Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #342 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08
• Released on: 2003-08-26
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 144 pages

Amazon.com
Expanding on his mantra—Get out of your head and into the moment—Eckhart Tolle offers this new book on living in the now. Here Tolle emphasizes the art of "inner stillness"--the place where thoughts, ego and attachments fall always and we are left only with what the moment has to offer: "When you lose touch with inner stillness, you lose touch with yourself. When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world." Don't expect this to be a quick skim or even a straight-through read. Like his previous bestselling book The Power of Now, Tolle uses brief entries and numerous white spaces to give readers easy in-and-out access into enticing spiritual insights that expound on inner stillness, such as learning the difference between surrender and resignation, overcoming the fear death, and how to end suffering. In fact, this is designed to be an ongoing conversation. Pick it up any time or any place, but be sure to allow for plenty of breaks for serious contemplation. Even as you occasionally abandon the book, don't abandon the teachings, pleads Tolle. Embracing and practicing inner stillness is no longer a luxury, he writes, "but a necessity if humankind is not to destroy itself. At the present time the dysfunction of the old consciousness and the arising of the new are both accelerating. Paradoxically things are getting worse and bett! er at the same time, although 'the worse' is more apparent because it makes so much noise." Devotees who have read all of Tolle's books and audio tapes probably won't find new ideas or information here. But they may appreciate the refresher course --revisiting familiar concepts in a slightly different package. --Gail Hudson

From Publishers Weekly
Some readers of this slim follow-up to the bestselling The Power of Now may be alarmed that the seemingly wise and gentle Tolle writes in the introduction that his new work "can be seen as a revival for the present age of the oldest form of recorded spiritual teachings: the sutras of ancient India." Tolle explains that the Vedas and Upanishads, as well as the words of the Buddha, the parables of Jesus and the wisdom of the Tao Te Ching can be thought of as sutras in the sense that they share a brevity that "does not engage the thinking mind more than is necessary." Like those great sacred works, Tolle continues, his writings come from inner stillness. "Unlike those ancient sutras, however, they don't belong to any one religion or spiritual tradition, but are immediately accessible to the whole of humanity." Repeating what has become a familiar if no less ominous note in contemporary spiritual life, he adds that this unprecedented accessibility is due to the urgent need for humanity to wake up if we are not to destroy ourselves. It is the stillness that is our common Being-which is the formless container for what is happening in the now-"that will save and transform the world." In the brief chapters that follow, Tolle describes stillness with eloquent economy. Beautiful stand-alone paragraphs offer insight into the defensive nature of the ego versus what he sees as our true being, the attentive, receptive mind behind thought, the spaciousness and peace that blossoms inside when we accept what is, including death. "Your unhappiness ultimately arises not from the circumstances of your life but from the conditioning of your mind." No one will doubt that Tolle has freed himself from nagging thoughts and fears. But the rest of us?
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Tolle's ideas have origins in many spiritual and philosophical traditions--Buddhism, existentialism, and, from the mental health realm, gestalt therapy. "When you lose touch with yourself, you lose yourself in the world," he states, while offering the state of being still as an ever-available tonic for the distractions from the outside world. Tolle's presentation can be jarring--he frames his prescriptions with moderately long silences between his statements. This intensifies the absorption of the ideas so that we're less likely to gloss over them in the busy stream of our listening habit. A precious recording from an author whose ideas are important for this time in history. T.W. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

A dose of sanity
I have just read 'The Power of Now', and had actually read 'Stillness Speaks' before that. I would recommend buying 'The Power of Now' first if mindfulness is fairly new to you. The Power of Now provides more of a foundation for the mind, before going beyond mind and into presence. 'Stillness Speaks', on the other hand, is condensed snippets that are like immediate portals into stillness and sanity for those who have some familiarity with mindfulness/meditation already, as I did. That said, I found 'Stillness Speaks' an immediate and refreshing facilitator of stillness/presence/being for me....and it continues to be this each time I pick it up. A homecoming to 'sanity'. It cuts through mental noisiness, reminds me of my depths and that life is here and now.

In 'Power of Now' Tolle suggests we listen with more than the mind, almost like listening with the body when we read. I instantly recognised in this description my primary mode of reading spiritual texts, and you may too; and I find Tolle's writing very nourishing when read in this subtle way. If my mind is too dominant and I'm in resistance to the moment, however, his writing appears to lack depth or interest, and the way appears barred to me! This suggests to me that his writing does indeed come from a place of being, and not from an egoic, mental level. While I'll read others for more mind-food, I'll continue to dip into Tolle for soul-food and instant peace.

A Handy Reference to Staying on Track
At first glance "Stillness Speaks" may seem like less of a "real book" than "The Power of Now" or "A New Earth". It is smaller in size, shorter and does not have the same kind of continuity in the sense of going on an inward journey. Yet that is exactly what appeals to me about it. This is the kind of book I can place on my nightstand, open to any page, read a few ideas to ponder and put away for the night (or day).

For someone who is struggling to integrate the concepts in Tolle's other books, this one may not have much appeal. For for those who have done the inner work, who have been on the journey for a while, this book offers succulent reminders of ways to continually bring ourselves back to appreciating every moment and manifestation of life. For example, after writing the last sentence I randomly opened the book to page 72 and read, "Sometimes surrender means giving up trying to understand and becoming comfortable with not knowing." This is such a simple idea, profound and yet a tremendous challenge for most seekers.

This is not a book to read from cover to cover. It is a book to ponder a bit at a time. The ideas presented are so rich with meaning that trying to absorb it by simply reading would render the mind dull and bloated. It is a meditation tool, a garden of ideas, any one of which has the potential to expand consciousness.

Moonstone Star White is the author of High Way from Hell: Using Emotion to Fan the Fire of Enlightment.

Get Into The Moment
'Stillness Speaks' by Eckhart Tolle reminds you that in order to remain in touch with who you really are you must consciously remain in touch with
your inner stillness. In order to do this you are reminded to 'Get out of your head and into the moment.'

Wonderful spiritual insights and practical ways to embrace the teachings by bringing the practice of inner stillness into your everyday life.

This book reinforces and deepens the understanding found in his previous book 'The Power of Now.'

Great for effectively overcoming fear and ending suffering in order to experience peace & joy.

Most recommended and totally awesome!

Better together with

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose (Oprah's Book Club, Selection 61)