Book Review Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now

chillibreeze writer — Aparna Rao

Eckhart Tolle’s book, ‘ The Power of Now’ was published in 2001. Since then it has been widely acclaimed and read, featured on the New York Times bestseller list and sold over 2 million copies worldwide. The book is essentially a guide to spiritual enlightenment. The basic principle is quite simple – nothing exists outside the present moment. Everything apart from the present moment is illusory. The past and the future have no reality of their own. The future is a mind projection and the past is a memory trace. Therefore, the mind which constantly conjures up thoughts, worries and plans is a natural enemy in our path towards peace and happiness .

What appealed to me most was the chapter on ‘Mind Strategies for Avoiding the Now ‘. In this chapter he talks about worry and ‘what if thoughts’. The mind is projecting itself into an imaginary future situation and creating fear. There is no way one can cope with such a situation because it doesn’t exist. ‘It’s a mental phantom. You can stop this health and life-corroding insanity simply by acknowledging the present moment. Become aware of your breathing. Ask yourself the problem is right now, not next year and not five minutes from now. You can always cope with the NOW.

As such Tolle’s preaching is nothing new. Many eastern gurus and thinkers before his time have prescribed the same. Those who have been exposed to Buddism have been taught the importance of living in the present moment. However, Tolle has brought these teachings to the west in a simple, straightforward and enthusiastic style. He has inserted markers that permit the reader to pause, take a breath and mull over all that has been read. To emphasize the universal nature of his message he quotes extensively from the teachings of Jesus Christ, Buddha and the Gita.

The entire book is written in a question answer format. The questions outguess you. These are questions you would have asked were you present before the writer. The popularity of the book is so huge that it has been translated into 30 languages. Many lives have been touched by it and transformed dramatically. Tolle also realized that one needs a few tools to help practice what the book preaches. These involve techniques or ideas that can control the mind and train one’s thought processes to focus only on the present. In his subsequent book Tolle has addressed this and teaches meditation techniques and exercises for achieving this state of mind control.

This is definitely a recommended read.

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Aparna writes for chillibreeze.

Book Review Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now

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