Full Circle~ by Duy Huynh ~
I just finished reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. I know many of you have already read it and found it very helpful. I'm grateful for your recommendation. I realize now, more than ever, that I use food (sometimes) to avoid being present. It is one way of checking out for a while and an effective way of slowing down my racing mind. But I don't like the side-effects. Reading this book doesn't fix the problem, but it sheds more light on it and makes me more aware so that I can move in a positive direction.
This week I will be sharing some favorite passages from The Power of Now.
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from The Power of Now
by Eckhart Tolle
by Eckhart Tolle
See if you can catch yourself complaining, in either speech or thought, about a situation you find yourself in, what other people do or say, your surroundings, your life situation, even the weather. To complain is always nonacceptance of what is. It invariably carries an unconscious negative charge. When you complain, you make yourself into a victim. When you speak out, you are in your power. So change the situation by taking action or by speaking out if necessary or possible. Leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness.
Ordinary unconsciousness is always linked in some way with the denial of the Now. The Now, of course, also implies the here. Are you resisting your here and now? Some people would always rather be somewhere else. Their "here" is never good enough. Through self-observation, find out if that is the case in your life. Wherever you are, be there totally. If you find your here and now intolerable and it makes you unhappy, you have three options: remove yourself from the situation, change it, or accept it totally. If you want to take responsibility for your life, you must choose one of those three options, and you must choose now. Then accept the consequences. No excuses. No negativity. No psychic pollution. Keep your inner space clear.
...If there is truly nothing you can do to change your here and now, and you can't remove yourself from the situation, then accept your here and now by dropping all inner resistance. The false, unhappy self that loves feeling miserable, resentful, or sorry for itself can then no longer survive. This is called surrender. Surrender is not weakness. There is a great strength in it. Only a surrendered person has spiritual power. Through surrender, you will be free internally of the situation. You may then find that the situation changes without any effort on your part. In any case, you are free.
7 comments:
Thought provoking Pat. I really like this part: "So change the situation by taking action or by speaking out if necessary or possible. Leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness." Not so sure about this part: "If there is truly nothing you can do to change your here and now, and you can't remove yourself from the situation, then accept your here and now by dropping all inner resistance...This is called surrender." I know this is not the context, but it makes me think of youth in poor neighborhoods who feel (and initially are) powerless to change their problematic environment and eventually they surrender and become part of the problem. Sometimes you should go down fighting even when the chances of escape are slim. Don't you think?
I agree, Sheryl. When I was reading this, I kept thinking of extreme examples, like POW's or holocaust victims. Eckhart Tolle may have an answer for you, but I don't. Except that a type of surrender is helpful even in the most dire circumstances...not surrender to the "enemy", but surrender in the since that the situation is in God's hands--I guess that can bring you some measure of peace even in the worst of situations.
But I had to stop thinking of extreme examples and focus on me, "here and now". It does appply perfectly to me and the "normal" stuff that I tend to bitch and moan about.
My take is this sentence I learned "you're either doing something about it, or not" -- and basically, if you're not, then you can choose to have a different attitude about it (like the Anne Frank situation.) Even if I feel stuck in my job or circumstances, when I remember that sentence, I find a way to feel a little more receptive to my own choice. If I'm not job-hunting or sending out resumes, then I only have myself to answer to... or if I want my body to change but I'm not cracking-down, then it's about me.
Funny -- when I take CHARGE of a situation, my complaining goes waaayyy down LOL
Pat, so happy you are using parts of this book this week. I have not had a chance to read it yet, so this will give me a little insight in "The Power of Now". I kept thinking about how my life seems transient now, but how I will enjoy each moment here NOW! I think about the kids who grew up in military families or those who had to move around a lot, I never realized what they went through with finding friends and just feeling comfortable in new surroundings. Sometimes when you know you will be leaving somewhere soon, you do not let yourself become fully involved in anything, I think that would be the opposite of living in the now, you can not live your life worrying about tomorrow, but enjoy each moment that today offers.
Pat, yay! You get me. I feel better that I'm not the only one whose brain wandered off to extreme circumstances. :) But I completely agree that in my normal day-to-day, surrender is very useful. I guess it's the equivalent of Be Still. Rae, great example of the application of what he's saying.
Melissa, if you're peaking at this blog, I'm thinking about you.
Thank you sheryl. I am or was peaking. :o)
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