A New Earth Part 3

In Eckhart Tolle’s second chapter entitled, Ego: The Current State of Humanity, he makes the case that our collective dysfunction, causes suffering and pain. It is rooted in the ego. All we can see is the surface of a person or thing. For Eckhart each created thing has an “unfathomable depth.” There is a beingness to things. Only the awakened mind can see into the beingness of a thing. The example he gives is Vincent Van Gogh. The artist’s job is to translate the isness of the subject to canvass so we can really see or appreciate the painting.

In order for us to really see things as they are we must disentangle ourselves from the “I”. He writes, “That disentanglement is what this book is about.” We should use words and thoughts but not become imprisoned by them. Here is the problem with the “I” according to Mr. Tolle. The “I” is an error of perception. We think we are what the ego identifies with—the stuff of life. This stuff the Tao calls, “the 10,000 things”. This stuff the Buddha called, “Tata”.

The ego represents a false self. The “I” equals our roles and identity. Yet, we are much more than these. The false self is identified with a quilt of possessiveness such as: gender, possessions, the sense-perceived body, a nationality, race, religion, and profession, etc. The false self is identified with our roles is this life—mother, father, husband, wife, etc. These all make up the mental construct we call “I” [ego].