48 pages • 1 hour read
Eckhart TolleThe Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1997A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 9-10Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 9 Summary: “Beyond Happiness and Unhappiness There Is Peace”
Tolle addresses the difference between happiness and inner peace: Being happy means that one’s external conditions are positive, and this is impossible during tragedies such as losing a loved one, while inner peace can be accessed at any time. He tells the reader to practice “forgiveness of the present” to prevent the mind from building up resentment and negativity to be dealt with later (178). Instead, he advocates accepting the present and seeing everything as an opportunity to learn that may work out for the good. He acknowledges that tragic situations can always arise but argues that ego-created problems, or “drama,” will stop once a person becomes conscious (180). He claims that arguments will also cease then since it is impossible to argue with someone who does not maintain a mind identity or mental position.
Tolle reiterates that when people resist the normal cycles of life and events that happen to them, their egos generate suffering unnecessarily. He argues that everyone naturally has cycles of low and high energy; by insisting on being productive during low-energy cycles, people may become sick. This is their bodies’ way of forcing them to slow down and rest. He argues that all life events and achievements, like all forms on the planet, are impermanent. Thus, it is important to enjoy the positive aspects of life—events, people, or things—while they exist and understand that they will not be there forever.
Tolle laments how common negativity is in the human mindset and claims that non-thinking animals do not experience negativity. He gives the example of ducks, which fly and swim fully immersed in the present moment. When they have a fight they make it quickly, flap their wings to get rid of their extra energy, and then resume living peacefully. Tolle praises these creatures for not building an identity around their negative experience but simply continuing to live engaged in the present moment. He advises the reader to offer no “resistance” to the little irritations of the present, such as a dog barking or a car alarm going off. Even larger sources of negativity, like someone trying to inflict verbal harm, can be allowed to “pass right through;” this allows people to remain “in [their] power” rather than controlled by their minds (193).
Tolle explains that living consciously means not judging other people’s physical forms or minds but recognizing their own “Being” within (195). This makes it easier to develop compassion, which Tolle calls “the awareness of a deep bond between [one]self and all creatures” (195). He then addresses death, calling it a part of the same “illusion” as the body itself, and claims that when a person dies, they do not lose anything “real,” only their forms (196,198).
Tolle argues that there are many interconnected worlds within one world, depending on the “consciousness frequency” of different creatures (199). For example, there is an ant world, a dolphin world, and a human world. The human world is mostly influenced by the mind, but as people gain consciousness, this will positively influence all of the other parts of nature as well. He refers to the biblical passage “The lion shall lie down with the lamb” as promising this changed “order of reality” (199). He believes that people must attain consciousness before trying to better the world since it is the only way to feel “true compassion” (201). Tolle feels that people who want to alleviate hunger, violence, or environmental destruction should feel free to pursue their “noble” cause but must be wary of creating enemies in their minds and being drawn farther away from consciousness (203).
Chapter 10 Summary: “The Meaning of Surrender”
In this chapter, Tolle addresses what he means by telling others to “surrender” to the present moment. He answers a question from a student who feels that it seems cynical to surrender since progress would be impossible without working to improve things. Tolle explains that surrender does not “mean to cease making plans or initiating positive action” (205). Instead, it means to go with, rather than against, the “Flow of life,” since generating judgment and negativity about the present is the work of the ego (206). For Tolle, surrender to the present does not mean not taking outward action but is an inner process that embraces the “isness” of the present (206). This way, it is possible to proceed with positive action to accomplish something in the present, instead of creating drama in the mind.
This acceptance or surrender also allows people to feel more connected to, rather than separated from, other people and nature.
Tolle argues that in the “state of surrender,” people can experience clarity about the actions they need to take and calmly take them one at a time (209). Even if making a plan is the only thing that can be done in an unpleasant situation, a person can do it. However, he cautions against creating “mental movies” about how the plan may turn out and, thus, losing the present moment (209). He believes that if people don’t surrender, they can only discuss and believe in “spiritual energy” but not experience it (211).
He then addresses how to deal with “unconscious” people who may try to inflict harm or be manipulative. Tolle feels that it is possible to simply remove oneself from these situations and say “no” without generating inner resistance. It is also possible to surrender in relationships if people always observe their defensive reactions and how invested they feel in being right. He addresses responses to violence and argues that when people are conscious, they do not operate from mental concepts, including the concept of nonviolence, so “who can predict what [they] will do?” (216). He does not explicitly advocate for or against using violence to stop violent behavior but claims only that by becoming conscious, people do not need “ego defenses and false masks” (216).
Tolle then shifts his focus to illness, claiming that it is a mental label and can easily become a major part of a person’s identity. He urges the reader to “become an alchemist” and turn their physical suffering into enlightenment (218). He then argues that major life disasters can prompt people to experience surrender and the inner peace that comes with it. If their external situation is unbearable, and they cannot surrender to it, Tolle says they should surrender to the pain they are feeling rather than trying to escape it with “work, drink, drugs, anger, projection, suppression” and other methods (221). He describes this approach, which Christians refer to as “the way of the cross,” as being “forced into the kingdom of heaven kicking and screaming” (225).
Tolle addresses a question about how to deal with people who seem to choose painful situations, such as abusive relationships. He claims that what seem like choices really aren’t, because unconscious people cannot exercise their agency. Instead, they recreate old situations or patterns. He reiterates, “No one chooses dysfunction, conflict, pain. Nobody chooses insanity” (228). For this reason, he reminds readers that they cannot resent what unconscious people do but can only feel compassion toward them. Forgiveness is impossible when people are unconscious, Tolle argues, and it is unnecessary for the conscious since living in the present “renders the past powerless” (230). Tolle concludes his work by writing that this realization will come from “surrender to what is,” reiterating, “The Now is the key” (230).
Chapters 9-10 Analysis
In these passages, Tolle expands his argument about living in the present by answering students’ questions in more detail. He offers analogies and examples to color his writing and make his suggestions more easily applicable to everyday life. For example, Tolle relays a Buddhist parable about Banzan, a monk who strived for enlightenment for years, until one day he realized that each moment is the best moment and began to live in the Now (194). This story helps Tolle communicate that enlightenment is as simple as embracing the present, and it is important not to become distracted by striving for it or overanalyzing it.
He also includes more practical tips in these chapters. For instance, he teaches the reader to practice overcoming mental resistance to the present by passively observing irritations, such as car alarms, and allowing them to “pass through” them rather than confronting a “solid wall” of resistance (193). This lack of resistance is key to Tolle’s concept of “surrender,” and his examples in this chapter help illuminate this concept for the reader. He provides an analogy of someone who is stuck in mud, explaining that their surrender to the present is an inner phenomenon: It helps this person deal with the situation without labeling it mentally or creating negative emotions about it. Instead, they will focus on using the present moment to make “positive action” that will get them out of the mud and resolve their problem (206). Tolle’s analogy helps the reader understand that surrender does not mean resignation to suffering or staying mired in problems.
Throughout these chapters, Tolle continues to make frequent references to other spiritual traditions, in particular Christianity and Buddhism. His references to famous scriptures, such as the lion’s lying down with the lamb and Jesus’ teaching to turn the other cheek, help the reader see the Christian text in a new light and reorient their interpretations of it toward attaining consciousness. He also refers to the Buddhist concept of karma and claims that consciousness will help to undo its vicious cycle. He writes:
Your peace is so vast and deep that anything that is not peace disappears into it as if it never existed. This breaks the karmic cycle of action and reaction. Animals, trees, flowers will feel your peace and respond to it […] You eliminate unconsciousness from the world (202).
In these passages, Tolle expands his own spiritual theories by claiming that people who attain consciousness will become a positive influence on other people, even on other life forms. He explains, “Everybody you come into contact with will be touched by your presence and affected by the peace that you emanate, whether they are conscious of it or not” (201). This claim helps Tolle to build up the importance of becoming conscious and emphasizes the positive influence that conscious people can have on the world around them. This aspect of his argument encourages the reader to reflect on how their attitude affects others, whether they accept all of his claims or not.
