Tolle's method is wrong

Originally Posted by Silvergirl

I think your excerpt from his book is Tolle's description of a way to practice - to help a person be more in the present moment, which, if you never try it, and succeed a few times, you won't necessarily see the benefit. I read TPON (The Power of Now) and A New Earth (ANE). I found ANE far better at explaining what Tolle's ideas are all about.

Well if it works for you, what can I say?

But I propose a different approach which is: Solving problems (mental illusions) and Now should come naturally without forcing oneself.

I will certainly not try to focus my attention to objects, my breathing etc. It doesn't work.

It should come naturally.

[Silver]

I still don't recall reading anywhere in either book that he's forcing anything - simply offering small exercises in staying as 'present' as humanly possible. Nowhere does he act like a Hitler or something, so I really don't understand where you get this idea from.

Originally Posted by Silvergirl

I still don't recall reading anywhere in either book that he's forcing anything - simply offering small exercises in staying as 'present' as humanly possible. Nowhere does he act like a Hitler or something, so I really don't understand where you get this idea from.

OK. Let me ask you a question: Why your mind can't stay in the Now?

EDIT: The problem is not his language, the problem is the idea: "I should stay in the now". This is bad self-treatment.

I really like the idea of living in the present moment and certainly when it comes upon me it is like being 'home'.
However, I am not a Tolle fan and I feel he tries to 'milk' the byproduct of his state of awakening as something that can be achieved through technique, when he and many others simply attained their 'states' through a state of grace.
Throwing thie 'present moment' carrot out into the spiritual market place has always struck me as a business decision rather than a concerted attempt to liberate mankind. I would love to meet someone who has actually maintained being in the present moment as a way of being through following Tolle's methods.

Plus he's German and he looks like Bill Gates' nerdy brother. :P

[Silver]

I like the idea of living in the present moment as much as possible, too.
I don't think that Tolle was blind to the marketing gold he somehow stumbled upon, either - and that doesn't mean that there isn't some nice little real nuggets in what he writes. As always, take what rezzes and leave the rest.

[Silver]

Hehe, someone somewhere said he looks like a gnome or an elf, lol.

Originally Posted by 3dnow

Yes this is a very good remark, but I don't see how staying in the now solves the problem.

Similar to wstein, i do not agree with a lot of Tolle's later metaphysical theories,
like his thoughts on 'pain body', ego and illusion.

But being present in this moment is very simple.
The Now...i have no idea why it's been capitolized, seems to be a fad amongst some folk, Oneness , Silence, Nothingness, I AM, etc, etc.

You asked how can being focused in the present moment solve a problem.
You can think about the past, if productively, you think of things in the past,
comparing them to now to assess how your journey is going.
You can think of the future, to plan what you will do.

But when you have a flat tire, the only time you can fix it is in the present.
The more focused you are in the present, the greater your effort into solving the problem,
and i speculate, the quicker you accomplish it.
It's as simple as that.

You can't fix it in the past, nor the future.
You can think about it in those places, but life is lived in the present moment.

The present moment, the Now as Tolle calls it, is right this very second, not one minute ago, or one minute from now.

In the grand scale of time, thousands and thousands of years, the only
place that things get done is within this comparitively tiny speck of time right now.

Tolle expanded, delved into the concept/definition of the present moment.
There is past, present and future time.
The past can be anything from a million years ago to one second ago, same with future time.
And the present can be this century, decade, year, month, week, day, hour,
right down to this very second.

And perhaps people have become accustomed to thinking one second is not much time to get anything done.
But getting things done is accomplished right now.
You just do it in consecutive seconds, if you are thinking in a time frame.

But take away all forms of time keeping, seconds, hours, days, weeks, etc.
When do you fix a flat tire....now, when you are fixing it.
No concern about the small size of a second. You are fixing the tire now, in this present moment.
You are there, in the moment, focused on the task at hand.

[Silver]

Hey Mountain-Goat. After reading your post, I'm feeling even stronger that 3dnow did not read the book very carefully. 3dnow, I'd like to suggest that you read A New Earth, if you haven't already. I read TPON first only because it came first in the mail after ordering them online, even though a strong review at alibris.com said that ANE was the book to read first, because it lays the groundwork for TPON. Just a suggestion.

Originally Posted by 3dnow

The correct method is the following:

There is no correct method, like a science formula that can be applied to anyone's life. If that is the correct approach for you, and you know that in your heart, then fantastic, that is your path. Tolle is not right for you.

Tolle has resonated with millions of people around the world. He is bursting with presence and inspiration from source is flowing out of him. There is SO much endless depth in his teachings and he has helped and awakened people on a greater scale than any other modern day spiritual teacher I can think of.

If a teacher that prolific has encapsulated such a wide audience, and his message is 'incorrect', then he is tricking a great percentage of people. If that is the case, then that must be a lesson we must learn at this time, so still right for where we are at. I know that's not the case in my heart. His message is profound and flows direct from source.

Stick with what is right for you. I agree, it's not about forcing ourselves into the present moment. But I don't believe that is what Tolle is teaching us to do. If his message doesn't resonate for you, then there is no need to worry about his message.