In the following videos you'll learn key takeaways from "The Power of Now" which will help you find your true, deepest self and reach the ultimate in personal growth and spirituality.
Video Summary by Wisdom For Life
Part I
Key Takeaways
Instead of asking, “what do I want from life?” A more powerful question is, “what does life want from me?”
The concepts in this book can come across as very simple, but don’t let that trick you into dismissing them without any contemplation.
These concepts although simple are profound. The Power of Now gets into some deep stuff that needs to be reflected on way beyond the short video summary.
With that said keep an open mind going into this. You may get an initial reaction to resist what the book teaches, but just put your opinions and judgments to the side for a few minutes and consider the possibilities.
The three primary concepts in this video summary:
2. The present moment is all we ever have.
3. Acceptance of what is.
1. You are not your mind.
You are not your mind. You are not your thoughts. Quite a bold statement.
See the problem of humanity is deeply rooted in the mind itself. The mind is an incredibly useful tool, but we have become identified with it.
The tool, as they say, has taken over the master. We believe that the mind and its constant stream of thoughts is who we are, but we are much more than that.
I’m sure by now you’ve noticed that your mind is constantly chatting away. The voice in your head speculates, complains, judges, compares, and so on.
We habitually think and worry about the future and if we’re not doing that, then we’re replaying the past events in our mind.
Our thoughts, our mental dialogues are compulsive. They have taken most of us over and the insane thing is we don’t even realize it.
Most of us are on autopilot. Most of us just go through life chatting to ourselves incessantly and letting our conditioned mind run our lives early.
In the book, Eckhart asks the reader: can you be free of your mind whenever you want to? Have you found the off button? Can you stop the stream of thoughts and just be?
If the answer is no, then you’re unconsciously identified with the mind. It’s using you and you probably don’t even realize it.
That’s a great question and in my opinion asking what am I is one of the most important questions you can ask yourself. That is the beginning of self inquiry, awareness, mindfulness or whatever you want to call it.
So how do you get closer to realizing what you truly are?
You start by listening to the voice in your head as often as you can.
Make a game of it like you’re pretending to watch something in a lab. Observe its reactions, actions, thoughts, and so on.
After you’ve done this for awhile, ask yourself if you notice any repetitive thought patterns. Be there as the witnessing presence of your thoughts and do so without judgment.
Listen impartially throughout the day, and take note of what your mind is doing.
When you observe your thoughts, you will see that there’s a higher level of consciousness at play here. You are that higher level of consciousness.
The answer is no. You’re absolutely much more than thought. You are beyond thought.
Over time and as you become better at observing your thoughts, you’ll feel a deeper presence behind the thought. When that happens, the thought loses its power over you because you have dis-identified from the thought stream. You have dis-identified from the mind.
Now if you keep this practice up for long enough, eventually you’ll experience a gap between thoughts known as no mind. The gaps will be short at first, but they will get longer.
The no mind gap is not some trance-like state. It’s quite the opposite. You’re more aware, awake, alert, and fully present in this state.
Another way to get into the state of no-mind is to focus your attention in the now.
Become intensely conscious of the moment you’re in. This draws your attention away from the mind, and into the now. You are alert and aware, but you’re not thinking.
You can do this at any time throughout the day.
If you’re waiting in line or at a stoplight, become intensely aware of the moment you’re in. Let go of thought and see things without the filter of your mind. Look at things without labeling or judging them.
It’s very challenging at first, but don’t give up. Keep doing this and you’ll eventually get a glimpse of no mind.
This can be a very confusing concept if you’ve never heard it before. Here’s a couple of Eckart’s quotes to really drive it home:
"The single most vital step on your journey toward enlightenment is this: learn to dis-identify from your mind. Every time you create a gap in the stream of the mind, the light of your consciousness grows stronger."
"The wider the time gap between perception and thought, the more depth there is to you as a human being, which is to say the more conscious you are."
"The moment your attention turns to the now, you feel a presence, a stillness, a peace you no longer depend on the future for fulfillment and satisfaction – you don't look to it for salvation."
"The moment your attention turns to the now, you feel a presence, a stillness, a peace you no longer depend on the future for fulfillment and satisfaction – you don't look to it for salvation."
"One day you may catch yourself smiling at the voice in your head as you would smile at the antics of a child. This means that you no longer take the content of your mind all that seriously, as your sense of self does not depend on it."
For most of us, the mind has become out of balance. Our compulsive thinking is an addiction of sorts.
The only way out is to realize the truth – you are not your mind, you are not your thoughts.
The mind is simply a tool to be used when necessary.
You can still pursue goals, but you will realize that there is nothing in the future that will save you or make you happy. You don’t need something in the future, you’re just happy being being here now.
2. The present moment is all we ever have, so live in the here and now.
As mentioned earlier, minds like to be preoccupied thinking about the past or thinking about the future. We are very rarely in the present moment, so our goal here is to be more grounded in the present moment.
Yes, thinking and planning for the future is necessary in today’s world, but let’s be honest, over 90% of our thinking is repetitive and useless, and it’s often negative.
Don’t take my word for it, listen to your mind for 10 min and see for yourself what it’s saying.
Now if you’re offended by this, thinking, “well I’m not like that,” well that’s just your ego talking. Your ego is the one getting offended.
As you are not your thoughts. You are not your ego either.
Tolle tells us that the only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step you are taking at this moment.
You may have an outer purpose, and outer goals, but they should not take up so much of your attention that they become more important than the step you are taking now.
Now is all there is.
Remember the mind is always trying to escape the now since it has no power here. The mind needs the past and the future, memory and anticipation to exist. It hides from the present.
It wants to live in the past and create a story for itself or it wants to look to the future towards some kind of fulfillment.
Time and mind are inseparable. If you take away time by focusing on the now, the mind falls to the background.
Observe how your mind habitually escapes to the past and the future. The moment you realize you’re not present, you become present. When you observe it, you’re not trapped in it anymore.
Be what Eckhart refers to as the silent watcher. The more you are focused on time – past and future – the more you missed the now.
Another great point here is that you can always handle the present moment. You can always cope with the now.
Problems arise when you get wrapped up in the what-ifs and I should haves. Usually everything is fine in the present moment and you can handle whatever it is that comes your way as it happens.
But when you get so wrapped up in the future and start worrying about tomorrow, a week from now, that’s when stress arises and that’s exactly where worry and anxiety come from.
Ask yourself: what is missing in this moment? Really contemplate that one.
The answer is nothing. All these wants, desires, and regrets come from the minds obsession of the past and future. You can’t cope with the future because it is a mind projection. It’s not real.
Is there ever any other time except the moment you’re in? No. Even when you think of the past and the future, you’re doing it in the now.
If the present moment is all we ever have, shouldn’t we be fully present in the moment we’re in? We should make that the focus of our daily lives.
Sure you can go back to the past or plan for the future when you need to, but your primary focus should be on the now.
If not now, when?
Nothing ever happened in the past, and nothing will ever happen in the future. It happens in the now.
A memory is just a trace from a former now that you are recalling in the now.
Do you have any problems in the present moment? Not tomorrow or in 30 minutes, but right now?
"Use your senses fully. Be where you are. Look around. Just look, don't interpret. See the light, shapes, colors, textures. Be aware of the silent presence of each thing. Be aware of the space that allows everything to be."
"If you set yourself a goal and work toward it, you are using clock time. You are aware of where you want to go, but you honor and give your fullest attention to the step that you're taking at this moment."
"Usually the future is a replica of the past. Superficial changes are possible, but real transformation is rare and depends upon whether you become present enough to dissolve the past by accessing the power of now."
How does your mind operate?
Are you always trying to get somewhere other than where you are?
Are your actions a means to an end?
Is fulfillment always just around the corner or confined to short-lived pleasures – such as sex, food, drink, drugs or thrills and excitement?
Are you always focused on becoming, achieving, and entertaining?
Do you believe that if you acquire more things, you’ll become more fulfilled, good enough or psychologically complete?
Only the present can free you from the past.
3. Acceptance of what is.
So while you’re being grounded in the moment your are in, you also want to be completely accepting of it.
You don’t want to allow any resistance to come in. You may think that the situation creates the suffering, but that’s not so, your resistance is.
Accept the moment as it is now.
When you resist what is you create pain for yourself. Between what is and what your expectations are, there is a gap, and that’s where resistance lies.
The first step is awareness.
Observe how your mind labels, judges, and creates resistance to what is. Over time this will get easier to do and you’ll become somewhat objective of the minds thoughts and they won’t have such a firm grip over you.
You can then allow the present moment to be. Work with it, and not against it. Accept it as it is, and then act.
No one is saying that you have to accept a crappy situation, and do nothing about it. Remember, it’s still okay to say no to people or to walk away from situations, but now let it be a nonreactive no. Not from reaction, but from insight.
Accept the moment as it is as if you had chosen it and then do something about it if needed.
Eckhart calls this surrendering to the now.
Surrender is a letting go of mental emotional resistance to what is and I must stress this point – this does not mean giving up or being complacent.
"True surrender...does not mean to passively put up with whatever situation you find yourself in and do nothing about it. Nor does it mean to cease making plans or initiating positive action."
"Surrender...is yielding to rather than opposing the flow of life. The only place where you can experience the flow of life is the now. So to surrender is to accept the present moment unconditionally and without reservation."
When you acknowledge that there is resistance, you’re making resistance conscious. You’re no longer coming from reaction and resistance.
Once you acknowledge it, ask if there is anything you can do to change, improve or remove yourself from the situation and then take action on the one thing you can do in the now. Not the other hundred things that you may or may not do in the future, but what you can do right now.
"The external conditions that we're being resisted also tend to shift or dissolve quickly through surrender. It's a powerful transformation of situations and people. If conditions do not shift immediately, your acceptance of the now enables you to rise above them. Either way, you are free."
"I you cannot surrender, take action immediately. Speak up or do something to bring about a change in the situation or remove yourself from it. Take responsibility for your life."
"Surrender does not transform what is, at least not directly. Surrender transforms you. When you're transformed, your whole world is transformed because the world is only a reflection."
Life is like a mirror. If you saw something in the mirror you didn’t like would you attack it? Of course not because you would be attacking yourself.
Become friendly with it and it becomes friendly towards you.
"There are no problems only situations to be dealt with now or to be left alone and accepted as part of the isness of the present moment until they change or can be dealt with."
So see if you can catch yourself complaining – either through speech or thought. When you’re complaining, you are not accepting what is. You make yourself into a victim.
"It is not the overall situation that you need to accept when you surrender, but just a tiny segment called now."
"Inner resistance cuts you off from other people, from yourself, from the world around you. It strengthens the feeling of separateness on which the ego depends on for its survival."
"Surrender will move you closer to people. Through surrender you'll accept what is and that means accepting people as they are. You won't judge, criticize, reject, label or attempt to change people."
"When you accept resentment, moodiness, anger and so on, you're no longer forced to act them out blindly and you're less likely to project them on to others. If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place. Primary reality is within. Secondary reality without."
"If there's truly nothing you can do to change you're here and now and you can't remove yourself from the situation, then except you're here and now totally by dropping all inner resistance. The false unhappy self that loves feeling miserable, resentful or sorry for itself can no longer survive. This is called surrender. Surrender is not weakness."
Conclusion
1. You are not your thoughts observe your thoughts to see them for what they truly are.
2. The present moment is all we ever have so be more grounded in it.
3 Surrender to the now and accept what is why fight what is already in existence instead whatever it is? Allow it to be and surrender to it.
These three lessons get deeper and deeper the longer you practice them.
Part II
"You cannot suffer from the past or future because they do not exist. What you are suffering is your memory and your imagination."
1. You are not your mind. You are not your thoughts. You’re more like the witnessing presence or observer of your mind.
2. The present is all we will ever have, so live in the here and now, rather than stuck in your head all day thinking of the past and future, focus on the present moment. When you focus on the now, the mind, and your thoughts fade away a little.
3. Acceptance of what is, which means to surrender to the now. Remove or limit your judgments and complaints. Stop judging yourself, your own thoughts, and others.
When you give no resistance to what is, to what’s happening, when you yield to the flow of life and not oppose it, you become free.
1. The Ego
Since we become so identified with our mind, we derive our sense of self from it.
"As you grow up, you form a mental image of who you are based on your personal and cultural conditioning. We may call this phantom self the ego. It consists of mind activity and can only be kept going through constant thinking."
The ego is only concerned about the past and the future. As stated in part I, it wants to keep the past alive because without the past, who are you?
It tells the story of you and projects that past self onto the present moment. It looks to the past and projects itself into the future.
It is not concerned with the present moment, it looks at the present moment as a means to an end.
It says things like one day when I get this or when I get that, I’ll be happy. This is a fallacy.
The ego tries to keep itself alive and always seeks fulfillment in the future. The present moment holds the key to liberation, but you cannot find the present moment as long as you are the mind.
Ego identification comes from our possessions, social status, our work, physical appearance, knowledge, education, relationships, history, beliefs, and many other things, but none of these are you.
Does that scare you? I personally find it to be a huge relief.
All of these things will disappear sooner or later, so you have to be ready to let them go at any time.
"Ego is the unobserved mind that runs your life. When you are not present as the witnessing consciousness, the watcher. The ego perceives itself as a separate fragment in a hostile universe, with no real interconnection to any other being, surrounded by other egos which it either sees as a potential threat or which it will attempt to use for its own ends. The basic ego patterns are designed to combat its own deep-seated fear and sense of lack. They are resistance, control, power, greed, defense, and attack. Some of the ego's strategies are extremely clever, yet they never truly solve any of its problems, simply because the ego itself is the problem."
2. Emotions
Emotions are the body’s reaction to your mind.
"Emotions arise at the place where mind and body meet."
Emotions are a reflection of your mind in the body. The more identified you are with your thinking, the stronger your emotional energy charge will be.
On the other hand if you’re cut off from your emotions, they’ll eventually surface as physical symptoms.
If you’re simply unconscious of built up emotional patterns, like anger or resentment, it may express itself in some external event.
So it’s important that we’re in touch with our emotions. If you have trouble in this area, focus your attention on the inner energy field within your body. (This is talked about in the next section)
Just as you watch thoughts, you can watch emotions, too. This can be challenging because it’s very easy to get caught up in our emotions in the heat of the moment.
Try and take a step back, watch your thoughts and emotions unfold.
To get started ask yourself what’s going on inside me at this moment? Focus your attention within.
By doing this you’re bringing the light of consciousness into your body. You’re breaking the cycle of unconscious reaction.
An emotion usually represents an amplified and energized thought pattern and because of this often overpowering, energetic charge, it’s not easy to initially stay present enough to watch.
It wants to take you over and it usually succeeds, unless there is enough presence in you.
If you’re pulled into unconscious identification with the emotion through lack of presence, which is normal, the emotion temporarily becomes you.
So how do you move past that? Acceptance of the emotion combined with your presence is key.
When you resist what is you create pain for yourself and resistance can come in many forms.
For example, complaining. Now see if you can catch yourself complaining, either through speech or thought throughout the day.
When you’re complaining, you’re not accepting what is. You make yourself into a victim. You have to make a choice – you either remove yourself from the situation, change it or accept it completely. No excuses and no negativity.
If action is required, drop the negativity and take action.
"When you accept your resentment, moodiness, anger, and so on, you're no longer forced to act them out blindly and you are less likely to project them onto others."
"If you get the inside right, the outside will fall into place. Primary reality is within secondary reality without."
Don’t think about your emotions, observe the emotion. Feel it fully. Acknowledge, and accept that it is there. The emotion or whatever it is, should be felt and then you move past it.
You don’t need to dwell on it. You don’t need to bottle it up. Feel it and then move past it.
Emotions are like momentary ripples on the ocean. Your being is the ocean.
"You are the ocean and of course you are also that ripple, but a ripple that has realized its true identity as the ocean and compared to the vastness and depth the world of waves and ripples is not all that important."
"Forgiveness is to offer no resistance to life – To allow life to live through you. The alternatives are pain and suffering, a greatly restricted flow of life energy and in many cases physical disease."
3. The Inner Body
"Underneath your outer form, you're connected with something so vast, so immeasurable, and sacred, that it cannot be conceived or spoken of."
That’s the limitation of our language. We’re not able to explain these deep concepts easily.
Our bodies wither and fade away. This ephemeral form is not you. Your body is more like an outer shell or as Tolle says, it’s a distorted perception of deeper reality, but your body can be used as a point of access into the realm of being.
So take time to feel your invisible inner body. Feel the body from within. Take the focus of your attention away from thinking and direct it into the body.
If you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about when I say inner body, do this now – close your eyes, and focus your attention on your hands. Can you feel the inner energy of your hands?
Try to feel it for other parts of the body like your feet, legs, arms, and so on. Can you feel that subtle energy that resides there?
It kind of feels alive, like it’s a vibration.
Explore that. Feel it deeply. Transformation is through the body, not away from it. Do not deny your body.
The inner body is timeless. The physical body withers and dies.
You will feel the same energy within you whether you’re 20 or 80 years old.
Try and feel your inner body throughout the day. Try and keep that connection open during your daily activities.
When you keep your attention in your body, you’ll be anchored in the now.
"It's easy to stay present as the observer of your mind. When you're deeply rooted within your body, no matter what happens on the outside, nothing can shake you anymore."
When challenges come...focus as much as you can on the inner energy field of your body...You need to do it the moment that the challenge presents itself. Any delay will allow a conditioned mental-emotional reaction to arise and take you over. When you focus within and feel the inner body, you immediately become still and present as you are withdrawing from the mind. If a response is required in this situation, it will come up from this deeper level. There is infinitely more intelligence in being than in your mind."
Change your state from being out of the body and trapped in the mind, to being in the body and present in the now.
As you go about your life, don’t give 100% of your attention to the external world, and your mind. Keep some within.
4. We Are All One
We feel a deep sense of fear and incompleteness because we’ve forgotten that we are a part of the whole.
Your mind tries to cover it up in various ways, but the mind can never become the solution because it is part of the problem.
You’ll never be free until you stop deriving your sense of self from your mind and ego.
"Underneath the level of physical appearances, and separate forms you are one with all that is."
Even if you believe this statement to be true, you need to go beyond that and actually feel it to be true as well. That’s what this book masterfully guides us into doing.
5. Silence and Space
"Silence is an even more potent carry of presence...listening to silence immediately creates stillness inside of you."
The same is true for space. Empty space enables everything else to be.
Even deeper the solidity of matter is an illusion. Even the body which seems solid is nearly 100% empty space. So become aware of the space that is around you.
"By becoming aware of the empty space around you, you simultaneously become aware of the space of no-minds, of pure consciousness: the unmanifested."
"If you remain in conscious connection with the unmanifested, you value, love, and deeply respect the manifested and every life form in it as an expression of the one life beyond form. You also know that every form is destined to dissolve again and that ultimately nothing out here matters all that much. You have overcome the world, in the words of Jesus or as the Buddha put it, you have crossed over to the other shore."
6. Enlightened Relationships
"The moment that judgment stops through acceptance of what is, you are free of the mind. You have made room for love, for joy, for peace."
To have an enlightened relationship, first, you need to stop judging yourself. Second, you need to stop judging your partner. Completely accept your partner as he or she is.
I understand this is very difficult for a lot of us to do, but that’s where the focus needs to be.
Every time there’s a crisis, you know if the relationship isn’t working, use it as an opportunity. Accept it, acknowledge it, and don’t try to escape it.
If you’re angry, know that there is anger. When you create this knowing, you’re bringing your unconscious behavior into the light. It cannot last long in the light.
"If you observe unconscious behavior in your partner, hold it in the loving embrace of your knowing so that you won't react."
"If you react at all to your partner's unconsciousness, you become unconscious yourself. But if you then remember to know your reaction, nothing is lost."
"Never mind if your partner will not cooperate. Consciousness can only come into this world through you."
"When your partner behaves unconsciously relinquish all judgment."
Be the knowing, rather than being the reaction and the judge. This allows for a clear space for the other person to be as they are.
You cannot transform someone else. All you can do is create a space for that transformation to happen.
Listen to your partner in an open and non-defensive way. Be present and give them the space to express themselves.
When you give space for the emotions to be, when you offer non-judgment and no resistance, you’re allowing the pain and transmuting it at the same time.
The knowing creates this.
Instead of letting the emotions become you, you become the watcher and the knower.
Any emotion that you take your presence into will quickly subside and become transmuted.
If you get into an argument with your partner, observe how you become defensive as your own position is attacked. See how you cling to your viewpoints and your opinions.
Do this enough and eventually you realize you have a choice. You can choose to drop your own reaction. You can let go of that whole mental emotional drama that fights for power.
Video Summary by The Journey
Key Takeaways
Most people wholeheartedly believe that their problems are unique, that no one else experiences discomfort except themselves. But reality implies that our daily worries are in a sense identical.
The most common thought pattern among people is agonizing about the past or the future:
- “What if John dies tomorrow, who’s going to take care of me?”
- “What if this & this happens?”
- The most popular one “Why did I do that yesterday, I should’ve done something else.”
Apparently, people haven’t yet found that “exit button” to stop worrying, to control their thoughts and; have the power to redirect their attention as they please.
All past experiences happened in front of your eyes, likewise, all future events will happen in front of your eyes, in the present.
If all occurences take place in the present, this means future events will never happen unless they pass through the present.
When is the last time you’ve worried about brushing your teeth? My guess is, never.
I’ve never seen someone say, “Oh tomorrow I have to brush my teeth, this is a big problem.” Picture how it’s going to turn out for a sec, “Should I start brushing my upper mouth first or my lower mouth first?”
So Just like brushing your teeth or eating dinner, which are activities you don’t have to worry about beforehand, you should to apply that same carelessness towards future problems and events.
So the concept is simple: It implies acknowledging that nothing happens outside “the present” unless you are imagining it to happen.
A future event will never happen unless the time for it to happen has come.
Your expectation about the future will never mirror and reflect how it will actually occur.
"Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present."
A common belief is: “when I accomplish this goal, I will be happy,” or “When this happens, I will feel much better.”
So this is the trap. You shouldn’t attach joyfulness with your goals. Work hard, but your aspirations should be emanating from a state of utter detachment.
If you fail, It’s cool. No big deal, try again.
If you succeed, it’s cool as well, it doesn’t change anything. You’re happy either way.
1. Stop creating time around your worries.
2. Work hard, but don't expect success. Focus on the joy, and the growth you gain from the process itself.
Victor Frankl alluded to this in Man’s Search for Meaning. He basically says you should work on success, but forget about success.
But this doesn’t mean you should sleep all day and success will come upon you. No, work hard. Cultivate a sense of pleasure from working in and of itself.