The Power of Now
Eckhart Tolle
“The present moment is all you ever have. There is never a time where your life is not this moment.”
The Power of Now by the well known author Eckhart Tolle might be described as an enriching, spiritual, highly insightful and intellectual read.
As the title insinuates, it is absolutely about harnessing the power of the present moment, also known as “living in the now.” The past is something we can learn from, but dragging it forward into every waking present moment is not only exhausting, but also often lacks usefulness.
We cannot change the past and agonizing over it does not serve us. We can only choose to learn from it or find a way to integrate it into our life. The lessons learned thought process where we look back and say to ourselves, if there is next time, I will do it differently. I will make different choices going forward in my life.
Tolle encourages us to “Die to the past every moment. You don’t need it. Only refer to it when it is absolutely relevant to the present. Feel the power of this moment and the fullness of being.”
Worrying about the future has some merit, in that we do need to have a plan for the future. Goals and or ideas of how we are going to grow, change or acquire something, are absolutely important. However, obsessing over the future by imagining all of the different possible outcomes, is not often fruitful. In fact, it usually serves to distress and disappoint us.
Have you ever wasted time imagining future scenarios? Going over and over in your mind what you might say or do, who you might be with and where, only to get to the actual moment itself and have it play out in a completely different way?
As people, we are not very good fortune tellers or mind readers (although we like to think we are) and the process of worrying endlessly about what the future might have in store for us, is often derailed by the things we did not or could not see coming. Our time would be better spent managing our present moment, the one moment we actually have control over.
Our mind is tricky in that it can create a sort of obsession with the future, as a way of avoiding or escaping our present moment. It is helpful when this happens, to call it out and redirect ourselves back to the present moment and the issue at hand. As ignoring our present moment, can have its own negative, long-term impact.
Lastly, Tolle encourages us to think of our problems differently. He states “It is about realizing there are no problems. Only situations to be dealt with now or to be left alone and accepted as part or the “isness” of the present moment until they change or can be dealt with. If there is truly nothing you can do to change your here and now, and you can’t remove yourself from the situation, then accept your here and now totally by dropping all inner resistance”
In other words, surrender to what is, until you have an opportunity to change it or move forward from it. This does not mean giving up, but rather accepting the moment, until you receive or can create a more identified positive outcome.
It is important to know, this review only touches on some of the content and ideas from this truly amazing book. I have highlighted what I feel were some of the most important takeaways.
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Want to know more about the power of now? Then head over and pick yourself up a copy! You can find the hard copy and audio versions of the book on Amazon (whom I am an affiliate of and from which I receive a commission for) by clicking here. Want to know more about the author Eckhart Tolle, his other books, videos and events? Then check out his website https://eckharttolle.com.
Note: If your depression and anxiety have you worrying about the future and/or agonizing over the past to the point it is debilitating, it might be time to seek professional help. To find out how we can help, head over to our Services page for more information.