Reddit reviews The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

I personally found The Power of Now as a great means to achieve "enlightenment." It really allowed me to use that little voice in my head, literally as a tool, and not as something that was part of my identity. So being able to switch that voice off, and concentrate on being aware of my surroundings and environment, was a really relaxing and refreshing experience that I can recreate on the bus, or walking down the street, or sitting on a bench.

Personally prefer listening to the audio version right when I'm about to go to bed, since the sounds are a meditative means on their own.

I kinda figured that using the word spiritual might give people the wrong idea. It's difficult to explain, but Erudecorp does a decent job with his first paragraph.

My sense of joy isn't rooted in some belief in experiencing or believing "something else" it's about experiencing reality in its entirety and without any sort of barriers. The Power of Now uses a lot of language that I think would turn off most atheists, but it's also played a large role in my moving away from belief in god.

Goals are based on time, which is an illusion created by our mind so the ego can exist...there's only now. Start watching your thoughts, and you'll notice just how often you spend outside of 'now' (past, future). Time is always haunting us, your ego will continually punish you for mistakes in the past..but only if you let it.

This book really helped me...might help you too:

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577311523

I am no expert by any means, and you may have a different lesson to learn than me...so what works for me won't always work for you.

Edit: Here's a video I've always liked that relates to this subject (short animation):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2afuTvUzBQ

It sounds like you may have a problem with boundaries, which is a common symptom of social anxiety disorder. I had SAD very bad when I first left, I would literally cry in front of people, just spontaneously break out into sobs... it was not a great strategy for making friends. Some of the opinions people expressed would just upset me so much. My best friend (worldly friend that I grew up with) had an abortion when we were 18 and I just couldn't handle it. I would share very personal information to strangers and then be devastated when they didn't give me the support that I needed. If I hadn't gotten some help dealing with it it would have actually driven me back into the organization because my behaviour was so negative it would've reinforced their teachings that the 'world is bad' and 'real friends love Jehovah' by pushing people away from me.

It sounds like you could really benefit from some therapy. And if you can't afford therapy these two books really helped me. first and second. The second book is considered to be 'spiritual' but I chose not to look at it that way. It is about practicing 'mindfulness' which is really just being aware of your own internal dialogue. What is your mind telling you about yourself and the world? Sometimes figuring that out is the hardest part, and for me it vastly changed how I interact with others.

Good luck OP. You're not crazy.

I'm not in your situation so I probably can't tell you what to do. I can just share what helped me. First of all, I was in a place where I wanted change really badly. Like really badly. I was upset with my life, my relationships and just my outlook and decided it had to change. I read a lot and I asked a lot of questions and worked at it. Eventually, I read three books which helped change the way I approached everyday things, and specifically relationships.

They were
http://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Marshall-Rosenberg/dp/1892005034
http://www.amazon.com/True-Love-Practice-Awakening-ebook/dp/B004SII6JWe
http://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577311523

But yeah, definitely not a quick fix.

A lot of people are really turned off by the "spiritual" aspects of the third book. I don't understand that, when I read it it just seemed like an practical way to go about living your life and not religious at all. All three of these books offer physical activities, like very basic "an idiot could do this" things that make you better at listening, especially the first two, which is what I was looking for. And the suggestions they gave definitely worked. If you only read one, I would read the second one for your situation. It's not as "Buddhist" as it seems.



What I eventually learned: Listening and being present is really hard first of all. Your mind wants to jump in all the time and pick apart, dissect and analyze... And then there is the other part of your mind that wants to react, like "Oh she said this, that's not right." Once you get there though, you're just calm and it's a great thing because you can always go back, and people just tend to relax around you more.

Well... good question. How do you know any strong sensation of peace, love, joy, rapture, inner quiet - comes from the Holy Ghost, or is of God?

I've never felt this sensation before either. Totally new to me. I've felt a good many different sensations when feeling the spirit. I do feel that particular sensation repeatedly when I visit this particular entry on that website, though. Even thinking about it right now is making just my fingers tingle.

Lots of exmos think that feeling good, or feeling emotionally touched, is the same as feeling the spirit. I've never felt that way. There are very distinct differences between when reading a touching story or watching a touching movie scene makes me cry and the spirit.

One time I went for a walk while thinking about the interrelatedness of things in the natural world, metaphysical stuff. As I contemplated, I had this incredible spiritual experience come upon me where everything seemed in perfect harmony - the trees, rocks, water, sky. Everything seemed just as it should be.

But I did not feel, nor believe, that experience to have been of the holy spirit. It was spiritual in nature, but not of divinity. Rather, a spectacular communion with nature and its cycles and hums.

This happened twelve years ago and just this year I read Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now. I recognized the vibrant, living, in-the-present feeling as being conscious. It was nice to finally put a label on this experience! And know it was a well-known and desirable phenomenon.

But Being Conscious is not the same as feeling the Holy Ghost, even though it is a wonderful, peaceful feeling. When you feel the spirit, or God moving in your life, you feel a sense of something higher, something guiding you, something that loves you and wants good things for you. A power well beyond what is within.

Dude - what part of the country do you live in?

On top of anything else you do, try getting some Sun if possible to increase Vit D. and reduce SAD. Also, I read about a study that indicated that dirt could help depression, like soil, stuff in the soil - so planting, gardening, etc.

Try reading: http://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577311523

Stop by my place, I have no one to lavish attention on...

I was very similar. This was the one book that kicked off my recovery http://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577311523. Its a non-religious practical book on taking control of your mind.


After reading this book I put the method into practice and also started being more positive. Also, cut down the amount of time you spend on the internet helped me ;)

You're a good man. You might find this book interesting: http://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577311523

haven't read it yet but Power of Now

This book did it all for me. You can get it on amazon or find it in any library.

I'm not a big expert myself, but yeah, it seems to me that here in the west we focus on the exteriority and kind of abandon our inner development, while in the east it's opposite, (it's a great generalization of course) so I try to take the best of both worlds to my life.

eastern thinking is a very vast term, there are so many different religions and currents (though I guess from our standpoint they are not so different :) ). I guess what unify them is that they all agree a man has higher potential that he can reach in this life, and through a spiritual path can attain "Enlightenment" (and until we attain it we basically live in misery) What I am stressing (and correct me if i'm wrong) is that their theory seems to align with your experience as your current life makes you miserable.

Anyway if you're interested there is this very good book "The power of now", have you heard of it?
here a nice review by the all mighty Steve Pavlina: (more of how reading the book changes one's life).
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/05/the-power-of-now/

the book:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Power-Now-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577311523


Sry about all the links and public relations, I just want to make sure that the decision you will decide to take is as aware of it self as can be!

So to summarize my understanding: right now, as an average human being, you ARE you thoughts, in a sense that you identify with them 100%. you are sure (as it is the default option and you are doing it for so long) that what you think is the reality, and as the mind have this tendency to gravitate towards negative thoughts, the reality you perceive is a quite evil.

but through attention and awareness - watching yourself, watching your thoughts etc. you can come to a very strong realization: what you think is just imagination, all your thoughts are created in this imaginary dimension, inside the mind, and at their best are only approximation of the reality (like the relation between a good movie and reality) but usually have zero objective truth in them. When you realize this you stop taking seriously everything you think and your emotional attachment to your thoughts decrease dramatically. when you stop thinking and worrying all the time you realize that to just "be", to just be aware of your sensory data, is quite fulfilling and satisfying and you are quite happy, and doing things you enjoy become much more fun - like singing with you favorite song, hiking, or eating delicious food becomes very satisfying. And that just the start...

of course it takes time and it takes effort but the payoff is infinite

So that is my experience, hopefully I don't bore you too much, GL!

>What is "reaching the subconscious"?. Is this a one on one conversation with it? Can you describe it in a meaningful way?

You can think of it as a kind of training that uses operant conditioning. I'll present a simple example.

>Philippians 4 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

>8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

When a Christian experiences anxiety, the trained response is to pray to God. This prayer is structured. First, we invoke gratitude within our minds. You have to think of something that you are thankful for. It can be as abstract as thanking God for the relationship that you have with Him or as specific as thanking God for the beautiful weather, or the meal that you're about to receive. Whatever it is you focus and find that feeling of warmth in your chest. This is by the way, really important anytime you pray. Then you go over in your prayer what is bothering you. The act of talking out your problems to God forces you to take a step back from them, which is helpful in itself. You then "give" the problem to God. This is well understood in Christian circles, but I'm not sure I could explain to non-believers. If you don't have the concept of a loving God firmly implanted in your mind, a lot of faith and stepping outside of a comfort zone would be needed. Then you invoke the meditative peace that comes along with prayer. The best way I have to explain this feeling to a non-believer would be The Power of Now. Once in that peace, you think about good and praiseworthy things which will then replace the worries that are on your mind. While it takes some effort, I've used this many times to clear bouts of anxiety.

>>For anyone that suffers from an unruly subconscious, or anyone that has ever struggled to modify their own behavior or mood, I believe that religious practice contains some of the best known mechanisms for intervention.

>Well, support that belief with something. Do you have any comparative studies?

Religious inspiration of AA. AA Literature Review. Project MATCH Results. Buddhist Aspect of DBT, Effectiveness of DBT. An article on research in meditation.

>I don't doubt that, but that doesn't mean it will lead you to what is 1) True and 2) Best for you. I'm sure we can both come up with examples, both good and bad, of where emotional influences lead you to. At least being rational can lead you to what is, with the best information available, true.

I agree. Morality and rationality must guide religious development. Absent those things, religion can be quite dangerous.

>Well great, you've described yourself as a subdued psychopath. If you lose your practices what are you going to go do?

I'm a diagnosed borderline. I have dealt with severe chronic depression, suicidal thoughts and self harm for most of my life. There is no rational protection from such things due to the strength of my deathwish. Rationality, unfortunately, can only channel desire, it cannot tell you what to desire. It's just as easy to rationally justify suicide as it is to justify living, actually a bit easier. Religion is the only effective defense I have found against it. The desire itself is irrational and must be countered with something inherently irrational.

>The only thing your post serves to prove is that people can be persuaded by emotions and rituals into doing things, which isn't anything I disagree with, but I hope you agree that people can be persuaded to do anything with the right stimuli, thus it's a tool for morality/immorality depending on who is controlling it.

I agree completely.

>Rationality is harder and less intuitive for human beings, it's something that takes time to learn unlike primal instincts, but it has the capability to be the best thing we can achieve. We should be encouraging trying harder, not giving up.

The problem is that rationality is insufficient for morality. Morality is rooted in the irrational value system of human beings. A means for manipulating these value systems is useful and myth and religion are the only tools I know. I believe that this view is perfectly consistent with rationality and that an aversion to this aspect of human existence is irrational.

Besides the general benefits of being more relaxed, centered and having a better sense of self, mindful meditation helps to train your mind to let go of past events and regrets you can't change and let go of future events you have no control over. It doesn't mean you don't plan for the future but it helps you to live in, and enjoy the present moment while you do it, or whatever.

A lot of people start with this: Mindfulness in Plain English

And then perhaps: Ekhart Tolle: The Power of Now


And of course: /r/meditation

well. i am a controlling guy, i have done all this, and continue to. I also meditate and am conscious of what i am doing, therefore, i have been able to watch myself do these things and mentally break them down in an attempt to understand why and to create a better environment in my psych, and be a better boyfriend(because believe it or not, he cant help it, and if he knows hes doing it, he feels bad). for me it is an interpersonal thing attached to a fear of change, as weird as that sounds. He probably doesn't want to have to deal with the prospect of loosing you, so he wants to cover all his basis. he is probably intellectual, and his brain runs quick making him paranoid and aware in situations about things that although are in the realm of possibility, are highly unlikely, therefore the unlikely things are still covered(with control - his mechanism, mine to) due to his fear of change. its quite essentially an over sensitivity to a coverup of insecurity, feeling as though that insecurity will push you away bringing on the change that is feared. so what to do? well you have two options - 1, devote your life to him and live esoterically, only live for you and for him and have no friends. that will surely make him less paranoid. however, this is not really a rational idea. so my best advice, introduce him to mediation and yoga. doing this will make him highly conscious if done properly, and if he takes to it. his entire well being will increase and he will have no choice but to observe himself, from a 3rd person view, in his daily life, he knows what is right and what is wrong, so when he is being controlling we will be conscious of it and a transformation will occur. You are not the problem, he is, and until he comes to terms with the insecurities he has locked up, he will forever try to control a situation to keep it as far away from what makes him insecure(in my opinion, change, the prospect of you moving on and not loving him anymore). I could keep typing for the next ten hours and exhaust all my thoughts, but that's a bit to much, from what im learning at this present time with the issue, is that i am 100% guilty of it and that there needs to be an aware presence that is observing while the behavior is happening without making an attempt to change it. he need to watch(be conscious of-) the behavior before it can be broken down and troubleshooted, the quickest way, in my opinion, to consciousness, is meditation. read this book, then get him to read it as well, you don't even have to bring up the problem, this will get him thinking the way u want him to and he will face the problem when its time.

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577311523
(forget the whole spiritual enlightenment crap in the title, thats to appeal to the 40yr old soccer moms, this book is straight up - the essence of what zen meditation teaches)

i hope this helps, feel free to pm me with any question that i may be of further assistance with. have a beautiful day, live love and love life.

I have read many, but this is the best so far The Power of Now.

I've had about as much sleep as you lately so I'm going to point you to http://altmedicine.about.com/cs/mindbody/a/Meditation.htm, http://www.drdansiegel.com/books/the_mindful_brain/ and http://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577311523.

What you described reminded me of something I read in one of the two books. Since I read them back to back, I don't remember which one.

I used to hurt myself when I'm depressed. Punching walls/myself and stuff, bruised my fists real bad. Then I learned to be constructive rather than destructive with my hands. Write, draw, paint, cook, whatever. To deal with being depressed, I also started reading a book recently. It's called "The Power of Now". It sounds cheesy and just-another-self-help-book and stuff. But it did help me.

http://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577311523

I highly recommend the book The Power of Now. It helped me understand how much my unhappiness was related to the amount of my thinking. Basically this book says that a great deal of what we think is crap and it only contributes to our unhappiness: thinking of the past generates pain if we think of an unhappy moment in our live or if we think of a happy moment which we want to relive, but is missing in the present, thinking of the future also generates pain because we are unhappy in the present and hoping that someday everything will be OK. The only option is to accept the present and live the NOW.

Have him read this book... it's a life changer and I guarantee negativity will vanish.

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
by Ekhart Tolle