Eckhart Tolle's concept of ego and consciousness in A New Earth

¶ … New Earth: Chapter Two

Chapter two of Eckhart Tolle's novel, A New Earth, entitled "Ego: The Current State of Humanity," begins with Tolle asserting that one can never really know the full meaning or basis of anything on Earth, but can only know the label that they themselves put on it. He notes that everything we as individuals think we know about something is really only the tip of an iceberg, and that the inner workings and depth of objects and things are far deeper than we can or ever will know about them.

He goes on to note that the same is true in looking at the human mind. He notes that in going through life referring to oneself as "I," and in living life in terms of this ego, a person is misleading his or herself, as who they really are is far greater than this. He notes that the concept of "I" and the ego is an illusion, that individuals must break free of in order to live a real reality rather than the false egos we refer to so often as our true selves.

This concept of "I" and "mine" stems much further our lives that we may know. Tolle asserts that we live our lives under the misconception of ownership and monetary possessions meaning far more than they should. He notes an instance of a women who lost a ring belonging to her grandmother and feeling as though a part of herself and her grandmother had been lost in the process, when in reality, it is a mere possession with no intrinsic value beyond the material world. However, Tolle notes that while the solution to this problem would be to let go of our attachment to material things, it's a next-to-impossible task. He notes that the "attachment" we feel is so deep because we equate the attachment to a piece of ourselves. In attempting to become unaware of these attachments is where the "transformation of consciousness" Tolle references begins.

Tolle notes that this attachment goes as far as our own bodies, and in order to find our true selves, we must assert that we are more than our bodies. He notes, "no matter what your body's appearance is on the outer level, beyond the outer form is an intensely alive energy field" (Tolle 35). The realization of this is immeasurably difficult for individuals to wrap their heads around, which leads to the aligning of oneself with the concept of ego and individuality that so many people recognize as their true existence.