The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
by Eckhart Tolle
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Book Summary Information
Author: Eckhart TolleBrand: PBS
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-09-29
ISBN: 1577314808
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: New World Library
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9781577314806
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
Book Review: Leave Jesus out of it
Summary: 1 Stars
A friend was really excited about this book and asked for my opinion. Here is my response.
I wish Eckhart would just leave Jesus out of his book because he is only using Jesus, incorrectly, to support his own ideas. This may also be true for his quotes from Buddha. However I am no authority there to give an opinion.
Piously Eckhart states, "When I quote from the ancient religions or other teachings, it is to reveal their deeper meaning and thereby restore their transformative power - particularly for those readers who are followers of these religions or teachings. I say to them: there is no need to go elsewhere for the truth. Let me show you how to go more deeply into what you already have." (Now, p. 9-10)
Since when does Eckhart Tolle have sole insight into truth!
Eckhart's god is Now (He wants us to always focus on Now and our self.) Then he goes on to say that we are god. This is ego to the max! And I thought he was trying to go beyond the ego and to stop allowing himself to be controlled by it.
Whatever we choose to focus our energies and thoughts on IS our god.
Eckhart is encouraging us to think of ourselves as "I am" (Now, p. 127-128). If you know the Old Testament, God revealed Himself to the Israelites as the great "I AM." This was to tell them that He was self-existing and could not be compared to anything else. During Christ's crucifixion trial he said "I am" in response to one of the Pharisees questions. For this he was condemned because the Pharisees well knew that in saying "I am" Christ was equating Himself with God. Eckhart is dangerously suggesting that we are "I am." This was Satan's error too: to want to be equal with God.
Here are quotes from Tolle's writings in which he claims that we are god:
"...what was left was my true nature as the ever-present I am" (Now, p. 5)
"Yet you are still there - the divine presence that you are" (Now, p. 196)
"The word God is limiting ... because it implies an entity other than you. God is Being itself, not a being. There can be no subject-object relationship here, no duality, no you and God" (Now, p. 224)
"The way of the cross... forces you to become as nothing, to become as God - because God, too, is no-thing" (Now, p. 225)
Eckhart's books are all about "me," and how "I" am to free myself. For someone who is trying to escape from "egoic delusion"(Now p. 200), he is very hung up on himself!
It might be very enlightening to count the number of times he uses the word "you" and "I" in his book! His books are all about you. As he says in The New Earth, "This book is about you." (New Earth, p. 6) He also states that "It can only awaken those who are ready." This is a very egotistical statement to make. He's saying, "I'm awakened. And if you don't get what I'm talking about, then you aren't part of this inner circle of special people."
Here is the quote from The New Earth: "This book is about you. It will change your state of consciousness or it will be meaningless. It can only awaken those who are ready. Not everyone is ready yet, but many are, and with each person who awakens, the momentum in the collective consciousness grows, and it becomes easier for others. If you don't know what awakening means, read on. Only by awakening can you know the true meaning of the word" (New Earth, p. 6)
Tolle refers to the Bible and the teachings of Jesus without ever quoting the exact words or giving a reference. All the times he does this, he is misinterpreting the Bible. It is as though he has something to say and then looks through the Bible to support his own thoughts. He does not understand the Bible at all. He twists its meaning to serve his own purposes. Why does he even bother to mention Jesus? Is he trying to give his readers the impression that Christianity and Buddha and New Age are all one big family? Eckhart writes, "When I occasionally quote the words of Jesus or the Buddha, ... I do so ... to draw your attention to the fact that in essence there is and always has been only one spiritual teaching, although it comes in many forms" (Now, p. 9).
It has been said that those people who say all religions are the same and all paths lead to God have never actually followed any path themselves.
Steve Turner in "Creed" writes
"We believe that all religions are basically the same -
At least the one that we read was.
They all believe in love and goodness.
They only differ on matters of creation,
Sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation."
Here are some specific examples of misinterpreted Scripture:
Eckhart writes, "You take a journey into the Unmanifested every night when you enter the phase of deep dreamless sleep. You merge with the Source. You draw from it the vital energy that sustains you for a while when you return to the manifested, the world of separate forms. This energy is much more vital than food: `Man does not live by bread alone.'" (Now, p. 132).
Here Eckhart is quoting from Matthew 4:4: "Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."
Eckhart misses the last part of the quote which tells exactly what is meant by the first part! Eckhart is saying that the "vital energy" is what sustains us, not God's Word.
Eckhart writes, "You `get' there by realizing that you are there already. You find God the moment you realize that you don't need to seek God. So there is no only way to salvation: Any condition can be used, but no particular condition is needed. However, there is only one point of access: Now. There can be no salvation away from this moment," (Now, p. 147).
In the Bible, John 14:6, Jesus says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father (God) except through me."
There is only one way to salvation, through Jesus Christ.
And the Bible says that you do need to seek God. In Jeremiah 29:13, God says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Eckhart writes, "The Unmanifested does not liberate you until you enter it consciously. That's why Jesus did not say: the truth will make you free, but rather: `You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.' This is not a conceptual truth. It is the truth of eternal life beyond form, which is known directly or not at all," (Now, p. 133).
This is a quote from John 8:31-32 which actually reads: "To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, `If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'" And a little further in the same passage, John 8:36 says, "So if the son sets you free, you are free indeed."
The "son" here refers to Jesus himself, not an unmanifested being. Jesus is equating Himself with truth.
Eckhart's books clearly lay out a dangerous philosophy that is very enticing to a self-centered world. Eckhart wants to do away with the past and future. If there only is "now" our faculties have become like an animal which considers neither the past nor the future. The truth is that the past is a valuable teacher and the future is our hope. God has given us the gift of knowing the past and looking forward to the future. The problem for us is that we do not trust God. As a result we worry about things that we have no control over. This is what Eckhart is trying to achieve by centering in the "now." However, he is misguided. The solution for worry is not denial, but trust in God.
The main page of Eckhart's website has a quote: "The world can only change from within." This contravenes Christian teaching. The power to change for the better is not within us, it is from God. To say that we, ourselves, can by our own determination and strength, change the world for the better, denies the power of God and pretends that we are gods ourselves. We are not the ones to change ourselves. A better quote would be, "The world will only change when people's hearts are changed by God."
Summary of The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
It's no wonder that The Power of Now has sold over 2 million copies worldwide and has been translated into over 30 foreign languages. Much more than simple principles and platitudes, the book takes readers on an inspiring spiritual journey to find their true and deepest self and reach the ultimate in personal growth and spirituality: the discovery of truth and light.
In the first chapter, Tolle introduces readers to enlightenment and its natural enemy, the mind. He awakens readers to their role as a creator of pain and shows them how to have a pain-free identity by living fully in the present. The journey is thrilling, and along the way, the author shows how to connect to the indestructible essence of our Being, "the eternal, ever-present One Life beyond the myriad forms of life that are subject to birth and death."
Featuring a new preface by the author, this paperback shows that only after regaining awareness of Being, liberated from Mind and intensely in the Now, is there Enlightenment.
In the first chapter, Tolle introduces readers to enlightenment and its natural enemy, the mind. He awakens readers to their role as a creator of pain and shows them how to have a pain-free identity by living fully in the present. The journey is thrilling, and along the way, the author shows how to connect to the indestructible essence of our Being, "the eternal, ever-present One Life beyond the myriad forms of life that are subject to birth and death."
Featuring a new preface by the author, this paperback shows that only after regaining awareness of Being, liberated from Mind and intensely in the Now, is there Enlightenment.
Ekhart Tolle's message is simple: living in the now is the truest path to happiness and enlightenment. And while this message may not seem stunningly original or fresh, Tolle's clear writing, supportive voice, and enthusiasm make this an excellent manual for anyone who's ever wondered what exactly "living in the now" means. Foremost, Tolle is a world-class teacher, able to explain complicated concepts in concrete language. More importantly, within a chapter of reading this book, readers are already holding the world in a different container--more conscious of how thoughts and emotions get in the way of their ability to live in genuine peace and happiness.
Tolle packs a lot of information and inspirational ideas into The Power of Now. (Topics include the source of Chi, enlightened relationships, creative use of the mind, impermanence, and the cycle of life.) Thankfully, he's added markers that symbolize "break time." This is when readers should close the book and mull over what they just read. As a result, The Power of Now reads like the highly acclaimed A Course in Miracles--a spiritual guidebook that has the potential to inspire just as many study groups and change just as many lives for the better. --Gail Hudson
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