| Unless you've been living under a rock for the last 6 months, you've most likely heard the buzz around A New Earth. I applaud Eckhart Tolle for putting forth the time and energy to make such a positive impact on the world. The things he's teaching are powerful... and yet as I travel around the globe, I still find misconceptions, misinterpretations and confusion. It's obvious that most people have a lack of understanding regarding one of the key concepts regarding the human ego. And because of that, the ego gets a bad rap. Anyone who's been exposed to even a small amount of traditional spiritual teachings, particularly from the East, has heard all the ways that the human ego gets debased and despised. To most, the ego is a selfish, materialistic, stingy, controlling monster that must be at least controlled and at best destroyed. This is ignorance and a lack of understanding of something that will never be actualized. First, the word "ego" is Latin and translates as "I." Every time you read or hear "ego," think "I." Your ego (or I) is nothing more or less than the identity you've created and continue to hold for yourself. Now if you follow this through logically, you'll realize there's absolutely no way you can be "egoless." Even the most sagacious of teachers and uber of gurus has an ego... And to think or propagate otherwise is illusion. To work toward "egoless living" is actually an ego/identity. To be a "non-materialist" is an ego/identity. To be "non-attached" and a spiritual person is (you guessed it) an ego/identity. The fact of the matter is you cannot even exist without some semblance of an ego/identity. Therefore, I submit that your ego is not too big as you've often been told... I suggest your ego is not big enough! When you identify yourself with your activities, your possessions, your position or any other of these items of the physical world, your identity is centered as a finite physical being. Truth be understood, you should be identifying yourself with infinity or God. In my new book Harmonic Wealth, The Secret of Attracting the Life You Want, I discuss that true wealth is a state of harmony and well-being in the five key areas (I call them the five pillars) of life: Financial, Relational, Mental, Physical and Spiritual. Only when these five pillars are in harmony in your life are you truly wealthy and fulfilled. The solution to this ego issue resides in the Relational Pillar. Now when I speak of relationships, the majority of people automatically think "romance!" While romance is an important part of our relational experience, it pales by comparison to the grander issue: how you relate to the entire world. Refer to the section in Harmonic Wealth titled "The Hierarchy of Personal Identity." In it, I discuss the 7 different levels of existence in which we play the game of life. If ego is the identity you hold (which it is), then it's important to explore where your sense of self resides. While I won't go into an in-depth explanation of all seven levels here, I'll briefly explore the extremes or both poles of the hierarchy. Exploring this model, we truly find the key to creating a new earth for ourselves, for others and for the entire planet... At the bottom of the hierarchy (or "at the beginning stages of awareness"), you define your identity as an Individual Being. When holding your ego/identity at the Individual level, your entire world centers around you, the things you want, the things you do, what happens to you and the things you have. This is the level of lowest awareness in the hierarchy. At this Individual level, you're separate from other beings, from nature and from the world and universe at large. As a result, we traditionally have little care or deep concern for the needs of others, and most often care little for the well-being of animals, plants or the natural world... And certainly not as a primary focus. This is the level of awareness most likely labeled by spiritual traditions as the ego/identity that must be overcome or transcended... And it's true that you must grow beyond this in the evolution of consciousness... but that's only half the story. Before I explain that statement more fully, let's jump to the opposite pole of the hierarchy. At the seventh level of the model (or "at the highest level of awareness"), you define yourself as a Spiritual Being. Now, the word "spiritual" needs some explaining because many misinterpret it to mean "religious." This again is a limited understanding. Spirit is the creative force that moves through all existence both animate and inanimate. While religious traditions call this power "God," quantum physics calls it "Energy." Choose whichever label works best for your way of thinking, and understand that both science and religion are talking the same language with different labels. While Spirit moves through all creation and therefore is the Creative Source, religion is a methodology or set of beliefs to allow you to connect with the Creative Source. Do you get the difference? Religion is the means... Spirit is the end. Let's not define the forest by the tree. As a Spiritual Being, you realize at your very core your interconnectivity to every single thing in this universe... And even beyond this universe. You understand and operate from a deep sense of inclusiveness and realize you're connected to everyone and everything. With this understanding, the statements of Jesus, "I and the Father are one," and, "If I be lifted up, I lift up every man," become truly awakened within you. Now here's the critical part many so-called spiritual teachers and aspirants misunderstand. As a spiritual being, you're not out to annihilate or overcome any part of the ego/identity journey--rather to embrace and include it all. So while you must transcend certain small ego identifiers you've created, in order to truly awaken, you must also include them. They're not bad or wrong... They're just a link in the great chain of being... A necessary step in the great adventure and journey of life. Think about it, if all things come from the same source (call it Energy, God or Spirit), then as it states in the book of Genesis, "All is good." With this understanding and awakening, you realize that any time you dam any part of creation... you dam God! Where is God not? Where is Energy not? Where is Spirit not? It's all the same stuff and of the same essence. Authors and teachers frequently buzz about "finding your purpose." We all literally have one purpose and one purpose only, and that purpose is inclusiveness... The awakening and awareness that you, me, the dog, the cat, the sinner and the saint are all of the same source and essence. From this perspective, everything is spiritual or of the same spirit. The great mistake of many spiritual aspirants is that they believe that only chanting, meditating, praying, renouncing materialistic desires and suppressing your sexual nature are the spiritual experiences of this world. But think about it... That's just another ego/identity trip isn't it? The material world and all the toys, trips and trimmings are not bad or wrong. This is the grand trap that many spiritual traditions fall into. Spiritual exclusivity or renunciation is just the same ego game at a different level. The material world and all its experiences only become a limitation when you build and attach your ego/identity to them. Likewise, the same is true with spiritual pursuits. Spiritual attachment and escapism is no more the complete answer than is material attachment and escapism. The master is one plays the game passionately but just doesn't buy in. For this reason, you'll notice that the most powerfully awakened individuals in history tend to break the traditional rules. Jesus of Nazareth drank wine, broke the rules of the Sabbath and hung out with prostitutes and thieves. U.G. Krishnamurti drove an Alpha Romeo and wore Italian designer shoes. When you finally awaken, you realize as A Course in Miracles states, "All things are echoes of the voice of God." You see, once you expand your ego/identity to include everything, you're identified by nothing (or "no-thing"). When this awakening occurs, you can inhabit the world and play the game with gusto. Nothing and no one can hold you or harm you because you realize... It's all you. Only with the realization of ourselves as Spiritual Beings will we have "A New Earth." Only then will we begin to think of ourselves, our neighbors, other religions, other races, other nations as the interconnected and interdependent manifestations of the Creative Source. Only then will we begin embracing versus judging--including versus dividing. Only then will we actualize our one true purpose in life which is a full recognition of our inclusiveness with all. Only then will we have harmony and well-being in every single aspect of our individual and collective lives. Harmony in all, from Spirit to Form, is the key, my friend. The answer is Harmonic Wealth... and it begins with you. To your continued wealth and happiness,
James Arthur Ray
President/CEO
James Ray International P.S. Order my bestselling book, Harmonic Wealth, today, and I'll throw in 3 bonuses for you: an online study guide, an online video course and a free online viewing of my new movie... Labels: book, content, harmonic wealth, message, tolle | 
For my friends across the pond...
