The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle - Essay Example

The Power of Now The Power of Now written by Eckhart Tolle proffers issues on spiritual enlightenment (Tolle). Narrated using the perspective of an unaffiliated spiritual teacher from any religious faction or organization, Tolle presented a comprehensive discussion of inner thoughts, consciousness, the state of presence, living in the now, peace in happiness, and the meaning of surrender, among others. The objective of this essay is actually to present a response and personal reaction to Tolle’s contentions focusing on how I felt after reading the book. To achieve this goal, I have noted crucial passages and statements that have moved me in one way of the other and would expound on the rationale for my reaction. Reaction to Noted Passages The origin of the book contained information that has spurred me to reflect on Tolle’s contestation that “If I cannot live with myself, there must be two of me: the ’I’ and the ‘self’” (Tolle 4) which I found intriguing and somewhat challenging. It took him until just before his 30th birthday to realize that there is something missing in his life and that there are factors that impinge on him providing the impetus for remuneration. It seems that delving into the past or worrying too much into the future provides too much anxiety that actually inhibits the person to enjoy the present – the now. He then proceeds on realizing that there is a need for a person to attain a sense of enlightenment: “the end of suffering” (Tolle 12). It is at this point that I share the same convictions as Tolle in recognizing the need to appreciate the present and to be thankful for what today brings. I realized that when one makes the most of now, today, with the best of one’s abilities, knowledge, and talent, one is eventually destined to have a happy and peaceful life. The initial reading contradicts previous ways of thinking and viewing things. I have been brought up to develop personal and professional skills to prepare for the future. It seems that there really is no time to appreciate the now. When I encounter colleagues and acquaintances, I recognized that all seem to be always in a hurry for school, for work, that technology has provided opportunities for instant everything: instant food, instant coffee, accessing mails, entertainment, and information, and opting for distance social relationships through electronic medium. We even send our children at very young ages to pre-school believing that professional academic institutions provide them with the best nurturing activities to help them grow to be independent people, as if wanting them to leave our abodes at the soonest possible time. Tolle’s ideas of spiritual enlightenment focus on appreciating the now, listening to the voice within me, being more sensitive of what the inner body is saying to attain enlightenment. Honestly, his thoughts are profound; yet tend to be somewhat confusing – and at times, contradictory: he advices on ‘watching the thinker’ by paying close attention to every minute details of present existence. Yet, Tolle acknowledged that need to “learn to disidentify from your mind” (Tolle 21). How can I pay close attention to the present when I disidentify from my mind? It does not seem to make sense. Another contradictory remark was when Tolle answered the question Why should we be addicted to thinking? as he averred that “even great scientists have reported that their creative breakthroughs came at a time of mental quitetude” (24). Then, he concluded that “the simple reason why majority of scientists are not creative is not because they don’t know how to think but because they don’t know how to stop thinking!” In the first statement, Tolle admitted that great scientists discover their most creative breakthroughts during quiet times. How then could he eventually suddenly conclude that majority of the scientists (who have revolutionized the world through their significant discoveries) be considered ‘not creative’ and be generalized as ‘don’t know how to stop thinking’. These are his personal opinions which have no factual basis or verifiable support. The reader becomes confused as to which to follow: to use mental faculties or to stop using them. Albeit, these are minor observations, overall, I found Tolle’s book inspirational and enlightening in terms of making me realize that by freeing our minds of live’s intricate details, we eventually are led towards the path to enlightenment. Although, as he suggested, it is not really immediate and one needs to pause several times to comprehend and understand spiritual concepts proposed. For example, I do not share the same convictions as his with regards to his concept of God. According to Tolle, “the word God has become empty of meaning through thousands of years of misuse” (13). I definitely do not agree; maybe, taking it from his perspective since he is not affiliated nor oriented with a specific religion or faith. For one who is profoundly a believer and practitioner of the Catholic faith, one is bound to have a deeper understanding and personal relationship with God, a Supreme Being; a Divine Power. Personally, I thought that his lack of faith and religious orientation could be one of the factors that provoked him to seek for enlightenment. He felt lost and something tells him inside that there seems to be more to life than just trying to live one day at a time – or looking at one’s past – or being apprehensive of the future. But for one who has had a deep spiritual understanding and belief in a religion, there is a sense of fulfillment for living. The purpose in life has already been defined and well understood and that every endeavor revolves around this purpose. In his chapter on consciousness, Tolle stated that “the greater part of human pain is unnecessary” (33) (I agree). “It is self-created as long as the unobserved mind runs your life.” (33) (I disagree). I do not agree the greater part of human pain is self-created, for the simple reason that by nature, people averse anything giving them pain. I believe that pain is caused by diverse factors which are beyond the person’s control. But people could learn from pain by focusing on something good that could come out from the experience. It could make us stronger in faith, it could strengthen the way we respond to stimuli that gives pain and thereby we can react and respond accordingly. This belief was in fact validated by Tolle in his discussion on Beyond Happiness and Unhappiness There is Peace when he indicated that “whenever anything negative happens to you, there is a deep lesson concealed within it” (177). Personal Analysis Overall, I found Tolle’s book controversial in terms of presenting diverse concepts that prove to be contradicting at times. There is a thin line between stating what his opinion is and what he believed to be facts without providing enough evidence to support his contentions. Although, the purpose of the book is to show the reader the path towards enlightenment, personally, I found the arguments more confusing than enlightening. The rationale for this reaction could be because unlike Tolle, I believe that I was oriented to be spiritually inclined to practice the religion I was brought in the world into. This in itself provided me with the answers to most of the questions being expounded by Tolle, from his own point of view. There is indeed value in emphasizing the power of now – but not merely to live only in the now and to forget the past or the future. I believe that the past is valuable as it provides important lessons that have been instrumental in one’s personal and professional growth. Further, there is also nothing wrong with planning for one’s future, because by envisioning strategies that would make us a better person, we become guided and directed to substantial endeavors that need to be done today. I believe that the true path towards enlightenment is being true to oneself and following the golden rule: to do unto others what one wants others to do unto you. By this rule of reciprocity, one would acknowledge that a life lived for the sake of one’s neighbors would generate application of the same goodness that our neighbors would necessarily apply towards us. Works Cited Tolle, Eckhart. "The Power of Now." Sydney: Hodder Australia, 2004. Read More