A New Earth -- Breaking Free

Jenn's thoughts and learnings from the sixth week of A New Earth: The Oprah Web Event.

"The next step in human evolution is not inevitable, but for the first time in the history of our planet, it can be a conscious choice."
~Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth

It was another great week with Oprah, Eckhart Tolle, and A New Earth. I'm loving the ongoing awakening that is happening within me and in the world around me. Can you feel it? It's almost tangible. And it's completely infected my language these days--I find myself speaking about ego and awareness and staying present even to people who don't necessarily know what it is I'm talking about. I figure if they don't understand what I'm saying they can always ask me, right?

The Monster Within, Take Two
Last week I talked about my big Aha! surrounding the pain-body in me and in those around me. What was so wonderful about this week was recognizing how simple it is to disconnect from your pain-body. Naturally, many people want to know how they can be free of the pain-body and how long it will take to attain that freedom. Eckhart spoke about how it is really a matter of disidentifying with the pain-body through your awareness of its presence within you. All it takes is this moment, the only moment there is, to see that the pain-body has been triggered and to become aware of it. It's such a beautiful culmination of everything we've been talking about here. Being present, being aware of this moment, enables you to recognize your identification with the pain-body in that moment and be free. That doesn't mean it won't come back again, but what it means is that the more aware you are, the more present you are, the less power the pain-body can ever have over you, because it requires unconsciousness to continue its reign of terror in your mind and body.

True Love
I loved listening to Eckhart talk about love this week. It totally reminded me of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves." Love is not about wanting or needing, it isn't about what you get from another person, it isn't about romance, and it certainly isn't about wanting another person to change in any way. Eckhart spoke about true love as being the recognition of the essence of the other person, of the divinity within each and every human being. It is truly Namaste, defined by Namaste.org as, "The Light of God in Me recognizes and honors The Light of God in You and in that recognition is our Oneness." When we are with someone that we love exactly as they are, requiring nothing from them, just allowing them to be, then we are experiencing true love.

Traffic as an Opportunity
At the end of this week's webinar, Oprah and Eckhart were talking about how many people get frustrated in traffic and how they just don't understand how people can experience road rage. I've spent more time in the car with people intolerant of traffic to be able to claim a lack of understanding--it is easy to see the unconsciousness slip over them. Eckhart talks about it being a matter of taking the traffic personally, which totally resonated with me. Everyone else who is on the road is just as absorbed in their own world as you are, so of course having them move into your lane in front of you isn't personal--how could it be? They barely even notice there's another human being in that car, and they definitely don't know it's you. The only thing that is happening here is that you are reacting to a situation that is completely out of your control. Getting upset, feeling stressed out about it does not change the situation in the slightest--it just makes it even more intolerable for you. Eckhart spoke about this as being a wonderful opportunity to practice your awareness, and in that case, the more traffic the better. If your car isn't moving at all, you can even close your eyes for a brief breathing meditation or practice feeling the aliveness within your body. Whether you tend to find traffic frustrating or not, take the opportunity this week to use traffic to your advantage--I bet it will transform your time in the car, and ultimately will leave you feeling more centered, more connected, more awake, and more aware. Namaste.

Photo: "Love is being stupid together," originally uploaded by Nattu

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