POWER OF NOW

“THE POWER OF NOW” I picked up this little book a long time ago. Eckhart Tolle is a legitimate, spiritual guru with academic credentials and millions of followers. His book is an easy read, insightful and uncomplicated. Authors and their publishers are always fishing with a long line and a sharp hook. Tolle is no different. He believes he has something that we all need and it is for sale. If you like the book but need more, you can sign up for an expensive workshop in a town near you.

He wants to promote a (Buddhist like) life style. In doing so he uses language and logic that have a ‘Mystic’ quality with broad, subjective generalities that are supposed to make one feel connected. I can’t imagine the absolute wonder of what comes with Spiritual Enlightenment. With that kind of rhetoric my skeptical self comes to bear and I treat it like fruit with a tough peeling and hard seeds. I consume what tastes good and spit out the rest. 

Reduced to its simplest element, he holds out the lure of ‘Inner Peace’. Whatever Inner Peace is, when I try to give it legs it becomes my creation and I do like the way it feels; much more attractive than Inner Turmoil. Fundamental ideas that resonate with me will be addressed here. Not trying to summarize or paraphrase Tolle, the language and perceptions are mine, what I take and make of his uniquely crafted offering. 

Focus On The Present

Nothing happens in the past or in the future. Everything that ever happened or will ever happen takes place in the fleeting moment, in the present. We are trapped in our ‘Moment’ moving forward at light speed. From a technical frame of reference, by the time neurons in one part of the brain arc and register with another neuron, the moment (present) has already come and gone. We can measure and discriminate units of time so precisely that the moment has transpired before we can perceive it. Tolle wants us to, as much as possible, remember that action is where the action is and that only happens in what I describe as, my fleeting moment. 

The point is not for us to seek some foo-foo state of Nirvana but rather, dwell in the moment, in what is present and at hand. It doesn’t mean you are a failure if you remember the past or anticipate the future. My metaphor would be a dog on its leash. If it gets too far ahead of its human, the leash reminds it to stop or slow down. If the dog stops to sniff some other dog’s marker, the leash reminds it that it’s time to move on. All of the dog’s action takes place within the scope of its leash. I can process ideas and recall memories but all of the action is right here, right now. 

This (Be in the moment) mentality goes against human nature. We are evolved to worry about things we don’t understand or what looms precariously in the imagined future. Still we do understand that if we can’t do anything right now to offset those concerns, how does that outlay of time and energy serve us? It doesn’t. All it does is rob us of time that could be better spent, on something that does serve us either in the now or sometime in the future. After all, practicing the piano serves not only the present but also prepares us for the recital next week. Processing ideas and practicing skills are both important applications of being in the ‘Now’. 

After nearly 30 years of Tolle’s influence I have literally become the dog on a leash. It’s a patient, accommodating leash but a leash none the less. In my case the leash has a sufficient length of bungie cord incorporated. If I linger too long on what I can’t fix or if I get too far ahead of myself, there is a gentle tug to get my attention. The more I stretch it the more forceful the reminder. Sometimes I’m a glutton for punishment, dwelling in the house of Inner Turmoil. It provides a dose of self inflicted validation, left over from the Stone Age. At some point I get the message and I’m happy to swap out my self imposed distress for the possibility in my fleeting moment.