Mindfulness is a subject I rarely ever heard anything about until last year. Before then, I never paid much attention to the constant stream of thoughts running through my head. Sometimes I would notice it if I got stuck thinking negative thoughts, but I was so used to it that it just seemed like background noise to me. That all changed when I found out about The Power of Now.
In the book, Eckhart Tolle talks about the usefulness of the mind for its intended purpose (survival and problem solving) as well as how most people become stuck in their minds, unable to stop thinking. He offers a lot of useful tips for quieting the mind and entering a state of consciousness in which thoughts are absent. It took a long time and a lot of practice, but eventually I was able to enter this state of presence and remain there for extended periods of time. Whenever I do this, I experience a deep sense of peace and stillness that makes whatever I’m doing easier to manage, whether it’s an unpleasant task at a work, traffic, an emotional person, or some other activity likely to cause stress.
I first got the audiobook version last year and I’ve probably listened to it at least a dozen times since then. This year I got the print version to compare the two (they are verbatim, at least for most of the book) and also loan out to interested friends. The Power of Now has been one of the most profound as well as useful books I’ve read, and I think the world would become a much more peaceful place if its message catches on. I hope it does.