The spiritual realm

Once in a while I like to catch a news/talk show that airs on CBC called The Hour. It’s hosted by an ex-Much Music (Canada’s equivalent to MTV) VJ who is probably older than he appears. It’s hard to tell though, he looks like he should be fronting Green Day or attempting a kickflip with his skateboard. You know?

When I first started watching the show, Shaune would politely sit through it, but after a few episodes he would either insist we find something we could both watch or he would simply do something else. I’m not sure why he found it so irritating but I suspect it might have had something to do with the host. I like it however, because the guests are unexpected and sought out for unique reasons. The topics covered are wide and varied from human rights to celebrity updates. You might tune in one day to find former Mexican President Vincente Fox discussing the FIFA cup and then the next episode might feature Kenneth Cole and his efforts to find a cure for AIDS.

Anyway, I caught it a few times this past week when Shaune was working late and Eckhart Tolle was the guest on one episode. I forgot how much I loved reading his last book A New Earth. I read it three times! I really connected with it and I remember talking about it to anyone who would listen. I tend to get a bit excited about a good book and sometimes my audience isn’t quite as engaged as I am convinced they are at the time. It takes me a few days to realize that their silence might not have been rapt attention but probably a preoccupation with creating a mental to-do list or planning their dinner for that evening.

Regardless, I still think about some of the ideals of the book every day. Like this one: Most people treat the present moment as if it were an obstacle that they need to overcome. Since the present moment is Life itself, it is an insane way to live. Or this one which I find so powerful: Those who have not found their true wealth, which is the radiant joy of Being and the deep, unshakable peace that comes with it, are beggars, even if they have great material wealth. They are looking outside for scraps of pleasure or fulfillment, for validation, security, or love, while they have a treasure within that not only includes all those things but is infinitely greater than anything the world can offer.

I'm not saying I live by these ideals all the time. I'm stuck in the ways of this world just as much as the next guy. But there's something freeing about knowing life could be different. You know?