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Power of now by eckhart tolle

Brian Suh

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Some people absolutely love it and some hate it. I remember first reading it in college and LOVED it. But then again life was pretty awesome then. When my life went to shit due to bad behaviors I re read the book and just sat on my a$$ meditating. Now that I took massive action to fix my situation and go towards my goals I feel great again. I feel like a “somebody”. It feels good. Before I felt pathetic and weak. That’s because I was. But the power of now states that you should feel happy just being you....hmm....

Am I just reading this wrong? The irony is that I feel more alive than ever. But that’s because I’m taking risks and actions NOT by being still. What are your thoughts? Is eckhart really just a salesman behind all that meek image haha
 
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I found Eckhart's work helpful, especially in the way he views time.

For him, the only time that exists is NOW.

Typically, we are taught to view time as a continuum that goes from past, through the present and onto the future.

We view time spatially, as if time was a river that flows from point A to point B.

Eckhart's point is that this view of time is wrong. Time is not a river, rather time is the eternal moment.

This eternal moment CONTAINS within itself what we call the past, and what we call the future. Everything already is here and now.

Thus, what we call "the past" represents the signposts we ought to use to better orient ourselves in the present. If instead we fall in the trap of staying still staring at those sign posts as if we could change them, we miss the opportunity of learning from the past. By hanging onto the past, we destroy the present and the future.

Likewise, by projecting the past onto the future we create a false image that, paradoxically, ends up controlling our present and future.

Freedom is found in the NOW, in the realisation that we have POWER in how we use the elements that exist in the NOW that we call "past", and how we orient ourselves towards the elements that exist in the present that we call "future".

A good read on this topic: The Ending Of Time by J. Krishnamurti
 
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asa781

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I'll give it a shot.
 
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For me the only thing good about it was the temporary motivation "feel good" boost after reading it.
But I haven't actually learned much, felt pretty pseudo-science like and rambly
 
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Brian Suh

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For me the only thing good about it was the temporary motivation "feel good" boost after reading it.
But I haven't actually learned much, felt pretty pseudo-science like and rambly
Read it again and it’s bullshit. Especially for young men. This world is extremely competitive and cut throat. It is NOT a kind place. You need to build fangs and claws in terms of your personality and even your soul to survive. This is the god damn truth. Anything else and people are trying to sell you something or they themselves have fallen into the belief of a happy ending in this world as they couldn’t handle the truth themselves. The truth will set you free, NOT make you feel good
 

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Read it again and it’s bullshit. Especially for young men. This world is extremely competitive and cut throat. It is NOT a kind place. You need to build fangs and claws in terms of your personality and even your soul to survive. This is the god damn truth. Anything else and people are trying to sell you something or they themselves have fallen into the belief of a happy ending in this world as they couldn’t handle the truth themselves. The truth will set you free, NOT make you feel good
And who is going to have sharper fangs and claws, the one who lives a fear-led life, or the person who has mastered his inner life? Uncontrolled aggression is not strength. Tolle is talking about mastering the inner life. This doesn't mean that you go sit in a cave. But it does mean that you're not ruled by your emotions and can achieve peak performance in whatever you do.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAVPDYhW_nw&feature=emb_title
 
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Read it again and it’s bullshit. Especially for young men. This world is extremely competitive and cut throat. It is NOT a kind place. You need to build fangs and claws in terms of your personality and even your soul to survive. This is the god damn truth. Anything else and people are trying to sell you something or they themselves have fallen into the belief of a happy ending in this world as they couldn’t handle the truth themselves. The truth will set you free, NOT make you feel good

"Any action is often better than no action, especially if you have been stuck in an unhappy situation for a long time. If it is a mistake, at least you learn something, in which case it's no longer a mistake. If you remain stuck, you learn nothing."

- Eckhart Tolle
 
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Brian Suh

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"Any action is often better than no action, especially if you have been stuck in an unhappy situation for a long time. If it is a mistake, at least you learn something, in which case it's no longer a mistake. If you remain stuck, you learn nothing."

- Eckhart Tolle
This is what gets me about eckhart. Hes right. Maybe he is just so enlightened that I just dont get his books fully yet.(not being ironic or trying to demean him, I mean it).
 

loop101

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I'm not "enlightened", and do not expect to be, but I have researched "it" quite a bit, and talked to people who effectively were/are. My understanding is that it is a binary effect, most (but not all) "enlightened" people describe it as once you experience it, you never go back to how you were. It is like finding out that Santa Clause does not bring toys at Christmas, and that it is actually your parents. You don't go back to believing in Santa Claus.

Enlightenment is the death of the "self". You see that your "self" is a fiction, always has been, and always will be. As Seung Sahn said, "You don't have any problems, if there is no you." There are still problems that you deal with, but you don't take it personally. Who are you, if there is no "you"? They will say different things, "God's grace", "Everything", "Nothing", "Love", "Emptiness", etc.

People who are "E" cannot not really answer questions directly, if they do, they feel like they are lying. Eckhart Tolle tuned in to the timelessness of a reality where cause and effect are not separate. If I ask you what makes the Universe "run", you might say "The Universe!", and you would be right. Whatever causes change in the Universe, must ultimately be the Universe. But what would you have said? Nothing actionable. You could say the Universe causes everything that happens, and is affected by every thing that happens. "Who robbed the store?", "The Universe did.", lol. Those are the discussions you quickly fall in to when trying to describe "E".

I know a guy who meditated for 25 years before he had his Enlightenment experience, 20 years ago. He has not meditated in the last 20 years. I asked him why not, and he said "I don't need to. There is chance of me being fooled again." There are a surprising number of people in every walk of life who have stumbled in to E, like Tolle did. He was going to kill himself, and his brain went in to overdrive to figure out what the problem was. The problem was his sense of "self". He never meditated before that. He was a burnt out suicidal computer programmer. He was going to kill himself in the next few days.

There are a lot of ways to meditate. The common thing is that they involve no thinking, and in that time, your brain is not occupied by a sense of "self". Many forms of "practice" are quite physical. Ken-do, karate-do, aki-do, prostrations, chanting, etc. Some have slight physicality, flower arranging, meditation, etc. The idea is, if you spend enough time without a "you", your brain will stop creating the sense of self. Meditation almost always works given enough time, generally needing 10-30 years to work. Others have made the "trip" in a lot less time by either lucking in to a practice that fit them, or were dedicated and flexible enough to try everything until they found what worked for them. As renegade Barry Long said, "If it takes you 30 years of meditation to become Enlightened, maybe you were doing it wrong!"

The benefit of monasteries is that there is a lot of accumulated knowledge about the process of E. In the East, this stuff is more readily accessible. In the West, it has been very tied to Christianity. My favorite Christian mystics were all either defrocked or treated with suspicion: Alan Watts, Thomas Merton, Meister Eckert (Tolle took his name), etc. The problem (IMHO) with Christianity is that the goal is to be a good Christian, not free yourself. People who stumble in to it, often have no idea wtf is going on, such as in the book "Collision with the Infinite". People who stumble in to it are usually shunned by the "establishment" because they have not been tested, and they often cannot explain how they were set free (much less tell you how to free yourself). They can only tell you what they are doing now. Eckhart Tolle is in this group.

If you think there are a lot of fakers in the "make money" space, there are probably more in the "spiritual enlightenment" space. People whom are E, often consider faking it the worst sin. When you dangle "being the universe" in front of people, many will do anything. Who needs a million dollars when you are the universe? Who needs healthcare when you are the universe? Etc.

They don't die, they weren't born, but they will call the cops if you poke them in the eye. Zen Masters carry a "zen stick" to crack students in the head when the students "realize nothing is real". The ZM would crack them, and say "Wasn't that real?"

Western culture has this too, but you have to go back to the pre-Socractic philosophers. Heraclitus, Parmenides, etc. Aristotle stubbed his toe.

There is talk nowadays that reality might be simulated, but then the question is, how are the simulators real, etc? Questioning reality, or answering questions about reality, is a rabbit hole that never ends. Most "E" people refuse to engage. When the Buddha was around, there were plenty of E people. They just had a tendency to "go live on the mountain top". The Buddha said his big contribution was to realize checking out from society was not enough, and that you should try to help others, and come down from the mountain top. If Buddha had not had a student with perfect recall, he probably would have been lost to history.

A zen teacher was telling his students about reality transcending causality, and a sharp student asked, "If one thing does not cause another, why should we bother meditating at all?", and the teacher said, "If you hadn't started, it would be better not to, but since you have begun, it is better to finish!". This is the Eastern version of the Eskimo being told he has to accept Jesus Christ as his savior or he will go to hell forever, and asking, "If I didn't know who he was, would I have been allowed in Heaven?", and the Missionary said, "Yes, but now I already told you who he is".

A friend of mine trained with the last of a Samurai clan. After 6 years of hard training, the teacher started teaching him in the "do" (in karate-do). His teacher said something along the lines of, "If you can learn this, it's the all the beaches in the world compared to the grain of sand you have learned so far". Admittedly, he was not a "zen teacher", but he had made the trip as part of his own training.

Something that has always fascinated me is the common elements of the E experience, the actual process the people go through as they are "enlightened". This is what I usually ask E people about when I can. Psychoactive drugs like LSD mimic the sensations often felt, but have not credibly had the same result. LSD will obliterate the "self", but it quickly returns, and the person often doesn't have the tools to make the most of their experience. E people I have known basically put down psycheldelics after testing them as "not helpful, a distraction".

Anyway, if Eckhart Tolle was not your bag, there are plenty of others, of all types. Maybe a warrior like Marcus Aurelius, a philosopher like Heraclitus, a recovering addict like the Zen Bitchslap guy, a nerd like Brad Warner, early logician-philosophers, Christian mystics, Philosophical Taoists, non-duality people, Advaita, Zen teachers, etc. My point is, loss of sense of self is real, and different people accomplish it in radically different ways. My feelings are currently best summarized in Weird Alyakovic's song title, "I'll be mellow when I'm dead". I will have plenty of time to unequivocally be self-less in the future. I'm already old, so I don't need to rush it.

What does this have to do with Financial Independence? Not much. I use to think they were incompatible, but they are not. "enlightenment" is approached by allowing your mind to be self-less. Buidling wealth can be achieved by helping others. These are not mutually exclusive, and can probably be done together. MJ certainly encourages this, and seems to live it. He could be doing mostly anything right now, but he is here helping people help themselves by helping others.

Nobody "understands" enlightenment, and those who are - know it by experiencing it. Not an intellectual understanding. Don't feel bad if you feel like you "don't get it". Be wary of those who say do. Enlightenment is the absence of the lie, not an affirmation or understanding of anything.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAOYUTdkM-w
 
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BellaPippin

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I liked the first chapters but as it progressed it kind of got too abstract and I also felt I was re-reading the first chapters over and over.
 
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I may have started this discussion in the "three recommended books" thread with my first recommendation.

Firstly, I really recommend people LISTEN to the Power of Now, the audio version read by the author and not read the book. (Available at libraries).

Reading the book is quite ineffective, unless later for reference. The book, as the author says, is nothing new, it's a compendium summary of ancient teachings and actual source wisdom from old religions.

The Power of Now concept does not need to be over analyzed. It's extremely simple.
It's especially usefully for people, often go-getter achievers like on this forum, who have "monkey-mind" as Tim Ferris says.

The Power of Now concepts are, I think, especially useful for young people - who often have this "monkey-mind", and miss out on the deep experience of youth - who are stressed out frantically trying to create their future, with their minds too much in the future - and not in the present.

The wisdom and concepts of the Power of Now are sprinkled throughout MJ's book, Unscripted ... for example, page 311, ...act on one problem, one challenge, one unknown at a time; page 320, Just-in-time learning; page 321, getting through the processes of..."the valley within the dessert of desertion" (I love this term!) to the hard proof event and the value loop, and other places.

Plus, being aware of and practiced in the Power of Now concepts are great once the value loop is obtained and one becomes "successful" - a great foundation to really enjoy the success and all the wonderful states of presence that occur - then and now.

The Power of Now, audio, is a tool for controlling the mind, that may be running wild like a wild horse. Use the tool as necessary.

Every sentence in the book is profound. I recommend listening to the book a bit at a time. Then once completed use it for a meditation - pick a random chapter for a 20-30 minute meditation.

For me, practicing being totally present, first in minute moments, and being aware when my mind is NOT present, (just as important), radically changed my life. It was the only thing that solved my chronic underlying "stress", which is nothing more than a fear of the future.

Practicing presence broke the habit of my mind being too much concerned about the future rather than accepting and dealing with the present.

With presence the highest ZEN experience can be anything right now, playing an intense fetch with your dog, (the dog being the perfect example of total presence), petting a cat, hiking a trail in nature, being with someone in total presence, riding a bike, working out at the gym, running, swimming, (where most people are NOT present), etc., rather than relying on forced states of presence like thrill rides, excessive speed events (driving, skiing, thrill rides, etc.), dare-devil anything, drugs, booze, partying, gossip, TV/Entertainment, excessive reading, video games, the phone/internet, social media, spectator sports, even flying a plane (what I do), and so forth.

Being aware of presence, being able to go in and out of presence, and being aware when not present - is, I think, all that "enlightenment" is. Super simple. Don't need to be a monk, mediate on it with crossed legs in silence, or anything else. The Power of Now gets this across really well.

Also, per a comment above, the idea is not to remain in such meditative states of bliss. Meditation and all this awareness is a practice and a mental skill.

Even in Yoga - the major moves are Warrior 1, 2, 3, etc., which is - preparation for battle! A well practiced and controlled mind - is one that is ready for such battles in our life, which for us in the FASTLANE - is the process and all the challenges big and small that come before us on the path to the major events!

... and being able to turn those battles off, and becoming present, when they are done, being totally present with the kids, spouse, family, friends, pet, etc. when that time is now.

I still think the Power of Now, audio, is a fundamental and foundational book, one that comes before all the others, for many people.
 

SteveO

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I may have started this discussion in the "three recommended books" thread with my first recommendation.

Firstly, I really recommend people LISTEN to the Power of Now, the audio version read by the author and not read the book. (Available at libraries).

Reading the book is quite ineffective, unless later for reference. The book, as the author says, is nothing new, it's a compendium summary of ancient teachings and actual source wisdom from old religions.

The Power of Now concept does not need to be over analyzed. It's extremely simple.
It's especially usefully for people, often go-getter achievers like on this forum, who have "monkey-mind" as Tim Ferris says.

The Power of Now concepts are, I think, especially useful for young people - who often have this "monkey-mind", and miss out on the deep experience of youth - who are stressed out frantically trying to create their future, with their minds too much in the future - and not in the present.

The wisdom and concepts of the Power of Now are sprinkled throughout MJ's book, Unscripted ... for example, page 311, ...act on one problem, one challenge, one unknown at a time; page 320, Just-in-time learning; page 321, getting through the processes of..."the valley within the dessert of desertion" (I love this term!) to the hard proof event and the value loop, and other places.

Plus, being aware of and practiced in the Power of Now concepts are great once the value loop is obtained and one becomes "successful" - a great foundation to really enjoy the success and all the wonderful states of presence that occur - then and now.

The Power of Now, audio, is a tool for controlling the mind, that may be running wild like a wild horse. Use the tool as necessary.

Every sentence in the book is profound. I recommend listening to the book a bit at a time. Then once completed use it for a meditation - pick a random chapter for a 20-30 minute meditation.

For me, practicing being totally present, first in minute moments, and being aware when my mind is NOT present, (just as important), radically changed my life. It was the only thing that solved my chronic underlying "stress", which is nothing more than a fear of the future.

Practicing presence broke the habit of my mind being too much concerned about the future rather than accepting and dealing with the present.

With presence the highest ZEN experience can be anything right now, playing an intense fetch with your dog, (the dog being the perfect example of total presence), petting a cat, hiking a trail in nature, being with someone in total presence, riding a bike, working out at the gym, running, swimming, (where most people are NOT present), etc., rather than relying on forced states of presence like thrill rides, excessive speed events (driving, skiing, thrill rides, etc.), dare-devil anything, drugs, booze, partying, gossip, TV/Entertainment, excessive reading, video games, the phone/internet, social media, spectator sports, even flying a plane (what I do), and so forth.

Being aware of presence, being able to go in and out of presence, and being aware when not present - is, I think, all that "enlightenment" is. Super simple. Don't need to be a monk, mediate on it with crossed legs in silence, or anything else. The Power of Now gets this across really well.

Also, per a comment above, the idea is not to remain in such meditative states of bliss. Meditation and all this awareness is a practice and a mental skill.

Even in Yoga - the major moves are Warrior 1, 2, 3, etc., which is - preparation for battle! A well practiced and controlled mind - is one that is ready for such battles in our life, which for us in the FASTLANE - is the process and all the challenges big and small that come before us on the path to the major events!

... and being able to turn those battles off, and becoming present, when they are done, being totally present with the kids, spouse, family, friends, pet, etc. when that time is now.

I still think the Power of Now, audio, is a fundamental and foundational book, one that comes before all the others, for many people.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:thumbsup:
 

Turbine3

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And who is going to have sharper fangs and claws, the one who lives a fear-led life, or the person who has mastered his inner life? Uncontrolled aggression is not strength. Tolle is talking about mastering the inner life. This doesn't mean that you go sit in a cave. But it does mean that you're not ruled by your emotions and can achieve peak performance in whatever you do.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAVPDYhW_nw&feature=emb_title
A five star video! Outstanding. Thanks for posting this!
 
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Brian Suh

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I may have started this discussion in the "three recommended books" thread with my first recommendation.

Firstly, I really recommend people LISTEN to the Power of Now, the audio version read by the author and not read the book. (Available at libraries).

Reading the book is quite ineffective, unless later for reference. The book, as the author says, is nothing new, it's a compendium summary of ancient teachings and actual source wisdom from old religions.

The Power of Now concept does not need to be over analyzed. It's extremely simple.
It's especially usefully for people, often go-getter achievers like on this forum, who have "monkey-mind" as Tim Ferris says.

The Power of Now concepts are, I think, especially useful for young people - who often have this "monkey-mind", and miss out on the deep experience of youth - who are stressed out frantically trying to create their future, with their minds too much in the future - and not in the present.

The wisdom and concepts of the Power of Now are sprinkled throughout MJ's book, Unscripted ... for example, page 311, ...act on one problem, one challenge, one unknown at a time; page 320, Just-in-time learning; page 321, getting through the processes of..."the valley within the dessert of desertion" (I love this term!) to the hard proof event and the value loop, and other places.

Plus, being aware of and practiced in the Power of Now concepts are great once the value loop is obtained and one becomes "successful" - a great foundation to really enjoy the success and all the wonderful states of presence that occur - then and now.

The Power of Now, audio, is a tool for controlling the mind, that may be running wild like a wild horse. Use the tool as necessary.

Every sentence in the book is profound. I recommend listening to the book a bit at a time. Then once completed use it for a meditation - pick a random chapter for a 20-30 minute meditation.

For me, practicing being totally present, first in minute moments, and being aware when my mind is NOT present, (just as important), radically changed my life. It was the only thing that solved my chronic underlying "stress", which is nothing more than a fear of the future.

Practicing presence broke the habit of my mind being too much concerned about the future rather than accepting and dealing with the present.

With presence the highest ZEN experience can be anything right now, playing an intense fetch with your dog, (the dog being the perfect example of total presence), petting a cat, hiking a trail in nature, being with someone in total presence, riding a bike, working out at the gym, running, swimming, (where most people are NOT present), etc., rather than relying on forced states of presence like thrill rides, excessive speed events (driving, skiing, thrill rides, etc.), dare-devil anything, drugs, booze, partying, gossip, TV/Entertainment, excessive reading, video games, the phone/internet, social media, spectator sports, even flying a plane (what I do), and so forth.

Being aware of presence, being able to go in and out of presence, and being aware when not present - is, I think, all that "enlightenment" is. Super simple. Don't need to be a monk, mediate on it with crossed legs in silence, or anything else. The Power of Now gets this across really well.

Also, per a comment above, the idea is not to remain in such meditative states of bliss. Meditation and all this awareness is a practice and a mental skill.

Even in Yoga - the major moves are Warrior 1, 2, 3, etc., which is - preparation for battle! A well practiced and controlled mind - is one that is ready for such battles in our life, which for us in the FASTLANE - is the process and all the challenges big and small that come before us on the path to the major events!

... and being able to turn those battles off, and becoming present, when they are done, being totally present with the kids, spouse, family, friends, pet, etc. when that time is now.

I still think the Power of Now, audio, is a fundamental and foundational book, one that comes before all the others, for many people.
Maybe I am just too immature and influenced by short term pleasures (not drugs but girls and partying) not that those things are bad but you need to build key skills young and watch it harvest
 

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