The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

I am a middle-aged professional with a academic background in philosophy.

As I grew older, I felt more strongly that there must be a spiritual realm to our existence. But I was relegated to the thought that this spiritual realm was something that would probably go unanswered for the rest of my life. At times, I would have more spiritual feelings and sensations which reinforced this belief, but still felt that my belief of the spiritual real would be faith based and could never go beyond this.

As I entered into my forties, I entered into unrest and discontent with life. I felt spiritually, intellectually and even emotionally dead. Raising two great children and being married to a wonderful person was not enough. The mundane-ness of the routine and daily tasks was not fulfilling and living did not provide me with peace. I was somewhat at a crisis point.

About a year ago, I entered Barnes and Noble because my 11 year old daughter wanted to buy some new books. I dropped her off and walked straight across the floor to this book which was sitting on a shelf -- the book not being singled out or advertised specially. It was the Power of Now. I picked it up, looked at the cover and decided to allow myself to impulsively purchase it (something that was out of the ordinary for me).

The next two weeks were incredibly intense for me. And what happened after that was even greater. His words rang truth to my core. For the first time in my life, my existiential views were married/bridged with a deep spirituality. It made sense. I couldn't put the book down. As I read it, I used the meditation practices that Tolle subtley infers. The inspiring energy of his words aided me immensely to get into a transcendental realm -- a switch. Not magic, not really enlightenment (as the term conjures up something unreachable and unrealistic). But I felt at peace and felt joy. I felt intensely transformed. The world did come to me and I surrendered (accepted) the world existentially. My mind was finally much, much calmer. For the first time as an adult, my mind didn't control me. People and my environment vibrated with a vibrant energy. I knew (not believed) that there was a One Being that essentially came from stillness or silence and everything was one with that One Being. (Reminiscent of what I think Sartre's Being and Nothingness painfully attempted to point to). I felt this sense of peace on and off for a month or so. Admittedly this intense feeling declined somewhat as a result of some crisis life situations that proved too difficult to surrender to. I am still working on it with joy of knowing that this spiritual realm exists.

This book is the greatest book I've ever read. No book has come close. Tolle's presentation (sign-posts) are succinct and clear.

I hope you find the energy of my review helpful.


The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

When I saw Oprah mention this book on her show I ran out and got a copy right away. All I can say is THANK YOU VERY MUCH OPRAH. Excellent book teaching you how to live in the now. The best book I have ever read that exposes the false self (EGO) and how the primary job of the ego is to take your happiness away and create all kinds of problems every day.

Here's the ego's program that it is running to justify it's existance "Never Satisfied"

No matter how a situation turns out, the ego will find a way to be unhappy about it.

P.S. The book is so good, I ran out and bought extra copies for all my friends and family.

...and it's not even the "best of", sort of reference.
My thoughts are, that this guy is potentially a cult figure, with followers who are grabbing at straws. I can't imagine what Oprah was thinking. Her original spiritual strengths, were strong enough to take her, further than most people can imagine going.
2-stars is over-rating his books...in my book.
My concern:
Charlatans, exploiting those who may be needing real help.

Very useful for me. I was sure that this book will be what I want, before buying it. And it is. Many thanks to the author.

No matter if you're religious, spiritual, or neither, Tolle's gift to the world is this book and it should be read before one dies (sooner rather than later, if you really want to improve your life). Westerners are especially poor at living in the now...we have no examples or teachers of this in Western society -- or few, at best. Until one discovers how to live in the moment (this will take much practice and re-reading or re-listening to Tolle), life is either anxiety- or depression-ridden, or we are all trying to escape from our underlying fears. The only escape from this is to concentrate on the present. I recommend this to everyone. When the student is ready, the teacher appears and Tolle is an excellent guide in this regard. This book changed my life. I now experience more joy and less worry. If you want to be more fulfilled, read this book (or listen to the cd).