Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle
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Book Reviews of Stillness Speaks
Book Review: The Power of Slience. Distilled version - The Power of Now
Summary: 5 Stars
I thought Stillness Speaks is a rehash of "The Power of Now" in one sense, but also a distilled version of "The Power of Now". The words Mr. Tolle says are meant to be experienced though it is the same old philosophy as "The Power of Now". That is why this book has lots of white spaces. That is why it is sectioned out with all the small paragraphs. If a book full of words is the one you feel you can get as much money back as you can, this is not the book for you because you are focusing too much on gaining knowledge. You want to adopt the words even before you can pause to see whether it makes sense to you. Your mind wants to be occupied with all the words so you cannot stop and to reflect.
This is a book you are not supposed to rush it through and read all of it in one day (though you can surely speed read it and be done in 2 hours because it is thin without too many words). It is supposed to be a book you read only one chapter a day to pause and to reflect slowly. You feel the words and you taste the words. You experience what he said without the noise that is always talking and judging. Then, you experience love and peace. Then, you are awakened from that voice in your head that is always talking and judging (egoic mind).
Also, when you are reading this book, you are supposed to take Mr. Tolle out of the picture as an identity (meaning the form of a spiritual teacher - does not matter whether you respect him or not). Mr. Tolle's words are just a gateway to our spiritual awareness to be in the presence and stillness. The words are meant to inspire and help us return to our authentic self (inner peace) - which exists in the presence. When we get into the mental position of, "What was he thinking when he was writing the book?" or judging "isn't it just a rehash of The Power of Now", you have already missed the point of the book - which is to stay presence and feel the words to achieve stillness. If you already have the book, why not read it with an open heart rather than complaining the white spaces/thin book? You already have it in your hands. Why can't you read it with gratitude and see what the words have to offer you?
Book Review: Now or Never!
Summary: 5 Stars
Spiritual teachers admonish students not to mistake the pointing finger for the moon. Eckhart Tolle admonishes readers not to mistake excessive verbiage for truth. This beautiful book gives us enough words to focus our attention while inviting us to a stillness within which we may come to our own knowing. Surely this is the most precious of gifts!As a longtime student of non-dual teachings in both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, it took me quite some time to open to what was being offered by this impish looking man who came to truth sitting on a park bench. Yet when I encountered him for the first time, in a video before an audience in Southern California, I was struck by the simplicity and force of his message. As I read "The Power of Now" it was clear to me that Eckhart Tolle is speaking of the perennial philosophy. Most importantly, he embodies the truth of which he speaks.
Yesterday I gave my copy of "Stillness Speaks" to a friend who is facing imminent death from cancer with both courage and grace. I told him that in my opinion embodying the simple message of this book is all that is required to experience the truth of being human. The book offers neither an intellectual framework to lean against, nor practices with which to temporize. It is now, or never! To a person dying, and this means all of us, of course, this is a message to grasp right now.
For those who require more words, in their displeasure with Mr. Tolle's offering, may I suggest Nisargadatta's "I Am That," or "Talks with Ramana Maharshi," or Longchenpa's "The Natural Freedom of Mind," or Poonjaji's "The Truth Is." Perhaps after you've digested these respected tomes you will wish to re-read "Stillness Speaks" and reconsider your assessment.
Book Review: A Great Book with Intuitively Recognizable Truths
Summary: 5 Stars
"Stillness Speaks" is a surprisingly good follow up to "The Power of Now". The message of being present and liberating oneself from the imprisonment of thought is largely the same, but the format of this book is more compact and accessible and also places Tolle's message in more specific contexts.
In "Stillness Speaks", Eckhart Tolle replaces the Q&A format found in "The Power of Now" with a direct and pithy narrative style modeled on Sutras. The first chapter essentially provides the book's entire message while subsequent ones place that message in more specific contexts such as how to bring stillness, awareness, and compassion to work or relationships.
This book, like its predecessor contains much truth. It is the kind of truth that you don't really have to think about because either you'll recognize it intuitively or you won't. While I found both "Stillness Speaks" and "The Power of Now" to be useful, powerful books, I was also a little put off by the author's subtle tone of righteous arrogance. A small but significant amount of the "energy" in each book is directed toward establishing Tolle's credentials as a guru. This, along with the intense sales and marketing found on his home page, seems wasteful, contradictory, and unnecessary.
Despite, these misgivings, I highly recommend this book for its invaluable teachings. The message has always bee here regardless of who continues to bring it or how it arrives. I understand that Tolle's next book is about bringing consciousness to one's flatulent behavior and that its title will be "Stillness Squeaks".
Book Review: The feel of an Upanishad
Summary: 5 Stars
Eckhart Tolle's second book has been awaited for a while by those who found the wisdom and grace of the first to be an extraordinary experience. This book is smaller on content and perhaps more complex in profundity. The Power of Now operated at all levels; it was one of those rare books which could actually get people to begin a spiritual practice with some seriousness, while those already in the swim found it to be a valuable guide. Stillness Speaks tilts a bit towards the already serious spiritual practitioner. Not that a beginner would not profit from it but my guess is that people who have done their processes and transformed themselves are likely to extract the most from this tight little spiritual classic.Stillness Speaks has some of the feel of an Upanishad. A master discourses on important spiritual issues and you access the level you are capable of. When you come back to it, you find that the book has changed too, speaking to you at a depth you might not have suspected even existed - in you! Tolle is evolving towards an aphoristic style of communication; anything longer would tend to be false to the essence of being in the Now which is his difficult/simple message. It is a book that triggers rumination in you even more powerfully than The Power of Now. My personal favorite, something that set off a liberating snort of laughter, is the conclusion to Chapter Six -"Leave Life alone. Let it be."
I feel that not learning from this book would be a blunder.
Book Review: A dose of sanity
Summary: 5 Stars
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.