Today we’ll be wrapping up our discussion of Eckhart Tolle’s The Power Of Now. Thank you so much for reading along with us and sharing your thoughts and revelations! Today I wanted to share the seven key points that really stood out to me and taught me the most. What was your biggest lesson from The Power Of Now? Let us know in the comments!
1. You are not your mind.
This is one of the book’s first and most succint lessons, and it honestly never crossed my mind (no pun intended) until I read this book. Our mind is not who we are, it is not our identity. It is our ego – the thoughts, hopes and dreams we have for ourselves, and those thoughts are not you. We must learn to use the mind instead of letting the mind use us. Your mind might be telling you to worry about something in the future, or maybe it’s telling you to be sad about something that happened in the past – don’t let it! Acknowledge it’s thoughts, observe them, and let them go.
2. Be intensely conscious of the present moment.
One of the biggest steps towards living in the now is to become intensely conscious of the present moment. Moments can be so fleeting and easily pass us by, and it’s important to soak in each second – each millisecond – of those moments. Don’t waste a moment by thinking about what is coming next, because you will miss having a moment of pure serenity. You will miss the now.
3. The Now is timeless.
And furthermore, the present moment is all you ever have. This was actually one of my favorite points from the book. Think about the past – all it is, is just former present moments. Think about the future – it is present moments that have not yet happened. You cannot control those past moments or future moments, but you can control the moment you are in right now.
4. Karma Yoga: The process of achieving perfection in action.
This is a great thing to practice as a means of being more present. When you are doing something – anything – don’t think about what the result is going to be. Just focus all of your energy on that action that you are taking, and achieving perfection in that action. Give it your all.
5. Do not carry negative energy.
Carrying negative energy around is a viscous cycle. It will sit inside you and become anger, frustration, resentment and a host of other negative emotions. I like to remember a quote that goes along with this: “Complaining is pointless. Either act or forget it.” Rather than being negative about something, decide if it is worth acting on and acknowledging, or simply let it go. You will feel the weight lift off your shoulders.
6. Beauty arises in the stillness of your presence.
Being present will help you to see the beauty in every moment, and if you allow your mind to be overcome with mental noise, you will miss the serenity of those moments. You will find that the most beautiful moments are those that happen when you are completely still.
7. Connect with the inner body.
One of the most important paths towards living in the Now is to be completely in tune with your inner body, and also the energy of your inner body. Pay attention to your body, acknowledge the signs and listen to what it is telling you.
Lead image source.
Wonderful wisdom!
I pulled similar points as well. I truly had an awakening moment with the “Presence” exercise about closing your eyes and asking yourself what you are going to think next. In my brief moment of Presence I felt my senses (especially hearing) heighten. I was waiting for a stimulant to trigger my next thought. A sound to replay a memory or a smell to make me question what caused it. I truly look forward to sharpening my skills.
The Power of Now is an amazing book. And if practices, these points can do wonders to your look on life. Living in the timeless now a much better place to be than the past and future
I’m only five pages in and I’ve already learned so much.. This is a conversation I had with my friend.
Me: So this book teaches you that you’re a slave to your brain. That the control we give our brains is why we experience anxiety and depression. It helps you realize that the brain is just like you heart. It keeps you alive. It works for you. Nothing more. The reason we have dark unwanted thoughts is because we’ve allowed our brains to become its own being. There is me, then there is my brain. We are separate. It’s the same as saying there is me then there is you. Our brains have formed their own consciousness that isn’t for our good. And if we can accept that and take steps to change that we can be free of negative thoughts. When the separation actually happens and your brain is yours again you’re in a constant state of meditation and can choose for yourself what thoughts, good or bad, you choose to have.
Her:Wow that’s Amazing. So I assume its probably difficult to get control back? Possible of course but does he explain how
Me:Yeah you go through exercises. Right now I’m not reading anymore until I am able to separate myself without making the conscious decision to. Until its just natural. Like instead of having bad thoughts and asking myself why I can’t let go of things I have to tell “her”(my brain) to stop. That I don’t have time for her bullshit. To get mad at her and basically mentally walk away from her. It’s like being around someone you dislike; you just leave. People who say they dislike themselves are wrong. They dislike their brain as a conscious being. At least that’s the understanding I took on what I’ve read so far.
Her:So the conscious being brain…that’s still created by us or no?
Me: What are you asking? If we as individuals created this conscious in our minds? If so it’s unclear currently. I think the devil exists. Not like in the bible but in our souls and circumstance, hereditary even. I think the development of humanity has awakened parts of the spirit that are so powerful because they were intended to drive passion and creation and will to live. But we built buildings and made money and that part of the soul lost purpose and reworked itself to compliment what force had the strongest pull on humanity, power, wealth, status, etc. So I suppose I do think we did this to ourselves but not we as in me and you. Out ancestors, our devils. We don’t recognize the strength of the human spirit. We think we’re sad because we’ve lost our spirit when in reality it evolved to what we made it think would better suit us. We’ve mutated our own souls.
After five pages. This book is a miracle. And maybe I’m gathering things wrong because I haven’t read it all, but I like what I’m gaining none the less.
This is great! I like the point saying “You are not your mind” I never thought of it like that but it is so true. I am going to try to carry these aspects with me every day.
http://bohobrain.wordpress.com/
I just finished reading “The Power of Now” and a big lesson I took away was to accept and surrender–it is what it is.