity, say, Attention. Here
and now. Wake up. Get out of your mind. Be
present.
Become transparent, without the solidity of the
body. Allow whatever you are reacting to, noise,
traffic, criticism – to pass right through you, no
longer hitting a “wall inside you.
Become like a deep lake. Surface may be rough
and below in the depth---always calm.
Chapter 5: The Pain Body
“Although the body is very
intelligent, it cannot tell the
difference between an actual
situation and a thought.”, page 134
 “We can learn not to keep situations
or events alive in our minds, but to
return our attention to the timeless,
present moment.”, page 141
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Practices:
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Observe the pain-body, this breaks the
identification with it.
Catch the pain-body the moment it takes form
as irritation, desire to hurt, impatience, anger,
depression, a need to have drama.
Observe the resistance within you. Observe the
attachment to pain. Observe the compulsion to
talk or complain. Resistance ceases if you make
it conscious.
Focus on the negative internal feeling without
judging it or yourself. Accept that it is there and
it is not who you are.
Chapter 6: Breaking Free
of the Pain-Body
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Realize you have a pain-body and notice the
pain-body is the source of negative emotions.
“The energy that was trapped in the pain-body
then changes its vibration and is transmuted into
Presence.”, page 162
“It requires a high degree of Presence to avoid
reacting when confronted by someone with an
active pain-body. If you are able to stay present
it’s possible that your Presence enables the other
person to dis-identify from his/her own painbody and thus experience awakening.” pg 174
Practices:
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Don’t try to become free or look for peace
Accept your non-peace. Surrender.
When you accept “what is”, every
moment is the best moment. Live it.
Stop deceiving yourself by saying there is
nothing wrong with undesirable life
situations.
Take action to get out of situations
without judgment, resistance or mentally
labeling them.
Chapter 7: Finding Who
You Truly Are
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“Who you are requires no belief. In fact, every belief is an
obstacle.”, pg 189
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“Nothing you can find out about yourSelf is you. Nothing
you can know about you is you.”, pg 192
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“The most important, the primordial relationship in your
life is your relationship with the Now…with what is or what
happens.”
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“There are three ways the ego treats the present moment:
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As an means to and end “I gotta do this before I do that”.
As an obstacle “I will grit my teeth through this”.
As an enemy “why me?”
Practices:
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Allow diminishment of the ego
Step out the time dimension throughout
everyday life. Become friendly with the present
moment.
Withdraw attention from the past and future.
Become more interested in your reactions than
the persons or situation that caused you to
react.
Use your senses fully. Be where you are. Look
around, just look – don’t interpret. Listen to
sounds – don’t judge. Touch something –
acknowledge its Being.
Chapter 8: Discovery of
Inner Space
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“This, too, will pass.” pg 224
“Can you feel your own Presence?”
“In the first moment of seeing something
or hearing a sound – and more so if it is
unfamiliar – before the mind names or
interprets what you see or hear, there is a
gap of alert attention where perception
occurs. That is inner space.”
Practices:
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Be aware of your breathing. Notice the
sensation of the breath. One conscious
breath is enough to make some space in
the thinking.
Breathing happens by itself. Be.
Take two or three conscious breaths. See
if you can detect a sense of aliveness that
pervades your inner body. Sense various
parts of your body. Sense the inner body
again as a whole.
Chapter 9: Your Inner
Purpose
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“Your inner purpose is to awaken. You
share that purpose with every other
person on the planet – because it is the
purpose of humanity.”, pg 258
“Only the first awakening, the first
glimpse of consciousness without
thought, happens by grace, without any
doing on your part.” pg 260
“When doing becomes infused with the
timeless quality of Being, that is success.”
pg. 271
Practices:
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Ask yourself “is there joy and ease in
what I am doing?” Connect to your
purpose of awakening.
Change “how” you are doing things, not
“what” you are doing. Give more
attention to doing/being than to the
results you want.
Give fullest attention to the moment.
Completely accept what is.
Chapter 10: A New Earth
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“Awakened doing is the alignment of your
inner purpose – awakening and staying
awake.” pg 294
“The modalities of awakened Doing are:
acceptance, enjoyment and enthusiasm.”
pg 295
“I am a hole in the flute that Christ’s
breath moves through. Listen to the
music.” Hafiz, pg 301
Practices:
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Knowing that “what is” cannot be undone,
because it already is…say yes to what is and
accept what isn’t. Then do what you have to do.
Stay alert, stay present – present to your whole
Being, every cell.
Abide in a state of acceptance for longer and
longer periods each day. In this state, you create
no negativity, no suffering, no unhappiness.
Live in a state of grace, gratitude, lightness, free
of struggle and suffering.
Be a gift to the world.
The prison we are in is the
mind…..ego…
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And the door is wide open.
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Peace is never withheld from anyone
who wants it.
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Pain is inevitable….suffering is
optional.
Martha Creek Information
[email protected]
 www.marthacreek.net
 502-905-0783 phone
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