10/27/2019 A New Earth Summary - Four Minute Books

A New Earth Summary

 July 1, 2016 (https://fourminutebooks.com/a-new-earth-summary/)  Niklas Goeke
(https://fourminutebooks.com/author/linuscaldwell300/)  Self Improvement
(https://fourminutebooks.com/category/self-improvement/)

1-Sentence-Summary: A New Earth (https://amzn.to/2WnZBJo)

outlines a crazy and destructive place we call home, but not without
showing us that we can all save it together, by looking into our minds
and detaching ourselves from our ego, so we can practice acceptance
and enjoyment.

Read in: 3 minutes

Favorite quote from the author:

You most likely know Eckhart Tolle from his book The Power of
Now (https://fourminutebooks.com/the-power-of-now-
summary/), so I bet you’ll be surprised to hear that A New Earth
(https://amzn.to/2WnZBJo) sold almost twice as many copies. This
might have been mostly due to Oprah selecting it for her book


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club, which led to a series of 10 webinars with her and Tolle,

which 35 million people attended (around 10% of which in turn
bought the book).

Nonetheless, this book describes some of the central problems

humanity faces today and gives individuals like you and me a
place to start changing that.

Here are 3 lessons from A New Earth to help you make the world
a better place, by making your mind a better place:

1. Religion won’t help us save the world, because it always

carries part of the problem.
2. Be a duck – don’t overthink things.
3. Acceptance leads to enjoyment, which is the only way to an
enlightened life.

Wanna come and save the planet? Let’s think ourselves to a better
earth!

If you want to save this summary for later, download the

free PDF and read it whenever you want.

Download PDF 
(https://pages.convertkit.com/510c9b4ee4/e4398d7cdf)

Lesson 1: Religion won’t help us save the world,

because it always carries part of the problem.
Tolle rst describes that all religions already accept pain,
chaos, madness and su ering as part of life in one form or

the other. Therefore, religion can’t possibly solve the problem.
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Buddhism, for example, mentions dukkha as the mind’s natural

state, which translates to su ering or pain. If you translate “sin”
from its original, Greek source, it comes out to “missing the mark.”
Thus, Christianity also has its own bucket for those, who are lost
causes and just miss the point. Hinduism integrates death and
rebirth into a perpetual cycle of pain and relief.

You see, turning to religion, no matter which one, can’t possibly

truly liberate us.

Most of these problems with religion have emerged over time,

because as religions grew older, their messages have been
twisted, changed and distorted, making them part of the problem,
instead of the solution. Just think of the Crusades, Spanish
Inquisition, or the Israeli-Palestinian con ict.

Lesson 2: Overthinking is detrimental, so be like a

duck.
Tolle uses a cool Zen story to make this point.

Tanzan and Ekido, two Buddhist monks, travel along a muddy road,
while heavy rain is falling. They spot a beautiful woman in a kimono,
who’s unable to cross an intersection, because of the bad weather.
Tanzan picks her up and carries her to the other side, setting her
down. They travel on for hours, and only when they reach their
destination at night does Ekido speak about what’s been bothering
him the entire time: “We monks aren’t allowed near females, so why
did you do that?”

Tanzan replies: “I left the girl there. Are you still carrying her?”


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So simple, but perfectly makes the point. Tolle compares

someone, who doesn’t overthink, to a duck. When ducks ght,
they quickly swim in opposite directions afterwards, immediately
moving on with their lives.

Only humans feel compelled to collect bad feelings,

resentment, hurt and su ering over time and then unleash it
upon the world. 

Don’t be like Ekido. Don’t carry things with you longer than you
need to. Be like a duck.

Lesson 3: You can live an enlightened life only

through enjoyment, which you can nd by accepting
things as they are.
So here’s the solution Tolle proposes: Accept every moment as it
is. Do whatever you have to do in any given moment, but do it
peacefully, without judgement and keep an open mind.

Not all tasks are great, not all days will be wonderful, but once you
simply accept what you’re doing, you take responsibility for your
own state of mind and can nd enjoyment in the present.

The more you seek to nd this enjoyment in your life, the more it’ll
become your source of motivation
(https://fourminutebooks.com/motivational-books/) for doing
things, instead of a desire for some material thing or other
peoples’ approval.

Always acting out of pure enjoyment is what Tolle describes

as enlightenment, and acceptance is the only way to get
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Would you like some audio with

that?
Try Blinkist. It's Four Minute Books on steroids.
They have over 3,000 summaries and audios.

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(https://fourminutebooks.com/
go/eop)

A New Earth Review

I think A New Earth (https://amzn.to/2WnZBJo) was even more
successful than Tolle’s rst one is that it works with the concepts
he previously described, but places them in a much larger context.
Not only are his ideas about living in the present the key to your
own happiness, but they just might help us all make the world a
better place.

I’d suggest you read the free preview on Amazon and then make
up your mind. Tolle is known for being a complicated read, so the
blinks might help you understand this book a lot better and thus
make a good supplemental read.

 READ FULL SUMMARY ON BLINKIST >> (HTTPS://FOURMINUTEBOOKS.COM/GO/BLINKIST/)



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 FREE PREVIEW >> (HTTPS://READ.AMAZON.COM/KP/EMBED?ASIN=B002RI97IY&ASIN=B002RI97IY&PREVIEW=NEWTAB&LINKCO

 LEARN MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR >> (HTTPS://WWW.ECKHARTTOLLE.COM/ABOUT/ECKHART/)

What else can you learn from the blinks?

What “mind is maya” means
How progress has accelerated our self-destructive capabilities
The di erence between the ego and the true “I”
What Tolle realized when he saw a mad woman talking to
herself
How you can tune in to your outer and inner purpose in life
What to do if you can’t accept the current moment as it is

Who would I recommend the A New Earth summary

to?
The 13 year old, who’s supposed to go to Con rmation in a year,
the 33 year old stock broker, whose day is often ruined when he
ends the it in the negative, and anyone who thinks their job
involves doing lots of things they don’t like.

Hey! What do you need help with at the

moment?

Something else.

I want to find a partner in life.

I want to be a better manager.

I want to get rich.



18 I want to form better habits.

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I want to start or improve my business.

I want to live a happier life.

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