So I know Oprah talked about this book over a decade ago, but I just downloaded and started reading “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle. As I prime my mind, build my body and feed my soul for 2013, this book felt like a natural fit for where I currently am on my path. I was wondering if any of the gentle readers of this blog had read the book or had any comments. I love feedback.
About J.P.
Just a guy with a husband. We’ve been together 28 years and he still makes me see fireworks on a daily basis. Hiker. Storm Chaser. Private Pilot. Tech Guy. Hackerish.
Weird? Eccentric!
i bought the audiobook about 4 years ago. i am not sure if it was the indian guru-like accent or the guru-like attitude, but i abandoned the book half way.
The audiobook was built as a long series of questions and answers. my feeling was that the author dismissed all the questions and all his answers sounded like, “as long as you don’t accept that I am telling you the truth, you will question me. So your questions are a little stupid because you haven’t accepted that I am telling you the truth.” It didn’t sound very persuading to me.
i do praise the value of the “now” but i also believe that, when you are going through hard times, it’s not very helpful to hear that your feelings are an illusion and there is nothing than the now and all is good. i’d rather accept and embrace the reality of what i am feeling and only then try to gain another perspective on my suffering based on the “now”. i had the feeling the book kept telling, “Oh, you think you’re in pain? You’re wrong, that’s not real. Do as I say and forget about your feelings.”
In other words, i thought the book lacked empathy. It was told from a “superior” point of view. i just didn’t relate to it.
Hey there,
Thank you for your feedback on the book. I don’t know if it’s because I was such a voracious reader as a kid or what, but I really struggle with audiobooks. I can’t have some read a book to me, I have to hear the book in my own head under my own interpretation to fully enjoy reading. I think that I would struggle with the Indian guru-like accent on an audiobook as well.
I’m interested about your feeling that the book lacked empathy. I’m wondering if I’ll feel the same way. I can completely see where you’re coming from with that, so now I’m curious as to what my reaction will be. I’ll have to do a little review here after I’m doing with it.
Thanks again for your feedback!
xo
Hi!
Thanks on your feedback on my feedback. 🙂
i also struggle a lot with audiobooks, but i like to give it another try from time to time. Maybe that’s because i enjoy a lot listening to podcasts, so i think it should also be fun to listen to an entire book. But i guess it doesn’t work that way. Although i realized that non-fiction books work better for me on audiobook, probably because when i read fiction i like to imagine the voice telling the story in my head, as you said. In the case of Tolle’s book, the accent took my attention off the content and it bothered me quite a bit.
Also, i guess my impression from the book came from the fact that, at that time, i was going through a very difficult time in my life and what i perceived as lack of empathy sounded a bit offensive to me. Maybe i took it too personally. 🙂 But still my overall impression of the book hasn’t changed since.
Mindfulness has somehow become a buzzword nowadays, but i still believe it’s a better path to explore than just “being in the now”. There is a thin line between “equanimity” and “indifference”. i felt that Tolle’s book tended to value a certain indifference that didn’t please me at all.
i am not sure what you are looking for, but i just finished reading a book you might enjoy. It’s called “The Power of Habit”, by Charles Duhigg. It doesn’t have Tolle’s spiritual dimension, but it’s very inspiring in the sense of making you think about what your life habits are and how you might work to change then, if it’s the case. It’s a pretty good “mindfulness tool”, so to speak.
Well, thank you for the opportunity to write these thoughts down. It was helpful to me too! 🙂
Hugs!