PRACTISING

THE POWER
OF NOW
BY ECHART TOLLE
 “ PREAMBLE

THE BEGINNING OF FREEDOM

The beginning of freedom is the realisation that you are not the thinker

The moment you start watching the thinker, a higher level of consciousness becomes activated. You begin to
”
realise a vast realm of intelligence beyond thoughts and thought is only a tiny aspect of that intelligence.

You also realise that all things that truly matter – beauty, love, creativity, joy , inner peace arise from beyond the
mind. You begin to awaken and realisation dawns:

The present moment is universal and timeless. You cannot see it with your eyes. Cannot hold it in your hands.
Cannot smell it. Cannot hear it. Cannot taste it. Also cannot form it in your thoughts. So here it is………..
“ When consciousness is directed outwards, mind and world arise.
When it is directed inwards, it realises its own source and returns
home into the unmanifested.

CHAPTER 1: Myrid forms of life are subject to birth and death. But there is

”
eternal ever present one life. God or Being. It is your very presence
BEING AND and accessible to you as a feeling of your own presence.
You can know it, if your mind is still. When you are present and
ENLIGHTENME attention is fully and intensely in the now.

NT To regain awareness of Being and abide in the state of realisation is

enlightenment. Enlightenment is a state of connectedness with
something immeasurable and indestructible. It is essentially you
and yet it is much greater than you.
It is finding your true nature beyond name and form.
“ Identification with mind creates an opaque screen of concepts,
labels, images words judgments and definitions that block all true
relationships.

CHAPTER 1: It's As if you are possessed and without knowing it and you take the

”
possessing entity to be yourself. The beginning of freedom - The
BEING AND moment you start watching the thinker, a higher level of
consciousness becomes activated.
ENLIGHTENME To free yourself from the mind start listening to the voice in your
head. Listen impartially do not judge. Or condemn.
NT So there is a voice. And here I am listening to it. This ’ I am’
CONTINUED realisation is different from the thought it arises from- beyond your
mind. A new dimension of consciousness has entered.
Add you experience” I” am. There comes a discontinuity in your
mental thought stream.
“
BEING AND With Practice , your sense of
AWARENESS--- stillness and peace will
MEDITATION
deepen-- full joy of being ”
arises. It is deeply satisfying .
Creation of no mind state is
meditation.
“
PRACTICE IN Activities like walking,
driving ,gardening,
washing hands, are means
YOUR ”
to an end. But, focus on
them as an end in itself.
EVERYDAY Free your mind of the
internal involuntary

LIFE dialogues and feel the

inner stillness .
EMOTION
• Emotion arises where body and mind meet. Reflection of your mind in the
body.
• The more identified you are with your thinking, likes dislikes, judgments
interpretations the stronger the emotional energy charge will be on your
body…….weather you felt it or not.
• Eventually it will manifest as a physical problem or symptom.
• So, watch your emotions as you would watch your own thoughts. Allow the
emotion to be there without being controlled by it. You are no longer the
emotion, you are the watcher, the observing presence.
• All that is unconscious in you will be brought out in the light of consciousness.
Make it a habit to ask yourself what's going on, on the inside? But don't
analyse, just watch. Focus attention within, feel the energy of the emotion. Go
deeper into the inner energy field.
• It's your doorway into being BEING.
 THE ORIGIN OF
FEAR
• In most cases, fear is divorced from any concrete and true
immediate danger.
• Unease, worry, anxiety nervousness, tension, dread, phobia are all
forms of fear.
• It is psychological fear and it is always something that might
happen; not of something happening now
• you are here and now, but mind is in future. This creates anxiety
gap which may become a constant companion. You cannot COPE
with the future.
Mind creates Ego which runs your life. The message the mind sends
to the body is I'm in danger and the emotion generated is FEAR.
 • THE FEAR OF LOSS ,failure, being hurt. Ultimately the fear of
death or annihilation.
• For example the compulsive need to be right comes from the fear
of death and wars are being fought and relationships are being
trampled and broken over this.
• The moment you disidentify from your mind / ego there will be no
THE ORIGIN OF aggression or defensiveness while stating what you feel or think.

FEAR • Your sense of self comes from a deeper and truer place within,
not mind.

CONTINUED • In the light of consciousness, the unconscious patterns will quickly

dissolve.
• The pure power is within and available now.
• If you No longer want to create pain or suffering for yourself and
others stop projecting into the future and
• ACCEPT THE NOW.
THE PRESENT MOMENT
• Realise deeply the present movement is all you ever have.
• Make it primary focus of your life. Pay brief visits to the past and
future only to deal with practical aspects of your life and
situations .
• Say yes to this moment. End the delusion of time:
• To be identified with mind is to be trapped in the compulsion to
live in past or future.
• Let's take a look at Memory AND Anticipation:
• Past gives us an identity and future holds promise of salvation.
Both are illusions.
• The NOW is the most precious thing available. Don't miss it. Life is
now. It is your only point of access Into the timeless and formless
realm of BEING.
 ENTERING THE NOW
• Everything that ever happened or will happen will be in the NOW. So feel alive, radiate energy and
feel the being BEING.
• Practice to withdraw attention from past and future whenever they are not needed . Step out of
time dimension as much as possible.
• Through self observation more presence comes into life automatically.
• It is the witnessing presence. Be interested in your reactions to the situation or person that causes
you to react.
• Watch the thought, feel the emotion, observe the reaction. Don't judge or make a problem out of
this. This still observing presence is behind and beyond your mind.
• Identification with mind feeds it more energy. Observing it, withdraws energy from it
ENTERING THE
NOW
CONTINUED

• The withdrawn energy turns into

presence. Simply choose to step
out of the time dimension trap.
And move deeply into the now.
• So when you do use your mind it
will be sharper more focused.
• Continue to use clock time but be
free of psychological time.
LETTING GO OF PSYCOLOGICAL TIME
• If you set a goal and work towards it you are using clock time.
• If you then become excessively focused on the results or goals then NOW becomes a
stepping stone. Clock time turns to PSYCOLOGICAL time. You are no longer aware of the
beauty and miracles of life unfolding around you full
• LIFE loses its vibrancy, freshness, sense of wonder. Old patterns of thought, emotion,
behaviour ,reaction , desire are acted out in endless repeat performances. Mind creates an
obsession with the future to escape from unsatisfactory present. But it is the quality of your
present consciousness that creates your future , so the only effective change can occur and
where past can be dissolved is NOW
• There is no salvation in time. You cannot be simply free in future.
• Presence is the key to freedom… so you can only be free now .
FINDING LIFE UNDER YOUR
LIFE SITUATION
• Forget about your life situation for a while and
pay attention to life. Life situation exists in time
and it is mind stuff
• life is now and life is real.
• Narrow your life down to this moment now NOW
find out what is your problem at this moment.
Not tomorrow or in 10 minutes.
• Do you have a problem now?
FINDING LIFE UNDER LIFE SITUATION
CONTINUED
• Use your senses. Look, do not interpret. See the lights, shapes, colours, textures. Be aware of
things. Be aware of the space that allows everything to be.
• See the rhythm of your breathing . Feel the life energy inside the body. Allow everything to be
within and without. Move deeply into the now. Awaken out of the dream of time into now.
• All problems are illusions of mind. A situation needs to be dealt with or accepted. Why make
it into a problem?
• Problems create pain. All it takes is a simple choice. I will create no more pain. No more
problems.
• If there is a situation that has to be dealt with---Do it now. Your actions will be clear and
incisive. An intuitive response not a reaction from past conditioning.
THE JOY OF BEING
• Ask yourself is there joy, ease and lightness in what I am doing? It doesn't necessarily mean that you
have to change what you are doing. How is more important than what. See if you can give more
attention to doing rather than to the result. See if you fully accept the present moment because you
can't give full attention to present moment and at the same time resist it.
• Soon as you honour the present moment, all unhappiness and struggles dissolve. A sense of quality ,
care and love permeates.
• Do not be concerned with the fruits of your actions.
• Don't look to future for fulfillment or salvation. So you are not attached to results. Failure or success
will not change your inner state of being. You have found life under your life situation
• you may indeed become wealthy and knowledgeable and successful etc in your life journey in future
but you are complete and whole now, as it is.
TIMELESS STATE OF CONSIOUSNESS
• Even if you attain it for a few seconds its a great success.
• If you realise that you had lost the now, you can spend more clock time in the now . If you lose
the now, return to it again and again. Eventually presence becomes your predominant state.
• TO DISSOLVE UNCONSCIOUSNESS: understand as below.
• Darkness cannot survive in the presence of light.
• THOUGHTS relating to judgments, discontent, mental projections take you away from the now.
• EMOTIONS UNEASE, tension, boredom, nervousness are all aspects of the mind in its habitual
state of resistance.
• All this dissolves when you shine the light of consciousness to it.
HABIT TO MONITOR YOUR MENTAL AND
EMOTIONAL STATE

• Am I at ease at this moment? This is a good question to ask yourself

frequently.
• Or you could ask what's going on inside me at this moment?
• Get the inside right and outside will fall in place. Primary reality is within
secondary reality is without.
• With practice your power of self observation and monitoring your inner state
will sharpen.
WHEREVER YOU ARE,BE THERE TOTALLY

• Stress is caused by being here but wanting to be there. Or being in present

but reliving the past or wanting to be in the future.
• Are your thought processes creating guilt, pride, resentment, anger, regret,
self pity etc?
• If so, DIE to the past every moment.
• Refer to it only when it is absolutely relevant to the present. Feel power and
fullness of this moment. Feel your presence.
• Stop the health and life corroding insanity simply by being in the now.
BE AWARE OF YOUR BREATHING

• Focus on air flow and inner energy field.

• You can always cope with now. The answers, the strength, the right action or
resources will be there when needed not before not after
• Give up waiting as a state of mind.
• Just be and enjoy being. If you are present, there is never any need to wait for
anything
• nothing of value is lost and yet you are truly yourself
THE PAST CANNOT SURVIVE IN YOUR
PRESENCE
• The future cannot free you of the past. Only the present can free you of the
past. More time cannot free you of time. Give attention to your behaviour
reactions, moods, thoughts, emotions, fears and desires as they occur in the
present.
• Watch them non judgementally. Past will dissolve through the power of your
presence.
• Beauty arises in the stillness of your presence.
• Presence makes you aware of the beauty, the majesty the sacredness of
nature. Your baggage of problems of past and future knowledge etc has to be
set aside---- total presence is required.
BEYOND THE BEAUTY OF EXTERNAL
FORMS
• Whenever and wherever there is beauty the inner essence shines through and reveals itself
when you are present.
• That essence and your presence could be one and the same?
• Would it even be there without your presence? Go inside and find out for yourself.
• Through you consciousness is awakening from its dream of identification with form and
withdrawing from it.
• Stay present in everyday life.
• Body awareness keeps you present. It anchors you in the now. The body as we see and know
it is barely the outer shell . The invisible inner body is the animating presence within you. And
makes aware that we are beyond outer form.
• To become conscious of being you need to reclaim consciousness from the mind.
CONNECTING WITH INNER BODY

• Feel the invisible subtle energy field that pervades the

entire body and gives vibrant life to every organ and cell.
• Keep focusing on the feeling of your inner body for a few
moments. Do not start to think about it. Feel it
MEDITATION TO GO DEEP INSIDE
• Relax your body. Close your eyes. Take a few deep breaths. Feel the breath in lower abdomen. See
IT contract and expand with each breath . Become aware of entire energy field. Observe the light
permeating the entire energy field all over the body. Enjoy the sense of presence of yhe All
encompassing sense of presence or BEINGNESS without boundaries.
• Merge with energy field. No duality remains between observer and observed. Stay in this realm of
pure being for as long as comfortable. Then become aware of physical body, breathing, senses.
• Open your eyes and look at your surroundings in a meditative way while continuing to feel the
inner body
• When consciousness is directed inwards it realises own source and returns home to
unmanifested. The invisible source of all beings, the being within all beings. A realm of stillness
and peace joy and intense aliveness. It constitutes your very essence.
AS YOU GO ABOUT LIFE
• Don't give 100% attention to external world and mind . Keep some within . Feel the connectedness,
the peace, the stillness. You are a bridge between unmanifested and manifested This connection with
the source is enlightenment.
• Have deep roots. Feel connected to your inner body at all times. More the connection higher the
inner energy. Low negativity cannot affect you. Thoughts, emotions fears and desires will still be
there but cannot enslaven you .
• Examine where your attention is.
• As you are listening to me that is the focus of your attention. You are also aware of surroundings.
There may also be some mind or mental activity going on.
• Still, see if you can be in touch with your inner body self at the same time. Feel the whole Body from
within as a single field of energy. Let this be your practice in the days and weeks to come.
IMMUNE SYSTEM STRENGTHENING

Before sleeping or on waking up , do the following.

Close your eyes. Life flat on your back. Focus your attention on
different parts of your body, Feel the life energy in each part , for 15
seconds or so on each part. Then let your attention run through
entire body like waves. Then, feel the entire body as a single field of
energy. Be intensely present. Present in each cell of the body
CREATIVE USE OF MIND
• When an answer, a solution, or creative idea is needed then stop thinking. Focus on inner
energy field. Be aware of stillness. Then resume thinking. It will be fresh and creative. In any
thought activity, Do this alternatively every few minutes. Think and listen with your whole
body.
• Let the breath take you into the body. Conscious breathing will gradually put you in touch
with your inner body and self.
• Follow breath with your attention. Feel abdomen expand and contract. See yourself
surrounded by bright luminous light. Breathing that light. Feel the luminosity over your entire
body.
• Gradually focus more on the feeling---- don't get attached to any visual image. You are now in
the body. You have accessed the POWER OF NOW .