Customer Reviews
A big ego writes about ego - By: Dreamcatcher, 12 Aug 2008 
I was given this by someone who saw Oprah raving about it & bought two copiesin a state of excitement. I thought that the first three pages were quite good then was extremely disappointed as the rest went no further than to rehash Buddhism. My overriding concern is Tolle's continual denigration of the ego & his attempts to persuade us that if we could just annihilate any sense of being an individual or having individual thoughts or preferences we could all acheive permanent bliss. In fact, if we all followed this advice we would all coagulatein one big splurge of mush as no one would be allowed a personality at all.
This kind of spirituality feels very uncomfortable. I have always believed that the ego is a misunderstood beast & gets very bad pressin New Age circles. We each represent a shard of God, here to express & experience our uniqueness & to evolve the whole while understanding we are part of the whole to which we will return following death. In addition, Tolle's regurgitated & extreme trashing of the ego is incongruent given that he benefits from the proceeds from a whole range of products, from calendars to cards, emblazoned with his name. No ego there then!
This book feels like a quick attempt to jump on the coat tails of his previous book and, for me, offers nothing new. I am sure this will do very well for the Eckhart Tolle franchise but am concerned about the cost to anybody who adopts this philosophy without understanding that 'God' the Universe or whatever you believein gave us the ego for a reason. It enables you to find who you are & what you stand for. There is nothing inherently spiritual about voluntary self anhihilation. Even the Dala Lama left Tibet rather than adopting a stance of staying put & being 'meek'in the presence of danger. It isn't a New Earth it is a rehash & it doesn't say what it says on the tin 'awakening to your life purpose' should read 'putting your life purpose to sleep as it doesn't exist.'
Makes You Think - By: Darren G. Burton, 31 Jul 2008 
This work not only gives you an insightin Buddhism, it really gets you thinking about life itself.
Books like this one always manage to grab our attention & hold it, as we humans are always looking for answersin our lives & the reasons for our very existence.
How To Keep Your Man: And Keep Him For Good
Real Life Dramas - Volume One: 1
Darren G. Burton
very insightful - By: Stephanie Hentinger, 30 Jul 2008 
I read this book & listened to the oprah show chapter by chapter at the same time (free to download on itunes). It was very useful, very insightful & rich. No matter how many times I will go back to this book, there will always be something new to discover. recommemded.
A spiritual guide to a better life - By: Rolf Dobelli, 29 Jul 2008 If you were to say that this book inspires a completely new way of thinking, you would be wrong. That's because new-age guru Eckhart Tolle bases his teachings on the existing concept of moving beyond thinking. He explains that you can only connect to the energy that flows through the universe only when you hush the incessant voicein your head. This book made a huge media splash earlyin 2008 when Oprah Winfrey selected it for her bestseller-making book club & encouraged worldwide discussion of it via live Web seminars. Readers eagerly shared their "aha moments" online, citing pointsin the book that ignited their "shiftsin consciousness." And yet anyone who is at all familiar with Eastern philosophies will not find Tolle's messages quite so groundbreaking. For instance, the concept of ego transcendence has been part of the Eastern spiritual lexicon for centuries. getAbstract agrees that Tolle's guidance fulfills a need for current-day seekers, & recommends it to anyone who relishes the spiritual quest for authentic selfhood & inner stillness, or who is simply curious to discover what provoked all the buzz.
Good but repetitive and over-generalising - By: The Doc, 21 Jul 2008 
On the positive side this book is easy to read, well-researched & highly thought-provoking. Much of it makes sense & is backed up by occasional referenced to the Bible, Zen & respected literary figures. And it all hangs together quite neatly & fits snugly into the Zeitgeist. However, the book could have been writtenin 80 pages instead of 300 plus. Also, some of the arguments are a little simplistic & generalised - & ideas & terms are welded together rather too keenlyin a vain attempt to solve the ultimate mystery of man, existence & the universe. Are we to believe that the unconscious operates as the ego at ALL times? Is the 'Now' the ONLY true & most spiritual way of existing? Is it ALWAYS the most practical & useful? Does 'all truly successful action come out of the field of alert attention, rather than from ego & conditioned, unconscious thinking.'? Sometimes, yes. But surely speaking, driving & creativity are just a few key activities that partly or fully use the unconscious to successful affect. And when it comes to physcial pain, is it always a great idea to bein full 'awareness' & have 'alert attention'. Wonder what the NLP/hypnotherpists would say.
I guess the book's problem is that whilst it makes a valiant attempt at straddling spirituality, philosophy & psychology it ends up carrying some pretty patched up, wounded ideas & occasionally finds itself limping aroundin circles. So - for me, it's close but no cigar...however it's well worth a read.
