The Power of Now by Eckart Tolle, Review

The Power of Now by Eckart Tolle
You've heard about this book for long enough, just get it now. I got the CDs so I could listen to them in the car (much more uplifting that the news) and I am very glad I did. Eckart has a soft German accent and I have heard that he can hold a room awestruck with his mere presence. All I can say is that listening to him read his book was a gift I am very glad I gave myself. There is so much to say about it that I will, instead, tell you about a huge philosophical question it answered for me.

I have struggled with the question: "Does the end justify the means?" For example, the old cliche: would murdering Hitler when he was a baby be justified? Well, let's look at it. Eckart points out that there is never really anything but now. The past is gone and the future will never actually get here, because the moment it does it will be now, and then it will be the past. The only place that we ever get to exist is in the now. However, our brains are able to remember the past and imagine the future and that is how our brains derive their importance. But, those are not the places we can actually live. We derive our best happiness when we focus on being in the moment, being present where we are, when we are. The now is the most precious gift we have, yet so often we squander the now by reliving the past, or worrying about the future.

So, if the past and future will never actually exist, the end cannot possibly justify the means. Look at the Communist Revolution in Russia. Millions and millions of people were killed in order to bring forth the beautiful vision that communism is on paper. The big problem is that the lovely future could never materialize in a now that was willing to kill the very people it was intending to liberate. When we sacrifice our now we sacrifice the only worthwhile thing we actually have.

There are a bunch of gems for you to find in this book. Get it now.