I usually don’t delve into the “Personal Growth / Spirituality” genre. A nice glass of orange juice and amaretto is generally about as spiritual as I get. But what can I say? When a book sells two million copies (at least) a boy gets curious. I mean, even Oprah is a fan. C’mon. Of course, I’m talking about The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, the non-denominational spiritual teacher whom the the New York Times has labeled “the most popular spiritual author in the nation.”
Mentioning both Buddhism and Christianity as influences, Tolle argues that “the greater part of human pain is unnecessary” and “self-created,” a product of the human tendency “to identify with external things” like possessions, belief systems, and social status. For Tolle, human unhappiness stems from this pattern of striving which can never provide more than temporary satisfaction. “None of these,” he says, “is you.”
Fortunately, Tolle has some advice to help you get over the emotional hump of that [Insert terrible thing that you’re dealing with]. Wait. Ready? Stop thinking about it! Thanks, dad. But how? You can start by “watching the thinker”: by becoming consciously aware of the ways in which you think. So doing, you can liberate yourself from your mind’s socially and culturally conditioned desires (I’m paraphrasing here) and commit yourself to the only kind of existence which can make you truly and consistently happy—a life lived solely in the Now:
“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have. Make the Now the primary focus of your life. Whereas before you dwelt in time and paid brief visits to the Now, have your dwelling place in the Now and pay brief visits to past and future when required to deal with the practical aspects of your life situation. Always say ‘yes’ to the present moment ... Surrender to what is. Say ‘yes’ to life—and see how life starts suddenly to start working for you rather than against you.”
Article comments
1 - Otto Krog
Deepak Chopra and Eckart Tolle is in the consciousnes business. So is Sir Roger Penrose and Dr. Hameroff, who recently appeared on Science Channel with their five cents on consciousness.
I have been a fan of Sir Roger Penrose for many years. He was the first scientist to say that consciousness should be found in the quantum field rather than in the brain. I am so much a fan, that I made my own theory out of the idea that consciousness might be explained through a better understanding of antimatter and parallel universes.
My idea is that antimatter is the mirror of this universe, and that antimatter might be where memory is located.
I think that the subconscious mind and consciousness are located in parallel universes in the form of antimatter. That makes the spirit and maybe even God all physical, so basically I could be said to be an atheist, even though I consider myself spiritual.
If you would like to know more, then you can watch a full videopresentation of my theory on my blog:
www.crestroy.com