So I'm taking this class called 'The Art of Being and the Science of Living', every Wednesday night. It goes late enough into the evening that I often miss the first few minutes of Project Runway (I watched the finale tonight--can you believe that Christian fellow?) Needless to say, my brain tends to conk out after the first half of the class, but this week we started following Oprah on her latest crusade: A little (and I do mean elfin) guy called Eckhart Tolle.
Eckhart, a famous German philosopher, wrote one of our class texts, A New Earth, and lo and behold, Oprah has decided to join with Eckhart to create a 'classroom' experience for her viewers each and every Monday night for ten weeks. I highly encourage you to sign up at Oprah's site, take the necessary 10 seconds to download the special player, and check out Oprah and Eckhart's discussion. Even in my current state of exhaustion, there were several concepts that spoke to me--especially the ones about creating stillness to allow creativity and consciousness/God to flow into your life. When Eckhart speaks about quieting the mind, it brings to mind Elizabeth Gilbert's quest for meditation in Eat, Pray, Love.
I just have to say that I'm feeling a wee bit pedestrian for reading two of the most popular books out at the moment, but you know what? I LIKE them. I've really enjoyed my forays into Eckhart's and Elizabeth's points of view. They've inspired me in pretty fantastic ways (while reading Eat, Pray, Love, I planned extensive explorations for Mike and me in Italy, India and Indonesia respectively) and I LIKE that they're accessible. I enjoy reading books about 'big' things that are fun and easy to read, every once in a while. Anyway, check out ol' Liz and Eck(hart), they won't disappoint.
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2 comments:
Hi Beautiful!
I love your musings and although I had heard about Oprah and Eckhart's collaboration previously I had been resistant... Because of your posting I went ahead and watched it. It was great! Thank you my dear. Look forward to continual peeps into your life on the Eastern Shore. XO
I am so greatful to Eckhart Tolle and Oprah for turning me onto Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor and her beautiful book ""My Stroke of Insight"". Her story is amazing and her gift to all of us is a book purchase away I'm happy to say.
Dr Taylor was a Harvard brain scientist when she had a stroke at age 37. What was amazing was that her left brain was shut down by the stroke - where language and thinking occur - but her right brain was fully functioning. She experienced bliss and nirvana and the way she writes about it (or talks about it in her now famous TED talk) is incredible.
What I took away from Dr. Taylor's book above all, and why I recommend it so highly, is that you don't have to have a stroke or take drugs to find the deep inner peace that she talks about. Her book explains how. ""I want what she's having"", and thanks to this wonderful book, I can! Thank you Dr. Taylor, and thank you Eckhart and Oprah.
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