Eckhart Tolle Books The Power Of Now

[Aila Gilb]

ThePower of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment is a book by Eckhart Tolle. It is a discussion about how people interact with themselves and others. The concept of self-reflection and presence in the moment are presented along with simple exercises for the achievement of its principles.Published in the late 1990s,[1] the book was recommended by Oprah Winfrey[2] and has been translated into 33 languages.[3] As of 2009, it was estimated that three million copies had been sold in North America.[4]

The book draws from a variety of spiritual traditions,[5] and one reviewer described it as "Buddhism mixed with mysticism and a few references to Jesus Christ, a sort of New Age re-working of Zen."[6] It uses these traditions to describe a "belief system based on living in the present moment".[7] Its core message is that people's emotional problems are rooted in their identification with their minds.[8] The author writes that an individual should be aware of their present moment instead of losing themselves in worry and anxiety about the past or future.[2]

According to the book, only the present moment is real and only the present moment matters,[8][5] and both an individual's past and future are created by their thoughts.[6] The author maintains that people's insistence that they have control of their life is an illusion "that only brings pain".[5] The book also describes methods of relaxation and meditation to help readers anchor themselves in the present.[5] These suggestions include slowing down by avoiding multi-tasking, spending time in nature, and letting go of worries about the future.[9] Some of the concepts contained in The Power of Now, such as the human ego and its negative effects on happiness, are further elaborated in the author's later books, especially A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (2005).[7]

Various chapters emphasize a philosophy of destroying the destructive dominance of the mind and ego in an effort to overcome the pain body.[7] According to the author, his philosophy is directed towards people and their search for personal happiness and also has the potential to give insight into historical disasters like the justification of what he sees as the evil of capitalism.[7]

In the book's introduction the author relates his past experiences of continuous anxiety with periods of suicidal depression. Later, when he was 29 years old, he had a personal epiphany and writes: "I heard the words 'resist nothing' as if spoken inside my chest." He relates that he felt as if he were falling into a void and afterwards "there was no more fear."[11]

In Chapter Two, Tolle tells the reader that they must recognize their personal ego "without the ego creating an antagonistic response to its own denial or destruction" and explains the purposelessness of the "mental pain and anguish" that people hold on to.[12] According to the book: "The pain-body consists of trapped life-energy that has split off from your total energy field and has temporarily become autonomous through the unnatural process of mind identification."[8] In this chapter the author writes: "pain can only feed on pain. Pain cannot feed on joy. It finds it quite indigestible".[8] The author goes on to write that "many people live with a tormentor in their head that continuously attacks and punishes them and drains them of vital energy. It is the cause of untold misery and unhappiness."[5]

In Chapter Three, the author writes: "In the normal, mind-identified or unenlightened state of consciousness, the power and creative potential that lie concealed in the Now are completely obscured by psychological time. You cannot find yourself by going into the past. You can find yourself by coming into the present. Life is now. There was never a time when your life was not now, nor will there ever be."[8]

In Chapter Four, Tolle says that "tomorrow's bills are not the problem" and can be a "core delusion" that changes a "mere situation, event or emotion" into a reason for suffering and unhappiness.[13] The book also calls "waiting" a "state of mind" that we should snap ourselves out of.[13]

The book was originally published in 1997 by Namaste Publishing in Vancouver. It was republished in 1999 by New World Library, and this edition reached and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for years afterwards.[8] The book has been translated into 33 languages, including Arabic.[3][14]

In 2000, the book was listed as recommended reading in Oprah Winfrey's O magazine and, according to Winfrey, the actress Meg Ryan also recommended it.[2] A Christian author, Andrew Ryder, wrote a dissertation saying that "Tolle moves the traditional [Christian] teaching forward by illustrating how our obsession with the past and the future ... [prevents] us from giving our full attention to the present moment."[15] William Bloom, a spokesperson for the holistic, mind-body-spirit movement in the UK, wrote that "Tolle's approach is very body aware. He's done it in a nice accessible way for people."[8]

Some reviewers were more critical of the book. According to a review in the Telegraph Herald, the book is not very well-written but contains some good teachings.[5] Andrea Sachs wrote in Time magazine that the book is "awash in spiritual mumbo jumbo" and "unhelpful for those looking for practical advice".[16] An article in The Independent said that "there is not very much new about The Power of Now" and described it as "a sort of New Age re-working of Zen."[6]

When Paris Hilton was incarcerated at the Century Regional Detention Facility in California in June 2007 she brought with her a copy of The Power of Now.[8] Singer Annie Lennox chose The Power of Now as one of her "desert island books", as did the professional skater Tony Hawk.[8] Singer Katy Perry stated that she was inspired to write "This Moment", a song from her 2013 album Prism, after she heard the audiobook of The Power of Now.[17] Kendrick Lamar references this book throughout his 2022 album Mr Morale & The Big Steppers.[18]

I am pleased to present my complete interview with Eckhart Tolle. A fair warning for your time, as well as an assertion of value: This interview is more like a long book chapter than a short online or magazine article. That said, I think you will find it well worth your investment and engagement.

With The Power of Now, a bestselling book about the spiritual power of living in the moment, Eckhart Tolle became one of the most popular and influential authors in the mind/body/spirit marketplace. That popularity has only grown. The Power of Now has been translated into 33 languages and has sold several million copies.

This interview took place in December 2005 at the home office of Namast Publishing, his Canadian publisher, in Vancouver, British Columbia. We were joined by my colleague and good friend Jessica Snow. It quickly became clear our conversation would not be standard interview fare. Eckhart was not going to just talk about his teaching. Instead, he engaged in a teaching.

It is much more likely, by the way, that help comes in when what you are doing is done while you are in a state of inner peace, rather than resistance. It is much more likely another car will suddenly come and someone will offer help. It works like that.

Enthusiasm, the third modality of awakened doing, is when the universe creates through you. You are involved in a creative act. You are bringing something new into this world. When that energy comes in, you feel an intense aliveness that flows into what you do. That is enthusiasm.

Enthusiasm cannot be a continuous state. It comes in waves. Whenever you are engaged in something and there is an outpouring of energy, you are in enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is intensified enjoyment of what you are doing.

You have a goal. You know where you are going. The goal has its importance. But the doing is what is truly fulfilling. Every enthusiastic person has a goal that may be important, but the doing is intensely fulfilling, and it is the essence of enthusiasm.

You simply have to surrender to the present moment. Be alert. Watch something in a state of alertness. Always, continuously, bring that into everyday life, not spirituality here and getting on with your life there.

Hemachandra: Eckhart, can we clarify by fleshing out a specific example? How do you write books and make the goal of a completed book come to pass? When, for example, A New Earth was published, how did you create that manifestation and take that action in the physical world?

In the world of form, everything changes and evolves. So, there was a certain evolution of the teaching. Different pointers came in, different stories, different approaches to the truth, which always is the same.

Significant things often happen when you are present. Things come to you, and then you respond to what is required. The response very often comes without a premeditated idea of what you want. It is simply a response to the situation.

In whatever way change comes, the important thing is to take responsibility for this moment. Then, life becomes cooperative. When you are aligned with the now internally, when you take responsibility for this moment, then life is helpful and tends to bring you what you need.

Tolle: It is not positive on the whole, Ray. In certain extreme cases, medication may be necessary. But it is given far too often, too easily, and too readily. Millions of children already are on tranquilizers, for example, and that is absurd.

Sometimes people need to experience acute suffering before the thinking and the awareness of the consciousness separate. People then realize there is another dimension in them that is not thinking but the ability to be aware of thinking. It is not emotion but the ability to be aware of emotion.

So, you are not what happens in your life. You are the space in which it happens, which is consciousness itself. That is the essence of who you are. That is one way of putting it, and that is helpful for some people.

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