Chapter 2 discussions

We gathered yesterday to discuss Chapter 2 of ‘A New Earth’. The magic of this book is that it is not just interesting reading and therefore a great subject for discussion and mental stimulation. It is a book that helps us to transform as a person, to address the dysfunction that we have begun to see in our own selves. Maybe transformation was not the intent for some who pick up this book, but as we start to read, it becomes obvious that there is an answer here for those things in life that trouble us the most. It is an instruction manual for how to live our lives in the way our Creator intended. What sets this book apart from other self-help books is that it simply points us to the answer that is already within us, without making it seem complicated.

Prior to our meeting Subhashji had chatted with myself and Meenakshi, and he reminded us that in the first chapter, Eckhart tells us to do introspection and to acknowledge our own part in society’s collective dysfunction. As individuals we are at the mercy of modern society’s emphasis on hyper-sensuality, the continuous chase for pleasure in all its forms, from shopping and accumulating, to eating and drinking, to chasing money, even to chasing knowledge. But it is always short-lived and unsatisfactory. If it is not consumerism, then it is problems with relationships that are causing us misery. Happiness is meant to be a 24-hr thing, not just momentary, and if it comes and goes then it is not happiness. And so in Chapter 2 Eckhart begins explaining the causes and reasons why we have lost touch with that essential happiness, and he blames it all on our tendency to identify with the ego.

In this meeting we concentrated on the workbook questions which guide us along each chapter. They cover all the material and helped us to talk about all the major points. By listing those questions here, we can revisit them often and continue to contemplate the meaning and effect that the answers could have for each of us.

(1) On pages 30-33, Eckhart tells the story of a woman on the subway who appeared “quite insane.” Later in the story he realizes there were only differences in degree between that woman and himself – and all of us – because we all have a “voice in the head” that we mistake as our self. Start listening to that “voice in the head” as often as you can. Pay attention to any repetitive thought patterns, particularly negative ones about yourself, our life or other people. Write down any such repetitive thought patterns that you detect.

(2) In childhood, we start looking for a sense of self in the things we want and get. “My toy later become my car, my house, my clothes” (p. 35). Things themselves are not bad, but our identification with those things keeps us unsatisfied and unhappy. Investigate your relationship with the world of things, things that are designated with the word my. Be alert and honest. Take some time to honestly answer the following questions from page 38, using examples from your daily lives.

A. Do certain things induce a subtle feeling of importance or superiority? Do you casually mention things you own or show them off to increase your sense of worth?

B. Does the lack of them make you feel inferior to others who have more than you? Do you feel resentful and somehow diminished in your sense of self?

(3) "There are people who have renounced all possessions but have a bigger ego than some millionaires. If you take away one kind of identification, the ego will quickly find another” (p. 44). What do you think this means?

(4) “No matter what your body’s appearance is on the outer level, beyond the outer form it is an intensely alive energy field” (p. 52). Close your eyes for a moment and see if you can feel the life energy inside your hands. This is your “inner body.” Make it a habit this week to feel the inner body in your hands as often as you can. If you like, you can incorporate other parts of the body – feet, legs, arms, chest, abdomen and so on – into that feeling until you are aware of the inner body as a global sense of aliveness. This kind of body awareness not only anchors you in the present moment, it is also a doorway out of the prison that is the ego. Record your experiences here.

(5) Have you ever had the experience of standing before the open refrigerator, not really hungry, but looking for something anyway? Many people try to fill up their life with food, drink, drugs or other addictive behavior. The “need for more” can turn into insatiable hunger. The next time you find yourself reaching for something you think you want, get in touch with your inner body – your “essence identity” – and see what happens to your “need for more.” Record your experiences here.

(6) Whenever loss occurs, we can either resist or yield. “Yielding means inner acceptance of what is. You are open to life. Resistance is an inner contraction, a hardening of the shell of the ego. You are closed. … When you surrender, a new dimension of consciousness opens up. … Your action will be in alignment with the whole and supported by creative intelligence. … Circumstances and people then become helpful. … Coincidences happen” (p. 57-58). Have you ever had an experience of loss that you resisted? Have you had an experience of loss that you yielded to? What happened? Write about these experiences.

As a group we discussed each of these questions in a general way. It is gratifying to hear others confirm some of the same doubts and issues I have, and it is a pleasant feeling to have the sense of a shared journey. I noticed that there are less and less disagreements about the major points, even if we may not always agree on minor specifics. This goes to show that the essential truth, the essential message behind most (if not all) spiritual books, is consistent and becoming apparent as we continue to explore. Many interesting and thought-provoking comments were made by the group members, and I’m listing some of them here:

Meenakshi raised the question – Is ego the same as self-esteem? Best answer we came up with is that self-esteem is a subset of the ego, and having wholesome self-esteem is a positive thing. We all agreed, however, that the science of psychology has a lot more to say about this.

Lynne told us the story of someone at a wine-tasting party mentioning that her brother-in-law is the president of Afghanistan. This name-dropping is common when someone is trying to impress, but is the impulse coming from the ego and thus dysfunctional? It seems okay to be proud of associating with a famous person, but then why do we have a negative reaction? Is it the ego of the person telling the story, or the ego of the person receiving it, that is at play here? What would Eckhart say if we posed this question to him?

Tom made many comments which shows he has really thought through many issues. He had many good suggestions about how to take on a tough challenge like quitting cigarettes, but I liked what he said about inter-personal relationships. Many times people behave strangely towards us, but is it just them, or something we are doing to cause the things that are happening to us? This touches on the law of attraction, about how we ultimately are the cause of all that happens to us. Tom also made another interesting and significant point about work, about how the majority of us are not really working at what is our passion, therefore we should think of it as an opportunity to develop wonderful relationships at our place of work. Once we acknowledge that we are all connected at the spiritual level, then each person we meet is a divine happening. This is even truer for those people at work with whom we spend so much time.

Salmah told us that the real power of Now is that creativity can flow; therefore we need to be present as much as we can. This was a timely reminder of Eckhart’s message which he elaborates in his book Power of Now. If we want to achieve some goals, find solutions to problems, or bring about something into this world, we need to be creative, but creativity will only come in the present moment, so we have to be in the right frame of mind.

Ikram talked about how we should not resist but accept. But are we not obligated to fight when something is bad? The conclusion was that one should do what one has to do at any given moment but one can be in a state of inner acceptance to whatever is happening. What’s happening is happening (the is-ness as Eckhart says) so why resist?

Along the same lines, I mentioned what Eckhart says in his interview with Oprah, about how “worry pretends to be necessary.” When we think about it, we see that this is a powerful statement. We all worry at some point, and without fail we realize afterwards that worrying was un-necessary. Whatever was going to happen, happened anyway, and worrying is just a drain on mental energy. This ties in to the idea of not resisting, to how surrender opens up a new dimension, a wonderful dimension. Eckhart ends the chapter with this point.