The Power of Now
Eckhart Tolle · 1997
Eckhart Tolle's modern spiritual classic argues that almost all human suffering is self-created by a mind trapped in the past and future, and that lasting peace is available the instant you root your attention in the present moment. It's a practical manual for stepping out of compulsive thinking and into the aliveness of Now.
A landmark guide to living in the present moment and freeing yourself from mental suffering.
Three of the ideas you’ll keep
The Clif summary of The Power of Now pulls out 7 insights. Here are the first three.
- You are not your mind: the compulsive voice in your head is a tool you've mistaken for your identity. Step back and become the silent watcher of your thoughts, and you instantly create space between yourself and the thinking.
- Catch yourself the moment you notice a thought or emotion, then ask 'I wonder what my next thought will be.' This simple act of observation breaks the trance and weakens the mind's grip without any effort to fight it.
- Separate clock time from psychological time. Use time for practical tasks like catching a train, but stop living in psychological time, the endless replaying of the past and rehearsing of the future, where nearly all worry and guilt are manufactured.
The other 4 — and the full 10-minute summary — are in the app.
What’s inside: 9 chapters
The whole summary runs about 10 minutes, read or listened to.
- You Are Not Your Mind
- Consciousness: The Way Out of Pain
- Moving Deeply Into the Now
- Mind Strategies for Avoiding the Now
- The State of Presence
- The Inner Body
- Portals Into the Unmanifested
- Enlightened Relationships
- Acceptance and the Power of Surrender
Finish The Power of Now tonight.
Read or listen to the full summary in about 10 minutes, then keep the ideas with a minute of review a day. Start with the 2-minute quiz — no card required.
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