This book, and its author, Eckhart Tolle, have changed my life for the better! (It's going to be hard to keep this review short.)
I started reading this book after I went through a very tough time in my life. In late 2018, I was introduced to a kind of yoga practice. The first step in the practice is to finish an online course and practice a few stretching exercises, basic breathing exercises and chanting. It probably works fine for most people, but in my case, it messed me up big time! I started having trouble controlling my energies, lost sleep (just sleeping 2 or 3 hours a night) and was working like crazy at job... Then I went manic. Though I wanted to stop the yoga practice, I couldn't. It was like a drug at that time! I started talking too much at home and work. People started getting scared of me, since I was pointing out things from their lives that they were themselves only peripherally aware of. I eventually lost my job and almost lost my family too! It took me a few months to realize what had just happened. After that manic phase, I went into severe depression. I had no job, a very strained relationship with my wife, and was blaming myself incessantly. I also stopped the yoga practice around this time. A few months later, when I realized I couldn't handle it myself, with the help and support of my wife, I went to a psychiatrist... and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder...
(I now know through this book that all illnesses are just temporary situations to deal with. I have no identity with the situation. The reason I am mentioning the label here is to help others who might have gotten this label, or other such labels. Right now I am on medication (200 mg daily of a mood stabilizer, called lamotrigine). I see that it helps me, for now. But I don't buy my psychiatrist's argument that I have to carry that label for the rest of my life. I was doing just fine for 40 years before the yoga practice... and the situation might change in the future. For now, I am going along with the recommended plan since it is working well and I accept it totally.)
The only things that pulled me out of that deep pit was total faith in a Guru (who is not living in His body anymore) and probably, the medicine too. At that time, I had to totally lean on faith, since I had no strength myself. The ego had gotten such a heavy beating that it became extremely scared and depressed. Every moment was torturous and I could do nothing about it. I wanted to commit suicide, but having been raised with strong Hindu spiritual teachings, I knew that suicide would only temporarily postpone the inevitable, and that I would take another life and face the exact same situation. (I don't know if that is true or not; it at least prevented me from committing suicide.)
This book was referred to me in December of 2018 (when I was in full blown mania) by someone whom I met at a bookstore. I knew about the book, but had never read it. The next day, I found a used copy of "The New Earth" by Eckhart for $3 in a used book store. I bought it, but couldn't read it since I didn't have any concentration. The moment I read one sentence, my mind took off and I could see where Eckhart was going... (At that time, my mind was telling me there was nothing I didn't know.)
Only in November of 2019, after I went through a full cycle of mania and depression, and was slowly recovering, I borrowed a copy of "The Power of Now" from the local library and started reading it.
The very first practice of "watching the thinker" was a revelation... Especially the statement Eckhart made about not judging the thoughts and just watching the mind... I was mostly aware of what was going on in my mind, but I was criticizing the mind the moment it produced what I judged as a "wrong" thought. This created a lot of suffering. It was a huge relief to me that all I need is to just watch it and be the witnessing Presence.
Later, Eckhart talked about "watching the inner body" to take attention away from the mind when it's not needed. This helped me during my job interviews. I had always felt anxious about job interviews... This practice really helped me through that challenge. (I did fine in the interviews and usually got good offers, but the anxiety was so much that my palms and feet would always sweat.)
The book doesn't get into the practical aspects until much later, but its message is very clear here. Separate out life situations from life itself, and deal with situations in a practical manner, doing what you can, one step at a time. And if there are things that you want to change, there are only 3 sane options: 1. walk out if you can, 2. take steps to change it, focusing on what you can do now, or 3. if neither of the above two are possible, accept the situation totally, even if only temporarily. Acceptance itself is a doorway to peace... These teachings are helping me every single time my mind starts to complain or blame.
The biggest lesson I learned is to use the mind only when it is necessary, and not follow every single thought that occurs in my mind. The exercise of awareness is the toughest one I have ever done in my life!
I still experience mood swings. Unfulfilled desires from the past with respect to my profession keep springing up. (The mind's imagination here is very strong.) But I know, right now, I have to just live a regular life, as a householder, be with my family and continue my current job. My mind isn't stable enough for other pursuits now, since it's constantly changing, going in circles - one day it wants to go back to graduate school, get a PhD and become a professor, next day it wants to go to a tropical island and work as a waiter (getting away from all work that requires my brain), another day it says life is wonderful as it is and how much money I would lose if I went elsewhere... With Eckhart's help, I now know that all these are just narratives of the mind. I know what's practical for my life now and what I need to be doing every hour. Just focusing on that is enough. (Let the morrow take care of itself.)
Like Eckhart recommends, I am using my situation as a strong motivation to practice Presence. In my case, the situation is not external; it is extremely close to me, since it is my own mind! The suffering I experience when the mind takes me away from the Now is too much to bear. I have no choice now but to practice Presence.
My current practice is to just keep my attention on what I should be doing this moment, and keep checking where my attention is. If my attention has gone astray, I don't condemn myself; I just bring it back to the Now. I find that my job keeps me sufficiently present, but at other times, when mind is not needed, I need to practice this consciously. Due to the force of habit, I frequently fall trap to following useless thoughts, but I am slowly breaking out of that bad habit. I am becoming more aware of my internal state. I also engage myself in helping my son with school work, reading, doing stock investing, writing, spending some time on Facebook, and watching TV shows and movies occasionally. Whatever keeps my mind engaged, or keeps my attention in the present, are all working just fine.
Along with this book, Eckhart's videos on YouTube have also brought my attention back to the teaching. The message is the same, but every time I hear it, it's fresh!
I conclude with the Zen statement from the book: "What, at this moment, is lacking?"
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