Realizing the Power of Now: An In-Depth Retreat With Eckhart Tolle

Rating:
Summary: Dip into the Now and shine brightly
Review: It's hard for me to rate one of Tolle's offerings over another for each of them takes me to that place that I've always longed for and looked for through a long history of meditation practice (which I dropped when I first encountered him three years ago). However, if I were put in the position of saying which of his works after Power of Now is my favorite I would have to say Realizing the Power of Now is it.

The Power of Now snapped me out of the seeker's mode and woke me up to the truth of my being and the ocean of peace of that's already and always within "me" - it's all I or anyone who is ready will ever need if they are ripe to accept the invitation to return home to one's being. Once that invitation has been accepted and the various portals to now are explored it will be seen that every life situation is another invitation to return home and to deepen presence. That's where Realizing the Power of Now comes shining through with tremendous clarity, not only for understanding but for what's most important, the actual experience of being/now/presence.

This is a full-blown retreat and each successive tape takes you a little deeper until at one point near the end Tolle leads you masterfully to unplumbed depths of being. Those who are familiar with his speaking style will understand when I say that he has a way of pacing his words and phrases so that one who listens simply drops into the gaps between them and is left in pure being/pure awareness until another phrase pops you back into the phenomenal world, and then back into being.

It reminds me of how a wick gets repeatedly dipped in paraffin thus creating a candle. If you want a candle with some substance to it you must keep dipping it - if you want a life that shines brightly keep dipping into the now. At some point the listener will realize that even while engaged in the phenomenal world pure being has shifted to the forefront of awareness. At first this may simply be the act of simply listening, listening without internal comment/judgement. Gradually this pure being will be seen to accompany you during all activity. It always was there of course, but now it becomes self-evident and so it is realized that your real essence IS the power of now.

Realizing the Power of Now should satisfy those who have listened to some of his abbreviated tapes and were disappointed because they didn't get the whole thing. I have to shake my head when I read those sorts of reviews, as if the amount of content determines one's ability to drop into now/presence. This mindset completely misses what Tolle is getting at. The same can be said for his brilliant Stillness Speaks. All mindsets must be dropped. There are no "mental nuggets" missing to be who you are. Now is literally beyond the mind and once that's seen you will laugh at your previous efforts to rely on mental understanding to live a happy and peaceful life.

Rating:
Summary: As life affirming as it is highly recommended
Review: Realizing The Power Of Now is a 6 CD audiobook in which counselor and spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle provides the listener with an wonderfully articulate and insightful presentation on transcending the finite world to touch our tree essence which has "no form, not time, nd no name". Eckart Tolle deftly addresses the use of our "inner body" as an anchor to the Now; the cultivation of "pure awareness" moments; the power inherent in the simple act of noticing; the liberation of laughter; nature as a bridge to the divine; dissolving our "pain-body" with the light of consciousness; finding the peace underlying personal loss; separating our "life situation" from our life; and so much more. This 7 hour, 30 minute, flawless recorded presentation by Eckhart Tolle is as life affirming as it is highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A Fantastic and Rare Treat for Realization and Inner Peace
Review: This is a powerful and incredibly mind opening set where you will be taken on a journey into what has been blocking you, and how to transcend "egoic" patterns in order to become one with the NOW moment, so you can live in peace.
I absolutely love listening to Eckhart's teachings, because he is real, humble, genuine, and his wisdom profoundly enlightened.

If you can't attend his teachings in person, this is the next best thing! Highly recommended for the genuine impact this will have in your life. Listen carefully, and take it all in. Once you do, you will "become the watcher" of your habitual thoughts, and the pain that your ego pulls you into, without your realizing it. After listening to this set, you should be well equipped to transcend that egoic state, and live with the true joy and peace you deserve NOW.

If you click on "Audio Download - Audible" above, you can download the set for $9.95 from Audible (which is in partnership with Amazon) right into your Windows Media Player. It's well worth it either way. This set will genuinely have a profound impact on your life. Barbara Rose, author of 'Individual Power' and 'If God Was Like Man'

Rating:
Summary: Like Krishnamurti with a sense of humor
Review: Wow. I am 44 and was blown away by reading Krishnamurti many years ago. But that was pretty much it...a sense of having my mind blown while I was reading Krishnamurti but didn't seem to take much away from the reading other than a memory of having my mind blown. Admittedly 20 years have passed and I am not the same person, but Eckhart seems so much funnier and practical. I just kind of bliss out listening to him and get the sense that I am being transformed. Even if I'm not (which I doubt) it is such a pleasure to listen to. Suddenly life loses all seriousness.