Mediocre book, great concept. The author's message is simple, live in the now. Don't dwell on the past and stop worrying about the future. I would like to think that I live by this mantra, but its easier said than done. I'm trying really hard to focus on today, but I have to admit its hard. I spend hours agonizing about what I should have done or should have said. I replay the scenario over and over even though I know that there's nothing I can really do about it. I stress and worry about what's going to happen a week from now, a month from now, even a year from now.I know people who just focus on the present - they are happy, go lucky individuals and I really admire them. I would really like to live that way and want to try to live in the now. What's the point on stressing on what you could have done when its over and done with? Move on. Don't worry about tomorrow and just live today. The present is really all that matters. Obviously you want to learn from your mistakes and plan for your future, but you can do it by focusing on the present.
i read this book too! this was my blog on 7/8/08:
ReplyDeleteI've recently finished a book called The Power of Now. The crux of the book is that the mind and the being (soul) are two separate elements and that the mind does not define the being (who you truly are). Interesting concept. How Eckhart Tolle came to this realization is when he said to himself "I can't stand myself anymore". Who is "I" and who is "myself"? Can "I" and "myself" be two different components that concurrently exist within me? I constantly find myself saying that as well, so I decided to give this book a fair chance. The mind exists only with time; past and future. Only when the mind stays present does the being truly exist. At this very moment, this very minute, do problems exist? No. Problems exist when the mind focuses on things that have happened or worry about thing that could and will happen. Tolle's approach to maintaining a happy and healthy lifestyle is to focus only on the present. I tried this theory out and found that I was most sad when I started thinking about the past or started worrying about the future, but when I focused on the now, I started to notice things I would have never noticed. The biggest example of this is when I am driving. Oftentimes, I don't know how I got home because my mind has been racing the entire time and I was driving on "auto". When I focused on the now, I noticed the beautiful trees, the mountains, the blue skies and I once again felt gratitude for life itself. When my mind is constantly "trapped" in other moments, I don't notice as much what is going on around me, thus I miss out on life! I guess this is what people mean by living in the moment.