If you’re looking to learn about personal growth, and spirituality, The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle is a very interesting read. The Power of Now is rated New York Times number one best seller. With over five million copies sold, Oprah wrote in The Oprah Magazine, “It can transform your thinking… The result? More joy, right now!”
Eckhart Tolle is a contemporary spiritual teacher, who isn’t apart of any particular religion or tradition. He speaks in his book about finding a way out of his suffering and into peace. He has also wrote Stillness Speaks and Practicing the Power of Now. You can follow him on twitter.
The cover of the novel has a dreamy feel with white, yellow, and light blue blended, inviting colors. Inside of the novel, you will be surprised to discover it actually resembles a “guide to spiritual enlightment.” The novel is set up in a question answer form, also Tolle sets up a symbol throughout the novel every so often, in which he suggests the reader to pause and reflect on what he wrote.
In the novel Tolle explains the re-birth in his life. He explains going through a suicidal, upsetting point in his life, and wanting to change the person he was. He then explains waking up to a new feeling of happiness, and years later finding the explanation. He says that he became connected to the indestructible essence of his Being. Throughout the novel he describes how we should become connected with our “inner Being,” and find our true inner happiness.
From the very first page, he describes how we can all be connected to our inner self and become truly happy. Tolle truthfully states that the journey is not an easy one, but we are all able to achieve happiness. He truly simplifies the practices of Zen Masters and spiritual enlightment in a very advanced way.
This book is not an easy read. It is definitely was made for a more mature audience. Tolle, uses complicated words throughout this novel, that may be hard to comprehend as a high-schooler. I found myself looking up words and phrases that he used to comprehend the novel better. Although after researching, I understood the deep meanings behind each section in the novel.
To exemplify the meaning of “Now” in this novel Tolle said, “Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.”
He also said, ” Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.”
Ever since I picked up this novel, I was blown away, by the simplicity of strong meanings throughout the whole novel. The Power of Now, is one in many books that can influence and teach any reader to change their life for the better.