A New Earth: Create a Better Life

by Eckhart Tolle

That is the reconciliation of outer and inner purpose, the reconciliation of the world and God.

Reality is a unified whole, but thought cuts it up into fragments.

Each night, without knowing it, you return to the unmanifested Source of all life when you enter the stage of deep, dreamless sleep, and then reemerge again in the morning, replenished.

Each person’s life—each life-form, in fact—represents a world, a unique way in which the universe experiences itself. And when your form dissolves, a world comes to an end—one of countless worlds.

some kind of personal tragedy, carries great potential for spiritual awakening—the dis-identification of consciousness from form.

This is to say, their inner purpose would emerge only as their outer purpose collapsed and the shell of the ego would begin to crack open.

The disruption of the outward movement at a time when it is “not meant to be happening” can also potentially bring forth an early spiritual awakening in a person.

Ultimately, nothing happens that is not meant to happen, which is to say, nothing happens that is not part of the greater whole and its purpose.

Thus, destruction or disruption of outer purpose can lead to finding your inner purpose and subsequently the arising of a deeper outer p...

We are learning that the act of creation may involve energy of the highest intensity, but that is not “hard work” or stressful. We need to understand the difference between stress and intensity, as we shall see. Struggle or stress is a sign that the ego has returned, as are negative reactions when we encounter obstacles.

The stronger the ego, the stronger the sense of separateness between people. The only actions that do not cause opposing reactions are those that are aimed at the good of all.

We are also learning that action, although necessary, is only a secondary factor in manifesting our external reality.

Consciousness incarnates into the manifested dimension, that is to say, it becomes form.

Awakened doing is the outer aspect of the next stage in the evolution of consciousness on our planet.

It means consciousness can now begin to create form without losing itself in it.

Awakened doing is the alignment of your outer purpose—what you do—with your inner purpose—awakening and staying awake.

That current of consciousness is what determines quality.

In any situation and in whatever you do, your state of consciousness is the primary factor; the situation and what you do is secondary. “Future” success is dependent upon and inseparable from the consciousness out of which the actions emanate.

There are three ways in which consciousness can flow into what you do and thus through you into this world, three modalities in which you can align your life with the creative power of the universe.

Modality means the underlying energy-frequency that flows into what you do and connects your actions with the awakened consciousness that is emerging into this world.

The modalities of awakened doing are acceptance, enjoyment, and enthusiasm.

Each one represents a certain vibrational frequency of consciousness.

If you are not in the state of either acceptance, enjoyment, or enthusiasm, look closely and you will find that you are creating suffering for yourself and others.

Acceptance means: For now, this is what this situation, this moment, requires me to do, and so I do it willingly.

That peace is a subtle energy vibration which then flows into what you do.

If you can neither enjoy or bring acceptance to what you do—stop. Otherwise, you are not taking responsibility for the only

thing you can really take responsibility for, which also happens to be one thing that really matters: your state of consciousness.

On the new earth, enjoyment will replace wanting as the motivating power behind people’s actions.

Wanting arises from the ego’s delusion that you are a separate fragment that is disconnected from the power that lies behind all creation.

When you make the present moment, instead of past and future, the focal point of your life, your ability to enjoy what you do—and with it the quality of your life—increases dramatically.

Joy is the dynamic aspect of Being.

The “waiting to start living” syndrome is one of the most common delusions of the unconscious state.

Don’t ask your mind for permission to enjoy what you do.

All you will get is plenty of reasons why you can’t enjoy it. “Not now,” the mind will say. “Can’t you see I’m busy? There’s no time. Maybe tomorrow you can start enjoying….” That tomorrow will never come unless you begin enjoying what you are doing now.

It makes it appear that the joy comes from what you do, but that is not the case. Joy does not come from what you do, it flows into what you do and thus into this world from deep within you. The

because it creates the belief that joy is something that can be derived from something else, such as an activity or thing.

This is why many people live in constant frustration. The world is not giving them w...

You will enjoy any activity in which you are fully present, any activity that is not just a means to an end.

That’s why anything you enjoy doing connects you with the power behind all creation.

Make a list of a number of everyday routine activities that you perform frequently.

Include activities that you may consider uninteresting, boring, tedious, irritating, or stressful. But don’t include anything that you hate or detest doing. That’s a case either for acceptance or for stopping what you do.

You will soon find that what you do in such a state of heightened awareness, instead of being stressful, tedious, or irritating, is actually becoming enjoyable.

Being conscious in what you do has not yet become your main aim.

The joy of Being is the joy of being conscious.

Suddenly one day they know what their outer purpose is.

They have a great vision, a goal, and from then on they work toward implementing that goal.

Enthusiasm means there is deep enjoyment in what you do plus the added element of a goal or a vision that you work toward.

When there is stress, it is usually a sign that the ego has returned, and you are cutting yourself off from the creative power of the universe. Instead, there is only the force and strain of egoic wanting, and so you have to struggle and “work hard” to make it.

Stress always diminishes both the quality and effectiveness of what you do under its influence.

There is also a strong link between stress and negative emotions, such as anxiety and anger. It is toxic to the body and is now becoming recognized as one of the main causes of the so-called de...