It's been an astounding past few months after reading the Eckhart Tolle book, "A New Earth". Contrary to Oprah Winfrey's ecstatic, carefully screened guests, I've not "awakened" and found a beautiful, new world. Instead, my taste of enlightenment has left me in a wasteland of disintegrating ego, otherwise known as The Tower to those of you familiar with the tarot.
During one's time in The Tower, all that one holds dear loses its value, since it is fueled by egoic attachment. Much of what mattered becomes meaningless, and one loses the energy needed to push forward into the external world. Suddenly, a cave and a simple robe seem to be all that's worth shooting for.
However, far from being a wretched experience, The Tower can be very liberating. If you can be patient during your time there, if you can let go and allow the experience to take you over, if you can accept the destruction of the "you" that you thought you were, something beautiful will rise out of the ashes.
No teacher can give you clear directions along the path, since the one you carve is your own, but a good teacher will give you some pointers to keep you from getting completely lost. Adyashanti's "The End of Your World" picks up where Tolle's book ends. It answers the question: what happens after enlightenment? This is useful for all seekers who have had a taste of enlightenment, just enough to start the disintegration of the ego, but have not completed the process (which often takes many years - even lifetimes). Knowing that the apathy and discombobulation are a normal part of the experience is reassuring. It's useful, as long as one doesn't use it to prop up the tottering ego, but as encouragement to go deeper.
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