I’ve begun making my way through Eckhart Tolle’s recommended reading list. This book is on there, and it was available at the local library, so I started here.
Lots of great stuff. A quick read, too. I believe it’s a transcribed live seminar. De Mello talks about “waking up” (described by Eckhart Tolle as “the separation of thinking and awareness”, enlightenment), and how this is what everyone needs to do and that life isn’t worth living unless you wake up. Lots of insight. It’s hard to say how helpful this information will be for someone who who hasn’t had at least a little bit of that “waking up” experience. But I guess that person may not be attracted to this book in the first place.
I did prefer THE WAY TO LOVE a bit more than this one though. More hard-hitting to me. It’s one that I will certainly reread.
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The other day I saw a snail crossing the sidewalk. The snails are coming again. Last year, when I saw a snail starting to cross the sidewalk, I’d pick him up and put him all the way on the other side. At the time I was thinking I was helping him by LAUNCHING his career forward and keeping him from getting squashed under someone’s shoe. And I wished some invisible hand would do that to me. But I guess I have things to learn on the journey, focus on the present moment, bla bla bla bla. Maybe just pick me up and lift me 1/3 of the way. How bout that?
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Just watched this movie (this year’s best foreign film Oscar winner) in the theater. Absolutely amazing acting, directing, and cinematography. There’s some really cool hand-held camera work. Who knew the Argentinians were such amazing filmmakers? Wow.
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I’ve recently become a huge Kurosawa fan. The movies I’ve seen of his always tell some interesting story about the human experience. I just watched RASHOMON, the movie about a rape/murder told from the different perspectives of the people involved. There are parts in it where it’s like “well, you’re supposed to kill yourself because you’ve been with two men” or “you’re supposed to kill yourself because your wife has been with two men”. The Japanese are funny about suicide. Talk about identifying with your ego. Something is so unacceptable to people and society that the only solution is suicide. But it’s really not that absurb. I’m sure I have about a million similar beliefs that I’m totally unaware of that are holding me back. Things I believe are completely unacceptable that really are not problems.
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I’ve been reading a bit about how desire is the source of suffering, and it feels pretty good sometimes to have no expectations and just give and be humble and the valley of the universe, etc. But I was driving today making a turn and nothing big, but the people could have let me in and didn’t. It didn’t really matter, I got across soon enough. But I realized I really do want some level of humanity and compassion from people. Not that those people were inhumane, they were fine, but it just made me think that I do desire that of other people, no matter what various ancient texts say. And right now, no matter how much I think about giving myself and doing what I know to be right, and it makes me really sad to think that the mean way of living is “right” to other people. Maybe they think I’m mean.
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