The Power of Now Helps Provide the Peace That Passes All Understanding

The Power of Now Helps Provide the Peace That Passes All Understanding
By Jim Patterson

Throughout my life I would have described myself as a spiritual person. A voracious reader, and particularly about anything to do with the human condition, I was also given to a great deal of introspection. And yet...

The kind of serenity described by Paul at Philippians 4:7 as "the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds" eluded me.

Like many people I took seriously the scriptural admonitions to constantly examine myself, and the secular ones as well: "the unexamined life is not worth living."

And still the "peace of God" was nowhere to be found.

Time passed, and while my own studies continued and I learned much it wasn't until I read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle that I came to understand that the manner that I carried out that self examination had a good deal to do with my lack of peace and serenity. The constant replaying of events to see if I was overlooking some flaw in myself or if I was unfair to someone else was in and of itself a dysfunction that was actively stealing the very state I was seeking.

I read this book far before Mr. Tolle's webclass with Oprah Winfrey, and am so glad I did. This allowed me to absorb the words, tenets and principals for myself without the filter of the bruehaha that erupted when these were broadcast to such a huge audience. And frankly I didn't find the naysayers very convincing.

Frankly it was a bit entertaining to hear the followers of the man who asked that they disown themselves and follow him loudly decrying Eckhart Tolle's admonition to abandon the ego. And of course, that wasn't what he was doing at all. He was saying that the ego was out of balance, and that this preoccupation with and identification with the ego's stances, positions and ensuing drama was unhealthy and harmful.

People that have read my work before are familiar with my statement that "The longer I live the more often the answer to my questions is Balance!" So I was quite ready to accept the idea that an out of balance ego was sure to be a source of trouble. Just as it would be detrimental for someone to abdicate all thought of self as without a balanced amount we would lack food, sleep and shelter. So I came to understand Tolle's words to advocate a release of the out of balance ego that centers so much of it's identity with life's content as opposed to our true identities comprised of our consciousness.

Once I embraced these concepts, I almost immediately began to experience the promised peace and serenity. Not the absence of emotion predicted by Tolle's detractors but a feeling of satisfaction from letting go of all the folderol that had kept me out of the present moment. To put it in a way we have all heard, but few actually experienced: "Grass was greener, the sky bluer and food tasted better." Of course, the actuality was that my consciousness was actually finally free to experience colors, sounds, tastes and textures more fully than I had experienced since I was 8 years old...

The peace that passes all understanding is actually freedom from the tyranny of that unbalanced ego. It is freedom from the constant inner dialog as we rehash how wer were wronged, or even perhaps how we had wronged someone else. It makes it possible to release grudges and forgive what we may have previously thought to be unforgivable.

Most importantly, that peaceful serene tranquility gives all that reach for it a whole new life...

Jim Patterson

Read more about The Power of Now, The Law of Attraction, and Ho'oponopono

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Richard Abanes Refutes Eckhart Tolle - Sort Of

Richard Abanes Refutes Eckhart Tolle - Sort Of

Author and journalist Richard Abanes has written
a book responding to Eckhart Tolle's "A New Earth"
and "exposing" his teachings as... What?

Well, from the press release on PRWeb, his book
"A New Earth, An Old Deception" he effectively
refutes several of his own interpretations of Mr.
Tolle's teachings. Unfortunately (IMHO) he has
them all wrong.

Here are a few of the things purported to be debunked:

• Who or what is God--and is God separate from us?
• Does Tolle accurately interpret the Bible?
• Is everyone essentially "One" with all that exists?
• Is evil real, or do we only perceive it as real?
• Are all religions equally false/true and do they all teach a single core Truth?
• Is suffering just an illusion of our mind?

Quite frankly my own Christian faith neither wants
nor desires for Mr Abanes to expose anything about
what Eckhart Tolle teaches. If he does not find the
content to be helpful to his own spiritual journey,
he is free to move on.

In my experience, this kind of closed minded critique
is really unnecessary for those able to reason for them-
selves. I cannot say that I agree with all that Mr Tolle
holds to be true, but have found much to be instructive
and quite useful. None of this has been any kind of
threat to my Christianity.

Evidently a response to Mr. Tolle was deemed necessary
(or perhaps profitable) due to the huge sales of "A New
Earth" as well as "The Power of Now". And no, I have
no more of a problem with Mr. Abanes making money
from his books than I do with Eckhart Tolle getting his
royalties. Perhaps next time Richard Abanes could
earn his offering something of his own, instead of just
panning a work that at least attempts to assist people
with their own spiritual journeys.

Read the PRWeb Press Release HERE
and then make up your own mind on his
works merits.

Because as always, all of this is just MHO...

Eat a peach!

Floyd Bogart

Observations On Internal Application

Observations On Internal Application

There has been so much response to my last post
that perhaps more needs to be said about the
internal application side of personal development.

So much about true growth hinges on understanding
that this journey is at heart a solitary one. The path
that leads to a truly satisfying and rewarding existence
can not be dependent upon other's cooperation, aid or
complicity.

Likewise, our search for enlightenment must encompass
all aspects of ourselves. One of the reasons I have
enjoyed reading Dr. Teri Speed's book (see the sidebar)
is her attempt to grapple with bringing the three aspects
of ourselves together in a unifying whole. Mind, body
and spirit...

Like Dr. Speed, I am at heart a Christian, but I expand
my knowledge of this existence beyond my (extensive)
study of the bible as well. What this means to me is that
as more information comes to me in my search it must
fit into a certain framework of beliefs.

Does this mean that my faith is rigid and inflexible?

Not at all! It simply means that frequently as something
reveals itself to be newfound truth to me, that if it
seems to be in conflict with something within that
framework of beliefs held that it must be resolved...

Sometimes this comes about easier than others. In some
cases, it comes about as fuller understanding of already
held concepts become more fully formed. Other times
it will turn out that my previous understanding of some
scripture was of a more all encompassing principle than
a further study of more biblical texts would support.

The point here is that for anything to be a useful tool
of instruction in this life, it needs to be dynamic in
nature allowing for the kinds of everchanging
circumstances that this life provides so abundantly.

Expect your horizons to expand beyond your wildest
dreams, and you will have just begun to grasp what
you can expect from an extended journey of self
exploration.

Bringing together the three previously mentioned
aspectsof our natures (spirit, mind and body) is no
small thing, and thus cannot be limited to any single
author or teacher. Lately Eckhart Tolle has become
quite prominent, and rightly so as he has quite a lot
to offer in our search, but even he cannot be our sole
source of growth. Soon I will be doing some work
online with Dr. Speed and look forward to learning
more of her concepts as well.

However it is vital not to allow ourselves to become
centered on any one individual. To do so would
bring us out of balance, and therefore threatening
our progress.

Grappling with the issues regarding the nature of
human existence is an amazingly rewarding experience
that can expand our understanding and experience in
ways that will stretch all aspects of life, if we manage to
juggle this aspect of balancing our existing belief
structures and keeping our perspective on those that
we are learning from.

More soon!

Think Universally - Apply Internally

The title of this post is a reworking
of the Green Movement's mantra of:
"Think Globally - Act Locally"

Much has been written, both online and
off about carrying this out in our
efforts to address the crisis that this
planet is in. Considerably less has been
said about this concept in our "spiritual"
development as a species, and as individuals.

Don't get me wrong, Mr Tollle, Mr Chopra
et.al. are addressing this in their own
ways, but implementing this as individuals
takes some thought and occassionally some
interaction with others on their own journeys.

Eckhart Tolle is definitely the most visible
personality currently in the Self-Actualization
"movement". He speaks and writes about the
gradual enlightening of us as a species and it's
implications long term for the very nature of
our existence.

While I can't say I agree with all of his
conclusions, I would agree that something will
fundamentally change as this type of inner
directed progress becomes more and more prevalent.

This conclusion does not ignore the fact that
there is probably just as much written, spoken,
posted and shouted declaring Mr Tolle to be an
AntiChrist as there is in exploring what he
actually has to say. Can you name one single
time when real progress was not met with
opposition if not open hostility and resistance?

And yet we have radio, television, an accurate
globe for our map of the world, as well as a
basic understanding of how we function as an
organism. I say basic, as this whole area of
our "spiritual" side and how it interacts with
our physical selves is still mostly a mystery.

Dont' get me wrong, I see the amazing things
being accomplished in this realm. It is obvious
to me however, that the really cataclysmic type
of advances are all in front of us.

The type of sharing and coaching that is now
being done, such as Mr Tolle's webclass with
Oprah Winfrey makes the journey more accessible
for many, but this is still mostly a solitary
journey. One which will happen for each individual
at a different pace, and in no set order.

This is why I say that it is important to Think
Universally and yet Apply Internally.

If you seek confirmation of what you have been
experiencing on your path, you will more often
than not be frustrated, and in come cases
ridiculed.

Our spiritual selves are definitely in a state
of evolutionary flux. This is true for us whether
we acknowledge it or not. Railing against it is
as fruitless as complaining about the tide. It
will just roll in anyway...

It probably shouldn't surprise me so much that
most of the resistance to this comes from what
passes as "Christianity". The very things that
are shouted down due to "faith in the Bible" can
be directly linked to things that Jesus spoke
and taught about regularly.

On the other hand, the Bible speaks frequently
about the importance of cleanliness, and yet at
one time the "Christian Church" forbade bathing.

Just remember that all or your most important
accomplishments in this arena will occur with
no witnesses. The satisfaction that you draw
from them must also come from within. This is
not to say that they cannot be shared to a
certain extent. Just don't be disappointed if
you are unable to get the magnitude of what you
experienced across. Your accomplishment remains.

And your accomplishment adds to that of us as
a race as well on some level. So continue to
Think Universally but remember that you must
Apply Internally...

Eat a Peach!

Floyd Bogart

An Eckhart Tolle Case Study

An Eckhart Tolle Case Study

With all the uproar (both positive and negative)
about the Eckhart Tolle/Oprah Winfrey webclass,
I thought it might be good to take a look at the
effect that this type of self development is having
on an actual human life.

I came across a blog post in a Google Alert I that
I have set up to keep me informed about just this
kind of thing. Julie is a blogger that goes by the
title of Nature Chick. Her blog is not about her
spiritual progress, but about her life in general as
many of the best blogs are.

Take a look at her post about The Power of Now
and it's affect on her life HERE.

She doesn't seem to have become a zombie, or
a self denying ascetic. Actually she just seems
to have become someone that is enjoying life for
the first time in quite a while.

I see, hear nor feel anything within this woman's
experience to concern me for her emotional or
spiritual wellbeing. What is more, I see no danger
to her personal belief structure either.

We live in a society where dysfunction seems
to be the norm instead of the exception, and
not everyone has the resources, time or even
the emotional strength and will to overcome
their issues via intensive therapy.

So maybe this is a shortcut to a healthier life
and world view that can allow a significant
portion of the population to live a happier and
more fulfilling life...

Why is this threatening to some people?

Floyd Bogart

The Longer I Live, The More Often "Balance" Is The Answer To My Questions

The Longer I Live, The More Often "Balance" Is The Answer To My Questions

I have seen so much resistance in the past
few months to the teaching of Eckhart Tolle's
"The Power of Now" principles, that I have
had to ask myself: Why?

Invariably, the arguments against applying
these tenets to life seem to be extreme
interpretations of what Mr Tolle is saying.

This is not an isolated instance to approaching
Self Development or Self Improvement issues.
The answer to challenges to what is being said
regarding by Mr. Tolle, is usually the same one
to counter those against Deepak Chopra or even
to the Bible.

You have to apply what is being said with balance.

Principles being taught, are taken out of context
and discussed as if they are all encompassing, and
not intended to be applied within the confines of
a particular paradigm.

This is not balanced.

Balance is at the heart of what each of the three
sources referenced above espouses. Tolle, Chopra
and God are each all about applying principles in
our lives with balance.

It is frequently stated that you can quote scriptures
to defend almost any point of view that you wish.
This is only true if you do so without the balancing
influence of it's context.

Likewise, to say that Eckhart Tolle is advocating
a total relinquishing of the concept of self, is not
a balanced application of his intent. This particular
principle must be viewed in the context of the current
over emphasis on self that is prevalent in society
today, which is just as unbalanced.

For that matter, if you want to criticize Eckhart Tolle
for preaching a denial of self, you have to throw out
most of the Bible as well anyway.

If you read my previous post, then you know that I
have recently been reading Dr. Teri Speed's book
"The Incurables: Unlock Healing For Spirit, Mind
and Body".

In approaching illnesses and other of life's problems
by addressing all three aspects of a person's being,
Dr Speed seems to be using balance, in my opinion.

No doubt I will be posting more about balance in
future posts...

Floyd Bogart

Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth Web Class

Eckhart Tolle - A New Earth Web Class

This is an amazing event. I can't say I've ever been
that big of an Oprah fan, but when she teams up with
Eckhart Tolle in this big of a way, I have to take off
my hat to the lady...

Without further ado, I'll turn the stage over to this duo:





The rest of this series may be seen at my
Squidoo Lens: Eckhart Tolle & The Power of Now

Floyd Bogart

Eckhart Tolle Videos

Mr. Tolle has much to teach us, so let us take a look at a few
YouTube videos. These will give you a good sampling of what
he has to offer. There is quite a bit here so take your time and
listen closely.



Floyd Bogart

My Favorite "New" Author - Eckhart Tolle

Okay so he isn't really new. Just new to me. Read his book, The Power Of Now and just cannot believe the amazing things I have learned. Have been reading a few blogs and forums where his work is discussed, and am amazed at the misconceptions that many reviewers have about what he is saying/teaching...

What I have gotten is clarity and a lower stress renewal of purpose that is steadily growing.

Here is a sitefeed of discussions on Tolle's teachings:

Check out more Eckhart Tolle works: