Eckhart Tolle "The Power of Now."

[Elizabeth]

I am curious to see how many of you are familiar with this book..and with this way of thinking.If so..what do you think of it...

I think it would fall under the "metaphysical" category..but am not sure.

Years before I heard of the book I did a version of its suggested practices sometimes when my thoughts were seemingly carrying me away. I have found it very helpful. I have it on tape and listen to it often on my commute. It has helped me through some rather tough moments....

I tried to get a meet-up group going for it..but we were all so spread out that there was no good central meeting place for everyone.


Blessings....

[EmmaBlue]

hi Elizabeth,

I have heard of the book, but I haven't read it yet. I think it is quite a popular book. What are some of the practices that you said helped you? I'd love to hear how it helped you, as I am interested in getting the book eventually.

~emma :)

[Elizabeth]

It deals primarily, as the name suggests, :) with staying in the moment and being aware of how our emotions are not our identities. He discusses how people develop what he calls the "pain body" and how, if we unconsciously react to life, it is not really our "self" that is acting..but this "pain body" which responds reflex-like to things that other people do and just life in general.

He also talks a lot about living in the past or in the future by forming an identity out of the past, dwelling on it and allowing what happened "to" us to determine how we live today when in reality, the past only exists in our minds, and through clinging to it, we limit ourselves to repeating the same patterns over and over again, and we mistakenly beieve that this is our identity or our personality, when it is not "us" but just a huge accumulation of habitual thinking and responses.

Also, some people live in the future, which does not exist, through constantly looking forward to something rather than enjoying and fully experiencing the NOW.

He describes in detail techniques that one can use to avoid being all caught up emotional reactions and eventually, through gradually shining more and more consciousness on the "pain body" this reactive "thing" within us, we can live in the moment, and avoid the accumulation of what he calls "psychological" time, but still live in the world as seen by most people and do our day to day business, realizing that it is not the ultimate reality, but a reflection of the true reality.

There is so much info. in the tapes and the Book...I am not doing it justice. One of the techniques is that when you feel the beginnings of an unsettled feeling..like the ego is being threatened (the pain body and the ego are the same, I think..or the pain body is the product of the ego and protects it..either way they are closely related) anyway, when you feel this...like at the beginning of an argument or just when someone cuts you off in traffic or someone does something that seems to upset you, you catch yourself and direct your attention as the observer, to the feeling. You do not try to stifle the feeling...but just watch it..feel it. By observving it, you become aware that you, your true self, are NOT the same thing as the feeling and you become a bit distanced from the feeling and not as invested in it. When I do this, it works, and I am able to stop myself from getting all caught up in drama and conflict. If there is something to be done to correct a situation, one can still do that, but by being the observer of the feelings, one can act more productively, and not out of fear or anger.

He also says that we attract into our lives things and situations that are vibrating on the same frequency as we are. If we practice the Power of NOw and bring the light of consciousness into our lives, we begin to vibrate on a higher frequency and attract life situations and people that are on a higher frequency also.

I worked with a Jungian analyst for a while, and he spoke much about letting emotions flow through us..and just observing them, not judging them. I have to say, that I find that very helpful....especially when dealing with the emotional and spiritual issues that might come up when going Raw. I do not always practice the Power of Now..but when I do, I have better days..and feel more open and free...when I don't, I run the risk of being caught up in drama..and wasting precious energy.

I am going to renew my efforts in this area... thanks for asking about it, if you get the book..or decide to try the idea...let me know how it goes, o.k?
I found a place in Chicago where they have Power of Now sittings where the sit in silence for part of the time and then listen to a tape together or watch a video. I am hoping to go to one this month.

I hope this message makes some sense..it is kind of hard to explain...it is such a "feeling," ephemeral sort of thing...

Blessings....

[EmmaBlue]

Elizabeth,

Thanks so much for responding. You have peaked my interest in the book. It seems to touch on many similar ideas I have been reading in other books, particularly about not suppressing negative feelings, but just allowing oneself to feel them and then releasing them.

It's interesting, because the only time I seem to be living in the "now" is when I am with my boyfriend. I am very relaxed and not thinking beyond the moment. But during the week, my thoughts are always jumping ahead to what I have to do or accomplish in the days ahead, and it is exhausting. I would love to learn how to stay in the present moment.

Also, I have a tendency to worry and I can really exhaust myself sometimes with worry. But instead of getting angry at myself for being this way, I am learning to just feel the feelings like a detached observer, rather than suppress them. I think this is similar to what you wrote about. I want to uncover the "true" self, and break free from the part of me that has doubt and fear. But, it's so hard!

I have been reading also about raising one's vibration to attract things and people of higher vibrations. I wish we could "see" our vibration, so we could know exactly where we are at ! ;) Does the author mention specific ways to raise the vibration?

I am currently reading a book called "Your Hands Can Heal You" that has specific breathing exercises, to bring prana or life force into oneself. I find it fascinating that something as simple as correct breathing could actually heal illness and lift one's mental state to one of relaxation and happiness, but that's what the book says. I did some of the breathing exercises this morning, and, oddly, the cold I woke up with this morning is almost gone, and I feel better.

I'd love to hear any more insights you have, if you'd like to share.
Thanks Emma

[Revvell]

I've been enjoying the audible book "Practicing the Power of Now" and reading the "Power of Now". His recitation of the latter, to me, is boring. Also for me, it's as though he's read quite a few of Rajneesh's books because what Tolle is saying is very similar ~ as though he's just changed much of the wording.

Anyway, I can't get enough of Rajneesh on tape so, Tolle's "Practicing" does it for me!

Injoy ~~

Revvell

[Elizabeth]

I've been enjoying the audible book "Practicing the Power of Now" and reading the "Power of Now". His recitation of the latter, to me, is boring. Also for me, it's as though he's read quite a few of Rajneesh's books because what Tolle is saying is very similar ~ as though he's just changed much of the wording.

Anyway, I can't get enough of Rajneesh on tape so, Tolle's "Practicing" does it for me!

Injoy ~~

Revvell
I love the audio version..but I am listening to it while driving...if I was just listening to it, I would probably not enjoy it as much..as it is, I can listen to it over and over..and internalize its message..I like that.

I have never read Rajneesh...but I know that what Tolle is saying is nothing "new," just a new way of seeing it..and explaining it so it is accessible to a wider group of people.

I am hoping to get Tolles "Practicing the Power of Now" also...

I will have to get a Rajneesh tape, since you recommend it so highly..

Blessings....

[misslinda]

YES! I love this book--I have read varying parts of it as I am too much into Jon Kabat-Zinn's books that is built upon mindfulness meditation--to live int he present moment the way things are and not what we think,thought or it should be but simply the way it is.

I was surprised to experience how much energy it took to steer away from the old habit of not living in the present moment and engaging in real time. A very intimate experience with our own senses and the world around us............would love to hear more of you views.

;)

[Tamarind the Girl]

I never noticed this thread until today. And it's interesting that it jumped out at me today... a day when I am feeling really low and stuggling with all the emotions and changes that result from going raw. Basically, I have no energy, my skin looks horrible (eczema) and I am tempted to go back to using the steroid treatments because I've become self-conscious about how bad my neck looks. I just feel like I'm in a fog or something and no amount of sleep seems to shake it and I have a long mental list of things I need to do but don't want to do anything at all. And that is where the Power of Now comes in as it relates to my decision to live a raw life...

Going raw to me means listening to my body, mind, emotions, etc. instead of imposing all kinds of things upon myself to 'get things done' and keep up in the world. I am used to self-battery in all forms, from guzzling large volumes of coffee to stay awake and push my body when it's tired and needs to rest, to guzzling sweets and candy to keep that sugar high so that I'm in a good mood, sedated, and easier to be around. Well, since Jan. 1st the wool has been pulled off of all that as I've given those things up. And I don't feel very happy. Now that the emotions I've been masking are unhidden, I don't know what to do with them. Well...

I do know what to do with them. This is where the serendipity comes in...

A good friend of mine emailed me last week, out of the blue after a month or so of me not hearing from her, to tell me that she was leaving the organized religious group she was a part of because she needed something more immediate that she was not getting from it. She told me that she had come across The Power of Now and had been working with it. She has a terminal illness and said that since all she has is this breath, right here, right now, she needed to make better use of her NOW!!! And... she sounded happier than I'd heard her sound in a long time. So to get that email at the same time I was making the transition to raw living was very powerful. I hadn't bought the book yet, but after having read its tenants here, as outlined so beautifully, I will get it TODAY and start some work. I don't think it's an accident that my dear friend told me about it, how it's helping her with her terminal illness, helping her to be HAPPY while her health deteriorates, and then I read about it on here. It seems that everywhere I go I'm reminded of the NOW.

From the posts in different threads that I've read, it seems that those who are looking for raw as a diet only may have some problems because such a profound change will not affect the body alone, but the mind and everything else. When I went raw, I wanted a profound, all encompassing change. But once those crutches are removed, there has to be something to replace them, something deeper than any food or beverage or something like that. For me, it has to be a total transformation, where my spiritual development is in line with the morphing to my body. I got to be sick and overweight and addicted to SAD foods because I was looking for something to make me feel better NOW. It didn't work. Instead, I am in a state of dis-ease, which I'm fighting hard to get out of. So it HAS to be about claiming the NOW and learning to live in a more productive, yet gentle way.

So for my long to-do list that I feel guilty about not touching today, screw it! My mind, body and spirit are telling me that I need something else, something comforting, protecting, and... kind. Coming on this website is treating myself in this manner. And just sitting here is also doing that. When I have the energy to get things done again, I will know. But I refuse to try and jolt myself like I've done in the past.

Who knew that 10 days raw would result in all this? ;)

Tamarind the Girl

[misslinda]

Tamarind the girl, you just enriched my life this very moment with your words---beautifully said.............thank you. :)

[Elizabeth]

Wow!!! Thank you Miss Linda and Tamarind for "reviving" this thread...I have been off the board (and off Raw... :( ) for quite a while..and have gained weight back..etc. The last year or so, especially the last 5 or 6 months has been life changing for me..and I have had all I could do to stay afloat...and the ideas I have heard/read in the Power of Now have helped me immensely, simply to go on.......

But now..I want to go deeper and more fully into it..into the issues, conditions and else that have been affecting me..that I have been creating... and I have now started back on Raw food... It has been about a week.... I am transitioning to Raw...and undergoing detox..loss of certain foods, and a volume of food, as a crutch..and am experiencing the whole gamut of emotions...exhiliration..fear... hmmm... it is funny..I started to write "despair"...but no, I do not feel despair, even in the darkest time....I have so much "faith" in this way of living/eating..and...have experienced first hand its effects..that i know it it time for me to burn the bridges...and do it...

Thanks again for the lovely posts... Tamarind the Girl...I, too, found your post inspiring and moving...it remiinded me of how powerful the concept of the Now is.....and how futile...even destructive it is/can be, to allow ourselves to be pulled emotionally into anything other than the Present moment.........then we end up trying to fix..the "unfixable" lol.. the "non-existant" past or future...

I hope to be here more..there is so much support here..I had forgotten that I need it.....

[misslinda]

Elizabeth, so glad you made it back and reconnecting with yourself !!!!!!!

It truly is amazing when practicing living in the present moment, how much "time" really exist.........I experienced that so much of my time was spent in the past or the future......my body naturally embodied that way of thinking and physically, I was trapped in some unreal dimension--a living ghost--going no where and not fulfilled in real time.

it's tempting at times to view "now" as a passing moment rather than accept it for what it is but I am seeking to live this way.

:)

[Tamarind the Girl]

Elizabeth: I am so happy that you came back to raw and came back to this thread.

Miss Linda: I am so happy that you are here so that it does not die.

I freely admit that I need all the help I can get. So by you two being here, even if no one else appears, is a GREAT thing. I just bought The Power of Now yesterday and have started reading it. I hope to get more deeply into it today. Truth to be told, I don't think I can stay raw without it. It seems that being raw results in us living in a more acutely sensitive way. Our bodies are sensitive, and once our crutches are gone, so are our minds and emotions. Just with food, though, I know that if I don't eat what my body really needs at any given moment, then I will feel miserable. So I try to go by my instinct on what that could be and give it the right food it needs. Of course, I miss the mark and get it wrong sometimes. But I'm learning to get better at it as I go. This is a far cry from how I used to do when I was eating a SAD diet: just shoveling in as much food as I could get based on cravings and yo-yo swings in blood sugar from too much sugar! I feel like I HAVE to find a spiritual path that makes sense relative to raw living if I am to stick with it. And I guess The Power of Now makes so much sense because of the head space that eating raw foods throws you into.

Since you two have read the book and have more experience with it than I do, I'd like to definitely hear more about it how it has helped you with raw, or, how you see the potential for that happening.

Happy Trails!
Tamarind the Girl

[deedub]

It is called A New Earth. I like it, I like it alot. Actually I like The Power of Now and I love A New Earth.

[Lucinda]

I LOVE this book so much! If I could only have one book, this would be it.

By applying these techniques I find that I can radically improve my thoughts. I find that I suffer much less because I have realized that I am not my emotions. Knowing that I can take a positive step towards a better future, and not being tied to past restricting beliefs is so freeing.

I try explaining it to my friends sometimes... But just seem to give me weird looks... Oh well..

[jenjenn]

I don't know where else to post this/... Deedub did you take that picture(the one where you're wearing a blue button down top) in a bookstore in Berkely....a book store that sells SRI chinmoy books? and it has a place that sells wheatgrass right across the street from it and it's not too far from the college?

IF so when did u take that pic

and what was the name of the place and was it busy and do you reemember anyone who worked there?

[deedub]

That picture was taken at the EBCRS Bookstore in Oakland.

[SparklePlenty]

I am listening to the Power of Now on CD as I take my looong walks. I have studied many spiritual teachers over a few decades, and what I like about this is that Eckhart, in reading the book, seems devoid of ego/personality energy which allows, for me, the teachings to shine through the words simply and eloquently. I had picked up and put down the print book probably half a dozen times over the past few years. And now I will buy it and focus more deeply on certain parts. I LOVE THE AUDIO PROGRAM!

I especially loved chapter six in which he speaks about the body, the inner body, as the Buddha does, as our vehicle for awakening. As a raw foodie, wtih a long history of food/eating/body issues, of course the body has been both a sacred temple, the prize of my ego, and a battleground, at various times in my life, and I am ready to rest in the NOW with all of me, in deep awareness of the inner body energies and consciousness. This practice alone created an amazing and signficant shift in me almost instantly.

I am examining the areas in which I am still compulsive, releasing and clearing energies.....who isn't, as we ascend spiritually these days!....and this book, of course, comes at the most perfect time for me to deeply hear and implement what he is teaching. I will get the practice audio program too. Things/we are changing so fast these days, this is such an exciting path to be treading!

thanks for this thread!

[SparklePlenty]

PS Tamarind Girl, I think that eating raw INVITES higher frequency energies in, and if we are not grounded spiritually, we better get grounded, or we are going to be flailing! And walking along a spiritual path and expanding heart and mind and soul is a perfect match for raw! And in the end, for me, the spiritual component becomes the most compelling WHY for eating raw that I have found. Honestly if it's not going to support me in higher consciousness, who needs it?
So long focused on the body and changing it just doesn't do it for me any longer. The change is from the inside oiut and if mind doesn't come along for the ride, you can forget it. Then raw is just another diet.
My mind seems to want to convince me that I need cooked to groiund myself. SO I am playing with other grounding practices. I don't want to continue that limiting belief, even if it was true at one time.And of course in the NOW, I am grounded, centered, balanced and don't need anything. LOL And being inside my body, actually inhabiting it changes consciousness instantly.

As I keep saying going raw is a BIG deal! :) Shakes up one's whole life....in a good way. LOL
xxxooo