Rating: 
Summary: Direct and Concise
Review: Tolle's direct approach to personal awareness flows throughout the book. In concert with Buddhist philosophy, the emphasis on fully being in the moment guides the reader. His discussion on the 'pain body' aids in the process of letting go. A must read for seekers of personal awareness and those desiring to attain calm abiding.
Rating: 
Summary: Half Great and Half Bad............
Review: First I will give my praise to this book for literally opening my eyes about the mind and how it tries to control us. The Power Of Now did an incredible job of convincing me that us humans have really been imprisoned in our minds and Eckhart Tolle does indeed help to lead us out of the pain of our minds into an enlightened state where life is much more peaceful. For this I can't thank Mr. Tolle enough!Now for the downer, I had to cringe half the time when the author quoted the words of Jesus. Too often Eckhart Tolle puts his own meaning into what he wants to believe Jesus said and thus Eckhart will only quote parts of Jesus' words that appear to benefit his own views on spirituality. Jesus taught of a literal heaven and hell and it seems that everyone wants to just skip right past those parts and just read the nice fluffy feel good words of Jesus as Eckhart does. Furthermore, Jesus did NOT teach that "Salvation" (as Eckhart keeps talking about) was something we find within ourselves but rather true salvation as Jesus teaches is found when we submit our lives to God and ask him to forgive us our sins and have a personal relationship with Jesus. Jesus died on a cross to save us from our sins if we will simply accept him into our lives to find salvation. He was the ultimate sacrifice for us. We are saved by the shedding of his blood and not by merely learning to live in the "now" as Eckhart teaches. Other than this I wish more people would learn to live presently rather than in the past or future which tends to create pain for us. I only recommend The Power Of Now to people who already have a clear understanding of What Jesus really teaches in the Bible then that way you won't believe Eckhart's editing of Jesus' words.
Rating:
Summary: ATTENTION ! ! Here and Now!!!
Review: I have listened to each of the five cassettes atleast 40 times. This is timeless and to say that I highly recommend this teaching to the entire human race is an understatement. I listen to the tapes while doing yard work -I've got a lot done and enjoyed every bit of it. The world will simply be a better place if human beings stopped trying to "make a better future by creating a present hell." As Eckhardt puts it: "Have you ever done anything outside of the now? Do you think you ever will?" He also states the "you are not your mind." How much of your day do you spend dwelling on the past and anticipating the future and totally neglect the here and now? This is a wake up call for the human race. He sites many of the greatest spiritual teachings to make his point, The Bible, The Bhagivad Ghita, The Koran, Hinduism, Karma Yoga and more. This stuff is not new and all the spiritual texts cited point to the same spiritual teaching, the one that underlies all religions, the one that we are all a part of.
Rating:
Summary: Good but lacks an important ingredient
Review: This book makes the vital point that all we have is now, but misses essential ingredients for self optimization. Tolle suggests we observe disturbing emotions/thoughts rather than engage in them. This is important, and Tolle expresses this well. What is essential, new and life-optimizing is what Dr. Rosalene Glickman explains in her book, "Optimal Thinking: How to Be Your Best Self." She says we need to observe and embrace disturbing thoughts/emotions/situations and then optimize them. She offers simple roadmaps to optimize any thought/emotion/situation and shows us how to choose the best and put any issue to rest. This is like embracing a disturbed child, accepting their problems and helping them find their best solutions. It is more than what Tolle suggests, which is to watch the child being disturbed without getting emotionally involved.
Rating: 
Summary: A lucid explanation of ancient wisdom by a Western writer
Review:
For those who are familiar with Eastern Wisdom, as embodied in the Advaita Vedanta, for example, there is little here that is new. In fact Siddhartha of Guatama, the Buddha, a Hindu, expounded on these same ideas 600 years before Christ, and the Hindu Vedas are full of the same theme. Buddhism, of course, also explores the area.
That does not make this book any less valuable. For one thing, it is written by a Westerner who does not use Eastern jargon and nomenclature. And Tolle has a handle on his subject matter. Tolle's main thrust is that, in order to achieve inner peace, one should try to stay in the Now, since the past no longer exists and the future has not yet arrived. In point of fact, everything that happens, or ever has happened, takes place in the Now. Now is where we reflect on the past, where remorse for past actions takes place, and where our fears and hopes for the future reside. But the only action we can ever take is right here, in the Now. The other main point that the author makes is the necessity to quiet our chattering mind, and not to identify our thoughts as our Self. The real Self is the observer, who stand outside the mind and uses thought (the brain) as a tool. I wrote a book addressing most of the same points, with very similar conclusions, after experiencing some of the same things as Eckhart Tolle. Tolle, it seems to me, makes his point better than I did. There is much to be learned from this book. Those who have read deeply into the Eastern philosophies will find nothing new, perhaps, but they will also find little to dispute. Joseph Pierre
author of The Road to Damascus and other books
Rating:
Summary: Quite a good start...
Review: Well, there are a lot of spiritual books out there. And there will be lots more to come. Why? Well, spirituality is about being, not dogma, and we are all individuals. Just as we all have different narratives about, for instance, our journey of self-discovery and learning of language, we will all have different stories for our discovery of spirit. Or at least I hope the _majority_ of us develop such stories or we will be another short footnote in the history of life on this planet.
What books are useful or perhaps even groundbreaking? Some stories involve three-day courses where people are given 'authentic Indian names' at the end and told they are great shamans or yogis. Unfortunately there is no such thing as McDonald's spirituality - the process of uncovering being is, in 99.99999% of the cases (just look at how many 'great' spiritual leaders we have had in the history of our race) a rather arduous and painful one. Tolle had a revelation (which he does not give details about) quite a number of years ago. He has lived since then in relative seclusion in Canada, Vancouver to be exact. This book is the culmination of his spiritual growth - written because he feels strongly about trying to get out a message to Westerners. This is where this book excels. There is little new here for anyone who has deep experience in Eastern spirituality such as Zen or Taoism; nor is there little new for anyone who has completed deep practice in shamanism. The key is deep practice: there is no free lunch here! Tolle makes this point frequently by interspersing the book with symbols representing 'pauses' where you are supposed to do some work. A great idea. Tolle's focus is to give a more Western path for confronting the insanity of the ego. He goes through the 'why' portion and then moves into some general overviews of the 'how'. I thought his blending of different religions was done in an artful manner and several friends who have borrowed the book have had the same comment. Much like Stephen Mitchell, Tolle manages to tweak the best out of the mostly-corroded shell of Christianity. For anyone considering starting this very important journey, this book is a good place to start. Then find a master and start practising your own way.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: The awesome power of the words and ideas in this book has transformed my life. I highly recommend this book to everyone I meet (including you!). This is the only book I have ever actually talked back to! I wrote in the margins of every page, highlighted and underlined nearly every paragraph and read from this book on a daily basis. Never have I found a more enriching book. Not even the Bible compares to this book for me, because when I do that "close your eyes and open to any page" thing... this book is ten times more relevant to my life than even the holy scriptures! I can apply the ideas in this book to my life immediatly! This very moment...NOW, I mean right NOW! I read a bit and I can integrate it into my life right now in the present moment. No waiting. Page 33 is one of my favorite pages to refer to when I am in emotional pain. This book taught me how to dissolve emotional pain from the past. I love this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Skewed by the Dark Side of the Force
Review: While the book he excerpted from this one ("Practicing the Power of Now") is excellent, this book suffers from Tolle's earlier efforts to drag in every type of "spirituality" and try to make them resonate with the truth--which he DOES present, interspersed among references to things he apparently doesn't realize are from the Dark Side of the Force.
Instead of this book, read his "Practicing the Power of Now," which contains the truth from this book, without the trash. It's a life-changing book for any reader that puts its simple suggestions into practice.
Tolle's problem is that he had a powerful revelation of the simplicity of truth, but not about the tricks of deception. His second book corrects this mistake, and is good reading for any age reader and for any spiritual orientation.
Rating:
Summary: Power of Now and Present Moment Awareness
Review: Two books have been highly recommended to me in the past year. One was the Power of Now. The book really resonated with me, giving me insights into what was pulling my out of the now. I then read "Present Moment Awareness" by Shannon Duncan. In this book the author presents usuable techniques for staying in the now. A winning combination--Power of Now, with Present Moment Awareness. The combination has increased the quality of my life. Cathy Bolger
Rating:
Summary: Impossible to read just once?
Review: Until his thirtieth year, the author writes, he was plagued by anxiety and periods of suicidal depression. Then, in the early hours of a pivotal morning, an inward process occurred that led Tolle into what might be termed a mystical experience, or a series of such experiences, and a profound spiritual transformation, that freed him completely from his suffering. Tolle began to fully understand and live the reality that the unhappy and deeply fearful self that we perceive ourselves to be is "ultimately a fiction of the mind." This book is concerned with how to connect and identify with, and to live as, that portion of our consciousness that is beyond our minds or thinking processes, and is the source of bliss, joy, love, peace, and creativity. Tolle asserts that thinking has become a disease. Rather than being merely a useful tool, a person's mind comes to "possess" him. One beomces convinced that he *is* his mind - a thoroughly destructive delusion. Happily, Tolle explains how to disidentify from the mind, and end the delusion of psychological time, that results in living in the past and the future, rather than the Now, which is the only time that actually exists. This is a very "deep" book, that attempts to use words and the reader's mind to open doorways to freedom from wordful, mindful thinking, to a perspective and approach to life has obvious appeal and advantages - but that may be very difficult to implement, because it calls for a radical transformation of one's self-concept, curing addictive behaviors, and eliminating habits that have been established for decades. Tolle's work is having a positive impact on individual lives, and seems to have the potential to transform relationships, society, and the world, for the better. Please do not read this book unless you are prepared for the possibility that it will become a "bible" to you, at least until its work in your life is complete. You may find yourself wanting your own copy, to be read repeatedly, highlighted, annotated, meditated on, etc. I do urge you to read it - but not without this happy caveat.
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