Thank you for your wonderful comment.

It would be very unfair of me to overlook the potential benefits The Power of Now contains. The book title, in itself, can be inspirational for people to realize the importance of appreciating living in the moment.

I would say that there are many ideas to benefit from, especially depending on how you interpret them and what further ideas and perspectives they can trigger in you, even if these ideas have nothing to do with the message the writer intended to convey. I believe Mercin was able to pick out ideas from the book based on his understanding of living in the moment, when Tolle intended a different message (I could be wrong, but this is my humble interpretation).

Having said that, I do believe that we can experience a problem and find a solution that succeeds in alleviating the problem, only to introduce further problems. For example, if you experience an inferiority complex, the idea that you belong to a superior race can help you overcome your complex. However, it would introduce racial discrimination and a superiority complex! While you would’ve gotten rid of one problem, you ended up with another!

This is how I think of Tolle’s book. It offers a solution that comes at a price. If you’re selective about what you take from the book, then you can protect yourself from the dangerous ideas it contains (and vilifying the mind is as dangerous as ideas can get). But if you accept them wholeheartedly, then they will introduce new problems in your life.

Thanks, once again, and I hope my comment makes sense. :)

The book allowed me to free myself from that mental chatter and experience the present moment truely for what it is. I didn’t lose my mind, I didn’t numb myself or lose my awareness. I gained the freedom to see the present moment asit actually is without labels or constructs of the mind getting in the way.

It also shited my thinking from “I am” to “I have”. Most people say “I am angry.” which is a fallacy. The correct line would be “I feel angry.”, a far more apt statement. Just a simple shift in perception gave me more power over myself, my emotions and my thoughts.

Some people will really get a lot out of the book, and a lot of people won’t, but that says more about the reader than the writer. Even though the book didn’t fit you, what can you gain from that experience to help you grow?

And I’d rather you not get involved in the debate. Things could get bloody. We need someone left to clear up the mess. :P

I’m not going to get involved in the debate for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I never finished the book! I get about 2/3 of the way and it was driving me nuts, so I left it alone.

Secondly, I’m honestly not sure what I think. I’m not even sure if it’s not just completely over my head. Any time people are suggesting differing thoughts on what the author means has me thinking maybe the author could have done a better job explaining. Not saying that is the case, but that kinda jumps out at me.

@ jcbilings – What’s the point of that dude? I love to hear people offering different opinions, but that doesn’t exactly stimulate or broaden the debate. If you think he’s wrong at least tell him why.

Having said that, I consider any book that promotes spirituality while condemns the mind or the ego to be ultimately damaging.

@Mercin: I appreciate the importance of living in the moment, but I do believe Tolle considers the mind to be an inherent obstacle. His book is intended to be a spiritual book, and the experience he describes is a spiritual one.

I absolutely love experiencing flow, but I don’t think this is what Tolle is talking about. He’s talking about something beyond the mind. Higher than the mind. Which can only be experienced in the stillness when the mind is silent.

Thank you both for your thoughts. :)

Tolle never suggests we avoid using our minds. He instead outlines why we need to use our minds purposefully instead of letting our minds(egos) use us.

Tolle also addresses the need to analyze ideas. Haider Al-Mosawi, you say you were suffering from an over-active mind and that you had trouble spending
time with your family without things running through your head. This is an experience I have quite frequently and believe many others do to. Tolle recognizes
that that our minds are completely necessary but that when we do not control our minds, we describe them as problems, as you have. Instead, it is better to
engage with the mind as needed. Tolle goes deep into the ways our minds constantly try to identify with: being right (others must be wrong), stuff (marketers know
we crave stuff), the future (if only… I would be happy).

This idea supports Tolle’s insistence on the power of now. It is a simple statement to say there is no past and not future, but quite another to believe it.
Essentially, time melts away and you use the present moment fully. You can use the present moment for thinking about the past or future. You can use the
present moment for analyzing ideas. You can use the present moment to fully engage in conversation. You can use the present moment to realize that you can be happy.
This relates to the idea of flow very well. When you are in a state of flow, judgement falls away, time falls away, the past and future fall away.

I have experienced flow many times and consider it another way to describe the power of now. And I absolutely used my mind within these experiences. I believe Tolle is
outlining how we can achieve this state more often. I would encourage anyone to read any of his books and absorb yourself in the words. Tolle’s statements are not
prescriptive the way other texts are, but I do think his book is in the realm of spiritual text, as opposed to a personal-development text. There are no seven steps or secret steps to take. Tolle instead describes how to enter into the present moment and be more fully alive.