48 pages • 1 hour read
Eckhart TolleThe Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1997A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 3-4Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 3 Summary: “Moving Deeply into the Now”
Tolle begins Chapter 3 by telling readers not to try to intellectually investigate the mind to prime themselves for enlightenment because studying the mind “won’t take [them] beyond the mind” (47). Tolle warns that the ego enjoys over-analysis, which turns common dysfunctions into “a complex personal problem” that it can use to support its identity (47). He advises the reader to stop valuing the past and the future, which he calls “illusions,” and instead become deeply invested in the present moment (49). One way some people engage with the Now is by practicing extreme sports such as rock climbing or car racing that allow them to intensely experience the present moment. Tolle claims that many religious texts, including those from Sufism, Christianity, and Zen Buddhism, encourage the reader to live in the Now rather than remembering the past or worrying about the present.
Tolle makes a clear distinction between the mind and Being, writing that the mind can only know “facts or information,” while the Being can achieve “a knowing of which the mind knows nothing” (54). Being can be accessed only in the Now, which means overcoming “resistance” to or “denial” of the present moment (54). Tolle calls both the anticipation of an idealized future and the worry about a negative future equally “illusory” (54). He reiterates that observing one’s own thoughts is the key out of these illusions, writing, “Whenever you are able to observe your own mind, you are no longer trapped in it” (55). This is particularly important during highly emotional events when people are most likely to highly identify with the mind’s desire to attack or defend with negative emotions.
Tolle distinguishes between what he calls “clock time” and “psychological time”: Clock time helps people function in the world by creating appointments, goal-setting, and making good predictions about how they need to behave. Crucially, any lessons learned, as well as any work needed to achieve future goals, should be applied in the Now. In contrast, psychological time involves dwelling on past mistakes and identifying with them or worrying about the future, meaning that “life’s journey is no longer an adventure, just an obsessive need to arrive, to attain, to ‘make it’” (57). According to Tolle, extreme examples of psychological time include nationalism and religious extremism, which preach that an ideal future can be obtained through extreme acts in the present, including murder and torture. He references communist regimes that tried to create ideal societies through violence.
Tolle claims that the future is created by the present state of mind, which can be transformed only in the present. As a result, he argues that the “only place where true change can occur” is in the present (60). Tolle answers a series of questions about coping with unhappiness in life. He calls problems “mind-made” and encourages unhappy people to switch their awareness to the present moment (64). He argues that people who are unhappy do not have “problems”: They have “situations to be dealt with now” or things to accept as an unchangeable part of the present moment (64). Indeed, even “true emergencies” are not really problems to Tolle, since the human mind does not have time to make them a problem; instead, the subconscious formulates a quick response to survive (65).
Tolle cautions readers against becoming emotionally attached to the results of their actions or “compulsively striving” for success since this only takes them farther from the Joy of the present moment (68). He claims that it is possible to become enlightened and still work toward goals and attain new things, but enlightened people do not expect these accomplishments to make them feel complete.
Chapter 4 Summary: “Mind Strategies for Avoiding the Now”
Tolle addresses people’s skepticism about living in the Now in a world in which time management is essential. He claims that it is possible to function in day-to-day life while living in the Now, and “to be free of time is to be free of the psychological need of past for [one’s] identity and future for [one’s] fulfillment” (71). Living in the Now can emerge from intense suffering in an abrupt and dramatic way, as it did for Tolle, but he believes that most people “have to work at it” (72). He claims that most people only ever experience “different levels of unconsciousness” but never consciousness, or the Now (72). He laments that many people use numbing activities such as drinking, drugs, or even shopping to stop the “unease” that comes from living with the egoic mind in control (73). Tolle claims acts of violence could not exist without the state of unconsciousness, and violent acts help generate a “negative collective energy field” (74).
Tolle claims that the best way for people to understand the quality of their consciousness is to observe how they respond to challenge. Generally, unconscious people respond to challenge with a negative reaction that is based on their fearfulness. He writes that while all people are prone to unconscious thinking, it is “unprecedentedly acute” in Western society and is fueling “dehumanized industrial civilization” (75). Tolle reiterates the need for people to observe their own thoughts and feelings and question whether they are resisting the present.
Tolle claims that resisting the present creates a sort of inner “pollution” that contaminates both the self and those with whom one interacts. Whether someone else is doing something the other person dislikes or other people are behaving badly is irrelevant; people should never turn “the present moment into an enemy” (78). He claims that negativity only generates more unhappiness, which is contagious. Indeed, Tolle writes that humans are a “dangerously insane and very sick species” and references the over 100 million people who were killed in conflicts in the 20th century alone as evidence of this sickness (80).
Tolle provides another example of “ordinary unconsciousness”: complaining (82). He argues that complaining about one’s situation creates an identity as a victim. Instead of complaining, Tolle instructs the reader to choose one of three routes: leave the situation; take action to change it; or accept it the way it is. He advises the reader to act out of insight, not negative feelings. Next, Tolle addresses stress, attributing it to a kind of “inner split” caused by living in the future, always wanting to arrive at a certain destination (83). Similarly, people should not be preoccupied with the past unless it helps them navigate the present moment. He laments that many people are always waiting for something external to bring them happiness, whether it is a vacation, a new relationship, or a job, and that this state can last a whole lifetime. He urges the reader, “Give up waiting as a state of mind” (87).
Tolle argues that each person has an “outer purpose”—such as certain life accomplishments—and an “inner purpose”—or quality of consciousness—in life (88). If people are wildly successful in their “outer purpose” but lose their inner journey, they may “gain the world but lose [their] soul,” as Jesus said (89). Tolle concludes the chapter by returning to his argument that attention to the present moment is key to consciousness and that it is unnecessary to analyze past patterns and behavior since current feelings are “the past in you” (92). Tolle reiterates that only being present can “dissolve the past” (92).
Chapters 3-4 Analysis
In these passages, Tolle tries to illuminate the different states of mind people find themselves in that resist the present moment. In doing so, he clarifies what he means by resisting the Now and provides examples so readers can recognize themselves in his discussions. For instance, Tolle claims that one common frame of mind is simply “waiting.” He laments, “It is not uncommon for people to spend their whole life waiting to start living” (85). By explaining that this problem is caused by too much “future” and not enough present, he shows that habitually thinking ahead can prevent a person from ever fully appreciating and experiencing the present moment. Tolle connects this phenomenon to his broader argument that time is merely an “illusion.” He uses an analogy about the sun and moon to illustrate this, writing, “Past and future obviously have no reality of their own. Just as the moon has no light of its own, but can only reflect the light of the sun, so are past and future only pale reflections of the light, power, and reality of the eternal present” (50). These examples seek to persuade the reader that thinking about the past or future too much could be detrimental to their happiness.
In Chapters 3 and 4, Tolle continues to reference major spiritual traditions that he feels share his opinions on time and the mind. He credits Christianity, Zen Buddhism, and Sufism with trying to teach these same insights to followers of many centuries. For example, in the Christian scriptures, there are several quotations that urge the reader not to feel anxious about the future but to live in the present. Tolle refers to the passage, “Take no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself” (51). He also quotes Jesus as asking, “Why are you anxious […] Can an anxious thought add a day to your life?” (75). Tolle expresses his disappointment that people do not seem to try to live out the teachings in these scriptures or understand their “radical nature” (51). Similarly, he argues that Zen Buddhism also urges people to leave the mind behind and live in the Now. He references Master Rinzai’s rhetorical question, “What, in this moment, is lacking?” (52); his question is designed to draw the listener out of thought and into the present. Tolle also credits Sufism with similar revelations since Sufis say that they are “the son of time present” (52). Tolle quotes Rumi as saying, “Past and future veil God from our sight; burn up both of them with fire” (52). By referencing a variety of spiritual traditions, Tolle gives credit to others for teaching these valuable ideas before he learned of them. He also creates a sense of unity and connection between world cultures and religions by claiming that they share many of the same revelations.
In these chapters, Tolle introduces a theme of how individuals inevitably affect collective groups around them, whether positively or negatively. He expands the scope of his analysis from individual people to all of humanity, claiming that if people continue to think in an “unconscious” way, they are a danger to themselves and the rest of the planet. He specifically writes that until humans clear the “inner psychic pollution” of compulsive thinking and negativity, they will continue to literally pollute the earth (78). This big-picture thinking helps Tolle raise the stakes and express what he believes to be the consequences of unconsciousness.
As Tolle builds his argument, it becomes clear that some of his claims run counter to modern approaches to therapy. Since Tolle believes that the key to enlightenment is to live in the present, he encourages people not to dwell on their past actions and experiences. By arguing that improving one’s life and behavior does not require analysis of the past, Tolle makes a significant departure from modern psychology’s emphasis on excavating, analyzing, and resolving one’s memories and traumatic experiences. He justifies his claim by writing that any emotions or physical sensations being experienced in the present already tell people something about the past, as it lives within them in the form of the pain-body. Furthermore, Tolle writes that analysis—a tool of the mind—can tell a person more about the mind but can never take them “beyond” it and into “no-mind,” or enlightenment (47). This puts Tolle at odds with many traditional approaches to psychology and therapy and leaves the reader with the need to critically evaluate conflicting approaches to mental or spiritual health.
