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PDF The Power of Now A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment Eckhart Tolle 9781577314806 Books

Product details Paperback 236 pages Publisher Namaste Publishing (August 19, 2004) Language English ISBN-10 1577314808

The Power of Now A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment Eckhart Tolle 9781577314806 Books Reviews

• I was feeling suicidal and had been for two years. I was completely done with life, with trying to heal my emotional traumas, limitations and with trying to be a full-functioning adult. I felt trapped inside an endless corridor of meaninglessness and pain.The Saturday morning when I was contemplating really ending it, I heard an inner voice say "one last book, read one last book and if you still want to kill yourself, go ahead." This was my "last book" I read it three months ago and haven't returned to that dark and hopeless place yet.
  It taught me how to disconnect from the insanity of the mind. I had spent my life reading thousands of books trying to "figure it out" to make my way to a place of happiness and functionality, what Tolle explains that trying to solve the problems of thought from the level of thought is an impossibility. When we let go of mind-consciousness we do not become a meditative vegetable, instead, we gain access to the consciousness of our whole body and a more advanced awareness. I know it sounds weird, but it works. When I can stay present everything I do becomes more effective, and my social skills are way better now then they have ever been.
  I don't mean to say that this is the be-all and end-all to human growth, but it has in fact saved my life, so I figured it at least deserved a good review. I am no longer helpless in the face of crushing memories and emotions. Thank you, Mr. Tolle.
• I have over 25 years of experience as a clinical psychologist. This is hands down the best self-help book I have ever come across, and can not fathom why the very simple and straight-forward concepts Tolle presents were never once mentioned in my grad school training or any of the countless professional development workshops I have attended over the years. If you are dealing with depression and/or anxiety, this is the book to get. But you need to read it slowly, to take it in bit by bit, and actually pause to practice what he is explaining in each section to benefit from it. You can't just skim it and expect to understand it in a way that will open your life and help you experience the freedom and ease of this very moment. I keep it by my bed and re-read sections all the time. Thank you Eckhart!
• I was experiencing crippling anxiety, and due to lack of insurance, I was unable to seek help. I was worried about my relationships and jobs suffering due to this, and found myself in constant fear of a breakdown. I found this book and it literally changed my life. Recommend this to anyone. Very thankful for this book.
• Bought the Silent Mind ~ Antique Design Tibetan Singing Bowl Set ~ With Mallet & Silk Cushion ~ For Meditation, Chakra Healing, Prayer ,Yoga, and Mindfulness ~ Perfect Gift with the "Power of Now" , so I thought I'd make a special joint review to talk about how I am using them both.
  
  I love Eckhart and his teachings on the "Power of Now". He really shows us how to slow down from our busy hectic lives and appreciate being in the moment. His teaching also help keep me "out of my own head" , I have the tendency to worry about future events, and rehearse past events.
  
  I decided to experiment with a singing bowl to see if it would help get me "into the now" before doing mindfulness meditation, to help stop my mind from drifting to the future and past. This singing bowl is a real gem! The sound is beautiful, simply strike the bowl before starting meditation and hold your concentration on the sound until it fades into silence. It really helps you relax into the meditation and get into the now... Also, if you catch yourself getting distracted you can tap the bowl again, and follow the sound to pull your attention back into the now.
  
  Great combo for study and practical use.
• Eckhart Tolle's, The Power of Now, is a monumental achievement in spiritual literature.
  
  The theme of the Power of Now is that you can find and maintain a deep sense of peace, joy and fulfillment, and in doing so, "return home to yourself." These concepts are very real and attainable. The goal is to break through the barrier of the noise of the mind. When you do this, it is like having total awareness of being alive. It is like being able to see the world with clarity and without the constant stream of mental judgments, mental noise and fear. Even the appearance of objects seems so different and vibrant. And even physical space takes on new meaning -- you sense that everything is connected. Knowledge takes on a deeper dimension that transcends language. Instead of having faith in God, you know and feel God. You go through life having a deep sense of peace and joy. You feel that peace and joy within yourself and external to yourself. It is a life with little mental fear. The peace you feel is not like coming home to yourself, it is coming home to yourself, meaning your natural state of being. When you realign with yourself, it becomes obvious that this state is the way you were meant to be.
  
  A main theme to Eckhart Tolle's book, The Power of Now, is that humanity can change, but it will start with individuals returning to their spiritual center. Just as humanity can learn from the past of what it doesn't want to be; humanity can learn from the past what it wants to be. His message is that we need to look to the past and see the common thread of messages of hope given to us. These messages of hope are (1) that we are spiritual beings; (2) that we do have an innate joy and peace within; (3) that we essentially have God within us; and (4) that we can experience a new reality that is radically different, but radically true to whom we are.
  
  The Power of Now's message is that many people of he past and present have broken the barrier of fear and discontentment; they have rediscovered or reconnected with their deep sense of peace and joy. In our lack of understanding, we often refer to these people with terminology that may not really be accurate "enlightened," "awakened," "mystics," "gurus," "holy," etc. These terms are too loaded and create an impression that such a state is unlikely to occur to the average person. We can find our peace and joy and find it now. We are not discriminated against when it comes to God's Grace.
  
  Tolle aids the process of coming home to ourselves. He provides us with an age-old message and road map to achieve this. The road map is simple, yet so profound. The message is simply we need to quiet our minds.
  
  So, how do we quiet our minds according to Tolle? How do we realign with ourselves? How do we take off the onion layers to our minds and reconnect with that joyful and peaceful part of ourselves?
  
  The term meditation is probably not what you think or have been taught. Meditation as it used here is more a way of life that can be used in any and every activity you do for the rest of your life. Eckhart Tolle talks about different ways to get reconnected with ourselves. What is interesting is that many of the methods are somewhat mechanical, and the process is less spiritual than one might think. The end result, however, is certainly deeply spiritual.
  
  Some of these methods are
  
  1. Breathing and being aware of your breathing;
  2. Being the witness of your thoughts without judgment -- allowing thoughts to flow without identifying with your thoughts -- deeply acknowledging that you are not our thoughts;
  3. Feeling your physical body and allowing it be without judgment;
  4. Feeling your emotional body (including the emotional pain) and allowing it be without going on thinking tangents about the pain -- just being there with the raw physical emotional pain.
  5. Getting in touch with the silence and stillness that is ever present; (so as you listening intently to the world around, you pay attention also to the silence that is behind all sounds);
  6. Being totally present where you are and allowing that which happens to be;
  7. Acknowledge and avoid the traps of time -- with a deep understanding that in reality what happened in the past is no longer; and what happens in the future is not now (basically time really does not, from a physics perspective, exist);
  8. Accepting what you are at any given moment;
  9. The simple act of asking God to allow you to feel His presence/His Grace, and then, the act of you feeling God's presence;
  10. To go deep inside yourself and realize that innate joy that is ever present -- God.
  11. Feeling the stillness within yourself.
  
  One myth is that to obtain peace, joy and God, you need to takes years of monk-like seclusion. In fact, finding what was traditionally known as "enlightenment" could take a few minutes. The quicker you break down the noise of the mind and become present with the world without judgment, the quicker you can come home to yourself.