Have you ever had that moment when you see or hear something that is so clear, so powerful, and so true that you never again forget it?
One such “something” entered my life around the turn of the millennia, year 2000 AD. However, even though the title of this book really got my attention, it also sort of aggravated me because it meant something to me that I didn’t want to hear…or at least I thought it meant something that I didn’t want to hear or deal with. It is the one thing that keeps haunting me to this day.
You are wondering what this book is?
It is “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle.
You see, I thought the book was about the importance of
“Getting Things Done NOW!”
In other words, “DON’T PROCRASTINATE!”
That is the last book I ever want to read, because I love to procrastinate. If I can get away with it, I will procrastinate until I have to do it in one final flurry of work, under great pressure and emotions.
While the book IS about that TOO, it really has nothing to do with business, or achievement, success or any of the books in the business shelf that tell you all the ways to become a great business person. Oddly, it was in the business section of the bookstore.
Several years later, a friend of mine in Holland, gave me an audio book of “The Power of Now” and I discovered it was all about spirituality. But here is the point…
The fact is that nothing ever gets done except in “The Now!” and that any attempt to flee “The Now” is simply futile because it IS all that exists.
So, the powerful lesson to be learned with The Power of Now is to:
1. Accept the way things are and the things that you have to do. Resisting the “Is-ness” of life, is simply too much extra work.
2. Focus solely on the task at hand. Whatever it is you do, let it be a spiritual practice in deep involvement with the now. Time will pass quickly, your concentration will be heightened, and your performance will be enhanced.
3. Connect to your breath while you work. Find a flow with your breath control while you work. This will help keep you calm and lower your stress as you work. It is a meditative practice, and that having one foot in the spiritual realm of a meditative state and the other involved with what you are doing will bring you a great experience, no matter the task.
There is a famous Shaker saying that I try to remember…
“Put your hands to work, and lift your hearts to God.” (NOW!)
Another strong concept that I have adopted is a concept I call “Allowance.”
What is the concept of “Allowance”?
It is a concept that touches on many areas of life. But, the principle here is just as simple, logical, and clear as the idea of “The Now.”
“Allowance” is knowing that everything that people receive in life is due to the fact that they had very little to do with it. What I mean is, the reason it gets to you is because it was pushed upon you, and you didn’t resist or prevent it.
This philosophy relates to everyting, the good and the bad.