A New Earth

Ok, so I know I may be getting a little ahead of myself, but I began reading Eckhart Tolle's sequel to The Power of Now, it is called A New Earth, it has been quite a hit, since Oprah chose it for her book club and did a series on online tutorials with Tolle.

The book is beautifully written, and I find it much easier to assimilate, and somehow gentler than PON, although I am still glad I read PON first because it gives a great grounding in the subject. A New Earth is more focused on how to bring the power of now into your day to day life.

The book begins beautifully with a passage on the importance of flowers. Tolle writes that their inherent beauty is due to their impermanence, which allows the brightness of their being to shine through. I love this concept, and it is definitely true that flowers are at their most beautiful and breathtaking when you just observe them, as opposed to labelling them and thinking about them. With that in mind, my camping trip in Sussex Monday and Tuesday took on a new light.

I would like to say that the trip was 48 hours of mindfulness, with no thinking, and a wonderful sense of being, and communing with nature, and in a way that's true....but it isn't the whole truth!

Bean and I forgot a watch, and decided not to bring a phone, this lead to a great sense of freedom, and complete lack of thinking about time, (try counting how many times you look at a clock in a day, how many of those are necessary?). We also spent about an hour on the second day walking in silence. I spent this time focusing on being aware, and observing the beautiful birch forests, the ground littered with bracken, and the occasional babbling brook. This was a beautiful experience and I truly felt the life of the forest in the vibrant greens of the leaves and the damp mosses on the trees. I must admit that I kept singing to myself, I just could not get this song out of my head (I can't even remember what it was now), but that was a gentle reminder of just how in control my mind is -- there is definitely a need for practise! When the song receded, even for a second or two, or when I stopped paying attention to the song, that was when I felt the beauty of the forest most strongly.

The silent walking especially and the whole trip in general was a revitalising and refreshing experience, and I can honestly say I have never seen as much beauty in a cow, a sheep, or a fallen tree trunk than I did whilst focusing on observing them, not labelling them. I also learned to navigate properly which is such a relief as I have lots of adventures planned in the near future for which it will be an indispensable skill. Watch this space!

A Lesson in Impermanence

In meditation class yesterday, in which we discussed:

the world is a mirror reflecting ourselves
total presence in the now equates to total forgiveness
once you have forgiven the whole situation is changed & improved
your emotions are a physical manifestation of your thoughts and therefore your mind (not you)

and as if to reinforce all the beautiful knowledge, after leaving the class I realised my bicycle had been stolen. My beautiful 21st birthday present, the perfect fit, the racing bike of my dreams, gone. So with great effort (I am not going to pretend it was easy), I walked away, and observed my emotions, without becoming involved in them, I accepted the situation and then decided in a course of action, and I tried to keep myself in my body, in the present, and in the stillness. I wasn't wildly successful, I loved that bike, (attachment!), and I am trying very hard to pay off debts and save for a once-in-a-lifetime style trip to South America, I do not particularly want to spend money on a new bike. But, looking back over yesterday evening, 'old me' very well may have been in a mood all night, felt like a victim and got completely engrossed in my life situation, completely forgetting the life within me.

So, I am actually quite pleased, I am making progress, I feel there is more peace in my life, and more presence, and I am quite looking forward to the opportunity to choose a new bike, I would quite like the next one to be green!

As well as the lessons I learned about myself, I am also reminded of the impermanence of things in this world, and the subsequent danger of attachment. It is frightening and humbling to be reminded that nothing in this world lasts forever - at least not in its current form, but also very liberating.

Not only can it be liberating, but it is also counterbalanced with the eternal nature of light, energy, divinity, God, whatever you want to call it, and these are the two things that all life forms have in common- mortality and eternity.

Who am I?

Last night was my first class for my new meditation course, based on the text by Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now. No matter what the class there is almost an element of anticipation before the first session, and this was no different, but it was short-lived. The environment was welcoming, and sipping water with mint leaves and lime was refreshing after a sweaty cycle.

I have dabbled in meditation since I was twelve, but never truly committed to it. The reason it appeals to me is not particularly esoteric, if I am honest, the reason is that I want to quiet my mind. I tire of the constant chatter of my thoughts, most of which are pointless, the worst of which are harmful and poisoning. It exhausts me, thinking so much all the time, right up until the second I fall asleep.

Tolle's book focuses on just this principle. He suggests that thoughts have taken over our consciousness. Instead of using our thoughts as a tool, we have allowed our thoughts to become us, to define us, and to create suffering. The teacher yesterday put it beautifully. He said, 'who knows what you are thinking? you do. Someone is watching those thoughts, and that is who you truly are.' I love this idea, the idea that our thoughts are just a small part of ourselves, and not who we are.

This means that whatever you do or think, you are still you, whether your home is repossessed, you're fired, you lose your limbs, you think you are losing a part of your identity, of who you are, but you aren't because who we are is stronger than that, and unlike all our thoughts, who we are is eternal, thoughts are impermanent. It is also scary, because it means that the house we are working towards buying, the job we have, and the partner we are searching for, will not change who we are; will not make us 'better'.

We are already the best version of ourselves, we just have to learn to tap into ourselves by letting go of our thoughts, and this is, of course, achieved through meditation. So I am going to explore the me behind the thoughts by various meditation techniques. This week: watching my thoughts. By becoming aware of my thoughts, I can separate myself from them and begin to understand (not intellectually, but consciously) that I am not my thoughts, and this is step one.

It is a pretty life changing concept, and if you really want to explore it I highly recommend the book. I will keep you posted on how the course goes. Comments welcome, I'd love to hear what you think!