ANE: Poor in Ownwership

Chapter 2: The Illusion of Ownership

"Blessed are the poor in spirit," Jesus said," for theirs will be the kingdom of heaven." What does "poor in spirit" mean? No inner baggage, no identifications. Not with things, nor with any mental concepts that have a sense of self in them. And what is the "kingdom of heaven"? The simple but profound joy of Being that is there when you let go of identifications and so become "poor in spirit."

This is a complete reversal of what Jesus is actually saying. What does poor in spirit mean? If I say to you, "gee, you look like you're poor in spirit" what would I mean? I have always understood poor in spirit to mean someone who has inner baggage, who is struggling and feeling lowly.

The other beatitudes are for the mourning, meek, hungry, thirsty, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers and those persecuted for righteousness' sake. These beatitudes cannot be paraphased as "blessed are those who have got it right, because they're terrific and don't need any further help." But this is how Tolle's first beatitude can be paraphrased! Jesus' beautitudes go more along the lines of "blessed are those who are suffering because of me, because in me they will find peace and justice."

This is a prime example of how Tolle regularly takes one verse and distorts it to fit his purpose, without looking at the context. But then, he has such a low opinion of it, given it's written by men who distorted the "truth" as they wrote. Given he places no authority in the Bible, why does he even quote it?

ANE: Giving Stuff is Selfish/less

Chapter 2: The Lost Ring

Up to this point, Tolle has been fleshing out the harm of materialism. To summarise, people get attached to their things and it becomes wrapped up in their identity and they don't realise that their true self is that meta-self-connected state of being that comes from being enlightened. This one woman that Tolle met regularly with lost a ring that held great sentimental value one day and Tolle helped her to deal with the possible lose of it. She had made the ring part of her identity and in separating herself from it, she could feel her "I Am-ness."

With that in mind, she then says,

"Now I understand something Jesus said that never made much sense to me before: 'If someone takes your shirt, let him have your coat as well.'"
"That's right," I said. "It doesn't mean you should never lock your door. All it means is that sometimes letting things go is an act of far greater power than defending or hanging on."

I think she's referring to Matthew 5:40. However, she must not have read any further because it goes on to say

"you have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven."

Right there we are given a reason for parting with our possessions. Jesus himself tells us that it is because we are to love our enemies and by doing so, we are proving to the world our relationship with the Father. It does not have anything much to do with discovering our I Am-ness, and our connectedness with everything else. Unless you believe that by being in that state of "Being," we are in tapped into the divine, which is what Jesus meant when he said "sons of your Father in heaven."

See, I thought Jesus meant being in a father-son/daughter relationship with the creator God, a powerful and mighty, yet personal being that is revealed in the very person of Jesus - not being connected with everything else around us.

It seems to me that much of the Bible is selfless. Give your enemy your tunic and cloak when he demands it because you love him. But this seems to be promoting an almost selfish way of giving. Give your enemy your tunic and cloak because by not being attached to your possessions, you're closer to becoming enlightened. Can you see how the focus is on yourself, rather than for the good of your enemy?

Where Have I Been?

It's been a while since I made a ANE post. I've been in exams, then prac, then a beach mission, then a Christian camp, now I'm half way through my last week of "holidays" before uni starts on the 4th. Since I've been through the main introductory chapter and it's taken me so damn long, I'm just going to look at the bits that make claims about Christianity and Jesus, instead of claims in general, :D.

So this is just letting you friendly readers know what's going on, why I haven't updated. I also hope to be doing a few other non-ANE entries in the future. I'll let you know how that goes. :D

Everyone should check out Dr Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. I can't stop watching it and singing along.