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Summary: This book came just when I needed it!
Review: I was going through a tough time, trying to deal with depression, with life, when I saw this book recommended by Gillian Anderson on her official web site where she lists some of her favorite things. I was in a local bookstore when I happened on it, picked it up, gave it a quick glance, and was immediately entranced by its message. To truly live in the NOW is quite difficult, and I know I have been riddled with chaotic mind, never being able to quiet the noisy chatter in my head. I was constantly futurizing, looking into the past and using both as a crutch to not live RIGHT NOW. It is so important a message that everyone needs to embrace it before we get swallowed up by the hype and lies that are fed to us by our own minds. This books makes you become aware of the present and how with each day you can become happier with being in the NOW, which is to say by living life to its fullest by just BEING! I cannot express this like Eckhart can, but please read this book and it will unfold its wisdom like a flower...slowly. This is the greatest gift I have given myself in such a long time. I thank my higher power for guiding me to it.
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Summary: I HAVE JUST BEEN BORN!!
Review: I never knew that there ever was a "NOW". A "TODAY". I constantly lived on yesterday's beliefs and tomorrow's dreams. Both, as Tolle says in his gracious voice, are illusions!! This audio WILL change your life.....forever!!
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Summary: WOW!
Review: It's interesting how the "right" book always seems to appear when I can most use the message. As I was tossing between the past and the future, this gentle man says "be here now." Clear, compassionate, and compelling.
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Summary: The Power of Now : A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment (Book
Review: Eckhart's message is simply the quintessential of all world teachings. He reveals that enlightment is not only attainable, but natural. Being a disciple of an eastern master, the presentation of this message represents the flowering of that discipleship, the flowering of the unmanifest that is available in each of us.
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Summary: Your ego will *not* be happy with this book.
Review: Okay, so I read a whole bunch of reviews here to see what people were saying so my ego could get validated, or whatever. Having only 5 pages left to read I can say, along with everyone else, that this book is a real gift and bound to change your life for the better. I don't know how many will actually reach the state of enlightenment Tolle has, but I bet everyone who reads it and tries to apply the principles presented will feel a whole lot better. At least you will know why so many people around you are unhappy even though you won't be. I especially like the clear way he describes how the ego tries to maintain its dominance and why and how a big ego causes damage. The concept of the "pain-body" was new and valuable. ("Calling Livia Soprano!") He says up front that he repeats things, but he never says them the same way twice, a sign of a very good teacher. He also keeps religion out of it other than to show how some of the great teachings of the masters (Jesus, Buddha) reflect his point. For many Christians there will be a lot of "Aha!" moments. You'll want to keep a highlighter handy as well as a pen or pencil to index key points like "ego" and "forgiveness". There is a table of contents but you will want to cross-index things like crazy. This is the type of book you shouldn't be afraid of marking up. Buy this book for friends and ask them to do the same. Maybe the human race really is getting to a point where we are ready to stop the murder of the planet and each other. Reading this book is a GIANT step in that direction. Note to editors: Maybe someone will write a children's edition George Bush can read?
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Summary: Insight into the fundamental mystery of Time
Review: As a contemporary mystic, without much encumbrance of any religious tradition to speak of, Eckhart Tolle gives us as clear an exposition into the experiential reality of the true physics of Time as one could wish for.As a long-time dabbler in physics and mysticism myself, it seems the more I dabble the more I become convinced that a major common denominator among mystics of all flavors is that they have experienced a revelatory insight into the true nature of TIME, as discrete moments each of which is a complete and freshly created universe unto itself. Surprisingly, some physicists such as David Deutsch in 'The Fabric of Reality' will describe essentially the same thing, even without having evidently any subjective experience of it whatsoever (e.g. "Time does not flow. Each moment is an instance of another Universe.") Some acquaintance with physics and physicists has impressed upon me how little is really known about Time per se, as opposed to, for example, Gravity. (e.g. physicist Paul Davies' book 'About Time') It is interesting, and even, ahem, enlightening (hehe), to me to listen to Zen master Dogen's essay 'Being-Time' after reading Eckhart Tolle. For example at the mp3.com artist site 'freedharma', there is a copy of Dogen's 'Being-Time' essay. Or check out Gary Snyder's audio recording of Kaz Tanahashi's Dogen translation 'Moon in a Dewdrop'.
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Summary: Suffering HAS an End
Review: This book is a valuable reminder and a restatement of many perennial insights shared by many of the world's religions. The most important of which, is perhaps that suffering in fact has an end. A fact that I, for one, too often refuse to believe. As an example of Mr. Tolle's direct style, here is how he states this Good News: "Humankind as a whole has been through such vast suffering that one could almost say that every human has suffered enough now. No further suffering is necessary." Another book as direct and powerful in its perennial insight as this one is "The Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment" by Thaddeus Golas. Personally, I see such books as valuable documents of the spontaneous experience of awakening. But whether or not such an experience is any more or less contagious via the medium of these books as opposed to any of the more traditional practices - e.g. singing in choir, taking communion, or sitting on a cushion at 5 a.m. - is pretty dubious, it seems to me. "Frying sesame seeds ... One pops." - Mitsu Suzuki
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Summary: Power of Now...a MUST Read
Review: An awesome book..the author has 'been there & done that' and tells us fellow seekers the secret. I am on my second reading & have passed along several copies to friends who are also on the path. Each has called me to say what a change this book has made in their lives. Eckhart may well become the next Deepak Chopra.
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Summary: This gem is full of deep yet practical wisdom
Review: This book is a real gem, to say the least. Eckhart Tolle is able to explain very deep and fundamental issues about life, ourself (body, mind, pure consciousness), and the universe in simple words, making this universal wisdom surprisingly accessible. For instance, Mr. Tolle brilliantly explains the fascinating concepts of time and space and their relationship to our mind and its processes and pitfalls, in other words, their relationship to the way we experience our life. This practical book contains important portals to disidentify from the mind/ego and to be in touch more deeply with our true inner self by entering the eternal now and, as a result, becoming more and more liberated from the past and the future. The book is written in a captivating format using highly relevant questions and answers. While reading or listening (the unabridged audio book is very inspirational too!) your consciousness will shift profoundly. It is a mind-blowing read/listening experience, even literally speaking ;-) In case you are looking for a meditation practice that perfectly fits in with these pure insights and pragmatic 'exercises/portals' bringing inner peace and joy on a day-to-day basis.
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Summary: Know what you believe
Review: I read this book and listened to the tape. Tolle is a gifted communicator of spiritual ideas. But Tolle is a man, not God, and remember: he's selling something. His main points, that we are not our minds and we should live in the present, are presented in the most clear and persuasive manner I've ever seen. I've found them enormously helpful. Yet, as a lifelong Lutheran, I am skeptical of the many "spiritual truths" he issues so declaratively. He also endorses "A Course in Miracles," a New Age text supposedly channeled straight from God. It's time to start asking questions about his ideas. A good place to start would be Not Necessarily the New Age: Critical Essays, edited by Robert Basil. Other books about New Age thinking can be found in libraries. Just do a subject search on "New Age movement." Don't just adopt religious ideas because someone states them in a soothing, authoritative way--and various celebrities thought the book was great. Your soul and mind are too important.
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