The Power of Now Book Summary

Book Summary

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Brief Summary

Spiritual guide Eckhart Tolle teaches readers to gain power in the present, in his 1997 best-selling, self-help book The Power of Now.

About the Author

Born Ulrich Leonard Tolle on February 16th 1948 in Lünen, Germany, Eckhart Tolle is best known as the author of The Power of Now and A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose. During Tolle’s formative years, his parents divorced. He witnessed frequent fights and experienced depression and social isolation from peers. He also lived in post-War Germany where the sight of destruction traumatized him. At the age of 19, Tolle enrolled in the University of London for literature, philosophy, and psychology. He is now a world-renowned spiritual leader whose work is influenced by a number of religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity. Tolle moved to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1995 where he met and married his wife Kim Eng while working as a spiritual guide. In 1997, Tolle published his first book, ‘The Power of Now.’ Initially, it only sold 3000 copies. In 2000, Oprah Winfrey recommended the book, and it found its place on the ‘New York Times Best Sellers’ list. Since then, the book has been translated into 33 languages, and it has appeared on the list of the 10 best-selling ‘Paperback Advice Books’ for the 102nd time. Currently, Tolle operates the company, ‘Eckhart Teachings,’ to sell products based on his teachings. He also owns a website, ‘Eckhart Tolle TV,’ where he shares group meditations and other spiritual videos.

Topics

Self Development Psychology

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Key Insights

Do you spend tireless nights consumed by memories of someone who hurt your feelings 7 years ago? Are you concerned about whether you will get married or gain a million-dollar bank account? While these thoughts are normal, they don’t help you to be your best self, right now. Spiritual guide Eckhart Tolle teaches readers to gain power in the present, in his 1997 best-selling, self-help book The Power of Now.

The main takeaways from the book are:

To be empowered right now, you must separate your idea of who you are from your thoughts. We all have some of the most ridiculous, profane, silly, angry thoughts circulate our minds daily. If those thoughts were a representation of our true selves, no one would come close to spiritual enlightenment.

Tolle encourages you to analyze your thinking so that you don’t become your thoughts. In other words, if you identify with your thoughts, then you might believe that the moment you thought about slapping your boss was a true representation of your character instead of a passing thought that you can prevent from actually happening. Identifying with your thoughts is what Tolle calls identifying with the egoic mind.

Tolle even goes on to make a shocking argument that time doesn’t exist!!! His belief is that time is man-made and if you imagine a world where there is no 6am or 5:42pm, the only real time is right now. The future is not guaranteed and can you really talk about the past without a time reference?

Lastly, the more you are conscious of your thoughts instead of identifying with your thoughts, the healthier you become--spiritual and physical well-being work hand in hand.

But let’s take a closer at what this really means:

You are Not Your Mind

According to Buddha, enlightenment is considered the end of suffering.

Tolle believes you can gain enlightenment once you realize that your thoughts are not an actual reflection of you. He believes your awareness of your thoughts offers a more accurate understanding of who you are.

Consciousness: The Way out of Pain

The collection of painful memories is called the pain-body, and it can be active or dormant.

The dormant pain-body becomes activated when experiences similar to the one that caused pain occur.

The pain-body is much like a dormant virus. It feeds on more pain, not joy, and it wants to be activated. To stop the virus from attacking your emotional and physical well-being, it is important to transition thoughts when negative thoughts pop up.

Tolle defines presence as when a person is aware of his or her pain-body being activated.

Moving Deeply into the Now

Your ego is vulnerable and needy--it needs you to be loved by everyone. The ego is like a defensive child who wants to appear big and tough but truly feels small and afraid.

Once you become aware of your egoic mind (or the defensive child in you), you can discipline it by refusing to give it the treat of of rage, anger, or whatever that child craves.