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

Having been told a million times "you have to read Eckhart Tolle!" with all excitement evident, I finally did. My reason for not reading it previously was that it was a dead bore. Well, now, I think I can say with more confidence that I still don't really like him. The first clue that I had that I didn't like him is I read the forward to one of his books, and he basically says that if you don't like his book, you are unenlightened and a fool. Hmph! An excellent tactic on his part, I'd say. Not only does he flatter his fans, but he manages to malign his detractors in the most indefensible way possible. My learned opinion? He is a wiener.

But, all that aside, I read this book, having had it recommended to me a million times. I liked the basic message (live in the now, because the past and the future don't exist now). And I will admit, there were at least two parts where I actually perked up, and reread the section several times. They were "a-ha!" moments, although not so memorable since I can't remember what I "a-ha'ed" about now. But, they were there. As I recall, they were at the beginning and the end. The rest just fell into a mush pot of new age-ism made "authoritative" through the liberal use of capital letters (as in Manifested, and Unmanifested). That part was a whole lot of nonsense. I had NO idea what he was talking about. Well, I had kind of an idea, but I think it's a case of The Emperor's New Clothes here, and if I wanted to, I could just about apply it anywhere and call it brilliant.

The worst book ever? No. See, I gave it two stars! A work of wisdom? Highly debatable.