The power of Now - Eckhart Tolle

The Power of Now

What’s common in the people who have gotten spiritual enlightenment? 

 They all have learnt to be quite, focused on inner body and away from negative emotions like anger, hatred, jealousy, sadness etc. 

 What if we want to get all these qualities of saints but not interested in changing the life style to match that of Spiritual extremists? 

 Catch hold of few interesting points made by Elkhart in this book. That’s it. 

 Point 1: To stay away from the negative emotions break the chemical and biological reactions happening in the body. 

 How? Simply look at yourself from a third angle to have the isometric view. The magic works. What actually happens is that the brain gets disconnected from the loop of negative emotions and brings in a zone of neutral state where we see the situation from different view. 

When we don't have to control the negative emotions, but still want to be happier in the given situation, learn to be in present. Life is about present moments. Not just to make our self-happy, but also to actually solve life problems, being in present matters. One trick to be in present is to develop a habit of consciously noticing three things around me. To be in the present moment, try to seek silence and focus on Being.

 Silence: The potency of silence lies in the very interval between the thoughts. Thus all that is needed is for perpetual movement of thought to be arrested, for us to be awakened. Being: When our attention is fully and intensely in ‘Now’, 

‘Being’ can be felt. Enlightenment: We know enlightenment majorly as a postulate of Buddha. It is not only the end of suffering, but also the end of dreadful enslavement to incessant thinking. What an incredible realization this is!! 

 Mind it!!!! Can we be free of our mind whenever we want to? Do we have an ‘Off-On’ button? If yes, then we are using our brain. Otherwise the brain is using us(our emotions). The moment we start watching the thinker, a high level of consciousness becomes activated. We then begin to realize that there is vast realm of intelligence beyond thought, that thought is only a tiny aspect of intelligence. We realize that things that truly matter - love, beauty, creativity, Joy, inner peace- arise from beyond the mind. We begin to awaken. When you are observing the ‘Thinker’ you are no longer energizing the mind, this is the beginning of the end of Compulsive thinking. 

 An alternative to the process of observing the Thinker is to break the flow of thoughts by focusing on “Now”. Our body emotions are substitutes to the thinking done by mind. If we want to know our mind the body will always give a truthful reflection, so look at the emotions rather feel those emotions in our body. There is apparent conflict between the mind and the Body. The thought will be a lie and the emotion will be truth at that time. Actually emotions are short lived as the mind quickly resumes its noise making activity that we call ‘Thinking’. Love, Joy and Peace can’t flourish until we make us free from mind dominance. They are not the emotions. They lie beyond the emotions, on a much deeper level. So we need to be fully conscious of our emotions and be able to feel them before we can feel something that lies beyond. Emotions truly mean ‘Disturbance’. The word comes from Latin, meaning ‘to disturb’. So when challenges come, make it a habit to go within at once and focus as much as you can on the inner energy field of your body. This need not take long, just a few seconds. But his needs to be done immediately at that moment. Any delay will allow conditioned mental-emotional reaction to arise and take you over. By focusing on inner body you become still and present as you are withdrawing consciousness. If a response is required in this situation, it will come from deeper level. Just as the sun is infinitely brighter than a candle flame, there is infinitely more intelligence in ‘Being’ than in your mind. 

 Creative use of mind If you need to use your mind for a specific purpose, use it in conjunction with your inner body. Only if you are able to be conscious without thought can you use your mind creatively and the easiest way to enter the state is through your body. Whenever an answer, a solution or a creative idea is needed, stop thinking for a moment by focusing attention on your inner energy field. Become aware of the stillness. Can you imagine a state of mind where a cat is looking at the mouse hole waiting for the mouse to come out? Try to get in a similar zone. When you resume thinking you become fresh and more creative. Make it a habit to go back and forth. 

 Happiness vs inner peace and Drop: Happiness is different from Inner peace. Happiness depends on conditions being perceived as positive; inner peace does not. Whenever you notice that some form of negativity has arisen within you, look on it not as failure, but as helpful signal that is telling you; “Wake up. Get out of your mind. Be present.” This act drops the negativity. Somebody says something to you that is rude or designed to hurt. Instead of going into unconsciousness reaction and negativity, such as attack, defence or withdrawal, you let it pass through you. Offer no resistance. That is forgiveness. In this way you become invulnerable. You can still tell that person that her or his behaviour is unacceptable. But the person no longer has power to control your inner state. You are then in your power- not in someone else’s, nor you are run by your mind. Whether it is car alarm, a rude person, a flood, an earthquake or loss of your possessions, the resistance mechanism is the same. 

 Surrender: Letting of resistance is easier said than done. How to surrender? Start by accepting that there is resistance. By focusing all your attention on ‘Now’, the unconscious resistance is made conscious and that is the end of it. Remember you can’t be conscious and unhappy at the same time. Buddha: Instead of quoting Buddha, be him, be awakened. That’s what ‘Buddha’ means. 

 Consciousness: Pain, Hatred, Anger are the negative feelings that sets in with unconsciousness. The mind at this stage has done overthinking. Judgement, Ego, intuitions are some bullets that the brain rapidly fires. Sustained conscious attention serves the link between pain body and our thought process and brings about process of transmutation. Here pain becomes the fuel for our consciousness, which burns more brightly as a result. This is the esoteric meaning of the ancient art of alchemy. The transmutation of the base metal into gold, of suffering into consciousness. The split within gets healed and we become whole again. Problem: Remember your problem becomes problem of all the near ones. Try to solve it yourself first. How to have the mindset while solving the problems? Try to keep it as relaxed as possible. Focus hard. Now use your competence to solve it. Worries, instalments, Bills to pay are not the problems. The loss of Now is a problem. Anything that is done with negative energy will become contaminated by it and in time it will give rise to more pain, more unhappiness. 

 Waiting: Waiting is a state of mind that wants future, not bothering about present. Waiting creates inner conflict between you here and now, where you don't want to be and the projected future where you want to be. This reduces the quality of life. Next time anyone says, “Sorry to have kept you waiting”, you can reply, “That’s ok, I wasn’t waiting. I was just standing to enjoy myself. This brings lot of positivity. 

 Disclaimer : The write up is just an attempt to save the points that I liked from this book by Echkart Tolle. In doing so I have used my experience, analogies and predictions to land on a point. 

 Vinay Wagh