Eckhart Tolle is a spiritual teacher who has lived in Vancouver since 1996. His first book of teachings—The Power of Now—is presented simply in an effective question-and-answer format, and has been read by millions of people around the world since 1998. It is now translated into 30 languages.

This book represents the essence of my work, as far as it can be conveyed in words, with individuals and small groups of spiritual seekers during the past ten years, in Europe and in North America.

The book works on several levels, often “addressing the knower who dwells behind the thinker, the deeper self that immediately recognizes spiritual truth, resonates with it and gains strength from it.” There are “pauses” provided in the text for experientially digesting what has been written.

Don’t read with the mind only. Watch out for any “feeling-response” as you read and a sense of recognition from deep within. I cannot tell you any spiritual truth that deep within you don’t know already. All I can do is remind you of what you have forgotten. Living knowledge, ancient and yet ever new, is then activated and released from within every cell of your body.

In this guide to being fully present, readers will find that the body is actually one of the keys to entry into a state of inner peace, as are the silence and space all around us. Indeed, access is everywhere available. These access points, or portals as he calls them, can all be used to bring us into the now, the present moment, where problems do not exist, where we discover that we are already complete.

Tolle offers insight on topics such as “Why Women Are Closer to Enlightenment,” “Give Up the Relationship with Yourself,” “The End of Your Life Drama,” “Surrender in Personal Relationships,” “Going Deeply into Your Body,” and many more. These wide-ranging perspectives and practical techniques for making meditation an integral and integrated practice for everyday living carry Tolle’s life-impulse, an exceptionally clear and refreshing one.

The more attention you give to the past, the more you energize it, and the more likely you are to make a “self” out of it.... Give attention to your behavior, to your reactions, moods, thoughts, emotions, fears, and desires as they occur in the present. There’s the past in you.... What is essential is your conscious presence.

Among Eckhart Tolle’s other offerings are Stillness Speaks and Practicing the Power of Now, as well as many audio programs and the video The Flowering of Human Consciousness.