Eckhart Tolle's Power of Now

Tolle Urges People to Focus on the Present Moment

Apr 22, 2009
Subha Ekambaram

Eckhart Tolle - Author of A New Earth - Eckhart Teachings

Eckhart Tolle's teachings are simple - To live in the now, experience the peace of being still and avoid being ruled by thoughts or emotions.

Eckhart Tolle is a German-born spiritual teacher, author and speaker who, at age 29, experienced a profound transformation that marked the beginning of an intense spiritual quest and sparked a deep understanding of human nature within him.

Tolle's teachings aim at transforming human consciousness by turning one's focus within and transcending from the ego based mind to leading a life with an understanding of the limitless potential of the human spirit.

An Overview of Eckhart Tolle's teachings

Tolle's teachings are based on one primary argument - the present moment is what matters the most. His theory can be summed up as follows:

The present moment is all you'll ever have. The past is a memory, the future is a mind projection. There was never a time when your life was not "now." Nor will there ever be.
Change always happens from within. If one's world inside changes, one's world outside changes too.
The stillness experienced between thoughts is more important than most thoughts.
Creative thinking is possible only in an uncluttered mind that's capable of being in a state of no thought.
Emotion is the body's reaction to the mind. Its the point of intersection of the mind and body.
Its not possible to be happy at a future time. A happy life is a series of happy moments.

Practical Ways to Being in the Present Moment

To most people, the concept of now is easy enough to understand, but centuries of human conditioning has made it not so simple to put these teachings into practice.

Tolle suggests the following tips to being in the present moment, among others, in his book, Practicing the Power of Now.

Reduce the incessant mental chatter by watching the thoughts go by.
Pay attention to seemingly mundane tasks like climbing a flight of stairs or washing one's hands. This is a state of being highly alert and aware, but not thinking.
Measure success by the degree of relief felt within.
Practice mindfulness meditation by paying attention to the breath.
Withdraw attention from past and future when they are not needed.
Observe the mind's tendency to escape from the present into the illusory future.
Observe the default reaction to most situations without judgment or analysis.

Books by Eckhart Tolle

In addition to recordings of live lectures and retreats, that are available to order from the official Eckhart Tolle website, the following books by Tolle have been bestsellers.

Practicing the Power of Now [Namaste, 2001]
Stillness Speaks [Namaste, 2003]
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment [Namaste, 2004]
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose [Namaste, 2006]

Oprah Winfrey and Eckhart Tolle

More than 700,000 registered for the web classes based on the book, A New Earth, jointly hosted by Oprah Winfrey and Tolle in 2008. Oprah called the book, "a wake-up call for the entire planet, one reader at a time."

The popularity of, The Power of Now, is a turning point in the new age belief system. Even though, the basic principle of "Turning one's focus on the present moment", is the corner stone of many ancient religious philosophies like Zen Buddhism,

Tolle has been the influential and instrumental teacher in ensuring a mass following for the message of mindfulness and the power of now.

Many followers of Tolle's teachings experience relief from guilt of the past and worry of the future, and hence an enhanced quality of life.

Tolle's simple, yet effective message has no rituals, doctrines or dogmas and has no requirement of external tools. There is merely a gentle encouragement to look within and recognize the inherent Christ or Buddha consciousness.