Chapter 1 -- The Flowering of Human Consciousness
1-A. When do you remember feeling an affinity with someone or something living that was not "logical" or was not connected to thought: thought being that which we now know as ego? What was your reaction to that "illogical" feeling?
1-B. How did your religious upbringing mold your perception of heaven? How do you perceive heaven now?
Chapter 2 -- Ego: The Current State of Humanity
2-A. What have you been taught about miracles? How have you experienced miracles in your life?
2-B. With what labels and roles does the "voice in your head" identify?
2-C. Are you a resister or a yielder in tragedy? If you have changed from one to the other, what was the impetus for that change?
Chapter 3 -- The Core of Ego
3-A. On page 71, Tolle writes, "When you find that Truth, your actions will be in alignment with it. Human action can reflect the Truth, or it can reflect illusion." On page 72, he writes, "When you are in touch with that dimension within yourself -- and being in touch with it in your natural state, not some miraculous achievement -- all your actions and relationships will reflect the oneness with all life that you sense deep within. This is love. Laws, commandments, rules, and regulations are necessary for those who are cut off from who they are, the Truth within." React to these related statements.
3-B. On page 79, Tolle writes what I perceive as a key to awakening consciousness: "Can I sense my essential Beingness, the I Am, in the background of my life at all times? To be more accurate, can I sense the I Am that I Am at this moment? Can I sense my essential identity as consciousness itself? Or am I losing myself in what happens, losing myself in the mind, in the world?" What is your understanding about this quote? Do you agree?
Chapter 4 -- Role-Playing: The Many Faces of the Ego
4-A. What life problems can arise when we identify with the villain, victim, and/or lover roles?
4-B. Much of chapter four addresses the roles of parent and child. What is your experience with each of these roles? How would it have been different if your ego had been minimalized?
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1 comment:
How does this fit in with Tolle's idea of lightness of being?
"I think joy and sweetness and affection are a spiritual path. We're here to know God, to love and serve God, and to be blown away by the beauty and miracle of nature. You just have to get rid of so much baggage to be light enough to dance, to sing, to play. You don't have time to carry grudges; you don't have time to cling to the need to be right."
~~ author Anne Lamott, in a recent Washington Times interiew
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