The Energy of Now: A Information to Religious Enlightenment

Transforming my life positively
This book, and its author, Eckhart Tolle, have changed my life for the better! (It’s going to be hard to keep this review short.)I started reading this book after I went through a very tough time in my life. In late 2018, I was introduced to a kind of yoga practice. The first step in the practice is to finish an online course and practice a few stretching exercises, basic breathing exercises and chanting. It probably works fine for most people, but in my case, it messed me up big time! I started having trouble controlling my energies, lost sleep (just sleeping 2 or 3 hours a night) and was working like crazy at job… Then I went manic. Though I wanted to stop the yoga practice, I couldn’t. It was like a drug at that time! I started talking too much at home and work. People started getting scared of me, since I was pointing out things from their lives that they were themselves only peripherally aware of. I eventually lost my job and almost lost my family too! It took me a few months to realize what had just happened. After that manic phase, I went into severe depression. I had no job, a very strained relationship with my wife, and was blaming myself incessantly. I also stopped the yoga practice around this time. A few months later, when I realized I couldn’t handle it myself, with the help and support of my wife, I went to a psychiatrist… and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder… (I now know through this book that all illnesses are just temporary situations to deal with. I have no identity with the situation. The reason I am mentioning the label here is to help others who might have gotten this label, or other such labels. Right now I am on medication (200 mg daily of a mood stabilizer, called lamotrigine). I see that it helps me, for now. But I don’t buy my psychiatrist’s argument that I have to carry that label for the rest of my life. I was doing just fine for 40 years before the yoga practice… and the situation might change in the future. For now, I am going along with the recommended plan since it is working well and I accept it totally.)The only things that pulled me out of that deep pit was total faith in a Guru (who is not living in His body anymore) and probably, the medicine too. At that time, I had to totally lean on faith, since I had no strength myself. The ego had gotten such a heavy beating that it became extremely scared and depressed. Every moment was torturous and I could do nothing about it. I wanted to commit suicide, but having been raised with strong Hindu spiritual teachings, I knew that suicide would only temporarily postpone the inevitable, and that I would take another life and face the exact same situation. (I don’t know if that is true or not; it at least prevented me from committing suicide.)This book was referred to me in December of 2018 (when I was in full blown mania) by someone whom I met at a bookstore. I knew about the book, but had never read it. The next day, I found a used copy of “The New Earth” by Eckhart for $3 in a used book store. I bought it, but couldn’t read it since I didn’t have any concentration. The moment I read one sentence, my mind took off and I could see where Eckhart was going… (At that time, my mind was telling me there was nothing I didn’t know.)Only in November of 2019, after I went through a full cycle of mania and depression, and was slowly recovering, I borrowed a copy of “The Power of Now” from the local library and started reading it.The very first practice of “watching the thinker” was a revelation… Especially the statement Eckhart made about not judging the thoughts and just watching the mind… I was mostly aware of what was going on in my mind, but I was criticizing the mind the moment it produced what I judged as a “wrong” thought. This created a lot of suffering. It was a huge relief to me that all I need is to just watch it and be the witnessing Presence.Later, Eckhart talked about “watching the inner body” to take attention away from the mind when it’s not needed. This helped me during my job interviews. I had always felt anxious about job interviews… This practice really helped me through that challenge. (I did fine in the interviews and usually got good offers, but the anxiety was so much that my palms and feet would always sweat.)The book doesn’t get into the practical aspects until much later, but its message is very clear here. Separate out life situations from life itself, and deal with situations in a practical manner, doing what you can, one step at a time. And if there are things that you want to change, there are only 3 sane options: 1. walk out if you can, 2. take steps to change it, focusing on what you can do now, or 3. if neither of the above two are possible, accept the situation totally, even if only temporarily. Acceptance itself is a doorway to peace… These teachings are helping me every single time my mind starts to complain or blame.The biggest lesson I learned is to use the mind only when it is necessary, and not follow every single thought that occurs in my mind. The exercise of awareness is the toughest one I have ever done in my life!I still experience mood swings. Unfulfilled desires from the past with respect to my profession keep springing up. (The mind’s imagination here is very strong.) But I know, right now, I have to just live a regular life, as a householder, be with my family and continue my current job. My mind isn’t stable enough for other pursuits now, since it’s constantly changing, going in circles – one day it wants to go back to graduate school, get a PhD and become a professor, next day it wants to go to a tropical island and work as a waiter (getting away from all work that requires my brain), another day it says life is wonderful as it is and how much money I would lose if I went elsewhere… With Eckhart’s help, I now know that all these are just narratives of the mind. I know what’s practical for my life now and what I need to be doing every hour. Just focusing on that is enough. (Let the morrow take care of itself.)Like Eckhart recommends, I am using my situation as a strong motivation to practice Presence. In my case, the situation is not external; it is extremely close to me, since it is my own mind! The suffering I experience when the mind takes me away from the Now is too much to bear. I have no choice now but to practice Presence.My current practice is to just keep my attention on what I should be doing this moment, and keep checking where my attention is. If my attention has gone astray, I don’t condemn myself; I just bring it back to the Now. I find that my job keeps me sufficiently present, but at other times, when mind is not needed, I need to practice this consciously. Due to the force of habit, I frequently fall trap to following useless thoughts, but I am slowly breaking out of that bad habit. I am becoming more aware of my internal state. I also engage myself in helping my son with school work, reading, doing stock investing, writing, spending some time on Facebook, and watching TV shows and movies occasionally. Whatever keeps my mind engaged, or keeps my attention in the present, are all working just fine.Along with this book, Eckhart’s videos on YouTube have also brought my attention back to the teaching. The message is the same, but every time I hear it, it’s fresh!I conclude with the Zen statement from the book: “What, at this moment, is lacking?”

A must read.
The book adds a new perspective. Very interesting and eye opening. You can relate to prior experiences you had but this book put it into a clear contextual framework.

Look inside
Good book, makes one think.

Well worth the read. Just buy it.
I’m 29 and I just have to say this is the best book I’ve ever read. I just happened to start reading this book just weeks before my 29th birthday actually. Ironically enough, on the first page Eckhart starts off with “one night not long after my twenty-ninth birthday…”I’ve been through depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, dealt with undiagnosed adhd all the way up through my 20s and only diagnosed after college, I’ve been through abusive relationships, have become toxic myself in following relationships, have been through ptsd because abuse, have never met my own dad and have dealt with an unstable family life my whole life… basically I felt absolutely lost nearing my 30s and most of the time hopeless. My main emotions were anger and fear. I felt them constantly for as long as I can remember. They overcame me quite often and was exhausting and detrimental to everything in my life. It was holding me back from my true potential and I wallowed in self pity and being a victim. I’ve tried an antidepressant and it only works to an extent, but it doesn’t help change your outlook and detach from your pain. This book has changed my life and has helped me through my own awakening and detaching from my own pain body. It’s truly helped bring me to enlightenment. So, to address the people who are giving this book a one star… all I can say is that these people are still asleep or they have not gone through what they need to go through to understand Tolle’s words. They are in simple terms just not awake.I can’t tell you how many times I read parts of this book and just thought holy crap, I GET it. It’s amazing. I never open this book and put it down without having new revelations. Not only has it brought enlightenment, but it’s also brought me closer to God and understanding of the universal as a whole (I guess that’s what enlightenment is though lol). I think it’s awesome as a Christian that Tolle has implemented God in such a delicate and tactful way. It’s not in an idolizing way and never once undermining Him either. Much respect there.It touches on so many things that we never have answers to or even think of asking these questions and brings about an explanation that just gives so much peace to your mind. It shuts it up and lets you really live in the now and to stop worrying.Just an example, but this week I’ve been dealing with pms and I was struggling a bit with being irritable and snappy. It always happens exactly a week before my period starts and I picked my book up today to read before bed and coincidentally I had been reading through chapter 8 and Tolle just happened to touch on the pain-body and when women deal with pms. It gives tips on how to stay on top of these reactions and to be aware of them, so that you can remain in your consciousness. He also mentioned how a partner can help you stay conscious when this pain body tries take over. I know I’ve dealt with this and my recent ex noticed it as well and always tried to help me through it when he picked up on my cycle, as I’m sure most men have recognized their girlfriend/wife go through. I think it’s awesome that Tolle explained how a partner can help their love through that week.Overall, just get this book if you’re on your spiritual journey. Well.. we all are, but if you’re awakening and looking for some guidance it’s well worth the read! I’m actually tapering off my antidepressant this week, that I’ve been on for a year and a half, and I can say I feel strong enough now and this book is a nice comfort to have during this time.

The best book I have ever read, just what I needed. 🤯 highly recommend it, it helped me through a dark time.

Excelente Libro.. ✨ Gracias 🙌🏽 si estabas pensando en adquirirlo, esta es tu oportunidad y tu señal, te cambiará la vida y muchas de tus perspectivas.. Vivirás más feliz

Surrender to these teachings and life will take a new shape . I believe you need to be ready for this book to have the right effect on your life