Our "true" essence, our divine being

Eckhart Tolle, the Power of Now.

A synopsis:

"The main thesis of Tolle’s The Power of Now is centered upon the transformation of human consciousness, the path to personal enlightenment, and the end of personal and global suffering. Tolle asserts that the means by which this is accomplished is through our permanent connection to our inner ‘Being’, or our true essence, the universal oneness, and through mind-body awareness practice. Connection to our inner ‘Being’ is the true path to our natural state of joy and inner peace and leads to the transformation of human consciousness, and ultimately, by extension, the transmutation of global suffering.

The first major theme presented is an understanding of our true essence, our inner core, or what Tolle describes as our inner ‘Being’ and our connection to the eternal and the universal oneness of life.

Connecting with our inner ‘Being’ entails arriving at a state of “no-mind” or mind stillness where thought does not exist, and what he calls the “Now”. Tolle asserts that ‘Being’ is a state of “Presence” that we can only feel and experience within us, and not something to be experienced mentally. It is through this connection to our inner ‘Being’ that we can experience the fullness of our naturally joyful and authentic selves. It is the path through which we can reach true enlightenment within.

Secondly, Tolle asserts that our persistent attachment to the mechanics of our minds (our endless thoughts and emotions), our egos, our “pain-bodies” (our pain and suffering), and “psychological time” (attachment to the past and future) creates a false sense of “Self”. This attachment separates us from our true essence and is the cause of our perpetuated suffering on a personal and global level.

Our minds are conditioned in this way and are the largest obstacles to experiencing our authentic selves. Our attachment to our ego keeps us trapped within our minds, and our attachment to our pain and suffering prevents us from experiencing true inner peace. Our mind and ego need control over life and thus create a false sense of identity. Detaching from either is extremely threatening to our attachment to this fabricated identity.

Not only are the attachments to our mind and emotions inhibiting, but Tolle asserts that a central component for ending our suffering is by ending our delusion of time and by living in the “Now” as opposed to constantly focusing on the past or the future (i.e., our attachment to “psychological time”). By living in the “Now”, embracing present-moment awareness, and by living with greater detachment to all of our attachments, we realize that there are no real problems, only life situations to manage. It is our persistent attachment to the past and the imagined future that creates our pain in the present.

Thirdly, Tolle purports that the pathway for the transformation of human consciousness and the way out of our attachment state is through mind-body awareness. Implementing what he calls the “Witness”, or the objective, non-judgmental and observing self, helps us to detach from our minds and our constant stream of thoughts. Directing attention into our bodies by focusing on our inner energy and the physiological reactions to our emotions (without judgment), we can transmute the negative charge generated by our feelings. By redirecting our state of mind-attachment to a state of body-awareness and by absolving the negativity from our emotions, we can transform our conditioned, emotionally charged reactions, which helps us experience a state of inner peace.

And finally, through acceptance and surrender to our present circumstances, we can end our resistance to life, which dissolves the underlying unease we experience. Permanent connection to our inner ‘Being’ and mind-body awareness is the avenue through which we can transform our own consciousness and by extension, the consciousness of those around us.

This is the path, Tolle contends, to ending individual and global negativity, suffering, and illness."

I just uncovered this piece I wrote a long time ago in school. It is a great reminder to me of the path I am on, and a path perhaps that we all are on... or are trying to achieve. To get out of our pain bodies, heal and to be happy and joyful again.

I read this book a long time ago and have it on Audible. This is a very accurate synopsis of which I think is one of the best books on the conscious and spirituality of our time.

Thanks for sharing - I really needed to read this right now.

You're welcome! And thank you!

I felt I needed to share this..... it grounds me, and I am hoping it will help others too. I LOVED this book! I now want to read it again, after having found this piece.

I am so glad it helped you!

No problem!!

I feel like after the advice you gave me and the suffering I have been going through - it was just what I needed right now.

I can probably download the e-book from my Kindle and send it to you if you don't have a copy, it really is an amazing book.

Have you read anything else by him?

Oh, I am SO glad.... it's hit or miss on here when your words may/may not resonate with someone. I am so glad I could help in some way.

No, I haven't read any other work by him. Have you?

And I do have a copy of this book! I am going to dig out from under the dust mites and may actually start reading books again! But thanks for the offer. Very sweet of you!

Well, PsychCentral has always been that way - there a lot of people going through their stuff and you never know how they will take your words, I am usually really careful here moreso than any other forum I participate in.

So glad you have a copy! I gave my hard copy a while back to someone who really neede to read it - I do that sometimes - I gave away my copy of The Prophet to my therapist of 15 years when he got sick and left the agency - that book is absolutely beautiful, you should read it sometime.

I read New Earth by Echkart Tolle - it was SO amazing - his best follow up to The Power of Now, here's a glimpse:

Is humanity ready for a transformation of consciousness, an inner flowering so radical and profound that compared to it the flowering of plants, no matter how beautiful, is only a pale reflection? Can human beings lose the density of their conditioned mind structures and become like crystals or precious stones, so to speak, transparent to the light of consciousness? Can they defy the gravitational pull of materialism and materiality and rise above identification with form that keeps the ego in place and condemns them to imprisonment within their own personality?

The possibility of such a transformation has been the central message of the great wisdom teachings of humankind. The messengers—Buddha, Jesus, and others, not all of them known—were humanity's early flowers. They were precursors, rare and precious beings. A widespread flowering was not yet possible at that time, and their message became largely misunderstood and often greatly distorted. It certainly did not transform human behavior, except in a small minority of people.

Is humanity more ready now than at the time of those early teachers? Why should this be so? What can you do, if anything, to bring about or accelerate this inner shift? What is it that characterizes the old egoic state of consciousness recognized? These and other essential questions will be addressed in this book. More important, this book itself is a transformational device that has come out of the arising new consciousness. The ideas and concepts presented here may be important, but they are secondary. They are no more than signposts pointing toward awakening. As you read, a shift takes place within you.

This book's main purpose is not to add new information or beliefs to your mind or to try to convince you of anything, but to bring about a shift in consciousness, that is to say, to awaken. In that sense, this book is not "interesting." Interesting means you can keep your distance, play around with ideas and concepts in your mind, agree or disagree. This book is about you. It will change your state of consciousness or it will be meaningless. It can only awaken those who are ready. Not everyone is ready yet, but many are, and with each person who awakens, the momentum in the collective consciousness grows, and it becomes easier for others. If you don't know what awakening means, read on. Only by awakening can you know the true meaning of that word. A glimpse is enough to initiate the awakening process, which is irreversible. For some, that glimpse will come while reading this book. For many others who may not even have realized it, the process has already begun. This book will help them recognize it. For some, it may have begun through loss or suffering; for others, through coming into contact with a spiritual teacher or teaching, through reading The Power of Now or some other spiritually alive and therefore transformational book—or any combination of the above. If the awakening process has begun in you, the reading of this book will accelerate and intensify it.

An essential part of the awakening is the recognition of the unawakened you, the ego as it thinks, speaks, and acts, as well as the recognition of the collectively conditioned mental processes that perpetuate the unawakened state. That is why this book shows the main aspects of the ego and how they operate in the individual as well as in the collective. This is important for two related reasons: The first is that unless you know the basic mechanics behind the workings of the ego, you won't recognize it, and it will trick you into identifying with it again and again. This means it takes you over, an imposter pretending to be you. The second reason is that the act of recognition itself is one of the ways in which awakening happens. When you recognize the unconsciousness in you, that which makes the recognition possible is the arising consciousness, is awakening. You cannot fight against darkness. The light of consciousness is all that is necessary. You are that light.

Ooh I love the sounds of this book!!!! I need to get back to my spiritual roots and beliefs. I've digressed and have gotten away from it all for a few years now. Very bogged down in career issues, life issues and ego attachments!!!! Grrr.

THANK YOU for sharing this!!! It's most inspiring!!!

Dear Have Hope & LadyShadow, if you only knew how much I needed to hear/read your beautiful conversation! Thank you! God bless you!

HUGS to you!!!

E Tolle , and others , seem to understand the power of “NOW”. The current moment. Mindfulness. There are a great many books out there that have nuggets of truth in them. I have to admit that I slant towards Carl G. Jung’s psychological beliefs in a collective unconscious. How destructive the ego is. And the process of individuation. I do believe that I am connected to everything in this universe.
Although that be true I need to understand that all reality is based on the continuous battle of the opposites. Positive and negative , light and dark etc......
The main thing here is that I need to understand that only “I” am important here , ( not in the egoistic sense ). I need to work on myself as the world can only change one person at a time. And it’s not the world that’s important here in this matter of individuation. Doesn’t matter what other people do , think , or say.
What matters is how I interpret the world and come to a “ self realization “ so I can come to some kind of peace within.
Hope I made some sense. It’s all very hard to talk about.
Thank you to the others who shared their thoughts........

Thank you for your thoughts and reply.

I don't fully understand all that you wrote, but what struck me is the part about how destructive ego is. Oh YES, it sure can be most destructive.

I am going to try an experiment where I remove my ego from things that upset me. And I'm going to see what happens. Is it my ego that's wounded? My pride?

It's an interesting thought and concept: destroying all ego.

I agree, it’s all a balance. Ego can be the negative voice in your own head that brings you down, but it can also run amok and become too grandiose. I am also trying to not let other people’s actions affect my mood.

I don't know if our ego and shadow side are the same but the discussion of ego being destructive makes the thought come to mind that we all have a light and dark (shadow) side. We have to shine a light on our shadow side--exam it, make peace with it, accept it, etc--then forgive it, love it, don't be so critical of it. We have to understand that the things that hurt us in the past taught us more about our shadow side so we could integrate it. My shadow side is when I have let fear run amok--inspiring paranoia and hopelessness. After all I have been through, I am no longer afraid. I looked at my shadow side and saw how operating there spread fear and negativity to all that I came in contact with. When I banish my fear, it banishes negativity. I don't fear as much because when I am feeling powerless, I can ask the universe for protection. I know they are there for me. I can choose love. I can walk away. I can do things in the now to feel better right now....

This is beautiful! Thank you for sharing!!!

Thanks for sharing

All of you are beautiful!! Thank you so much! I wish that your most special dreams will come true!

Anyone who has attended the Ash Wednesday mass today/yesterday?

"Remember that you are dust, and to dust, you shall return."

Today marks the beginning of Lent, a season of penance and fasting.

I feel so blessed to be here. Thank you, all of you, for being here. I wish so much for all of you. Thank you!!

and thank YOU for being here!