Chapter 1 discussions

Yesterday, our group gathered to discuss Chapter 1 of this remarkable book. Maybe it was just me, but I noticed a sense of excitement as everyone has begun to value these get-togethers. We all agreed at first that anyone who has absorbed just a few lines of this book feels an impact within themselves at some level. Michelle started our talk by observing that millions and millions of people had attended or viewed Oprah's webcast discussions, and that was two years ago. Since then many millions more are studying this message, including groups like ours. There is obviously a hunger for some kind of release and solace, probably the same age-old hunger that has been around for centuries and that gave rise to the world's established religions.

We went around the table asking what each person's opinion is about the difference between religion and spirituality. Some in our group said that these were two separate parallel influences in our lives. The rest of us felt that each religion's ultimate aim is to get you in touch with that spirituality. Religions began with the foundation of spirituality but their message has been corrupted and distorted over the years. Many people do not understand or agree with what modern religions are promoting, so the larger message of enlightenment is being obscured. Books like A New Earth are popular because they point to what we're seeking without all the dogma and social baggage.

An interesting side-note is whether this is just successful commercialism, or just a big hype. Well, is it? If one wants to debate then one can argue whether Jesus' message was all hype, or Mohammed's, or Buddha's. Just because it was neatly packaged and marketed by Oprah's business machine does that make it less relevant? Oprah has also promoted medical expertise and had shows like Dr.Phil and Dr.Oz about medical matters, so this book club is another useful service she is providing. My take is that commercialism has a benign side, and we are so conditioned that we are more likely to mistrust something that is NOT properly marketed.

In Chapter 1 the author lays the foundation for the cause of our dysfunction, that being our runaway ego. Or rather our tendency to identify with our egos, and to inflate everything mental and emotional. Samantha told us an interesting real-life example of what happens when we get bypassed for promotion at work. The ego gets badly bruised and negative energy is generated. How one deals with that negative energy (jealousy, anger, fear, envy, sadness, anxiety) is what we need to focus on, to make sure we don't get consumed by that negative energy and get further damaged. We then had long discussions about the ego, what it is, how it comes about, what is the historical context of the dysfunction, etc. Eckhart Tolle says it’s our obsessive thinking that is the root of the madness. He notes that human intelligence is capable of awesome destuctive power like the advances in technology for making weapons. But I pointed out that Eckhart also says human intelligence has produced a lot of good and wonderful things. Like a jetliner that can take you from Chicago to the other side of the world in a few hours. Or the impressive skyscrapers, or pyramids, or the Taj Mahal, and the many consumer goods we enjoy, all are examples of mankind's ability to think and conceive and produce.

The trick is to not get consumed by the ego, but what does that mean in our daily lives?

Ikram brought up the point about our thoughts being very difficult to control. Everyone can relate to this, as many times we are at the mercy of our runaway mind. And usually, at the end of this thinking frenzy, there is misery or a lousy feeling. Why do we obsessively think and think, assuming that the answer to whatever problem we have at the moment lies in our minds? Meditation is the cure for this condition, but we all agreed it is not so easy to do. Prayer is another answer. Salmah made a very good analogy of how we are seeking to look past a window into what we want to see in our soul, but the window is dirty and covered up with grime that we have created as we live our daily lives and think those daily thoughts. And so our work is to continuously clean-up that window so we can finally see through. This was a wonderful and poetic explanation, and drew a well-deserved applause from all of us. Helping us realize essential truths like this is the goal of studying such books and having such discussions. In that regard we had a successful and uplifting meeting and we ought to feel gratitude towards the universe for bringing us this message.

Many other things were said, and quite a few were off-topic. In order to get the most out of these meetings, I think next time we should stay close to the topics in the book. Those workbook questions that Meenaskhi found should help. I’m sure I’ve missed jotting down an important point or two here, so please fill in the gaps as you remember them.

Looking forward to our next gathering.