After many years, I've been revisiting "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle. This was prompted after seeing some content on YT, and also having quite a few audios from his live events, which I felt like reviewing all at once over the next few weeks/month.
I find 'The Power of Now' to be an excellent introduction into spirituality in general, and something for the more serious seeker starting off. However, as I will go into in future posts, the approach and framework in making the ideas in that book 'come to life' is sort of missing. Try giving the following pointers, detailed in the book, a sincere run through for a few days, and check to see in your experience if any of these pointers or 'tips' work for you (or not), and if they 'stick'.
As you will likey find out, or have intuited, there's such an array of practices or pointers given in that small chapter, and each require their own way of approach or background explanation and practical means of use, that these pointers become challenging (especially for newcomers) to actually put into practice and integrate into experience. There's a massive different in the practice of feeling one's presence (or beingness, or "I am"), which was a key approach of Nisargadatta's for example, and filled multiple books.. vs the approach of present moment awareness of phenomena. Giving out these mini-practices and approaches in a mixed order like this really does them a disservice, and makes it extremely likely a beginner will feel inadequate and some sort of failure because they tried (and failed) in performing any of these for more than a second or two (if that). This is a repeated issue with Eckhart's teachings, and why people keep having to attend again and again, and listen to talks again and again, in order to establish some form of mindfulness in the approach that he is attempting to convey.
Granted, Eckhart Tolle does have some meditation instructions and material available, such as "Gateways into the Now" (which happens to be one of my favourite ET instructional audios, though is hardly known), and various guided meditations (which more more like talks).. though these came well after The Power of Now was published, and likely his followers were asking for a "How" in terms of implementing those ideas. Some of these lessen known sessions and audio teachings are excellent in terms of actually leading the listener/student into exactly what Eckhart is trying to convey. In general, look for the audio recordings or sessions that were NOT done with a live audience. This is because the audio had a set aim, and there's no entertaining banter or live audience chatter to distract from the contemplation and experiential insight that needs to happen outside of thinking or conceptualising.
Chapter Two of PON introduces one of Eckhart's main teaching ideas, which is the 'emotional pain body', which he likens to a separate entity that has been created due to unconsciousness accumulation of pain, and is then identified with by the individual and 'becomes' the individual. His advise (again) is to pretty much become aware of one's inner state, emotional state, emotional feeling tone and energy, and then keep watching until attention or consciousness dissolves this 'pain body' or at least the identification of the individual (ego) with this aspect.
While I have no issues at all with the ideas about the 'pain body', or the proposed way of dealing with it, again, the reader or seeker is left unsatisfied and wanting, because the surface level advice just isn't deep enough. REAL inner emotional work could involve any number of deep work activities, such as somatic experiencing, somatic therapy, TRE, inner child work, or developing skills in sense based mindfulness along with mindfulness of feeling tone and emotion. However, none of these are proposed, and instead Eckhart Tolle just hands out some very basic, surface level advice on just being with the feeling, being present, being in the Now etc.
Again, the experiential teachings that Eckhart does give out ARE there, though buried under thousands of hours of talks and banter, and it can take a while to actually discover what material is essential and what is non-essential. In terms of the books such as the Power of Now, and live talks that were given, the advice is fairly short and surface level. The usual ideas that we've heard again and again, but hasn't penetrated deep enough.. the 'Now', accepting it, accepting the present moment, focusing one's attention on it etc etc.. which, is hardly deep enough or sophisticated enough to penetrate into something as deep seated as the 'pain body' he has just spent pages detailing and analysing for example in Chapter Two in The Power of Now (or A New Earth). Again, without a framework, or practice, this advice would be of little assistance for the beginner. The philosophy is there, but not the means to bring about the promised changes. I should say-- the means is there, but is buried within thousands of hours of content, and it requires someone particularly knowledgable or already familiar with meditative and contemplative approaches to siphon out what is useful and what isn't so useful.
Some practical quotes from Chapter One (You are not your mind)
Stillness:
"You can only know it when your mind is still."
Presence, present moment awareness:
"When you are present, when your attention is fully and intensely in the Now, Being can be felt.."
"Instead of watching the thinker, you can also create a gap in the mind stream simply by directing the focus of your attention into the Now. Just become intensely conscious of the present moment."
"You can practice this by taking any routine activity that normally is only a means to an end and giving it your fullest attention, so that it becomes an end in itself.."
"Pause for a few seconds and observe the flow of your breath.."
"Become aware of a silent but powerful sense of presence.."
Beingness, presence, feeling of "I":
"Nobody can claim exclusive exclusive possession of Being. It is your very essense, and it is immediately accessible to your as the feeling of your own presence.."
Watching the thinker, watching the mind, self-observation:
"The moment you start watching the thinker, a higher level of consciousness becomes activated."
Witnessing, listening to thoughts, "the voice" in the mind:
"You can take the first step now. Start listening to the voice in your head as often as you can. Pay particular attention to any repetitive thought patterns.. be there as the witnessing presence"
"You'll soon realize: there is the voice, and here I am listening to it, watching it."
Practical quotes from Chapter Two (Consciousness: The way out of pain)
"Whereas before you dwelt in time and paid brief visits to the Now, have your dwelling place in the Now and pay brief visits to past and future when required to deal with the practical aspects of your life situation."
"Surrender to what is. Say "yes" to life - and see how life suddenly starts working for you rather than against you."
Pain body:
"So the pain body doesn't want you to observe it directly and see it for what it is. The moment you observe it, feel its energy field within you, and take your attention into it, the identification is broken."
"Let me summarize the process. Focus attention on the feeling inside you. Know that it is the pain body. Accept that it is there. Don't think about it .. Stay present, and continue to be the observer of what is happening inside you. Become aware not only of the emotional pain but also of 'the one who observes', the silent watcher. This is the power of Now, the power of your own conscious presence. Then see what happens."
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