I was a skeptic at first glance. It was only moments after i read about "feeling my inner-body" that i was feeling my pillow and sleeping soundly (and this is no small feat.)
However, the further i got into the book, the more i enjoyed it.
The self-help author, highlights the benefits of life spent "in the moment" and gives concrete exercises to help 'transcend our ego-based consciousness'. This he argues, is the key to personal happiness and fulfillment.
Illuminating- it gives something to aspire to (although i generally fall into the traps he advises against.) Bring a pen (for notes in the margins) with an open mind. Particularly interesting were his notes on parenting.
I listed my favorite passages.... in the right time and place they are gentle reminders of what is important to live well.
Author: Eckhart Tolle
Publisher: Plume
Copyright: 2006
Genre: Self-help
Pages: 309
Date Read- 2/28 - 3/29/08
_NOTABLE BOOK QUOTES__________________________________
'p.41
'How do you know that this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at this moment.'
p.43
'Most people don't realize until they are on their deathbed and everything external falls away that NO THING ever had anything to do with who they are... that the whole concept of ownership stands revealed as ultimately meaningless.'
p.90
'What really matters is not what function you fulfill in this world, but whether you identify with your function to such an extent that it takes you over and becomes the role you play.
When you are completely identified with a role, you confuse a pattern of behavior with who you are, and you take yourself very seriously... Authentic human interaction becomes impossible when you lose yourself in a role.'
p. 97 (on parenthood)
'The fact that you temporarily know more or that you are bigger does not mean the child is not your equal.'
p.101
'If you have young children, give them help, guidance and protection to the best of your ability, but even more important, give them space- space to be.'
p. 107- 109
'Those few people who don't project a mond-made image, but function from the deeper core of their Being, those who do not attempt to appear more than they are but are simply themselves, stand out as remarkable and are the only ones who truly make a difference in the world.'
'You are more powerful, more effective, when you are completely yourself... Just stop adding unnecessary baggage to who you already are.'
'In form, you are, and will always be inferior to some, superior to others. In essence, you are neither inferior nor superior to anyone. True self-esteem and true humility arise out of that realization. In the eyes of the ego, self-esteem and humility are contradictory. In truth, they are one and the same.'
p. 115
'How to be at peace now? By making peace with the present moment. The present moment is the field on which the game of life happens.
There are three words that convey the secret of the art of living, the secret of all success and happiness: One With Life. Being one with life is being one with Now. You hen realize that you don't live life, but life lives you.
p.123
'The more you include others, the more smoothly things flow and the more easily things come to you.'
p. 185
GNOTHI SEAUTON- Know Thyself (inscribed above the entrance to the temple of Apollo at Delphi)
p.224
'This too, Will Pass'
' Good comes through inner nonresistance to events...
using this statement can restore awareness of that dimension to you.'
Another pointer to the truth in you is contained in the statement: 'I am never upset for the reason i think.'
p. 232
' A short attention span makes all your perceptions and relationships shallow and unsatisfying. Whatever you do, whatever action you perform in that state, lacks quality, because quality requires attention.'
p.234-236
ANANDA (India) - the bliss of being
'To be aware of little, quiet things... you need to be quiet inside. A high degree of alertness is required. Be still. Look. Listen. Be present.
p.239
'All creativity comes out of inner spaciousness. Once the creation has happened and something has come into form, you have to be vigilant so that the notion of "me" or "mine" does not arise. If you take credit for what you have accomplished, the ego has returned, and the spaciousness has become obscured.'
'Some people feel more alive when they travel and visit unfamiliar places or foreign countries because at those times sense perception -experiencing- takes up more of their consciousness thank thinking. They become more present.'
p.244
'Be aware of your breathing. One conscious breath is enough to make some space where once before there was the uninterrupted succession of one thought after the other. One conscious breath (two or three would be even better) taken many times a day, is an excellent way of bringing space into your life.
The German word for breathing- ATMEN- is derived from the ancient Indian (sanskirt) word ATMAN, meaning the indwelling spirit or God within.
The fact that breath has no form is one of the reasons why breath awareness is an extremely effective way of bringing space into your life, of generating consciousness.'
p. 266
'Everybody's life really consists of small things. Greatness is a mental abstraction and a favorite fantasy of the ego. The paradox is that the foundation for greatness is honoring the small things of the present moment instead of pursuing the idea of greatness.'
p.294
'Not WHAT you do, but HOW you do what you do determines whether you are fulfilling your destiny. And how you do what you do is determined by your state of consciousness.
The modalities of awakened doing are acceptance, enjoyment and enthusiasm... Each one represents a certain vibrational frequency of consciousness. You need to be vigilant to make sure that one of them operates whenever you are engaged at doing anything at all- from the most simple task to the most complex.