Benefits I Am Getting From A New Earth

As you know from a couple recent posts on my blog, I have been recommending Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth webcast series with Oprah.

I recommended a particular episode to a friend. I want to share his reply and my follow up response.

He says,

"It was interesting, but not really useful and I do believe Mr. Tolle's reply was not complete. Mr. Tolle might be very much in the present, his speed is slow and that makes the show somewhat hard to look at.
 
"Also I am not that much a fan of Oprah so that might add to my slow digestion of this show, I have copied all 6 of them now. However I find it hard to look longer then half an hour or so.
 
"I have the book, soon I will have time to read it. Hope it is better then the show.  Sometimes the movie is better then the book, I hope this time it is the other way around."

I have to agree with my friend that the shows are a bit slow -- but there are some incredibly powerful nuggets of wisdom in there. I found the audio book edition of A New Earth the best. It seems that no matter where I start listening, every single sentence contains powerful wisdom. I admit that, in contrast, couldn't read the whole printed book straight through, as I often do when I read an interesting book.

However, I believe this discussion misses the mark because the only reason for reading this book or watching the web casts is to gain some practical knowledge and apply it to raise one's level of consciousness. The entertainment value is of no consequence.

When it comes to practical value, I have to say that every minute of attention I have put on Tolle's work has been very worthwhile.  I am noticing some very powerful effects on my  intraocular pressure (IOP).

My current problematic intraocular pressure issue is seen while I am lying down in the early morning (as soon as I wake up). Applying what I have learned lately (a large part of that coming from Eckhart Tolle), I am getting some of my lowest IOP ever during this period while I am lying down just after awakening.

The effect is not yet consistent. Some days I can "do it" well, some days not. (Note that using the phrase "do it" is misleading because there isn't really anything to do, as you will understand from studying Tolle.)

This pattern of inconsistent results initially is the same pattern I experienced in the past during all intraocular pressure improvements. (I have had quite a few improvements in the past, but previously they have been limited to my waking hours.) They come inconsistently until I master the solution technique. In this case, it is largely a matter of practicing being "here now" as much as possible. (But there are some subtleties.) During the day I have to practice it enough so that is carries through the night. When I do that, there is a dramatic difference in my IOP while I'm in bed upon awakening the next morning.

The difference in intraocular pressure I see upon awakening from day to day can be correlated with my thoughts -- both the thoughts I can recall while I am lightly sleeping (dreaming) before waking up and my thoughts immediately after waking up. The quality (content, intensity, speed, etc.) of my thoughts and the nature of my state of consciousness (i.e., the degree to which my mind is still) are the factors that seem to correlate most closely with my IOP.

If I wake up and I notice that my mind is not quiet (still), I can proceed to enter that state. In less than ten minutes, by doing nothing more than letting my mind become still, I can reduce my IOP by at least 5 mmHg. (The total range from max IOP to min IOP associated with changes in my state of consciousness if much larger -- more like 12 mmHg or more.) This change comes while I am still lying down in bed and without doing anything other than changing my state of mind. 

As a related point I want to mention that most people have about 60,000 thoughts per day. Most of those of redundant, repetitive, useless thoughts. Contrary to what we might assume, thinking more doesn't lead to success or progress of any kind in life. Thinking less is the way to achieve powerful results in life. This is also the road to improved health.

I remember a time (such as when I started this blog) when I had so many thoughts that it was impossible to catalog them all. Now I can often go for long periods with clear awareness of every single thought that enters my mind. This is a much more enjoyable way to live. (The side effect of lower IOP is nice too.)