“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”  The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

I have always been intrigued by enlightenment, but it seemed so complicated; so unattainable. Then I read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and realized it was simple. The Power of Now gave two great examples that enlightened everything.

Simple Enlightenment: Craving Your Favorite dish.

“Pleasure is always derived from something outside you, whereas joy arises from within.”  Eckhart Tolle

I’m a carnivore who loves fillet Mignon, rack of lamb, and grease cheeseburgers. I get irresistible cravings that need satisfying. Visualize for a moment your favorite meal. Imagine the smell tantalizing your senses as all your attention shifts to the simple pleasure of tasting something wonderful. That first mouth watering bite is heaven on earth. Hummm… You say to yourself. Ahhh – Yes I deserve something this great.  And isn’t always the first bite that taste the best? Hummm… Yes. Yes it is, or at least for me, it was.

Then the second bite, third and so on, but before it’s over, something gets lost along the way. The flavors settle in as each bite becomes less and less fulfilling. By then time I finish a cheeseburger, I barely notice the last bite. So what changes? I do. My attention to the present moment shifts. My senses lose focus as life and its messy confusion of thoughts start turning my cerebral wheel of  unrest.

Eckhart Tolle challenges his readers to make every bite; a first bite.  When you give complete  attention to finding joy in one simple thing,  for that brief moment in time, you’re experiencing a moment of enlightenment. A truly simple exercise: one that taste good, feels good and is good.  My food cravings are now satisfied from start to finish.

“Enlightenment means choosing to dwell in the state of presence rather than in time. It means saying yes to what is.” The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

Simple Enlightenment: Getting stopped at a red light.

The second example from The Power Of Now I wish to share is about red-lights. Take a moment to imagine you’re in a rush; late for a very important meeting. Time is scarce. You feel the pressure mounting, stress building, and you know that no matter what – you’re going to be late. Finally, you’re stopped at a red-light, the world’s longest red-light.  It’s taking forever; you want to scream and pound the dashboard in frustration. You’re trapped in an eternity of red going nowhere. Now, ask yourself one very important question.  Do you have the power to be happy in this moment? Can you choose to be happy? Can you let out all the frustration and let happiness prevail?

We’re the guardians of our thoughts and feelings: we choose how we feel. We can all choose to be happy at any moment.  Happiness is a choice, it may seem impossible at times, but the power is within us at any moment. So next time your rushing, or late, or find yourself stuck behind a red light or road block.  Just ask one question: Do I have the power to be happy in this moment?  I think the answer will surprise you.

“Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Abraham Lincoln

Peace

E.y.D

Your thoughts and feedback are greatly appreciated.

Interested in finding some books by Eckhart Tolle? Check out my new Art to Zen Book Boutique.

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“Love expands.” Hugh Prather

 “There were seventy-five people in the lobby and only a seven-year-old girl was finding out what it felt like to sit on the Marble Floor” I touch the Earth, the Earth Touches Me. Hugh Prather

This book has no page numbers, for that reason alone, I love it.  I envision the lobby filled with sweaty irritable people: and this beautiful little girl experiencing the present moment deeply.  Enjoying the feel of the cool tile, tuning out the noise and chatter for the peaceful harmony in her soul, she is worry free and happy without having to realize this marvelous state of being. 

“My trouble is I analyze life instead of live it.”

“The heart loves, but moods have no loyalty. Moods should be heard but never danced to””

“True humor is fun – it does not put down, kid, or mock. It makes people feel wonderful, not separate, different, and cut off. True humor has beneath it the understanding that we are all in this together. “

“Almost any difficulty will move in the face of honesty. When I am honest  I never feel stupid. And when I am honest I am automatically humble.”

“”Fears, indecision, and frustration feed on words. Without words they usually stop. . . . Words are at times good for looking back, but they are confining when I need to act in the present. It’s not that we fear the place of darkness but that we don’t think we are worth the effort to find the place of light.”

“

Negative feedback is better then none. I would rather have a man hate me than overlook me. As long as he hates me I make a difference.”

“Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes.”

“I saw Dina at the party tonight.  She smiled brightly and said, “This year I decided to give up suffering.”

“To have any hope of happiness,
we must first recognize those times
we are afraid
of the innocence of others.
They are the same moments
as when we ourselves
resist feeling gentle and free.
We mistakenly believe
that our sense of self-worth
comes from how we compare to others,
and that to see them as innocent
would reflect badly on us.”

I touch the Earth, the Earth Touched Me. Hugh Prather p. unavailable

The New York Times has called Hugh Prather “an American Kahlil Gibran.” A minister, lecturer and counselor, he is best known for his many books, including the best-selling Notes to Myself, which helped spark the personal growth movement of the 1970s and has sold more than 5 million copies.

ON LOVE… “I was eighteen years of age when love opened my eyes with its magic rays and touched my spirit for the first time with its fiery fingers, and Selma Karamy was the first women who awakened my spirit with her beauty and led me into the garden of high affection, where days pass like dreams and nights like weddings.”

OF THE FIRST LOOK… It is that moment that divides the intoxication of Life from the awakening.  It is the first flame that lights up the inner domain of the heart.  It is the first magic note plucked on the silver string of the heart.  It is that brief moment that unfolds before the soul the chronicles of time, and reveals to the eyes the deeds of the night, and the works of conscience.  It opens Eternity’s secrets of the future.  It is the seed cast by Ishtar, goddess of Love, and sown by the eyes of the beloved in the field of Love, brought forth by affection, and reaped by the soul.  The first glance from the eyes of the beloved is like the spirit that moved upon the face of the waters, giving birth to heaven and earth, when the Lord spoke and said, “Let there be.”

OF THE FIRST KISS… “It is the first sip from the cup filled by the goddess with the nectar of Life.  It is the dividing line between Doubt that beguiles the spirit and saddens the heart, and Certitude that floods the inner self with joy. It is the beginning of the song of Life and the first act in the drama of the Ideal Man.  It is the bond that unites the strangeness of the past with the brightness of the future; the link between the silence of the feelings and their song.  It is a word uttered by four lips proclaiming the heart a throne, Love a King, and fidelity a crown.  It is the gentle touch of the delicate fingers of the breeze on the lips of the rose-uttering a long sigh of relief and a sweet moan.  It is the beginning of that magic vibration that carries the lovers from the world of weights and measures into the world of dreams and revelations.”

Loneliness… “Life is an island in an ocean of loneliness, an island whose rocks are hopes, whose trees are dreams, whose flowers are solitude, and whose brooks are thirst.”

Merit… “A man’s merit lies in his knowledge and in his deeds, not in his color, faith, or descent.  For remember, my friend, the son of a shepherd who possesses knowledge is of greater worth to a nation that the heir to a throne, if he be ignorant.  Knowledge is your true patent of nobility, no matter who your father or what your race may be.”

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