Eckart Tolle and his writings have become a modern phenomena. The Power of Now became a number one best seller on the New York Times Best Seller list. This is a particularly hopeful sign considering that the book is really about the madness of the world and the need for radical change.
The book established Tolle, and what he represents, as an active force in the modern life. This of course led to his appearance on Oprah Winfrey and so on.
Rereading the book now (2011) some years after it first came out (1997) I can see that I for one still have much to learn from it (or rather “much to unlearn” is more like how Eckart Tolle would put it). This is partly due the timeleness of much of the material. It is also partly due to much of the teaching being about timelessness: That is timelesness in the sense of stepping out of the manic experience of life typical of modern life and stressful experience of the passage off time which comes with it.
The Power of Now is the book in which Tolle first introduces the concepts which many of us have found so useful. Concepts like the pain-body, the inner body, the difference between our Life and our Life Situation have become handy terms used by many on the spiritual path to understand our journey and to share that journey with others.
I love the sensible insights in this book; “Egos are attracted to bigger egos” and the like. That sums up much of the distortions which have happened to particularly to spiritual and religious groups throughout the ages – including some of what goes on the in New Age movement.
Rereading The Power of Now is giving me fresh insights into Eckart Tolle`s core message about the importance of Presence and of being conscious. If you have not read The Power of Now for a while (and especially if you have never read it) you might want to check it out and enjoy its deeply insightful and profound message.