A New Earth - The Arising New Consciousness

            In Power vs. Force, Dr. David Hawkins states that as one individual moves into a higher state of consciousness, the entire collective consciousness moves up as well. So the more ideas like those in A New Earth and other books of its kind are disseminated, the more we will hear this type of discussion in the mainstream. But to be honest, these ideas are nothing new; they just haven't been fully embraced.

            Tolle goes on to state that what is considered the 'normal' workings of the mind are actually quite dysfunctional. This is buoyed by the idea of 'maya' in Hinduism (that all is delusion, the idea of 'dukkha' in Buddhism (that all life is suffering), and the idea of 'sin' in Christianity (that we have ‘fallen short of the glory of God' or missed the point of existence).

            Many self help techniques that propose that people turn from fear, greed, and desire actually turn out to be dismal failures because they don't confront the root of the problems. The fear, greed, and desire that seem to be the causes of many of the problems in the world, are in fact only symptoms of the greater problem, that we are identifying with this life of delusion, suffering, and sin as the truth of reality, while it is actually only a shadow of who we really are what existence is really all about.

            He then cites Communism as an example of what happens when people try to change their external reality without changing their internal reality. I think that may be true of Democracy as well. Though we may institute a new president, I don't envision things in America getting much better until we change our individual consciousness. Fortunately, I believe that is happening.

            Just as each religion has its own idea of separation, they also have their own idea of connection. To Hindus, it is called ‘enlightenment'. To Christians, it is called ‘salvation'. To Buddhists, it is called both ‘enlightenment' and ‘the end of suffering'. Many great teachers have come before us throughout our history and preached these messages, some well known like Buddha, Jesus, and Lao Tzu, and some not as widely recognized. Sometimes the messages have been embraced, oftentimes the messages have been misinterpreted, and many times the messages have been shunned.

            Those who have brought the message have run the gamut from being revered, reviled, and murdered. All too often, the message that they brought has been twisted to only strengthen the dysfunction, thereby making religion just as great a conduit for division and strife as for unity and peace.

            Religious doctrine has historically served to bolster the egos of its adherents and create an "I'm right and you're wrong" mentality, all the while missing the true heart of the message. Nevertheless, in each of these traditions, the truth still remains at the core and calls out to those souls brave and wise enough to let go of the dogmatic trappings and find the wheat among the chaff.

            Though those who sought the greater truths among the complacent traditions bore much fruit in the way of higher consciousness, once an established ‘school' of thought was formed, the concept was soon snatched up into the identification of ego, and the message was lost again. Like the Gnostics of Christianity, the Kabbalists of Judaism, the Sufis of Islam, Vedanta of Hindu, and Zen of Buddhism, these smaller sects, though striving for the deeper meaning often served to only institute another ‘club' in which one could join and miss out on what was truly being sought.

            In the search for enlightenment or salvation, it is a journey that each man and woman must make alone in order to find that we are all one.