This powerful book by Eckhart Tolle dispels engrained myths about our concept of time and looks deeply into attitudes and behaviours that have a profound impact on our relationships and the way we live our lives.

Established concepts such as humanity already reaching the pinnacle of its development is exposed as a myth. As are ideas that human beings are completely separate from each other, nature and the cosmos, and that the physical world is all there is. These misconceptions are completely debunked which can only make you feel good inside.

The joy of living in the moment

Based on his own personal transformation, Eckhart tells us how to rise above our conscious thoughts to see things as they really are rather than whatever we happen to be thinking at any moment in time. By doing this for himself, he was able to recognise and overcome the fears he was conjuring up in his mind. By recognising the delusion of regretting the past and worrying about things that haven't happened yet, he began to experience great pleasure by living in the NOW, cultivating a state of presence and connecting with his inner purpose and creative self.

Living in the present moment - with presence - brings to mind a quote cited on our new Member Newsletter page:

What leads to peace is not violence but peaceableness, which is not passivity, but an alert, informed, practiced, and active state of being.

Wendell Berry

The danger of subconscious thinking

The Power of Now explains how we can watch our thoughts in order to consciously put them into the right context. It shows us how to remove the counter-productive burden of worrying about things that may or may not happen in the future or keep going over things we have done (or could have done) in the past. This kind of subconscious thinking does not serve any constructive purpose so we need to focus on the one thing we are doing at any particular moment, and tune into our heart intelligence to engage our heart, mind, brain and intuition into whatever it is we are doing. This prevents unhelpful thoughts from taking over.

In this way, with practice, we can learn to let go of unhelpful subconscious thoughts and create the space we need for transformation to take place - when we slip into a creative flow and time is the last thing on our minds, as are any intrusive thoughts about the past or the future.

The practice of being in the present

It can be tricky to catch our minds wandering and bring our thoughts back into the moment. That's why it's so worth practising the methods suggested in this book. It is beneficial to learn how to intercept unhelpful thoughts before they turn into physical reactions. The good news is that we can train our minds to do just that so that we can live in the present where we can be our most creative and intuitively connected to our inner purpose. Doing this, even for snatches of time, demonstrates that we can use our minds to stimulate the active state of being mentioned above, a state of being that's powerful enough to help us shape the lives we most want to live now and into the future.

Being in an active state of being and living in the present moment is also beneficial when it comes to giving others the space to express themselves and work things through in their own way. Rather than becoming caught up in fears generated from past and future events, we are able to see situations and behaviours for what they are and show true compassion thus making a tremendous contribution towards bringing about a better world.

The way to manifest our own future

In summary, Eckhart shines a light on the quality of our consciousness at any particular moment as the main determinant of the kind of life we are experiencing. He also explains how this process determines what kind of future we are manifesting for ourselves, our loved ones and the rest of the world at any (or every) moment. Our minds, conscious or not, are powerful creators and we need to be aware of this so that we can bring about positive change with our thoughts, feelings and intentions.

When we surrender to what is and become fully present in the now, the past ceases to have any power, the future ceases to frighten us, and we are able to free ourselves to enjoy the feeling of BEING in a perfect state of contentment and bliss.

Here's to the power of NOW.

Sue Cartwright AInstAM

Community Assembly of the British Isles

Editor