posted September 14, 2009 12:12 AM         

I think he has a really good way of combining and explaining various religious philosophies.

Of course all you new agers here have probably read ALL his books.

At any rate, at one point in the book he contends that negativity, or negative emotional states, are a product of the ego. He claims the ego is convinced that negativity (anger,fear, sadness, despair) will change reality. I think I agree with him. Not to say that these emotions don't have their places, but most of the time they are misplaced and overused.

posted September 14, 2009 12:21 AM         

• By Pema Chödrön

"We might think that knowing ourselves is a very ego-centered thing, but by beginning to look clearly and honestly at ourselves, we begin to dissolve the walls that separate us from others."

The journey of awakening happens just at the place where we can't get comfortable. Opening to discomfort is the basis of transmuting our so-called "negative" feelings. We somehow want to get rid of our uncomfortable feelings either by justifying them or by squelching them, but it turns out that this is like throwing the baby out with the bath water. According to the teachings of vajrayana, or tantric, Buddhism, our wisdom and our confusion are so interwoven that it doesn't work to just throw things out.

By trying to get rid of "negativity," by trying to eradicate it, by putting it into a column labelled "bad," we are throwing away our wisdom as well, because everything in us is creative energy -- particularly our strong emotions. They are filled with life-force.

There is nothing wrong with negativity per se; the problem is that we never see it, we never honor it, we never look into its heart. We don't taste our negativity, smell it, get to know it. Instead, we are always trying to get rid of it by punching someone in the face, by slandering someone, by punishing ourselves, or by repressing our feelings. In between repression and acting out, however, there is something wise and profound and timeless.

If we just try to get rid of negative feelings, we don't realize that those feelings are our wisdom. The transmutation comes from the willingness to hold our seat with the feeling, to let the words go, to let the justification go. We don't have to have resolution. We can live with a dissonant note; we don't have to play the next key to end the tune.

Curiously enough, this journey of transmutation is one of tremendous joy. We usually seek joy in the wrong places, by trying to avoid feeling whole parts of the human condition. We seek happiness by believing that whole parts of what it is to be human are unacceptable. We feel that something has to change in ourselves.

posted September 14, 2009 05:24 AM         

I have not only his New Earth and Power of Now but also his videos that I bought/downloaded from his website.

my synastry probably explains why I like his stuff

His Sun in 26'41 Aquarius conjuncts my Mars in 25'54 Aquarius. (in the Aquarius constellation)

His retrograde Mercury in 4'06 Pisces conjuncts my Moon in Pisces (in the Aquarius constellation)in 3'11 Pisces

His Stationary South Lunar Node in 17'35 Scorpio conjuncts my Mercury in 18'22 Scorpio Scorpio (in the Libra constellation)
- wonder if I was a student of his in a pastlife.

His Sun in Aquarius and his retrograde Mercury in Pisces makes sense with his being New Thought/New Age spiritual teacher.
Both planets are in the constellation of Aquarius makes sense in regards to the actual life giving water that the constellation is all about as well as preparing for the Age of Aquarius.
His Mercury is in alignment with Fomalhaut (Alpha Pisces Austrinus), the star associated with mysticism,idealism,spirituality. It's one of the Royal Stars of Persia. It can indicate fame and success. With it conjunct his Mercury,it can indicate fame and success in communications,media,writing.
His retrograde Mercury in Pisces also seems to indicate a rightbrained,nonlinear,receptive,emotional,sensitive,introspective type of thinker,communicator. This might be a reason why he didn't want to go to school which tends to be made for auditory sequential learners,the leftbrained types. He also said that he had problems doing math problems and that he wouldn't qualify for MENSA.

Sun in 26'41 Aquarius trine retrograde Uranus in 22'11 Gemini indicates the ease that he has in being objective,detached,impersonal,awakened.
Also it reflects his father which he said was unconventional and what people would say eccentric. It's amazing how Astrology seems to work. Eckhart didn't want to go to school when he was 13,and his mom sent him to live with his father. His father told him that he didn't have to go to school and told him to what he like. They lived in Spain. Eckhart Tolle educated himself by reading books.

His Sun oppose retrograde Mars in 28'24 Leo shows his own battle with the ego but also his ability to be assertive,action-oriented,self expressive as well as a being independent.

He talked about his history of depression.
He talked about an inner shift that he had in his 29th year. That is his Saturn Return

His Saturn is in 18'38 Leo
square his stationary Lunar Nodes in 17'35 Taurus/Scorpio.

Saturn in 18'30 Leo seems to restrictions,limitating,discipline ego,self expression,creativity
conjunct retrograde Pluto in 18'38 Leo seems to indicate structuring,discipling intensity,power drives.

the Lunar Nodes in Taurus/Scorpio seems to indicate that he is learn about value systems and that he has a natural understanding of deep emotional intense feelings,catharsis, transformation and mysteries which he is mean to put into concrete form. He is meant to be practical.
The Saturn square the the lunar nodes indicates the practical side even more.
It also indicates that there could have been problems with authority figures in the past,and maybe this was also connected to why he didn't go to school. Pluto square Nodes could indicate possible power issues in the past. Intensity,transformation that alters his path,destiny.

His Venus is in 5'35 Aries conjunct his Eris in 6'03 Aries indicates that he values diversity and equality. He can be considered controversial,and that's because his teachings aren't the type that conservative religious people would be into. He is not about "He is right and others are wrong" He believes that many religions,spiritual traditions have truth. He is accepting and tolerant of diversity. The conjunction in Aries would seem to indicate his being passionate,assertive,and direct.

on the day of his birth, Moon was already in Taurus. before the start of the day.
The Moon in Taurus indicates the emotional need to be grounded,practical,and sensible. Value systems can be important to him. He can be emotionally stable. Taurus is the Moon's sign of exaltation.
I can't look at lunar aspects because the Moon travels 13'10 average per day, and I don't use wide orbed aspects. I tend to use no more than 5 to 6 degree orbs.
His Ceres in 5'43 Taurus seems to emphasize the Moon in Aquarius. Ceres is the dwarf planet of nurturing,motherly love. With Ceres relating to food, it seems that he could be practical about his eating habits. His Mercury sextiles Ceres,and that indicates that he communicates as somebody that is nurturing and caring.

His Jupiter is in 23'58 Sagittarius in opposition to 22'11 Gemini, and this indicates that he can be highly philosophical but in an unconventional type way. Hence, he is a New Thought/New Age Teacher. It also indicates that he could be rebellious when it comes to teachers, and that he would benefit from alternative teaching. That fits with his stop going to school at 13 years old and his self-education before he relocated to England and started on higher education there. The Jupiter in Sagittarius also fits with his being philsophical,broadminded, traveling and going to other countries.
With it sextiling his Sun and trining his Mars, the Jupiter in Sagittarius is personalized. Therefore,the traits of Jupiter in Sagittarius are strongly emphasized. He actually has a Wedge. The combination of the Sun,Mars,and Jupiter indicates a person that he can be confident,assertive,enthusiastic,optimistic,with the ability to expand,encourage,teach,and motivate.

His Jupiter trine Sedna in 22'15 Aries,and I feel that fits with his gift of being a spiritual teacher. By far, Sedna has the greatest average distance from the Sun than any other object in our solar system. It's named after the Inuit Sea/Underworld Goddess. It seems to be about deep spirituality,transformation and deeply shamanic. Uranus oppose Jupiter and sextile Sedna is the unconventional,innovative,progressive spiritual teacher.

His Sun sextile Varuna in 27'27 Aries. It's one of the big transneptunian objects,and it's cubewano which is a classical kuiper belt object. It orbits beyond Pluto and the plutinos,and it has nearly circular orbit.

Varuna keywords according to Philip Sedgwick:

Varuna: Vedic deity of vast power, particularly the waters. Orbital Period: 284.65 yr.

Positive - sovereign, competent, regulating without force, mastery of all tasks accepted

Negative - incompetent and blaming, laments losses, holds resentment

Mundane - appointments or elected positions, delegation of authority, promotions, demotions, court martial, public humiliation

Ceremonial - ceremonies to confirm positions, spiritual coronations, “induced” journeys as in shamanically led vision quests
http://www.philipsedgwick.com/

Getting his birthtime would be great. I am curious about his aspects with the Moon,Ascendant/Descendant axis,Midheaven/Imum Coeli axis.

Born February 16, 1948 (1948-02-16) (age 61)
Dortmund, Germany http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eckhart_Tolle

Raymond

------------------
"Nothing matters absolutely;
the truth is it only matters relatively"

posted September 14, 2009 08:36 AM         

quote:

---

At any rate, at one point in the book he contends that negativity, or negative emotional states, are a product of the ego. He claims the ego is convinced that negativity (anger,fear, sadness, despair) will change reality. I think I agree with him. Not to say that these emotions don't have their places, but most of the time they are misplaced and overused.

---

posted September 14, 2009 02:18 PM         

i agree with br and t, many people seem to think negativity is necessary to change things, but i have found quite the opposite. negativity builds walls which you then have to try to knock down and the folks on the other side are busy shoring them up all the while...

posted September 14, 2009 02:50 PM         

I kinda believe in what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said about Creative Maladjustment.
He called for forming the "The International Association for the Advancement of Creative Maladjustment" read the last few paragraphs of his speech in front of the American Psychological Association Annual Meeting.

The more I hear his speech and pay attention to his words, the more that I realized that have been creative maladjusted...especially when it comes to psychiatric misdiagnosing/medicating of neuro-divergent people.

I first found out about it from a Mental Health Human Rights organization that I used to be a member of. It's called MindFreedom International.
http://mindfreedom.org/kb/mental-health-global/iaacm/MLK-on-IAACM

I have to express my opinion that people tend to condescendingly hurl out the word, "victim" when they don't like what people say or just can't relate to a person's experience. Many people who are viewed as victims by others view themselves as survivors. Many of these are advocates who help raise awareness about the issues that they have gone through. There are also seems to fine line between victim and survivor as well as fine line between advocating and whining. All these can be relative. It depends on from the angle that a person sees the situation.

any ways.....here is part of the speech in regards to Creative Maladjustment.

"There are certain technical words in every academic discipline which soon become stereotypes and even clichés. Every academic discipline has its technical nomenclature. You who are in the field of psychology have given us a great word. It is the word maladjusted. This word is probably used more than any other word in psychology. It is a good word; certainly it is good that in dealing with what the word implies you are declaring that destructive maladjustment should be destroyed. You are saying that all must seek the well-adjusted life in order to avoid neurotic and schizophrenic personalities."

"But on the other hand, I am sure that we will recognize that there are some things in our society, some things in our world, to which we should never be adjusted. There are some things concerning which we must always be maladjusted if we are to be people of good will. We must never adjust ourselves to racial discrimination and racial segregation. We must never adjust ourselves to religious bigotry. We must never adjust ourselves to economic conditions that take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few. We must never adjust ourselves to the madness of militarism, and the self-defeating effects of physical violence."

"In a day when Sputniks, Explorers and Geminies are dashing through outer space, when guided ballistic missiles are carving highways of death through the stratosphere, no nation can finally win a war. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence, it is either nonviolence or nonexistence. As President Kennedy declared, 'Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind.' And so the alternative to disarmament, the alternative to a suspension in the development and use of nuclear weapons, the alternative to strengthening the United Nations and eventually disarming the whole world, may well be a civilization plunged into the abyss of annihilation. Our earthly habitat will be transformed into an inferno that even Dante could not envision."

"Creative maladjustment."

"Thus, it may well be that our world is in dire need of a new organization, The International Association for the Advancement of Creative Maladjustment. Men and women should be as maladjusted as the prophet Amos, who in the midst of the injustices of his day, could cry out in words that echo across the centuries, 'Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream'; or as maladjusted as Abraham Lincoln, who in the midst of his vacillations finally came to see that this nation could not survive half slave and half free; or as maladjusted as Thomas Jefferson, who in the midst of an age amazingly adjusted to slavery, could scratch across the pages of history, words lifted to cosmic proportions, 'We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. And that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.' And through such creative maladjustment, we may be able to emerge from the bleak and desolate midnight of man's inhumanity to man, into the bright and glittering daybreak of freedom and justice."

Here he is speaking about Creative Maladjustment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDbm6Cv6tSA

He also spoke out against the Vietnam War and pointed out how the American government is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b80Bsw0UG-U&feature=related

another thing....here is an article
The Prophetic Anger of MLK. It was about how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was angry about how things were in USA. It's completely different from his "I have a Dream" speech. The author was explaining about the Black Church.

http://articles.latimes.com/2008/apr/04/opinion/oe-dyson4

He had a t-square of Moon in Pisces in 6th square the opposition of retrograde Mars in Gemini in 3rd and Saturn in Sagittarius in 9th.

Raymond

------------------
"Nothing matters absolutely;
the truth is it only matters relatively"