The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle: Key Ideas, Research and Critiques

The Power of Now is a book about attention: where the mind goes when it leaves the present, and what Eckhart Tolle believes changes when it returns. This guide, written by a therapist, discusses its central ideas, the research and the criticisms. It is commentary, not a replacement: if the ideas interest you, borrow the book from a library or find it at a bookstore.

What Is The Power of Now About?

Tolle argues that suffering is fed by the mind itself: a running commentary about the past and future that people mistake for who they are. His alternative is presence, attention resting in what is happening now, which he links to enlightenment: freedom from the ego and awareness of what he calls Being. He writes as a spiritual teacher, not a psychologist, and he sets out his ideas in a question-and-answer format rather than as a program.

Who Is Eckhart Tolle?

Tolle was born Ulrich Leonard Tolle in Lünen, Germany, in 1948, studied in London and Cambridge, and settled in Vancouver in 1995. In his own account, which others cannot check, a period of depression in the late 1970s, at times close to suicidal, ended one night in a sudden shift, and he woke the next morning at peace (World Religions and Spirituality Project).

Namaste Publishing released The Power of Now in Vancouver in late 1997 with a first print run of three thousand copies. New World Library bought the rights outside Canada and released its edition in October 1999. Oprah Winfrey endorsed the book in O magazine in the summer of 2000 and featured it again in her My Favorite Things segment in November 2002 (Publishers Weekly, 2004). By April 2003, Time reported that it had spent four months on the New York Times bestseller list (Sachs, Time, 2003). His later book A New Earth (2005) was chosen for Oprah Winfrey's book club in 2008 (World Religions and Spirituality Project).

What Are the Key Ideas in The Power of Now?

The main themes, in our own words:

• →Identifying with thought. Tolle calls the stream of thought the mind, and the false sense of self built from identifying with it the ego.
• →Watching the thinker. Noticing thoughts as they arise, as if from a slight distance, is what Tolle calls observing presence.
• →Presence as a practice. The book suggests brief ways of bringing attention back to the body and senses, as an anchor in the present. For some people, especially after trauma, attention to the body can bring up distress rather than calm.
• →Acceptance, or surrender. Dropping inner resistance to what is already happening, which Tolle distinguishes from resignation. Clinically, accepting that something painful happened differs from pushing feelings away or accepting ongoing harm: grief, anger and fear still matter, and an unsafe situation calls for action and support.
• →Clock time and psychological time. Clock time is for planning; psychological time is living mentally in past regret or future worry. Tolle treats the present as the only point where life happens.
• →Relationships. Tolle treats close relationships as a place where old pain and ego patterns surface, and so as a place to practise presence. That is not a reason to stay where you are being harmed.
• →The pain-body. Tolle's term for old emotional pain that builds up and can flare, colouring how a person reads the present. It is a spiritual concept, not a diagnosis or an account of trauma; flashbacks, panic or numbness are something trauma-focused therapy works with.

What Does the Research Say?

We are not aware of any study that has tested The Power of Now itself, so claims that reading it improves anxiety, depression or wellbeing go beyond the evidence.

Structured mindfulness programs. Courses such as mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) differ from reading a book alone. A 2014 meta-analysis of forty-seven trials found moderate evidence that mindfulness meditation programs improved anxiety, depression and pain, with small to moderate effects, but no evidence that meditation programs worked better than other active treatments such as medication, exercise or behavioural therapies (Goyal et al., 2014, JAMA Internal Medicine).

Stepping back from thoughts. The research idea closest to watching the thinker is decentering: observing your experience rather than being inside it. A 2015 paper describes it as involving awareness of your own thinking, less identification with passing thoughts and feelings, and less reaction to what they say (Bernstein et al., 2015, Perspectives on Psychological Science). That is a studied skill, not evidence for the book's claims about the ego or time.

The larger claims. The book's spiritual concepts, such as the pain-body, are outside what these studies measured, and the book is not a treatment for any physical or mental health condition. Depression, anxiety and trauma responses can involve biology, circumstances, loss and past experiences; they are not proof that someone is thinking the wrong way or failing at presence.

What Are the Criticisms of The Power of Now?

Vague for practical purposes. Reviewing the book for Time in 2003, Andrea Sachs was dismissive of its spiritual language and suggested that readers looking for practical advice would find little in it (Sachs, Time, 2003).

Spiritual bypassing. The psychotherapist John Welwood said he coined this term for turning to spiritual beliefs or practice as a way around painful feelings and unfinished emotional work, and argued that psychological and meditative work can complement each other (Welwood, interviewed in Tricycle, 2011). He was not writing about Tolle or passing judgement on religion. With this book, bypassing might mean using acceptance to avoid grief, anger or a relationship problem.

Difficult experiences with inward-focused practice. A 2017 study interviewed sixty Western Buddhist meditation practitioners, chosen because they had had challenging experiences, so it shows what can happen, not how likely it is. They reported experiences including fear or panic, re-experiencing traumatic memories, feeling detached or as if the world were unreal, hallucinations or unusual beliefs, and changes in the sense of self; some lasted months or years, and some practitioners needed inpatient care (Lindahl et al., 2017, PLOS ONE). The book's practices also turn attention inward; if they bring on experiences like these, pause and get support.

Does The Power of Now Fit With Religious Faith?

The religion scholar Stafford Betty noted that Tolle can sound like Thomas Keating, the Catholic monk known for centering prayer, and that some would place the teaching closer to Hindu Vedanta or Zen. He concluded that Tolle's God still differs from the Christian understanding, in which people are filled with God without being God (Betty, National Catholic Reporter, 2008).

A Muslim reader might connect the book's emphasis on undivided attention with khushu, the humble, focused presence sought in salah, but khushu is part of worship directed to God, while presence in The Power of Now belongs to Tolle's own spiritual framework. Readers of any faith may find parts that fit their beliefs, parts that do not, or choose not to read it, and a faith leader in their own tradition can help them think it through. We take no position on the book's spiritual claims or on any religion. To bring faith into therapy, see spiritually integrated therapy.

How Do the Ideas in The Power of Now Relate to Therapy?

Some skills the book points toward also appear, without its spiritual framework, in established therapies. Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) includes mindfulness skills, such as observing experience without judging it, and radical acceptance, which in DBT does not mean approving of what happened or giving up on change; see DBT therapy. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) involves noticing the thoughts that come with worry and low mood and testing them against what actually happens; see also our page on anxiety therapy.

At TEO, Mohamad Shabib is trained in DBT and in CBT for Trauma (Levels 1 and 2), and Alison Shaji is trained in DBT and CBT. TEO does not teach meditation or offer MBSR, MBCT or acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), and therapy here is not a course in Tolle's teaching. Sessions can be a place to work on the anxiety, overthinking, grief or low mood that may have led you to the book.

Who Is The Power of Now For, and Who Should Read It With Support?

The book may suit readers drawn to spiritual writing who want ideas about presence, acceptance and time to think over. For a philosophical rather than spiritual take, our guide to Meditations by Marcus Aurelius looks at Stoic attention to the present.

Consider reading it with support from a professional, or setting it aside for now, if:

• →You have a history of trauma, and turning attention inward brings up flashbacks, panic or numbness. Our page on trauma therapy describes that work.
• →You experience dissociation (feeling cut off from yourself, or as if the world is unreal), or have had or may be vulnerable to psychosis. Stepping back from thoughts can slide into detachment or numbness rather than steady noticing.
• →You have bipolar disorder or have had episodes of mania or hypomania, or you notice racing thoughts, much less need for sleep or unusually high energy.
• →You are grieving, or being hurt in a relationship, and accepting what is could become a reason to stay silent or put up with harm.
• →Your mood is very low, or the idea that suffering comes from your own mind lands as blame. Low mood is not a sign that you are failing at presence.
• →The book or its practices leave you more anxious, unsettled or unlike yourself.

If a practice from the book, or any meditation, brings on flashbacks, feeling unreal, seeing or hearing things others do not, unusual beliefs, or racing thoughts with much less need for sleep, stop rather than push through, and contact your doctor or a mental health professional promptly. If you have thoughts of suicide or feel unsafe, call or text 9-8-8 (Canada, 24/7), or call 911 if you are in immediate danger.

Is The Power of Now Worth Reading?

If you want a spiritual perspective on thinking, time and acceptance, and are comfortable with ideas that research has not tested, it offers material to reflect on. If you want research-based help with anxiety, depression or overthinking, it was not written for that purpose, and a trained professional may be a better fit. Either way, read it slowly and with some skepticism.

Talking It Through With a Therapist at TEO

TEO Counselling is an online practice for adults in British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Mohamad Shabib, MACP, CCC, is a Registered Psychotherapist (Qualifying) with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario (CRPO) and works with clients in all six provinces, in English or Arabic. Alison Shaji, MA, RCC #22608 (BCACC), works with clients in British Columbia in English, Hindi or Malayalam.

Individual sessions are $150 for 60 minutes, and no referral is needed. The first step is a free 15-minute consultation by video or a scheduled phone call, booked online. Book a free consultation, or text (519) 760-5211 with a question first. This text line is not a crisis service.