THE POWER OF NOW: ECKHART TOLLE

Three solutions to every problem: Accept it, Change it, Leave it.

If you can't Accept it, Change it.

If you can't Change it, Leave it!

- The Buddha,

Intelligent Investor

Do follow our Facebook Page and be the first to read all the book summaries and blogs: 

Intelligent Investor (👈 Link)

The Power of Now has helped millions of people to improve their lives and relationships with others, increase their sense of self-esteem and fully engage with their lives.

About the Author: 

Eckhart Tolle, is the author of this bestselling book and is a renowned spiritual guide. He provides readers with various methods to simplify complex life challenges.

Many of us are either trapped in regret-filled past or anxious about a future that we cannot control. At the same time, we cling to the hope that we can somehow improve our lives, become happier and find enlightenment, even though we have no clear idea of how to do so.

Now, without wasting any further time let us start our journey of getting better:

Do remember to hit the Follow button on the top of the page! Thank you👆

By focusing only on the present – and ignoring the past or future – you can greatly improve your life.

Many want to find inner peace and improve their lives. In a word – ‘ENLIGHTENMENT’, but we do not know what steps to take to find it.

Well, the first step may be easier than you imagine:

We tend to live in the past and in the future. One moment we are thinking or regretting, the next we are planning or worrying. Meanwhile, we neglect the one moment that is fully available to us: 'THE PRESENT.'

Only the present is important because, nothing ever occurs in the Past or Future.

There are no advantages to worrying about the future or dwelling in the past, however, there are many to living “IN THE NOW.” 

If you manage to achieve this, you will never experience any major problems.

For example, you want to write a book, a blog or an article, this seems to be too large and complicated at the beginning. However rather than being anxious about the work, ‘JUST START.’ 

Begin by gathering the data, developing a structure, writing the first chapter – you will soon realise it was not that difficult.

So try to live in the present! 

Stop clinging to the past and stop fearing the future, and you will see how dramatically your life will improve.

THE “EGO” IS A PART OF YOUR MIND THAT STOPS YOU FROM BEING HAPPY.

Have you ever wondered why some people seem to harm themselves?

Even though nobody wants to be miserable, still, so many people are unhappy. Why?

The culprit is the ‘EGO’ – a part of your mind that controls your thoughts and behaviour without you noticing.

Since it cannot easily be observed, most people do not know the extent to which the ego controls their life. 
For example, if you later reflect on a dispute you had with someone, you may notice (and perhaps regret) that you overreacted. 

Yet, during the dispute, you were simply not aware of anything influencing or controlling your thinking and behaviour.

Why does the ego do this?

Ego continues to survive only because of our distress, it obstructs happiness at every turn and manipulates us against our own best interests.

This destructive part of our mind produces misery, this is the reason so many people suffer. Nobody actively wants to live an unhappy life. 

For example, some people intentionally damage their own happiness by deciding to stay in deeply destructive and painful relationships.

The ego is a destructive part of the human mind. It wants to be the most important part of you and knows no limits, so if you let it gain control, it will bring you much suffering.

THE MIND IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PAIN.

It produces pain by continually bringing up memories of the past or by planning for the future, occupying your entire life with regretful memories and anxiety-ridden future scenarios.

In doing so, it prevents you from living in the present.

Since you can’t alter the past or the future, you constantly worry about things you can’t possibly change. And this leads to pain.

Clearly, we need to find a way to diminish the mind’s power and reduce some of its control.

How?

Observing your mind without judgment is the best way to separate from it, and thus free yourself from pain.

After you realize that your mind is causing you pain and preventing you from truly living in the present, you need to detach yourself from it.

To separate yourself from your mind, you must become fully conscious of it and the power it has over you. Otherwise, you will never understand the countless small and subtle ways it influences your thinking and behaviour – and therefore your happiness.

For example, if you want to observe your mind, ask yourself: 

“What will my next thought be?” 

If you focus fully on this question you will see that it takes a while before the next clear thought arrives. Through observing, you have managed to create a gap in the flow of thinking.

If you do that often enough, you will start noticing or realizing how much you are normally occupied by the continuous flow of the mind. And you have found the primary tool for interrupting your mind and thus separating from it.

TRY TO EXIST IN A STATE OF PERMANENT ALERTNESS.

While you get better at separating yourself from your mind, you can try adopting another technique: ‘ACTIVE WAITING.’

This is a special kind of waiting state, like when you are aware that something important or serious could happen at any moment. In such a state, all of your attention is focused on the now.

For example, we should teach our kids to keep their mind in Active Waiting state while taking an exam. They will not waste any time worrying about the results, but instead, remain fully present and pay very close attention to the work before them.

Entering a state of active waiting shortly before and during the exam can help students enormously.

Many spiritual teachers recommended this state of waiting to their pupils because they believed it would lead to a good life.

For example, when Jesus was asked by his disciples what they should do to live a good and peaceful life, he advised them: 

Be like a servant waiting for the return of the master.

Since the servant doesn’t know at what hour the master will come home, he is in a permanently alert state. He does not make great plans for the future and is constantly aware of his surroundings to make sure he does not miss the master. 

“The next point is very critical, especially if you are in a relation (married or not), please read it slowly and repeat it as many times as possible. Decide are you the normal person in this relationship or the other one”

LIVING IN THE PRESENT CAN BE HARD FOR YOUR PARTNER, BUT IT CAN ALSO IMPROVE YOUR RELATIONSHIP.

It is extremely difficult for a “NORMAL” person to share their life with someone who lives fully in the present. The ego of the non-present person feeds on problems, while the person who lives in present is calm and at peace. This is seen as a threat by a normal person.

The non-present person’s ego reacts by creating further problems – for instance, by insulting the other, debating a trivial issue to disrupt the peace, or continually referring to past incidents to pull them out of the present.

Why would they do that?

This is best answered with an analogy: just as the darkness cannot survive near the light, it is difficult for a person still controlled by the ego to be near a person living in the present for very long. Strong opposites cannot exist in close proximity. 

If you place a candle in the darkness, the darkness disappears.

But if you do it correctly, living in the present can also greatly improve your relationship: you will be able to stop judging, criticizing or trying to change your partner, and instead see him or her as an independent person.

Furthermore, the insight you gain by living in the present can be used to disrupt otherwise endless cycles, like debates that never reach a conclusion. 

The INNER PEACE you achieve by being present enables you to hear your partner without judging.

NOT ALL PAIN IS AVOIDABLE: SURRENDERING TO THE PRESENT DOES NOT MEAN IGNORING SAD OR HURTFUL FEELINGS.

Some feelings of sadness and pain are unavoidable, even if you fully live in the present.

What should you do with them?

While it is true that most pain is self-created, that does not mean we create all of it. One example would be the death of a loved one. Since you cannot lead everyone around you to enlightenment, and you certainly cannot put a stop to death, this pain is clearly unavoidable.

So what can be done?

When you experience something traumatic, which causes you real pain, you will have to accept it for what it is.

For example, if you lose a beloved person to death, you will of course mourn and feel sadness. But if you are able to accept this as something that simply is and cannot be changed, then you will avoid needless suffering.

Being sad is a natural feeling, something you do not need to feel guilty or ashamed about. "Things are as they are.' Accepting this means that you do not waste your time constantly wishing that things were different.

By being present you will be able to avoid most of the pain in your life, but not all of it. Furthermore, living in the present does not mean ignoring or suppressing pain. Instead, it provides you with the inner strength to accept such difficult and painful facts of life. 

I hope you loved reading this lovely book! 

Do encourage us, by liking our FB page Intelligent Investor (👈 Link)

Please Note: I have omitted many key points and examples, if you have liked the summary I am sure you will love the book. Please go ahead and purchase the book and encourage the publishers.

BUY NOW

Reading the key points regularly is very critical, only then we can remember and apply the lesson at the right moments. 

SUMMARY OF SUMMARY:

1. By focusing only on the present – and ignoring the past or future – you can greatly improve your life.

2. A part of you, needs the pain to survive and it creates most of the pain you experience.

3. The “EGO” is a part of your mind that stops you from being happy.
4. If you want a richer and almost painless life, separate yourself from your mind and focus on your body.

5. Observing the mind without judgement is the best way to separate from it, and thus free yourself from pain.

6. Try to exist in a state of permanent alertness.

7. Living in the present can be hard for your partner, but it can also improve your relationship.

8. Not all pain is avoidable: surrendering to the present does not mean ignoring sad or hurtful feelings.

Dear Readers,

This blog is my personal attempt to help you.  If you find this article to be helpful, kindly share it with your near and dear ones.

I would be very glad to hear your feedback, in fact, it will motivate me to continue my journey of, Blog and Teach.

Thanks for reading, I hope you apply some or all the lessons learned and become a better person consistently.

All the best!! 👍👍👍

Cheers 🍹

Intelligent Investor