Book Review – The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

By dougnau on Apr 24, 2009 in Book Reviews, Consciousness, Personal Growth, Stress Coaching

Background

Eckhart Tolle is a highly acclaimed spiritual teacher and author. The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, is a #1 New York Times best seller and has been translated into 33 languages. Written in 2004, this 224 page book is available in paperback, hardcover, and audio CD formats.

Book Review & Commentary

I’ve had many friends and colleagues ask if I’ve been writing with inspiration from the works of Eckhart Tolle in my newsletter and blog posts. And while I’ve been familiar with the name, I’d never actually listened to or read any of the works from this spiritual leader. Upon listening to the audio version of The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment (several times), I now know why some of my closest friends have drawn the connection! Needless to say I loved the materials. After hearing the material, I also browsed briefly through the paperback version – one observation to note is that I don’t believe these are identical, though I didn’t have the time to line them up word for word to validate.

For those of you looking for an introduction to the nature of the mind, a practical definition and keys to enlightenment, what it means to be present to your state of being, and a guide which explains why it is important and how it is possible to live in ‘the now’ – this is a fantastic starting point. If you are new to these concepts, its likely that that you’ll want to read or listen to this book several times. This will allow the material to sink in. It will probably take a few pass through’s to really ‘get it’. And certainly there’s a difference between ‘getting it’ intellectually, and practically applying the philosophy to one’s life. I’ve found that some people have never been introduced to the materials given in this book, yet live life with such a focus. Others understand every aspect of the material, but never apply the wisdom. The application of the wisdom is a journey rather than a means to an end, this book is a great guide in supporting you through the journey.

Let me break out some of the key points in moderate detail for you. Before getting into these, let me preface this with a comment that none of this is ‘original’ material or thought processes. I believe that makes the material even more powerful. The packaging and presentation is 100% unique, but the concepts provided stem from thousands of years of practice in different spiritual traditions (particularly eastern traditions). Here’s some background as to what you’ll be introduced to in the book:

Who we are: We are not the ego (or our self concept). We are bigger, we are part of the whole of the universe and are one with God (or Being)
God vs. Being: Some people use the word God to explain the greater life force we are all part of. Eckhart Tolle prefers the word Being which makes the concept less tangible, and more present to the now. We are all part of being.
Observation of the Mind: Tolle introduces the capacity to observe the thinking of the mind. He separates our thoughts from who we are. Our self concept from our true self.
Emotion vs. Thought: Thoughts come and go, a better representation of who we are in the now is our emotion
The Silent Watcher: If we are able to observe our thoughts, our mind, who is that observer? What is the greater source that has this capacity. When we step outside our mind stuff, we still our minds, we be become one with being.
What is ‘Now’: Everything is now. We live life in the present, not the future, not the past. Focusing our attention on this very moment, where life happens, is our way to connect with enlightenment.
Psychological vs. Clock Time: We all operate on clock time. We age, things change, no one can deny the passing of time. Psychological time is dependent on our thoughts and obsessions of the past, future, and its affect on our life in the now, while the reality is that psychological time only exists in our minds.
Life Situation vs. Life: Life is being. It is what happens in the now. Our life situation is all the ‘important’ stuff we think about – but it really exists in our mind. Ie: my life right now is sitting in this chair, in a relatively cool room, contemplating the readings in this book. My life situation is that I’ve got 2 children, I’ll be returning to Sacramento in 3 days, my health was compromised 5 years ago, I make XXX dollars as a wellness coach, and I am concerned about how I can do all the yard work at home with my current schedule when I return. All of my life situation exists in my mind and does not reflect the reality of what life is now.
The Problem with Waiting/Seeking: Large scale waiting (for the big things in life) or constantly seeking for a better situation leads to degradation of the now and represents our frustration with life in the now.
Meditation: A fantastic way to get connected with what it looks like to exist in the now.
Identifying with Pain Bodies: We’ve all got our triggers that run us into a certain thought process and ensuing series of actions. Its almost as if ‘pain bodies’ take control and we allow them to take us over. Identifying with painful aspects of our life situation leads us away from enlightenment and our ability to simply be.
Experiencing Pain: Surrender to pain. Whether it be physical, emotional, intellectual, allow it to be. By fighting it, resisting it, or trying to avoid it, we fuel the fire. Our growth process begins by allowing pain to exist - which is a practice in being, and will eventually lead to its dissipation.

This is just a taste and introduction as to what you can expect by reading this book. If you’ve frequented this blog, you’ll know that I’ve written to some extent on all of the topics listed above (to learn more check out the related articles links at the bottom of this page).

Who is this book for?

Do you have an interest in meditation? Are you a personal growth enthusiast looking about learning more on what enlightenment means? Are your curious about learning more about eastern philosophies without any ‘religious’ implications? Are you stuck in a situation of waiting, worrying, frustrated about your ‘life situation’? If any of this calls to you, get this book.

As I previously mentioned, you probably want to read or listen to this book several times. If you are a beginner to the concepts introduced above, you may be entering a new world of thinking and it will take some effort for it all to sink in. In that regard, those with fixed ways of thinking, strong religious preferences and strict beliefs in what God is (and a relatively closed mind), will be unlikely to open up such that they can benefit from the teachings in this book.