The Power of Now is in the Public Domain

I'm happy to report that Eckhart Tolle has seen fit to allow his seminal book, The Power of Now, to slip into the pubic domain, which means it's now free. I've posted it in its entirety to my Pages section (right). Let me know if you find this format helpful.

Please take a few moments to take a look at it. Click once or twice on each page to enlarge the print to your liking. A page or two each day while seated at your desk between tasks or clients is guaranteed to change your life.

Daily Tolle #2

"'At this moment, this is what you feel,' I said. 'There is nothing you can do about the fact that at this moment this is what you feel. Now, instead of wanting this moment to be different from the way it is, which adds more pain to the pain that is already there, is it possible for you to completely accept that this is what you feel right now?'" [Italics original]

-Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth , p. 165

Read Some Emerson - Spiritual Laws, Part 1

SPIRITUAL LAWS

The living Heaven thy prayers respect,
House at once and architect,
Quarrying man's rejected hours,
Builds therewith eternal towers;
Sole and self-commanded works,
Fears not undermining days,
Grows by decays,
And, by the famous might that lurks
In reaction and recoil,
Makes flame to freeze, and ice to boil;
Forging, through swart arms of Offence,
The silver seat of Innocence.

When the act of reflection takes place in the mind, when we look at ourselves in the light of thought, we discover that our life is embosomed in beauty. Behind us, as we go, all things assume pleasing forms, as clouds do far off. Not only things familiar and stale, but even the tragic and terrible, are comely, as they take their place in the pictures of memory. The river-bank, the weed at the water-side, the old house, the foolish person, - however neglected in the passing, - have a grace in the past. Even the corpse that has lain in the chambers has added a solemn ornament to the house. The soul will not know either deformity or pain. If, in the hours of clear reason, we should speak the severest truth, we should say, that we had never made a sacrifice. In these hours the mind seems so great, that nothing can be taken from us that seems much. All loss, all pain, is particular; the universe remains to the heart unhurt. Neither vexations nor calamities abate our trust. No man ever stated his griefs as lightly as he might. Allow for exaggeration in the most patient and sorely ridden hack that ever was driven. For it is only the finite that has wrought and suffered; the infinite lies stretched in smiling repose.

Daily Tolle #1

"If there are other people around, preferably your partner or a close family member, the pain-body will attempt to provoke them--push their buttons, as the expression goes--so it can feed on the ensuing drama. Pain-bodies love intimate relationships and families because that is where they get most of their food. It is hard to resist another person's pain-body that is determined to draw you into a reaction. Instinctively, it knows your weakest, most vulnerable points. If it doesn't succeed the first time, it will try again and again It is raw emotion looking for more emotion. The other person's pain-body wants to awaken yours so that both pain-bodies can mutually energize each other."

Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth, p. 148

Bumping into God - Part 1

You know that feeling you get when you first fall in love? You might feel it all over your body or it might be localized in your heart or even your teeth. It's a feeling of pure joy in the very cells and molecules of your physical being.

You might feel this feeling of physical joy at other times too, like when you see a baby or think about your children. Whenever that happens, don't miss it! Something profound has taken place. That's salvation. You've bumped into God.

New Reviews for The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder

If you've read The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder, please go to its page on Amazon and write a review. If you haven't read it, please get a copy and do so as soon as possible! Everybody's talking, you don't want to be left out! Keith gave it 5 stars and wrote:

"The Bible is the first self-help book" was my favorite idea that came from this well written concise, little nugget of a book. Getting all of the ideas from all of the most popular self-help books rolled into one exciting murder mystery was a great idea and Mr. Wright has an uncanny way of explaining all of the different concepts that I have had trouble understanding. I highly recommend that everyone read this book to enjoy a happier, more satisfied life. A little bit of sugar helps the medicine go down.

Angie gave it 5 stars and wrote:

I love a good "who done it" and have found great solace in many of the writings highlighted in The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder. Wright's thoughtful book brings both genres together in an enlightening and entertaining page turner. I was happily intrigued by the unique character development and thought provoking exerpts which lead me to consider the possibility that, we are what we read. 5 Stars and I can't wait for the next one!

Thanks Keith and Angie!

In Relationships It Only Takes One to Tango

In a relationship, the job is non-reaction. Another word for non-reaction, according to spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle, is forgiveness. Forgiveness works wonders. As the Good Book says, "Love covers a multitude of sins." Forgiveness doesn't require participation from your significant other. It only requires your participation.

Tolle's first book, The Power of Now is in question-and-answer format. The question (in this case, actually, a comment): 

I suppose that it takes two to make a relationship into a spiritual practice, as you suggest. For example, my partner is still acting out his old patterns of jealousy and control. I have pointed this out many times but he is unable to see it. [Italics original]

Tolle's answer: "How many people does it take to make your life into a spiritual practice? Never mind if your partner will not cooperate. Sanity--consciousness--can only come into this world through you." If you wait for your partner to come around, Tolle says, you may be waiting forever.

Two Approaches to Psychological Problems in Children

When I come across an article like "How Quiet is Too Quiet? When Shyness is Actually a Disorder," I always recall the line from Robert Persig's classic book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:

Through multiplication upon multiplication of facts, information, theories and hypotheses, it is science itself that is leading mankind from single absolute truths to multiple, indeterminate, relative ones.

This article is exactly what Persig is talking about. In it, a mother, Kim O'Connell, recounts her experience with her son Declan's extended periods of complete silence, which she discovered has a name: Selective Mutism.

So science has added another category, that's what science is all about. It's a process that began with Aristotle. It's called classification. Selective Mutism is unique, requiring unique handling, unique treatment and possibly unique drugs--multiplication of facts, etc., leading from single absolute truths (root causes, if you will) to multiple, indeterminate, relative ones. The child's behavior, in other words, is meaningless. These are just symptoms of a disease that he's come by at random.

Modern Concept of "Flow" has Its Roots in Taoism

As reported in the Good News Gazette, veteran reporter Cheryl Hall of The Dallas Morning News had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, best known for his development of the concept known as "Flow," which has gained wide application in the business world.

Dennis Miller and the God Question

My book, The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder, deals directly with the below issues in Chapters 12 and 13, which focus on Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (link to free online version). 

I recommend that anyone interested read my book as a primer, then read Zen and the Art, which is quite a long book, well worth reading, but you have to know what you're looking for and how it all fits together.

* * *

Below is a short audio clip of an Interview from The Dennis Miller Show. Dennis is interviewing Vince Bugliosi, author of Divinity of Doubt: The God Question (as well as Helter Skelter, and others), a book in which Bugliosi intellectualizes many tenets of Christian faith, like virgin birth, immortality of the soul, the divinity of Jesus and others.

In the interview, Bugliosi says that he is an agnostic, and that atheism is an "intellectually empty philosophy. Says Bugliosi of popular atheists like Christopher Hitchens, who he names specifically, "They simply cannot find a non-sequitur that they do not like."

But like such atheists (and religious folk from the opposite side), Bugliosi sets up these straw man intellectual arguments which do not advance the debate at all, but rather simply further obscure the basic difference between religious/spiritual people and intellectual people, which is a PHILOSOPHICAL difference concerning the nature of reality.

This sounds quite esoteric, but let's make it very, very simple:

First Three Chapters of The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder by Todd Wright

Get hooked! Then order The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder from Amazon. It's also available through any bookstore.

The Secret Behind Think and Grow Rich

I've been studying Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill lately. In it, Hill repeated makes reference to a principle that he purposefully has not named directly because he feels that readers would benefit more by its indirect discovery. Perhaps this video gives a clue as to the principle's identity. Can you figure out what it is?

It's interesting to hear directly, one eye witness removed, from Andrew Carnegie, one of the richest men who ever lived. His ideas about success are difficult to discount.

Response to Canadian Therapists Concerns About Eckhart Tolle

Here is an article from Integral Options Cafe, discussing a piece by Douglas Todd, originally written for the Vancouver sun:

Canadian Therapists Worry that Clients Use Eckhart Tolle as a Spiritual Bypass

Here is my response:

This is a thought provoking article, but the main argument is a straw man. Tolle doesn't say you should gloss over the past. He simply urges people to deal with the past as it arises in the present, or "in the now." Negativity in the past, if it was dealt with effectively then (if it wasn't grieved and processed at the time), will inevitably resurface as what Tolle calls a "pain-body" attack. This occurs in the present and can be dissolved through awareness, allowing it to be, while focusing on the uncomfortable sensation that it causes (emotion, Tolle says, is the body's reaction to a thought). Inevitably, too, this process brings to mind the unconscious thoughts that are causing the pain and the sufferer awakens a bit further.

You are right when you point out that Tolle's philosophy is more sophisticated that some of his followers realize. But it is not a sophistication of the head, it is that of the heart. Tolle says we learn from the past but we should not live in it, nor the future.

The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder Available Now!

Update 2/27/11 - Amazon has put The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder on sale for $9.35 ($8.88 for Kindle). Don't know how long this will last. Thanks, Amazon!

Update 2/23/11 - The Facebook launch is official:

E-Launch of The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder

It's official! My book, The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder, is available in both Kindle and paperback on Amazon. Just waiting on Amazon to correct the book description for the paperback before sending out an electronic launch FB event tomorrow.

I'd be honored if you'd buy my book.

Launch Date for Self-Improvement Book Club Murder

UPDATE: Due to user error (me being the user) the launch date for for The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder has been moved back to the 23rd of February. It will be worth the wait!

* * *

The launch date for The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder will be 16 February. That's the date I anticipate that the softcover version will be available on Amazon. It's already available in Kindle e-book format.

I must say that early "test market" results are very positive. Thanks, everyone, for your interest and encouragement!

The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder

A Mystery by Todd Wright.

Praise for The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder from Tom Butler-Bowdon, Author of 50 Self-Help Classics, 50 Psychology Classics (www.Butler-Bowdon.com):

"Major ideas in self-development and spirituality wrapped in a murder mystery? This weird combination actually works, providing a perfect entree to the field in an entertaining way. Wright has thought deeply about his material and it shows. This book gives self-development a new dimension."

Description

John Bookman is the greatest detective the city of Plimpton has ever known. When socialite Sue Ellen Pinkus is murdered, she uses her dying breath to implicate a self-improvement book club in the crime. Bookman and his partner, Alec Berg, pay a visit to the club. Fresh off a divorce, Detective Berg has a hunch that the solution to the case lies in the content of the various books championed by the eccentric club members. As the interviews progress, Bookman begins to believe that his partner just might be right.

The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder bundles in one slim volume some of the best ideas from some of the greatest minds of our day. A New Earth; The Power of Now; Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance; The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People; The Secret; How to Win Friends and Influence People; Rich Dad, Poor Dad; Think and Grow Rich; Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus and others are explained and synthesized, enticing readers to explore these life-changing books for themselves.

The Self-Improvement Book Club Murder is a must-read for anyone even remotely interested in personal development, particularly as it relates to spirituality, religion and philosophy.

It's also a darn good potboiler.

When Fathers Die -Tiger and Earl Woods

Sometimes men go a little crazy when their fathers pass away. They lose their rudder and scud across life's ocean for a while.

When my grandfather died, my father lost his way in similar fashion. It didn't help matters that he died in 1969, the advent of the sexual revolution.

The Pain-Body: What Is It?

The term, Pain-body was coined (as far as I know) by Eckhart Tolle in his first book, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. He develops the idea much more fully in his second book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose.

The pain-body is a complex of built up thought patterns and emotions that results from unprocessed or unacknowledged pain experienced in the past. (Tolle goes so far as to hypothesize that we can be born with a certain amount of pain, but we need not agree with this view for the concept to be of service to us.) It lies dormant for varying periods of time, depending on the person, and is triggered by certain stimuli.

The Pain-Body in the Workplace

If people could take a sick day from work for a pain-body attack, we would probably find much more malady in the general population than we currently realize.

Check out this training video script from the HR department of a future Fortune 500 company I uncovered (humor alert: this doesn't really exist):

Millionaire Gives Away Fortune, Keeps Next to Nothing

This article was originally published by Technorati on 11 February 2010. Well worth a second look. To see all my Technorati articles, click Lifestyle in the Contents listing on the sidebar.

Austrian millionaire Karl Rabeder has decided to give away all of the $6.7 million fortune he amassed in the furniture business because he said it made him miserable.

"My idea is to have nothing left. Absolutely nothing," he said in an interview with The Daily Telegraph. "Money is counterproductive – it prevents happiness to come."