“A New Earth though a New Me”
by Kara Martin

Eckhart Tolle has shot to superstar status with the publication of his first book in eight years: A New Earth. It has been embraced by Oprah Winfrey and she hosted an on-line series of interviews which attracted more than two million subscribers. The book has been top of the Self-Help titles since its release.

Eckhart Tolle was born in Germany, but now lives in Canada. He was a student at Cambridge University when, at the age of 29, he was “awakened”. Until then he had been suffering from depression and a sense of unhappiness that almost drove him to suicide. The awakening led him to a place of peace and serenity.

The first book that brought him fame was The Power of Now, but this new book is more complex, while retaining the use of stories which makes him slightly more accessible than some other New Age gurus. The “big idea” in A New Earth is the belief that if we are each “awakened” then we will have the ability to regenerate a new earth. We will discover our true selves, merged with god, and will be detached from the destructive ego forces that usually drive us.

There are a lot of strengths in this book. Eckhart sees the essential problem facing humanity as sin, or suffering, driven by ego, or selfishness. He is helpful in his suggestions for reducing the drive to selfishness, becoming more aware when we are trying to dominate others or feed our own egos. He is also very good in the area of unexpressed emotion, or the “pain-body” as he refers to it, which we carry around with us, the accumulation of anger and jealousy and hurt.

However, I was annoyed by this book as well. Eckhart seems to borrow from many religious traditions without including any of the hard bits! He likes Jesus’ teaching but there is no judgment or hell. He borrows the bulk of his teaching from Buddhism but has skipped all the difficult disciplines required to achieve detachment.

So ultimately he oversimplifies any path to spiritual connection with God, and he quotes spiritual leaders out of context. In fact virtually every one of the 21 Scripture references are quoted out of context and retranslated to suit Eckhart’s message. Now, that is not a new thing in the area of self-help books, but it is aggravating when Eckhart says: “that is what Jesus meant when he said...”

Even in the title, he says that Jesus is talking about a New Earth now, here, which is really only half the story. The New Earth, in the state of perfection Tolle is referring to will only be recreated when Jesus returns in glory. Tolle wants to emphasise the present without acknowledging the waiting, the future; and especially avoiding any concept of Judgment.

Eckhart Tolle chose his name after becoming awakened. He named himself after Meister Eckhart, the German Medieval mystic who taught about meditating on the Godhead (Father, Son and Spirit) to know oneself, and create the man or woman you truly are. Unlike his contemporaries, such as Francis of Assisi, Eckhart’s mysticism was not Christ-centred. His surname, Tolle, is old German for fabulous or wonderful, so the name he has chosen sums up his spirituality. Look inside yourself for that wonderful place.

There is some useful advice in A New Earth, and its adherents may consume less and be less aggressive. However, one of my big concerns is that readers of this book may think Jesus actually taught what Tolle is teaching. I suggest people check out the New Testament part of the Bible in one of the modern translations to find out what Jesus really said. When he said “I am the way, the truth and the life, no-one comes to the Father except by me,” it was an exclusive claim to be the path to God. Ultimately relationship with God through Jesus, alongside other believers is the only way a New Earth will be created, now and in the future.

Open House book reviewer KARA MARTIN is a lecturer with Macquarie Christian Studies Institute (www.mcsi.edu.au), and is an avid reader and book group attendee.