This points to several of the many fallacies of Eckhart Tolle.
First off, trying to get rid of the so-called "ego" is VERY dangerous for people with mental health issues. Most of those people need to do the opposite and build up some "Ego-Strength" to be able to cope. If they took the Tolle book seriously, many of them would end up on park benches like Tolle says he was, not living in a multimillion dollar condo with cleaning staff, like Tolle does now.
Doesn't anyone see the hypocrisy of these folks?
Oprah and Tolle?
Oprah earns close to 1 million dollars a DAY. That's right. 1 million a DAY.
So she can hire people to do everything for her. Take her money and fame away, and put her into the real world, and she is going to sing a different tune. She has been distorted by the Power of her fame and money...Power corrupts.
Also, look at all the products being sold tied to Tolle and Oprah. Rampant commercialism. That is the kind of thing that is wrecking the ecology of the planet. But its OK when Oprah and Tolle do it, to sell millions of plastic pens that will end up in landfills. Hypocrisy, self-serving. Its ok for them, but not for you.
Its good to be the King, as they say.
Oprah can use her show to shill for car companies on one hand...and on the other hand do this stuff?
Welcome to America... :-)
Also, the world is NOT currently "insane". That is a distortion made by Tolle by his own warped cognitions. Parts of the world are in very serious trouble, but vast other parts are fine. Part of Wisdom is accepting imperfect reality, which Tolle and Oprah are against. They are VERY Unwise people, actually.
Also, what they are trying to do is IMPRACTICAL. The people who are running around killing, warring, and destroying are NOT going to read Tolle's book or watch Oprah on TV! They are too busy warring and pillaging. The way to get to those people is by other Leaders talking about Ethical Leadership and Enlightened Self-Interest, and also fear of punishment by the wider community.
Also, the attack on the "I Am" part of the human mind by Eckhart Tolle...that is INSANE. Literally.
The Self-Awareness of the cognitive mind is what makes a human a human. We are not plants, we are not rodents. Even monkeys have some self-consciousness.
Self-Awareness is a miracle and wonder of Evolution. We need to embrace it.
Just because Tolle found his life too painful, doesn't mean that applies to anyone else. As many critics are saying, guess what, healthy people LIKE their wonderful minds! So in this area, Tolle is very unwise and unhealthy too.
Lastly, Tolle and Oprah yack on and on about getting rid of the Ego. The irony is both of them are literally EGOMANIACS. Look at their books and websites. Me Me Me.
It might be possible that Oprah has gotten so wrapped up in "Oprah", the mags, books, TV, that she needs to cut her Ego down. Just think, everywhere she walks, she is literally worshipped by crazed fans. So maybe she does need to tone it down a bit, otherwise a person can lose it.
But...being a mere human is not enough for them, they want to be Godhumans...they want to BE the Christ Consciousness. That is the ultimate hubris, for little humans to think they are going to become literal Gods with their Gnostic beliefs. That is what they are preaching in the end...drop the human consciousness, and literally become like Christ...not in the sense of "humble", but in the sense of being able to literally work Miracles, etc.
New Thought.
People need to look into this stuff more carefully, and see where they are being lead.
I don't get the sense that Oprah is malicious, just deluded by Power, as will happen with any human.
And Tolle seems to be just a 3rd rate New Age huckster, who got lucky and picked by Oprah. But the massive exposure might backfire on him.
Also, think of the Hubris of Tolle. The guy literally thinks his little book is going to "change the world". What arrogance. He writes like a psuedo-intellectual HG Wells with pretentions to grandeur...and the amazing thing is that some people are buying it hook, line and sinker.
If Tolle had no "Ego", why would he write these long rambling books?
Why would he not acknowledge his sources? There is not one original word in his stuff...just old wine in a new marketing package. Its just a money-maker.
So the irony is that Tolle IS the very thing he is preaching against, which often seems to happen in life.
Its just like the Celestine Prophecy, and pet-rocks, and the Spice Girls, and tulip mania....the cycle of short-term public fashion trends driven by marketing hype.
This fad will pass in a few months, then on to the next marketing-hype New Age fad to move more merchandise.
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Actually, it is quite the opposite. Isn't the world currently insane? Look around as it speeds to its end. This is not due to a lack of ego, but its reinforcement and empowerment. We can destroy ourselves and our environment more quickly and efficiently than ever. Tolle recognizes that our insane thought-forms and identification with mind ("I think therefore I am") is what perpetuates this endless cycle of destruction that no widespread, implemented philosophy, religion, government, culture or psychology has been able to solve.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/2008 11:51PM by The Anticult.