It has been about three years since I've read the book "Power of Now" which has changed my life for good. When I read this book, I was in a very bad state in my life and I could not have been introduced to this book in a more timely manner as I was! It changed my life and it changed the way I viewed life. I didn't just pick up this book on my own but one of my really good friends introduced this book to me and it was that trust to her that made me eagerly read the book.
If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it. I have since read it three times already, and I think I still haven't had enough. This is the type of book that is much like a textbook, one that you can keep reading and re-reading and highlighting and studying! In fact, I think I'm due for another read of this book now. In a way, this book has become some thing of a bible for me, one that I turn to whenever I feel like my life is shaky again. There is a lot one can learn from this book but one of the main concepts is this idea of what it means to live in the moment, because we have heard this phrase so much, at least I know I have. Before reading this book, I wasn't a stranger to the idea that "one should live in the moment" and I tried unsuccessfully to do so because I didn't even know what that looked like! However, this book has made all of that much clearer for me.
First of all, it starts with this concept that you are not your mind and that your mind seems to control you instead of it being the other way around. In fact, this is the reason for most of your unhappiness. As the book progresses, it is advised to "observe" the thoughts that enter your mind, the feelings that enter your heart, and the tendencies you have inside you before it reaches the outside. This exercise helps to make one aware that there is an energy within us that is separate from our minds or feelings and that it has more power than the two combined!
One of the main things that you should look for when observing is the tendency to resist the now. We do that unconsciously perhaps 97% of the time! We do it that many times because we are not even aware we are doing it! Instead it shows itself by being unhappy of our current situations and always wanting what we don't have or what we can't have! Eckart Tolle, the author of this book, advises that there are only two directions one can go in these situations. One can either choose to decide the current situation is unsatisfying; thus I will change it. OR if it is out of your hands to change it, then accept it. There is really no other way to go but most of us choose the option that is not even present, which is resisting it. We are seemingly living it and yet we are against it and resist it. Thus, it leads to unsatisfaction and unhappiness or perhaps even depression in the more extreme case!
It is a very delicate and slight change in our mentalities, but it makes a world of difference. Being able to observe our minds and seeing that we do not particularly like our current situation and instead of resisting it, accepting it can make life so much more enjoyable and more heavenly rather than hell-like! In addition, if you are a particularly spiritual person too, you might also be able to use that to your advantage by simply accepting the situation because the universe has given this situation for a reason! The universe, or God, or being as Eckart Tolle names, always has the best intention for us and chooses what would make us happy in the end, even if it seems unlikely at first. In the end, it is all very freeing to know that there is nothing to resist and there's everything to accept and that life doesn't have to be as uncomfortable and painful as we think it to be.
All you have to do is accept the now and realize, the power of now.
If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it. I have since read it three times already, and I think I still haven't had enough. This is the type of book that is much like a textbook, one that you can keep reading and re-reading and highlighting and studying! In fact, I think I'm due for another read of this book now. In a way, this book has become some thing of a bible for me, one that I turn to whenever I feel like my life is shaky again. There is a lot one can learn from this book but one of the main concepts is this idea of what it means to live in the moment, because we have heard this phrase so much, at least I know I have. Before reading this book, I wasn't a stranger to the idea that "one should live in the moment" and I tried unsuccessfully to do so because I didn't even know what that looked like! However, this book has made all of that much clearer for me.
First of all, it starts with this concept that you are not your mind and that your mind seems to control you instead of it being the other way around. In fact, this is the reason for most of your unhappiness. As the book progresses, it is advised to "observe" the thoughts that enter your mind, the feelings that enter your heart, and the tendencies you have inside you before it reaches the outside. This exercise helps to make one aware that there is an energy within us that is separate from our minds or feelings and that it has more power than the two combined!
One of the main things that you should look for when observing is the tendency to resist the now. We do that unconsciously perhaps 97% of the time! We do it that many times because we are not even aware we are doing it! Instead it shows itself by being unhappy of our current situations and always wanting what we don't have or what we can't have! Eckart Tolle, the author of this book, advises that there are only two directions one can go in these situations. One can either choose to decide the current situation is unsatisfying; thus I will change it. OR if it is out of your hands to change it, then accept it. There is really no other way to go but most of us choose the option that is not even present, which is resisting it. We are seemingly living it and yet we are against it and resist it. Thus, it leads to unsatisfaction and unhappiness or perhaps even depression in the more extreme case!
It is a very delicate and slight change in our mentalities, but it makes a world of difference. Being able to observe our minds and seeing that we do not particularly like our current situation and instead of resisting it, accepting it can make life so much more enjoyable and more heavenly rather than hell-like! In addition, if you are a particularly spiritual person too, you might also be able to use that to your advantage by simply accepting the situation because the universe has given this situation for a reason! The universe, or God, or being as Eckart Tolle names, always has the best intention for us and chooses what would make us happy in the end, even if it seems unlikely at first. In the end, it is all very freeing to know that there is nothing to resist and there's everything to accept and that life doesn't have to be as uncomfortable and painful as we think it to be.
All you have to do is accept the now and realize, the power of now.
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