The major lessons I’ve learned from reading The Power of Now over 50 times. (part 1)
My copy of The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
One of my best friends is a book: The Power of Now
I’ve been reading The Power of Now (book by Eckhart Tolle) on an almost daily basis for the 12th year on a row now. An estimated guess is I’ve read it for about 50 times. Most days I read a couple of pages or I listen to him. I love this book as a friend. It’s been with me through so many tough times and challenging situations. Losing loved ones. A decade of Lyme disease. In which I had to retrain myself to sit up and later to walk. Daily physical pain for those 10 years. Every day this book, Eckhart’s words, gave me strength, peace, comfort, kindness and love. The Power of Now saved my soul and is one of my best closest friends. I know it’s weird to say about a book. But we just click and yeah I’m kinda obsessed :D!
And yet it was actually not love at first sight. The first time I read it, funnily enough I found it… boring. It didn’t click at all. I had first read A New Earth (also from Eckhart) which broke me wide open and I thought I have to read more of him. And so I did. I was so surprised that The Power of Now didn’t connect with me at all! After 8 months or so I felt to read it again. And this time I was ready to hear what was being said. And I clicked with it in a massive deep way.
Since falling for this book I haven’t stopped falling. Since, this book is on a constant rotation. I finish and start again and start again. It’s literally on a loop. And every time I learn something new or deeper. Even having read it over 50 times, I still have moments that I exclaim this was not in the book all this time right?! I needed to know this! Where was this?! It was there all along waiting for me to be ready to see it , in the way I needed to see it.
I’m gonna share the major lessons I’ve learned from reading this book over and over and how I apply it every day in my daily life. It has been so life changing, life enriching. It has brought an aliveness to the now. To the moment that I am living now, to be able to be here, with a deep sense of peace, joy and love. And helped me get in touch with my smile. The invincible summer inside that needs no reason to smile.
1. The biggest majorest lesson of them all: Ego awareness
This one changed everything in how I perceived myself, my family and friends, even strangers that I meet. It helped me to see myself and others so much more clearly and truthfully. To see beyond the ego in us all.
The ego
The ego is basically all of the unresolved past pain in us and its mind and emotional reactional patterns. It’s the bully of a voice in your head. It’s your pain having its hold on you and how you live your life. It’s the programs your pain has written. When something happens that triggers you, you have pre-programmed thoughts, emotions and actions. You will automatically run these programs. The ego is your pain being in control of your life. And you are completely unaware of this. The ego runs you like a robot. You have no choice. You simply think this is who you are.
The ego is basically all of the unresolved past pain in us..It’s the programs your pain has written. When something happens that triggers you, you have pre-programmed thoughts, emotions and actions. You will automatically run these programs. The ego is your pain being in control of your life.
Ego awareness
Ego awareness is when you know that the ego exists and you can see it. You see and hear the voice talking in your head, you know that it is rolling out its patterns of emotion and reaction.
There is a gap between your consciousness and the habitual patterns of pain. Instead of just losing yourself in those thoughts and emotions and automatically running your triggered behavior. There is this space. You may or may not be able yet to change the pain patterns but you can see it happening.
Ego awareness is when you know that the ego exists and you can see it.
The one who sees is your consciousness, it’s who you really are, beyond your programs, it’s your soul, your heart, your true self.
How I apply ego awareness in daily life
One of the reasons that I love this book is because he explains it so simply. The way to apply it is simple. Eckhart simply suggests to SEE, at all times practice seeing. You don’t have to resolve all of your unresolved pain or problems. The only thing is to see the gap.
The observer
The rule is: all that you see is not who you really are. Everything you can observe is an object. You are the observer. Like you can see the table, the chair, the book, you can see your thoughts, so they are not you. These are objects that you are observing. You are the observer.
The rule is: all that you see is not who you really are.
The practice of seeing
So every day since I’ve read this book I’ve tried to practice this. I watch my thoughts, my emotions, my behavior. And so many times I fell into the trap to follow them as truth... only to realise later that I went from watching to running the robot program. I’d been bamboozled again! It happens still, sometimes more than others, other times it even seems easy. But everyday I try again and again to focus on watching the mind, that is where it all starts. Being the watcher, the observer.
To see the gap, I tried several things:
I started with literally visualizing taking space between my consciousness and my thoughts. To see it from way back outside myself, out the back of my head, as far as I could. So I could literally see the thoughts with a distance. And remind myself of the gap by taking that distance.
Another way I like to do this, when the thoughts seem particularly convincing and are pulling hard to run my pain programming, is to visualize myself on the moon looking at my thoughts and emotions. The distance helps to see yourself more clearly. You know the way you can often see what a friend should do to get out of a problem they are drowning in. That is what the moon distance can give you. To see your thoughts as almost that of another. So you can see more clearly, feel the gap and who you really are, beyond the pain.
Another one of my favorites is to visualize an eye, either in my head just behind the thoughts. Or I visualize a huge eye that covers my whole body, when I want to remind myself to also keep an eye out for the emotions running through my body. It reminds me that I am the one that sees. I am the experiencer - not the experience. The eye helps me to observe, to fall back into seeing. To witness what is going on in my mind, what sensations are going through my body.
Visualisation is not necessary. I don’t use it all the time. You can totally do without and see where you’re intuition takes you. When I go without visualisation, I simply feel back to the energy of my consciousness. I go to where I can’t see and just am and from there I practise seeing. Watching all that passes by and let it pass. In Eckhart Tolle universe this is called inner body awareness :).
Seeing is the foundation of my spiritual practice. It’s key for me to be able to live authentically, to truly be myself. Having ego awareness is the key to freedom. To be free to be who you really are and live from your heart and soul. To live with deep joy, deep peace and deep deep love.
The benefits of ego awareness
For me it gave me freedom to live beyond the pain programming. It no longer controls my whole life. I have occasional slipbacks, and when I catch it I simply go back to seeing and forgive myself (always stay kind to yourself, otherwise it’s the ego coming back through the backdoor), but most of the time, my soul is in charge. I see thoughts pass by, and they want to pull at me, sometimes very very very strongly, but most times I let it pass and don’t let it trigger the automatic pain cycle response.
it gave me freedom to live beyond the pain programming.
The ego is boring
The thing also is, when you’ve watched your mind and ego for a longer time, you will notice it’s not very creative. It has a couple of core false stories that’s on repeat. E.g. like, I’m not good enough, I’m not pretty, I’m a failure etc. You know the “fun” ones. So when you’ve observed yourself over a longer period of time, you will see these few stories come by on loop. And the funny thing is, after a while you can even be bored by them.
I realised I was watching my thoughts pass by and I felt bored. Again with this same story!! Tell me something new and interesting.
I reached this point of boredom at a certain point. I realised I was watching my thoughts pass by and I felt bored. Again with this same story!! Tell me something new and interesting. That is when I knew a new level of freedom just entered. Yes, I can find the ego boring! It’s not always boring but I can find the ego boring. Hallelujah!! I did not know it was possible. But simply observing, consistently, has such great power. It’s truly amazing to me.
The massive benefits to you and your life
The benefits are huge. It can massively improve the way you feel, the way you live your life and your relationships.
Feeling better
Ego awareness can help you move beyond your pain and you will feel so much better because of it. There will be deeper joy, a lightness, deep peace, less stress, more energy, more love for yourself and others.
More loving relationships
The way you look at yourself and others will change. There will be this understanding. You know what the ego is and can recognize it. In yourself and others. There will be more compassion, an understanding of oh it’s just the ego talking or reacting. Doesn’t mean you let people use you as a punching bag for their ego, no, certainly not. You will still take care of yourself in a strong, loving, yet egoless way. But this understanding of the ego, will help you to see beyond it in yourself and others.
You know what the ego is and can recognize it. In yourself and others. There will be more compassion
You will recognize more and more that the ego is not the real person in there. And sympathize because we all know it’s tempting, the ego is mighty tempting. And most of the people are not even aware of the ego, in the first place. And even those of us that are. The ego is still mighty tempting! It gets even the conscious people to fall into the pain trap and run those destructive pain patterns.
You will recognize more and more that the ego is not the real person in there. And sympathize because we all know it’s tempting, the ego is mighty tempting.
So when you see someone seduced by the ego and running the pain robot programs, you can understand better, have more compassion and sympathize. I am like you. It’s hard for me too, and although I wish you could not run those hurtful programs, I know I don’t catch it each time either. And those times suck. Personally it’s made me be more forgiving. To myself, when I don’t catch it on time. And to others, when they don’t catch it on time or those who don’t even know what the ego is. We are all trying our best. And sometimes our best looks kinda ugly. I know my best sometimes looks ugly too. So I have compassion. I can love more freely because I can look beyond the ego, in all of us.
I know I don’t catch it each time either. And those times suck. Personally it’s made me be more forgiving..I know my best sometimes looks ugly too.
Create the live of your dreams more freely
You will also experience less blocks in your life, since you see the ego, it cannot freely sabotage you in creating the life of your dreams. There will be more flow in your life, more ease and effortlessness. You will be able to create more freely. Have new adventures that the ego would have prevented you from trying. You will stop trying to live your life for others, aka your ego, but truly live from your heart and soul and have fun living the life of your dreams! Doesn’t that sound good?!
I can love more freely because I can look beyond the ego, in all of us.
Next time I will release part II of this blog.
So much to say about The Power of Now! So to my joy and hopefully yours :), next time another saga on my obsession. Yay! More major lessons from The Power of Now in the next blog. Stay tuned! Click here to read part II.
In the meantime shine all of your crazy bright light! I can’t wait to see it out in the world!
With uncaused love,
An
