Tony Poerio's Reviews > The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

You'll love this, or hate it. There's no in between. And that's a good thing.

TPON is Essentially a 20th century version of the 'Tao Te Ching'. Something about the marketing always made me think it was a cheesy self-help book, and lots of people react to it that way, but IMO that's just a veneer. If you look closer, it's as deep as any cooler and more aggressive looking philosophy book, just much more accessible.

Some parts are better than others (of course), but the core point of focusing your attention *fully on the present moment alone*, and not worrying about the past or future, is such a universal Zen-like truth that it's hard for me to believe anyone would give this a bad review, unless they've got some kind of axe to grind... or still care too much about what other people think.

Much of Eckhardt's philosophy has been imported into new-age business jargon (with its putative focus on mindfulness), hippie yoga enclaves (which I like, unashamedly), and pop-culture generally. So some of it seems familiar to the point of being cliche. But that's a testament to Eckhardt's writing, more than anything else. Hippie MBA types beat Buckminster Fuller's idea of 'synergy' to death too. That doesn't mean it's not a cool idea, as originally conceived.

What I liked best: This book is extremely unpretentious, almost embarrassingly so. But if you relax, and take what Eckhardt is saying at face value, I really think anyone would benefit. Reminds you to take things easy, and enjoy your life. I'm always trying, but it's hard.

It's funny -- but being able to admit you like books like TPON almost requires that you don't really give a shit about other people's opinion, just what you feel at any given moment. And that's kind of the point. Maybe that's why it seems cheesy up front. The undying pretentious core of me thinks: It's a first test, not a marketing tactic... it's purposely polarizing, purposely cheesy, so that only those who are ready can make it past the cover and hear its deeper life-changing message. But then I'm reading into it needlessly, and not living in the moment, accepting what is. I guess some things never change, even in the endlessly beautiful eternal present moment...

In all seriousness though, this book is good, try it for yourself and don't worry about other people's bullshit. And rather than write a review for people who will already be receptive to books like this, I think it's more beneficial to speak to people, like me, who generally wouldn't be. Because there really is a lot to be gained from giving it some earnest time. Even if, at first, it seems kind of cheesy.