THE POWER TO CHOOSE - раздел Образование, Acclaim for THE POWER OF NOW
What About All Those People Who, It Seems, Actually Want To S...
What about all those people who, it seems, actually want to suffer? I
have a friend whose partner is physically abusive toward her, and her
previous relationship was of a similar kind. Why does she choose such
men, and why is she refusing to get out of that situation now? Why do
so many people actually choose pain?
I know that the word choose is a favorite New Age term, but it isn’t
entirely accurate in this context. It is misleading to say that somebody
“chose” a dysfunctional relationship or any other negative situation in
his or her life. Choice implies consciousness — a high degree of
consciousness. Without it, you have no choice. Choice begins the
moment you disidentify from the mind and its conditioned patterns,
the moment you become present. Until you reach that point, you are
unconscious, spiritually speaking. This means that you are compelled
to think, feel, and act in certain ways according to the conditioning of
your mind. That is why Jesus said: “Forgive them, for they know not
what they do.” This is not related to intelligence in the conventional
sense of the word. I have met many highly intelligent and educated
people who were also completely unconscious, which is to say
completely identified with their mind. In fact, if mental development
and increased knowledge are not counterbalanced by a corresponding
growth in consciousness, the potential for unhappiness and disaster is
very great.
Your friend is stuck in a relationship with an abusive partner, and not
for the first time. Why? No choice. The mind, conditioned as it is by
the past, always seeks to re-create what it knows and is familiar with.
Even if it is painful, at least it is familiar. The mind always adheres to
the known. The unknown is dangerous because it has no control over
it. That’s why the mind dislikes and ignores the present moment.
Present-moment awareness creates a gap not only in the stream of
mind but also in the past-future continuum. Nothing truly new and
creative can come into this world except through that gap, that clear
space of infinite possibility.
So your friend, being identified with her mind, may be recreating a
pattern learned in the past in which intimacy and abuse are
inseparably linked. Alternatively, she may be acting out a mind
pattern learned in early childhood according to which she is unworthy
and deserves to be punished. It is possible, too, that she lives a large
part of her life through the pain-body, which always seeks more pain
on which to feed. Her partner has his own unconscious patterns,
which complement hers. Of course her situation is self-created, but
who or what is the self that is doing the creating? A mental-emotional
pattern from the past, no more. Why make a self out of it? If you tell
her that she has chosen her condition or situation, you are reinforcing
her state of mind identification. But is her mind pattern who she is? Is
it her self? Is her true identity derived from the past? Show your friend
how to be the observing presence behind her thoughts and her
emotions. Tell her about the pain-body and how to free herself from
it. Teach her the art of inner-body awareness. Demonstrate to her the
meaning of presence. As soon as she is able to access the power of
the Now, and thereby break through her conditioned past, she will
have a choice.
Nobody chooses dysfunction, conflict, pain. Nobody chooses insanity.
They happen because there is not enough presence in you to dissolve
the past, not enough light to dispel the darkness. You are not fully
here. You have not quite woken up yet. In the meantime, the
conditioned mind is running your life.
Similarly, if you are one of the many people who have an issue with
their parents, if you still harbor resentment about something they did
or did not do, then you still believe that they had a choice — that they
could have acted differently. It always looks as if people had a choice,
but that is an illusion. As long as your mind with its conditioned
patterns runs your life, as long as you are your mind, what choice do
you have? None. You are not even there. The mind-identified state is
severely dysfunctional. It is a form of insanity. Almost everyone is
suffering from this illness in varying degrees. The moment you realize
this, there can be no more resentment. How can you resent
someone’s illness? The only appropriate response is compassion.
So that means nobody is responsible for what they do? I don’t like
that idea.
If you are run by your mind, although you have no choice you will still
suffer the consequences of your unconsciousness, and you will create
further suffering. You will bear the burden of fear, conflict, problems,
and pain. The suffering thus created will eventually force you out of
your unconscious state.
What you say about choice also applies to forgiveness, I suppose. You
need to be fully conscious and surrender before you can forgive.
“Forgiveness” is a term that has been in use for two thousand years,
but most people have a very limited view of what it means. You
cannot truly forgive yourself or others as long as you derive your
sense of self from the past. Only through accessing the power of the
Now, which is your own power, can there be true forgiveness. This
renders the past powerless, and you realize deeply that nothing you
ever did or that was ever done to you could touch even in the
slightest the radiant essence of who you are. The whole concept of
forgiveness then becomes unnecessary.
And how do I get to that point of realization?
When you surrender to what is and so become fully present, the past
ceases to have any power. You do not need it anymore. Presence is
the key. The Now is the key.
How will I know when I have surrendered?
When you no longer need to ask the question.
NOTES
1 Arthur Koestler, The Ghost in the Machine (London: Arkana, 1989),
p. 180.
2 Zbigniew K. Brzezinski, The Grand Failure (New York: Charles
Scribner’s Sons, 1989), pp. 239–40.
3 A Course in Miracles (Huntington Station, NY: Foundation for Inner
Peace, 1975), introduction.
4 Ruth L. Sivard, World Military and Social Expenditures 1996, 16th Edition (Washington D.C.: World Priorities, 1996), p. 7.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am deeply thankful to Connie Kellough for her loving support and her
vital part in transforming the manuscript into this book and bringing it
out into the world. It is a joy to work with her.
I extend my gratitude to Corea Ladner and those wonderful people
who have contributed to this book by giving me space, that most
precious of gifts — space to write and space to be. Thank you to
Adrienne Bradley in Vancouver, to Margaret Miller in London and
Angie Francesco in Glastonbury, England, Richard in Menlo Park and
Rennie Frumkin in Sausalito, California.
I am also thankful to Shirley Spaxman and Howard Kellough for their
early review of the manuscript and helpful feedback, as well as to
those individuals who were kind enough to review the manuscript at a
later stage and provide additional input. Thank you to Rose
Dendewich for word-processing the manuscript in her unique cheerful
and professional manner.
Finally, I would like to express my love and gratitude to my mother
and father, without whom this book would not have come into
existence, to my spiritual teachers, and to the greatest guru of all:
life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eckhart Tolle was born in Germany, where he spent the first thirteen
years of his life. After graduating from the University of London, he
was a research scholar and supervisor at Cambridge University. When
he was twenty-nine, a profound spiritual transformation virtually
dissolved his old identity and radically changed the course of his life.
He devoted the next few years to understanding, integrating, and
deepening that transformation, which marked the beginning of an
intense inward journey. Eckhart is not aligned with any particular
religion or tradition. In his teaching, he conveys a simple yet profound
message with the timeless and uncomplicated clarity of the ancient
spiritual masters: there is a way out of suffering and into peace.
Eckhart is currently traveling extensively, taking his teachings and his
presence throughout the world. He has lived in Vancouver, Canada,
since 1996.
For upcoming events, books, and audios and videos of Eckhart’s
seminars, visit his website:
www.EckhartTolle.com
If you enjoyed The Power of Now, we highly recommend the following
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Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain. This pioneering bestseller
and perennial favorite helped launch a new movement in the personal
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by Shakti Gawain. Shakti tackles the importance of listening to our
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acknowledging, working with, and embracing our disowned energies.
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the
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You Can Be Happy No Matter What: Five Principles for Keeping Life in
Perspective by Richard Carlson. Richard Carlson boldly asserts that
being happy is not about solving problems. The secret to happiness is
deceptively simple: Remove the mental barriers to happiness, one’s
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Все темы данного раздела:
A GUIDE TO SPIRITUAL ENLIGHTENMENT
Eckhart Tolle
NAMASTE PUBLISHING
and
NEW WORLD LIBRARY
NOVATO, CALIFORNIA
CHAPTER THREE: Moving Deeply into the Now
Don’t Seek Your Self in the Mind
End the Delusion of Time
Nothing Exists Outside the Now
The Key to the Spiritual Dimension
Accessing the Power of the Now
CHAPTER SIX: The Inner Body
Being Is Your Deepest Self
Look beyond the Words
Finding Your Invisible and Indestructible Reality
Connecting with the Inner Body
Transformation through the Body
About the Author
AUTHOR’S PREFACE TO
THE PAPERBACK EDITION
Six years after it was first published, The Power of Now continues to
play its part in the urgent task of the tr
THE ORIGIN OF THIS BOOK
I have little use for the past and rarely think about it; however, I
would briefly like to tell you how I came to be a spiritual teacher and
how this book came int
THE TRUTH THAT IS WITHIN YOU
This book represents the essence of my work, as far as it can be
conveyed in words, with individuals and small groups of spiritual
seekers during the past ten year
THE GREATEST OBSTACLE TO ENLIGHTENMENT
Enlightenment — what is that?
A beggar had been sitting by the side of a road for over thirty years.
One day a stranger walked by. “Spare some change?” mumbled the
FREEING YOURSELF FROM YOUR MIND
What exactly do you mean by “watching the thinker”?
When someone goes to the doctor and says, “I hear a voice in my
head,” he or she will most likely be sent to a
ENLIGHTENMENT: RISING ABOVE THOUGHT
Isn’t thinking essential in order to survive in this world?
Your mind is an instrument, a tool. It is there to be used for a specific
task, and when the task is co
EMOTION: THE BODY’S REACTION TO YOUR MIND
What about emotions? I get caught up in my emotions more than I do
in my mind.
Mind, in the way I use the word, is not just thought. It includes your
emot
CREATE NO MORE PAIN IN THE PRESENT
Nobody’s life is entirely free of pain and sorrow. Isn’t it a question of
learning to live with them rather than trying to avoid them?
The greater part of human pa
PAST PAIN: DISSOLVING THE PAIN-BODY
As long as you are unable to access the power of the Now, every
emotional pain that you experience leaves behind a residue of pain
that lives on in you. It merges
EGO IDENTIFICATION WITH THE PAIN-BODY
The process that I have just described is profoundly powerful yet
simple. It could be taught to a child, and hopefully one day it will be
one of the first things c
THE ORIGIN OF FEAR
You mentioned fear as being part of our basic underlying emotional
pain. How does fear arise, and why is there so much of it in people’s
lives? And isn’t a certain
THE EGO’S SEARCH FOR WHOLENESS
Another aspect of the emotional pain that is an intrinsic part of the
egoic mind is a deep-seated sense of lack or incompleteness, of not
being whole. In some peop
DON’T SEEK YOUR SELF IN THE MIND
I feel that there is still a great deal I need to learn about the workings
of my mind before I can get anywhere near full consciousness or
spiritual enlightenment.
END THE DELUSION OF TIME
It seems almost impossible to disidentify from the mind. We are all
immersed in it. How do you teach a fish to fly?
Here is the key: End the delusion of time. Time
NOTHING EXISTS OUTSIDE THE NOW
Aren’t past and future just as real, sometimes even more real, than
the present? After all, the past determines who we are, as well as
how we perceive and behave i
THE KEY TO THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSION
In life-threatening emergency situations, the shift in consciousness
from time to presence sometimes happens naturally. The personality
that has a past and a futur
ACCESSING THE POWER OF THE NOW
A moment ago, when you talked about the eternal present and the
unreality of past and future, I found myself looking at that tree
outside the window. I had looked
LETTING GO OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TIME
Learn to use time in the practical aspects of your life — we may call
this “clock time” — but immediately return to present-moment
awareness when those practical m
THE INSANITY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TIME
You will not have any doubt that psychological time is a mental
disease if you look at its collective manifestations. They occur, for
example, in the form of ideol
NEGATIVITY AND SUFFERING HAVE THEIR ROOTS IN TIME
But the belief that the future will be better than the present is not
always an illusion. The present can be dreadful, and things can get
better in the future, and
FINDING THE LIFE UNDERNEATH YOUR LIFE SITUATION
I don’t see how I can be free now. As it happens, I am extremely
unhappy with my life at the moment. This is a fact, and I would be
deluding myself if I tried to c
ALL PROBLEMS ARE ILLUSIONS OF THE MIND
It feels as if a heavy burden has been lifted. A sense of lightness. I
feel clear. . . but my problems are still there waiting for me, aren’t
they? They haven’t be
A QUANTUM LEAP IN THE EVOLUTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS
I have had glimpses of this state of freedom from mind and time that
you describe, but past and future are so overwhelmingly strong that I
cannot keep them out for
THE JOY OF BEING
To alert you that you have allowed yourself to be taken over by
psychological time, you can use a simple criterion. Ask yourself: Is
there joy, ease, and lightness
LOSS OF NOW: THE CORE DELUSION
Even if I completely accept that ultimately time is an illusion, what
difference is that going to make in my life? I still have to live in a
world that is complete
AND DEEP UNCONSCIOUSNESS
What do you mean by different levels of unconsciousness?
As you probably know, in sleep you constantly move between the
phases of dreamless sleep and the dream sta
WHAT ARE THEY SEEKING?
Carl Jung tells in one of his books of a conversation he had with a
Native American chief who pointed out to him that in his perception
most white people have tens
DISSOLVING ORDINARY UNCONSCIOUSNESS
So how can we be free of this affliction?
Make it conscious. Observe the many ways in which unease,
discontent, and tension arise within you through unnecessary
FREEDOM FROM UNHAPPINESS
Do you resent doing what you are doing? It may be your job, or you
may have agreed to do something and are doing it, but part of you
resents and resists it. Are yo
WHEREVER YOU ARE, BE THERE TOTALLY
Can you give some more examples of ordinary unconsciousness?
See if you can catch yourself complaining, in either speech or thought,
about a situation you find you
THE INNER PURPOSE OF YOUR LIFE’S JOURNEY
I can see the truth of what you are saying, but I still think that we
THE PAST CANNOT SURVIVE IN YOUR PRESENCE
You mentioned that thinking or talking about the past unnecessarily is
one of the ways in which we avoid the present. But apart from the
past that we remember and
IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK IT IS
You keep talking about the state of presence as the key. I think I
understand it intellectually, but I don’t know if I have ever truly
experienced it. I wonder — i
BEAUTY ARISES IN THE STILLNESS OF YOUR PRESENCE
What you have just described is something that I occasionally
experience for brief moments when I am alone and surrounded by
nature.
Yes. Zen masters use
REALIZING PURE CONSCIOUSNESS
Is presence the same as Being?
When you become conscious of Being, what is really happening is that
Being becomes conscious of itself. When Being becomes conscious
CHRIST: THE REALITY OF YOUR DIVINE PRESENCE
Don’t get attached to any one word. You can substitute “Christ” for
presence, if that is more meaningful to you. Christ is your God-
essence or the Self, as it is
BEING IS YOUR DEEPEST SELF
You spoke earlier about the importance of having deep roots within or
inhabiting the body. Can you explain what you meant by that?
The body can become a point of a
LOOK BEYOND THE WORDS
I don’t like the word sin. It implies that I am being judged and found
guilty.
I can understand that. Over the centuries, many erroneous views and
interpr
FINDING YOUR INVISIBLE AND INDESTRUCTIBLE REALITY
You said that identification with our physical form is part of the
illusion, so how can the body, the physical form, bring you to a
realization of Being?
CONNECTING WITH THE INNER BODY
Please try it now. You may find it helpful to close your eyes for this
practice. Later on, when “being in the body” has become natural and
easy, this will no longe
TRANSFORMATION THROUGH THE BODY
Why have most religions condemned or denied the body? It seems
that spiritual seekers have always regarded the body as a hindrance
or even as sinful.
Why
SERMON ON THE BODY
What you perceive as a dense physical structure called the body,
which is subject to disease, old age, and death, is not ultimately real
— is not you. It is a misp
HAVE DEEP ROOTS WITHIN
The key is to be in a state of permanent connectedness with your
inner body — to feel it at all times. This will rapidly deepen and
transform your life. The more c
BEFORE YOU ENTER THE BODY, FORGIVE
I felt very uncomfortable when I tried to put my attention on the inner
body. There was a feeling of agitation and some nausea. So I haven’t
been able to experienc
YOUR LINK WITH THE UNMANIFESTED
What is the relationship between presence and the inner body?
Presence is pure consciousness — consciousness that has been
reclaimed from the mind, from the world
SLOWING DOWN THE AGING PROCESS
In the meantime, awareness of the inner body has other benefits in
the physical realm. One of them is a significant slowing down of the
aging of the physical body.
STRENGTHENING THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
Another benefit of this practice in the physical realm is a great
strengthening of the immune system, which occurs when you inhabit
the body. The more consciousnes
LET THE BREATH TAKE YOU INTO THE BODY
At times, when my mind has been very active, it has acquired such
momentum that I find it impossible to take my attention away from it
and feel the inner body. Thi
CREATIVE USE OF MIND
If you need to use your mind for a specific purpose, use it in
conjunction with your inner body. Only if you are able to be conscious
without thought can you use y
THE ART OF LISTENING
When listening to another person, don’t just listen with your mind,
listen with your whole body. Feel the energy field of your inner body
as you listen. That takes
GOING DEEPLY INTO THE BODY
I can feel the energy inside my body, especially in my arms and legs,
but I don’t seem to be able to go more deeply, as you suggested
earlier.
Make it int
THE SOURCE OF CHI
Is the Unmanifested what in the East is called chi, a kind of universal
life energy?
No, it isn’t. The Unmanifested is the source of chi. Chi is the inner
DREAMLESS SLEEP
You take a journey into the Unmanifested every night when you enter
the phase of deep dreamless sleep. You merge with the Source. You
draw from it the vital energy
OTHER PORTALS
The Now can be seen as the main portal. It is an essential aspect of
every other portal, including the inner body. You cannot be in your
body without being intense
SILENCE
Are there any other portals apart from those you just mentioned?
Yes, there are. The Unmanifested is not separate from the
manifested. It pervades this world, but
THE TRUE NATURE OF SPACE AND TIME
Now consider this: If there were nothing but silence, it wouldn’t exist
for you; you wouldn’t know what it is. Only when sound appears does
silence come into being
CONSCIOUS DEATH
Apart from dreamless sleep, which I mentioned already, there is one
other involuntary portal. It opens up briefly at the time of physical
death. Even if you have m
ENTER THE NOW FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE
I always thought that true enlightenment is not possible except
through love in a relationship between a man and a woman. Isn’t this
what makes us whole again? How
LOVE/HATE RELATIONSHIPS
Unless and until you access the consciousness frequency of presence,
all relationships, and particularly intimate relationships, are deeply
flawed and ultimately d
ADDICTION AND THE SEARCH FOR WHOLENESS
Why should we become addicted to another person?
The reason why the romantic love relationship is such an intense and
universally sought-after experience is that i
FROM ADDICTIVE TO ENLIGHTENED RELATIONSHIPS
Can we change an addictive relationship into a true one?
Yes. Being present and intensifying your presence by taking your
attention ever more deeply into the Now:
RELATIONSHIPS AS SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
As the egoic mode of consciousness and all the social, political, and
economic structures that it created enter the final stage of collapse,
the relationships betw
WHY WOMEN ARE CLOSER TO ENLIGHTENMENT
Are the obstacles to enlightenment the same for a man as for a
woman?
Yes, but the emphasis is different. Generally speaking, it is easier for
a woman to
DISSOLVING THE COLLECTIVE FEMALE PAIN-BODY
Why is the pain-body more of an obstacle for women?
The pain-body usually has a collective as well as a personal aspect.
The personal aspect is the accumulated res
GIVE UP THE RELATIONSHIP WITH YOURSELF
When one is fully conscious, would one still have a need for a
relationship? Would a man still feel drawn to a woman? Would a
woman still feel incomplete without a
THE HIGHER GOOD BEYOND GOOD AND BAD
Is there a difference between happiness and inner peace?
Yes. Happiness depends on conditions being perceived as positive;
inner peace does not.
Is it not
THE END OF YOUR LIFE DRAMA
In that state of acceptance and inner peace, even though you may not
call it “bad,” can anything still come into your life that would be called
“bad” from a perspe
IMPERMANENCE AND THE CYCLES OF LIFE
However, as long as you are in the physical dimension and linked to
the collective human psyche, physical pain — although rare — is still
possible. This is not to
USING AND RELINQUISHING NEGATIVITY
All inner resistance is experienced as negativity in one form or
another. All negativity is resistance. In this context, the two words are
almost synonymous. Negat
THE NATURE OF COMPASSION
Having gone beyond the mind-made opposites, you become like a
deep lake. The outer situation of your life and whatever happens
there is the surface of the lake. So
TOWARD A DIFFERENT ORDER OF REALITY
I don’t agree that the body needs to die. I am convinced that we can
achieve physical immortality. We believe in death and that’s why the
body dies.
The b
ACCEPTANCE OF THE NOW
You mentioned “surrender” a few times. I don’t like that idea. It
sounds somewhat fatalistic. If we always accept the way things are,
we are not going to make any
FROM MIND ENERGY TO SPIRITUAL ENERGY
Letting go of resistance is easier said than done. I still don’t see
clearly how to let go. If you say it is by surrendering, the question
remains: “How?”
SURRENDER IN PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
What about people who want to use me, manipulate or control me?
Am I to surrender to them?
They are cut off from Being, so they unconsciously attempt to get
TRANSFORMING ILLNESS INTO ENLIGHTENMENT
If someone is seriously ill and completely accepts their condition and
surrenders to the illness, would they not have given up their will to
get back to health? Th
WHEN DISASTER STRIKES
As far as the still unconscious majority of the population is concerned,
only a critical limit-situation has the potential to crack the hard shell
of the ego and f
TRANSFORMING SUFFERING INTO PEACE
I read about a stoic philosopher in ancient Greece who, when he was
told that his son had died in an accident, replied, “I knew he was not
immortal.” Is that surre
THE WAY OF THE CROSS
There are many accounts of people who say they have found God
through their deep suffering, and there is the Christian expression
“the way of the cross,” which I s
Document Outline
Author’s Preface to the Paperback Edition Introduction The Origin of This Book The Truth That Is Within You CHAPTER ONE : You Are Not Your Mind The Greatest Obstacle to Enlightenment Freeing Yourse
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