****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I found this book to be better than 'The Power of Now'. It's true that much of the material in this book can be found in the other, but I found this book to be more concise and easier to comprehend than the original. It seems like the really confusing stuff that was found in 'The Power of Now' was not included in this book. This book seemed to just have the essential lessons of the original, which I liked and understood. It didn't have any of the more complicated and perhaps subjective stuff that the latter part of the original seemed to be filled with. That being said, if you haven't read either one, then start with 'The Power of Now', because it seems apparent that 'Practicing the Power of Now' assumes the reader has read the first and/or is already familiar with the basic concepts of his teachings.I truly believe that this guy has reached enlightenment and wrote this book from and enlightened state. Many of the things he says are so profound that I just re-read them again and again in utter fascination. He points out such simple truths that so many of us spend a lifetime overlooking. I find that when I'm not reading this, I'm thinking about it and ways to practice it in my life. Everything he said rang so true. I really can't find fault or criticism with anything he claims to be true, because deep down, I know it's true. I had just never heard anyone articulate it before. This guy has the answers to life. Now I just need to work on turning believing into experiencing. I'm very new to these Buddhist-like teachings, but Mr. Tolle has really opened my eyes to the power of it. The power of Now, that is.Also, if you're a Christian, as I am, and seem a bit skeptical by this type of teaching, I can assure you that nothing he says directly contradicts Christianity. Some terms he is reluctant to use, such as God, because of misuses of that term or idea, so he steps around that, so as not to offend certain readers. But I don't have a problem with that at all. Despite his vagueness in describing the Source of eternal love and peace and joy out there that we are all connected with, as a Christian it is easy for me to decide what he is talking about, and all his teachings have an overall message of love and peace and surrender; very complimentary to Christian ideals. If anything, this book strengthened my faith and has given me a better understanding of meditative prayer.Edit 4/27/19 - Even though Tolle does not subscribe to Christianity, he occasionally tries to use quotes from Jesus as supporting evidence of his teachings. I’m not sure why he does this. I can only guess that he is trying to connect with the Christian readers. Unfortunately, he seems to misinterpret Jesus in most cases, which hurts his cause. He clearly doesn’t recognize Jesus Christ as the Son of God, or of God Incarnate. I think he simply sees Jesus as an enlightened individual and so he tries to point out the similarities between what he is saying and what Jesus said, even though, in most cases, he is way off base on the message Jesus was delivering in the given case. Sadly, this has caused most of my Christian friends to immediately dismiss all the rest of his teaching as blasphemy or nonsense. If you can overlook this discrepancy though, you will still find this to be a very rewarding book. It’s not a religious book, it’s a philosophical book, which I still find to be the best of it’s kind.
