Rating: 
Summary: This stuff works!
Review: Eckhart Tolle has written a book that is crystal clear, and packed with wisdom. I have been studying it now for two weeks, and listening to the book on tape as well. The concepts presented are not new, but they are articulated in ways that make them much more easy to understand than anything else I have read on this topic.And, contrary to what some of the other reviews state, he offers several simple practices that WILL have profound effects in your life if you actually try them out. Simply accepting what the present moment contains "as if you chose it," will alter every relationship you have, and can free you from being taken over by emotional reactions (having your buttons pushed). This one concept has transformed the quality of my life signficantly in a very short time. And it's so simple, if you're willing to just try it. Tolle states that until you have had enough suffering, you won't likely be able to hear this message for what it is. So, if you feel like you're ready to be free of emotional and psychological suffering for good, then you need to read this book NOW. It does have the power to truly change your life.
Rating: 
Summary: new age piffle
Review: I bought this book with high hopes after reading all the glowing reviews, but I didn't find much to recommend it. It's a rehash of typical New Age doctrine in all its reality-contradicting, wishful-thinking, anti-white, anti-Western, I-must-be-enlightened-because-I-speak-on-such-a-high-level-you-can't-understand-me glory. I found it very off-putting and self-contradictory, and it completely doesn't match up with my experience of life. In my opinion, it ridiculously oversimplifies the human condition.
But here's what I really want to know: during the two years Mr. Tolle "sat on park benches in a state of bliss," as he states early on in the book, with "no job," what the hell did he do for food? Is he a trust fund baby? Did he hit the lottery? Was he independently wealthy long before that? Or was he eating out of dumpsters?
Rating:
Summary: simple truth
Review: The material invites you to reconsider your core beliefs, but gently. Can change your life, if you allow it to do so. Tolle has surprising insight into Christianity and Buddhism, and reveals their deeper, common truths, and does so without academic arguement.
Rating:
Summary: One more NEW AGE fad
Review: This new fad, like many others, might fool you for a while. "After all that searching, I finally found the answer". Just try it for six months and see for yourself if it really works. But do you really think there is a way you can live only in the present? I mean, really. What are you going to do? Get rid of part of your brain that stores memory and experiences?
When the author compares the reality of a Cat to that of a human I thought the author was joking. Of course a Cat doesn't worry, a female dog doesn't complain, and the frog is always relaxed! Their reality is much simpler than ours!
You can try and see if this is your "spiritual path" but remember if you always live in the present you might forget you are enlightened! Tricky, hum?
Rating:
Summary: Improve your quality of life.
Review: Some people will shy away from a book like The Power of Now because they may perceive the message as being impractical, nebulous, or unnecessary. However, I'd say the opposite is actually true. In a clear and unpretentious way, Eckhart Tolle shows us where the rubber meets the road in our lives or more to the point, in our minds. Although many of these ideas may seem obvious and are found elsewhere, the real accomplishment of this book is that Tolle---like all good teachers---transforms complexity into simplicity.
For the average person, a typical interaction with the world goes something as follows. When a negative circumstance arises, a negative emotion is aroused; we identify that emotion; we mentally become that emotion ("I am angry", "I am sad"); we therefore create more of the same emotion. Almost always, in some way we act out that emotion resulting in another negative circumstance, and so the cycle begins anew even stronger. This snowballing can happen in a nanosecond and goes unnoticed day after day throughout most people's lives. How can we break this cycle? The phrase "expand your consciousness" is often thrown around, but it's the simplest way to describe Eckhart Tolle's answer. He points out that we're naturally inclined to identify with our minds (thoughts/emotions [they really are one and the same thing]) as the essence of what we are. However, if we could step outside our minds to observe this process, a new consciousness is possible. By observing our thought process and its emotions without resisting them, we can move beyond them, respond to the situation as needed and move on without living in a mind of fear, regret, hostility, longing, or emptiness. This is but a small portion of what Tolle has to say. It feeds into his larger message and what he refers to as "the power of Now." A deeper consciousness is awakened only by maintaining a steady awareness of the present moment. Moving out of this awareness automatically moves you back into the realm of the mind and possibly back to the fear and regret it creates. In other words, the point is to eliminate the illusions of the mind---regret and fear---not by resisting them but by replacing them with a focus on the only thing that is actually real---the present moment. The mind is so powerful that it has created entire worlds of mental activity where most of us needlessly spend 90% of our time. To use your mind's massive force in your favor, you need only access the power of Now. The mind is like a tool that is very useful but cumbersome if hauled around everywhere. The best thing to do is to put it away when not needed. Some reviewers take issue with the fact that these ideas are nothing new. This is obvious and Tolle openly acknowledges this in the Introduction. The book's purpose is not to break new ground but to capture ideas that have helped countless people over the ages and communicate them to people who have had no exposure to them before. That is the value of his book; in a clear and meaningful way, he communicates principles that can change people's lives. One reviewer asserts that this book is useful only if you like to be "all profound and stuff" (his quotes) and that you really don't need these ideas as long as you're able to accept change in your life. But accepting change is one of the points in the book. This reviewer's comments do not contradict the book's message; they are encompassed by it. Tolle doesn't tell people they have to give up their mind, worldly possessions/pursuits and live in a monastery. Rather, he tells people how to defang the most pervasive human emotion---fear---and in doing so, how to go out and enjoy life to the fullest in all its aspects. This book definitely contains "heady" language since Tolle mainly deals in concepts rather than personal stories of awakening. However I think that was the right decision because they would have only been a distraction. From one story to the next, only the names and places would change with the concepts being repeated. It's the inner workings of our minds that are the topic here and that can only be reached with conceptual language. Stories would have added nothing to the book. I would encourage any frustrated readers to give each passage a chance to sink in and not to dismiss them too quickly. The payoff can be immense. This and much more are expanded on in Tolle's book, and I confidently recommend it as a book that has the power to improve the quality of life for anyone.
Rating:
Summary: It is EXCELLENT, if you are in a position to accept it.
Review: Like any other form of self-improvement, spiritual practice, or life-altering steps, you must be in a position to accept and act out these changes. Many bash The Power of Now for not being able to understand it or not being able to practice it, and so they claim that Eckhart Tolle is just a capitalist trying to steal peoples' money by selling mumbo jumbo. This is totally the opposite. It is easy to understand how any person who has not read this book and understood it could come to believe that this person is a capitalist and is now living in a 3 story mansion with several exotic cars. It's easy to imagine that, and to think negatively of someone who made a great profit off of a book since he has a lot more money than we do, but if you actually understood what your mind was doing, you would realize that you are just mindlessly defending yourself because you are in a position far inferior to him, and your mind dislikes it, so you lash out. The fact is, this book is simply amazing. I have been on different medications, on and off, and yes, SEVERAL of them have not helped at all. I will say this: everyone needs some form of help, whether it is medicine, reading, or just time. If someone had suggested this book to me when I first began having neurosis, I probably wouldn't have been able to accept it for truly what it's worth simply because I was in no position other than true desperation. If you are on the brink of suicide, or your life is falling to pieces, this book will not help you experience a dramatic transformation that happened with Tolle during his life. This book would be most beneficial if you are at an OK stage in your life, not falling apart, not great, just there, looking for more, as most of the population is. "Does it get any better?" Sometimes you might find yourself asking this. If you feel like you want to die, you should seek other help, and probably medication. If you simply CANNOT stop yourself from obsessive thought or anxiety even when you go through several well-known exercises, you probably need medication. There is a "food chain" involved in self improvement. At the most desperate level, people need medicine. Once they are at a stable level to accept therapy and positive life changes, they can seek a therapist, therapy groups, and begin reading books like this. Tolle doesn't speak much in the aspect of medicine, but from personal experience, I can tell you that medicine doesn't make you "not need" this book, but in fact simply allows you to accept it as a normal person would. You would be able to benefit from it, and greatly improve your life. Don't look to this book for reprieve if you are on the brink of insanity. For most people, this book is simply hit or miss. If you are ready to accept it, you realize its potential and how simply beautiful it is. If you aren't, you will cast it out as a sham to take advantage of people. It's not. Alas, there is a reason I gave it five stars. The teachings, practices, and views on life will simply begin making you into a different person, if you haven't already yourself. As Tolle explains, most people who reach this stage have suffered greatly in their life, perhaps by the death of someone close, or by severe clinical depression. He teaches that we are simply emotionally tormented and taken advantage of by our minds, and once we are able to "surrender" and accept where we are and this present moment, we will not be at peace with ourselves. Have you heard of prison death-row inmates, minutes or hours before being executed, suddenly finding peace? They are looking for a way out constantly, fearing their death more than anything else a person could ever fear, but they finally escape. Why? There is nothing else to do, and your Being simply gives up this fear and accepts the present moment, and you are at peace. This does not mean giving up, it means accepting the moment, and not resisting it, nor reacting through natural emotional defense. I could go on and on, but the book is a much better and more thorough teacher than I could ever sum up in a review. Do not let emotions run your life, or your decisions, or your relationships. "Respond, don't react." You will dramatically change your life by simply being more present and obsessing less, and surrendering to the moment. You drop a plate of food, do you freak out and curse? Do you resist? Why?? As soon as you drop it, accept it as if it had been dropped a month ago, and simply clean it up. It takes 10 seconds. What is the point of that emotional upheaval we create when things like this happen? Our life is filled with things like this. You will make good decisions, based on a clear objective consciousness, not emotion or obsessive thoughts or fears. There is simply no way someone's life could NOT be improved by reading this book. The degree to which it happens is in the hands of the reader. I highly recommend this book, and I have read several of its kind. It is simply the most organized, truthful, and comprehensive of all I've read. You will never spend 15 dollars on anything better in your life, even with global currency conversion rates.
Rating: 
Summary: The Power of Simplicity - let it live
Review: Having approached this book with a healthy degree of skepticism but also intrigue (for it's really popular) I had the critic's knives sharpened and ready for carving. Unfortunately, I'm gonna have to let this animal live. The Power of Now represents one of those books that is not one of the heavy hitting intellectually stellar works on my shelf but the book serves a real purpose and benefits people. Here's why: Getting through the labyrinthine texts of Buddhism and Mysticism, translating it for Westerners in a meaningful way and serving it up in a manner that is easily digestible requires a lot of work. The modern book buyer is often too impatient to pursue the wonderful titles by Alan Watts, which in a more poetic way pretty much say everything that is said in "Now," and more. Most people do not have time for that. They want an easy-to-get, nicely presented work that IS EASY TO READ. Yes, that is scary in a sense, but as long as they are getting good ideas, should we hold it against them? I don't think so. If they weren't reading this, it may be something their favorite talk show host recommended which turns out to be far worse. Imagine a book on enlightenment according to Benny Hinn! At least Tolle is a likable and believable chap. Tolle serves up the "Thou Art That" motif in an easy to assimilate language and a palatable question/ answer format that renders a "communicate the basic idea" style. Personally, I prefer the edgier works such as "Undoing Yourself" by Hyatt. However, the reality is that someone buys a book in an airport and wants a nugget of divine wisdom served up with the peanuts. This work is perfect for them. While babysitting the nephews, I removed this copy from my relative's bookshelf and began to flip through its pages. It is perfect when you have a kid on one arm and limited attention to devote to a book. The ideas are straightforward (and despite some new age mumbo jumbo from time to time) are communicated with a decent flair for writing. No harm done. One comes away with the knowledge that "enlightenment champions" take many forms and they're not always heavy weight.
Rating:
Summary: Peace pours from the pages
Review: Every time I pick this book up to read it...I am immediatly enveloped in the peace of his message.... it is so simple and so profound at the same time.... I can take the lessons and practice them in every situation every day and find all of them to be true.... without the past there is no regret...no guilt... without the future, no anxiousness... no worry.... Anyone that needs more than this...is trying WAY too hard to understand these concepts to avoid living NOW! Thank you Eckhart Tolle for your wisdom in a world of chaos.
Rating:
Summary: Makes Perfect Sense, But Requires Self-Observation
Review: The wonderful thing about this book (and other books dealing with consciousness) is that its teachings can be verified through self-observation. Once this happens, the material is truly understood - not because it has been read, but because it has been lived. We are all addicted to our thoughts. We like playing the same fantasies over and over in our heads, wasting our mental resources. This truly is unfortunate, as it prevents us from experiencing the world around us. Practicing the techniques in this book will give you a solid anchor in the real world. Paradoxically, some of the information in this book may seem a little "out there" if it's not fully understood/experienced. I assure you, though, that there is very little in his book that can't be proven through self-observation. Anyone claiming that these teachings are BS simply hasn't observed themselves, or refuses to out of mind/ego attachment. This book teaches you how to become conscious. This is a surprisingly simple concept that the average intelligent person will be able to fully grasp within the first fifty pages. Once your consiousness is in control, you will have tremendous mental focus and clarity. Remember, you are not learning how to enter some abstract/mystical state of consiousness; you are learning how to PAY ATTENTION to yourself and the world around you. Of course, this is quite mystical compared to what we think we know as "paying attention", which is really just pathetically blinking in and out of consiousness for a few seconds before retreating back to the worries, fantasies, and false comforts of the self-condemned ego-mind.
Rating:
Summary: IT'S TOO FLOWERY!
Review: PLEASE!... stop with the the "twenty dollar" words and the soft whispery presentation.When describing the eastern approach, us westerners NEED SOMETHING WE CAN SINK OUR TEETH INTO. Tolle is like a myriad of authors, with his inability to make this material practical. Sure the message is there, but am I going to be able to USE this information in the office tommorow? (no!).There are so many others that convey these concepts so seamlessly......"Full Catastrophe Living" by Zinn or "Mindfullness in Plain English" by Gunaratana or "Wherever You Go There You Are" also by Zinn; Levine's "The Positive Psychology Of Buddhism And Yoga". This list can go on. The point is, these authors give you practical exercises to live in the present, maintaining much more depth and balance in your life.I was caught by the hype of this book...do you think Amazon would take a return with the first one third of the book with some yellow highlighting? (which tells you... I did give the ole "self-help reader" try).I guess if this was your first look at these concepts it would be profound, for me , I'm done with the FLUFFY stuff.
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