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Apr 23, 2008

Sean rated it:

What a pompous fraud this guy is, this Eckhart Tolle. He steals the classic works of Eastern cultures and repackages them in a poorly-written and impossibly stupid manner. He talks about rocks being alive. But he doesn't say what makes them alive, what gives them that metaphoric quality.

This is metaphysics presented in a Naked Emperor fashion, packaged for those who are ill-educated and cloistered in a materialistic Judeo-Christian (read: American, British, Israeli) mindset. Noth More...

45 comments like (38 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Stacy rated it:

Mr. Tolle spent two years sitting on park benches and simply "living in the moment" prior to writing this book. I doubt whether I will ever take the time in my life to do such a thing, however the suggestion he offers that we all spend a ridiculous amount of time either worrying about the future, or dwelling on the past has impacted me in a huge way. Until I read this book, I never noticed how in sane my mind can make me if I choose to let it. Tolle implores the reader to take the re More...

2 comments like (30 people liked it)

Jul 28, 2008

Erin rated it:

There is no nice way to say this. I hated this book with a fiery passion. It did not make me feel at peace. Rather, it made me want to chew off my arm. I bet if we asked Eckhart Tolle why I felt that way, he'd say that I wasn't really listening to his message.

My problems with the book were as follows. First off, the tone of the book was extremely condescending. Written in a question/answer format, many of the answers started out with "You're not really listening" or " More...

8 comments like (27 people liked it)

Jul 02, 2008

Kristoffer rated it:

There is a point in our lives when we say enough is enough. This is what this book is about. In one of his greatest works Eckhart Tolle teaches us the real meaning of spirituality. He teaches us the importance of the present moment. Through the recognition of the ego he makes us aware of how it destroys our lives. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for the real meaning of their lives and to anyone who is sick and tired of the usual thing.

The first time I encountered this More...

1 comment like (11 people liked it)

May 08, 2008

Jeff rated it:

I like Echkart Tolle. I recommend this book if you are into new age spirituality or not. Even if you aren't into spirituality at all, check it out. I mean, jeez, spiritual enlightenment for less than $20, how could you go wrong?

I sometimes struggle with doubts about him, but I do this with all spiritual teachers. Another reviewer described him as a "pompous fraud" who "steals the classic works of Eastern cultures and repackages them in a poorly-written and impossib More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Oct 08, 2007

Edwin rated it:

Upon 2nd reading of this book, I realized that any form of negativity I may have in the moment actually reflects a resistance to the present moment - a refusal to accept the here and now (which is the only reality).

Previous to this, I had thought that negativity simply is - and therefore should simply be noticed and accepted as part of the current reality, and not struggled against.

True, negativity shouldn't be railed at nor struggled against - but should instead be simpl More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Oct 28, 2009

Jillian rated it:

I've read a few books with similar messages about living in the present, being mindful, and grateful--it's a very zen-like message--but this book was different. Tolle explains that we are not our thoughts.

"The very fact that we can objectively observe our thinking, he reasoned, suggests that the constant and often negative dialogue in our heads is separate from who we are."

That's a quote I took from the interview between Tolle and Oprah from the May article in More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Sep 23, 2007

Laura rated it:

Another one of those awesome, life-changing books!

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 11, 2008

Natali rated it:

I passed this book dozens of times in my yoga studio back in 2003. It was so popular and its praises so well sung by my yoga teacher, Steve Ross, that I thought it must be a bunch of new age mumbo jumbo. I didn't want to read it because I thought that it would entail jumping on some Los Angeles hippy bandwagon.

I opened myself up to Eckhart Tolle after watching him on Oprah's Spirit Channel and I'm so glad that I did. This book is really great. It contains such simple philosophy that More...

0 comments like (12 people liked it)

Jul 26, 2008

Jason rated it:

(orignally written in 2006)

Books were a major part of my gift giving this year and, being slightly amazon.com obsessive, I used their gift guides to inform my purchases. The guides provided by magazine editors were especially helpful and despite myself, I bought a hell of a lot of the suggestions from O. When I received the box in the mail, I realized that all of the items I had purchased had intended recipients except for one: The Power of Now.

I cracked the binding and r More...

1 comment like (6 people liked it)

Mar 13, 2008

Bell rated it:

It's ait. Actually, I picked up the wrong book. (or, did I?) I meant to pick up Oprah's book club selection "A New Earth" also by Tolle.

I wasn't paying attention when I took this one. (or, was I?) JK

It's better than most self-help, spiritual books. It's more thorough and its question-answer format is helpful for the most common questions Tolle has been asked over the years. It's clearly and simply written so that the depth of his message is understandable, b More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 23, 2011

Michael G. rated it:

Also on my bookshelf is a review of Tolle's THE NEW EARTH. I read it because of the recommendation from Oprah. In that review I said he used 300 pages to say what he could have said in a 10 page essay. I read this book because someone I know said it was great. I think it's just another bunch of psycho-babble bullshit this rich con-man threw together. Really people....if you have issues, go get help without throwing your money away on this kind of crap. No, I did not buy it....the book is a More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 05, 2011

Stephanie rated it:

I was excited to read this book. I am drawn to the power of thought, the law of attraction mixed with letting go of the past and living in the moment. I thought this book would further teach about how living in the now is so important, as present moment really is all we have. However the way this book was constructed was poor. The Q & A weren't very helpful as the questions posted weren't even any questions I would have asked and oftentimes his answers were rude... say things like "you don' More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 10, 2012

Xavier rated it:

The suggestions in this book are similar to suggestions I've heard from someone I know who is in psychic school. He told me about root chakras and staying grounded while being in the center of your head. Reading this book, I believe being present is similar to these teachings.

When you are grounded, no negativity can enter your space. You are connected to the Earth, no harm can come to you, it only takes a little focus. Similarly, when you are present, no negativity can enter your space More...

5 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 12, 2012

Amy rated it:

صاحبني هذا الكتاب اسبوعا كاملا .. على رغم انشغالي الهائل .. كان تفكيري منصب حول ماهية الآن ..
ربما التجربة التي مررت بها كانت قاسيه لتجعلني افكر بحلول "الآن" .. وهذا الكتاب كان بمثابة هدية من الله ان وهبني اياه بهذا الوقت

طريقك للخلاص من الافكار والأنا التي تتماثل مع العقل لتتعسنا لترجعنا للماضي لتثبت اننا لانعيش إلا من بقاياه او بالمستقبل وكان السعادة ستأتي من خلال كذا وكذا .. او من خلال الماديات او ماسيأتي في المستقبل ..

الكتاب بال 200 صفحة يحومون حول الف More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2008

Steph rated it:

If you are looking for a self-help book, then go a head and read this one - it may actually help you. Otherwise, don't give it to someone else unless they are already actively seeking self-help/enlightenment advice.
Honestly, I couldn't get past the first chapter of this book. An acquaintance gave it to me; apparently he was worried that I wasn't a happy camper. It's closer to the truth to say that he has a bad tendency to try to change people when they don't fit he pre-determined picture o More...

1 comment like (5 people liked it)

Jun 27, 2008

Karen rated it:

If you can get past the initial assumptions like--
"If I cannot live with myself there must be two of me" nonesense --- there is much worthy of thought --- OH dear there I go thinking and according to Tolle the mind is not my friend! He suggests that the mind uses us for its own purposes rather than our using it to analyze -- in fact part of his formula is not to overthink things! I personally am glad that not everyone buys this idea! A little thought goes a long way to help us More...

14 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 03, 2008

Fred rated it:

This is a hard one for me. I have it in audio book and am letting it rest.

Now I have finished it and rated it now. This is a good book because it has a lot of wisdom in it and meshes very well with other great spiritual teachings that are at the top of my list. It also meshes well with my own experience and common sense - a guideline that Buddha gave.
Bottom line, religious organizations from the major lines (Catholic, Protestant, or even evangelical or any other kind) hav More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

May 01, 2007

Andi rated it:

This book is an excellent guide to shutting of your brain noise. We let our brains run us mad most of the time, and never really stop to enjoy the space we are in. Always dwelling over the past, or fretting about the future. This book points out that the future is 100% unpredictable (so stop making up stories about what is going to happen when you have absolutely NO IDEA) and to stop worrying about the past because no amount of energy devoted to the past will change it. Instead, be in the now; b More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 31, 2012

Amany rated it:

How Many time during the day have you caught you're self lost ?

Lost in thoughts , memories or mental dialogues ?
What should've happened ? What will happen ?
Why didn't I say this ? Or Do that ?
how many times have U caught yourself 20 minutes later completely indulged in thoughts and carried away with emotions about things that exist ONLY in your head ? Things that never happened , or happened a very long time ago ?

In my case , many many many times More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 03, 2012

Mac rated it:

This book has an insanely stupid title, one that makes it sound like a book on business management from the 1980’s, or possibly a diet guide. I’d heard enough recommendations, though, that I got past it. Now, I don’t consider myself a spiritual person, and I’m not religious, but I’m very interested in religion as a phenomenon, and so every now and then I like to read a book like this. A few years ago, it was Joseph Campbell, who had a semi-academic version of pretty much the same message: tha More...

0 comments like

Nov 16, 2011

Adam rated it:

Another book about spirituatlity and mindfulness. I figured, why not? I see this book all over the place! It is running through barnes and noble at a rate rivaled only by twilight and stieg larsson! So I downloaded it and listened to it.

I am rounding my rating up from 2,5.

What is good about this book - Its repetitive nature allowed me to see my thinking from a different viewpoint. It works parables in well. His message is relatively clear in the first place.

More...

0 comments like

Aug 23, 2011

David rated it:

The best and worst parts of being a part of a book club is being introduced to works outside of your normal reading spectrum. Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now (along with Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper) made me quit my local book club. While this seems like an easy target to criticize, there was something I found very troubling about this book. It’s more than the fact that it’s poorly written, or filled with pseudo-spiritual nonsense.

I found the bio of the author, Eckhart Tolle, More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jul 30, 2011

Travis added it

My mind is fighting my being as we speak. Definitely an interesting read and places a new perspective on various religions and their distracted views by followers. The "God as a mental idol" was very in line with my thinking. I would love to say after reading this book once that I was capable of giving up past and future and living in the present/with presence but it will take plenty of devotion, and self-discipline to stay focused on the now. If you have encountered Yoga, Budd More...

0 comments like

Jul 11, 2011

Jonathan rated it:

The Power of Now is an appealingly written mix of powerful spiritual truths, meaningless babble, and falsehoods. Tolle has taken some good wisdom from the world's religions, dressed it in New Age language, personalized it with his own less impressive wisdom, and then used a powerful personal story* to sell the book.

I gave it the second star because it really does emphasize some good aspects of spirituality (especially the freedom of living in the moment). If you already have a good g More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 09, 2011

Gail rated it:

Ha! Several years ago a friend gushed over how I just HAD to read this book. She'd just read it and it was tremendous. Fine, then: I bought the book. And I read, and I read, and I read. Then I would pick it up, and read some more--struggling to understand--only to come to pages later where I'd marked up pages. So I'd re-read and still not have 'gotten it' enough to recognize having read it all before. I'm a serious reader, even good with philosophy, so I found the experience of struggling thro More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 15, 2011

Pawan rated it:

http://iandbooks.wordpress.com/
This was a recommendation that I got from a friend and I am really glad that I got it. Normally, a self-help book is difficult to read in one stretch but I read this book almost continuously over a course of two days. That itself talks volumes about the way this book is written. The concepts of the book are not new but the way they are presented and the way author gets his readers to follow him in his explanation is amazing.

In short, the author is t More...

0 comments like

Jun 14, 2011

Dave rated it:

I was recently discussing books with a friend of mine who said he thought about this book "at least once a day". Really? I thought. Must be something to it. And there is.

Everyone gets the idea of "being present" in the moment: your focus is directed, wandering thoughts corralled, soaking in the here and now. If you take that idea and run with it, so that the majority of your day is lived with this kind of absorption, it can be very powerful personal force.
More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 27, 2011

Bill rated it:

To be fair I did not complete this book. Although it came highly recommended it violated several principals I hold closely.

Over the years I have noticed a trend among "spiritual" and "self-help" books. Several that I had found very powerful at first made certain statements and conclusions that, upon investigation, turned out to be constructed from pseudo-science and extremely liberal interpretations of factual evidence. This left me feeling betrayed.

They a More...

0 comments like

Sep 08, 2010

Marcus rated it:

This is an awful, awful book. Sorry, there's no other way of putting it. And I can hear people saying already "but it makes me feel better".
Whatever makes you feel in control, I guess. But sometimes things which make us feel better aren’t necessarily true or even good for us. Tolle and others like him are squarely in the camp of woo (as the great Randi would say!). They promote a watered down and ultimately meaningless new-age theology. (And of course Oprah loves him.) I expected More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

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