“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.”
Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
Eckhart Tolle has received much acclaim for his insightful book The Power Of Now. He talks about how there is only this moment and nothing else exists except for in our minds.

Life seems to be linear, and we have a sense of being on a continuum with the past behind us the future in front of us. Tolle says they are both unreal;

The past gives you an identity and the future holds the promise of salvation, of fulfillment in whatever form. Both are illusions.

ECKHART TOLLE, The Power of Now
He argues that there is only ‘now’, and nothing can happen except ‘now’.
“Nothing has happened in the past; it happened in the Now. Nothing will ever happen in the future; it will happen in the Now.”

Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

We tend to see life as leading from one thing to the next and we anticipate what will happen in the future. However, nothing can happen in the future, it can only happen in the present moment. This has been a challenging concept for some to grasp, however, when you think about, it is true.

We can consider and predict how things will be in the future in line with certain assumptions, actions and beliefs, and with everything in place it will seem to happen sometime ahead of where we are at the moment. However, the event cannot occur in the future, it can only occur in the ‘now’.

The future tends to cause us the most problems as we feel guilt, shame or regret for actions and decisions taken in the past. We are keeping those alive in the present moment when we constantly think about them, and create bad feelings in ourselves. It is as if we are still experiencing that moment over and over.

“All negativity is caused by an accumulation of psychological time and denial of the present. Unease, anxiety, tension, stress, worry - all forms of fear - are caused by too much future, and not enough presence. Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness, and all forms
of nonforgiveness are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.”

Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment


Being mindful, and aware of the present moment keeps the mind occupied in the ‘now’ instead of scattered, confused and anxious in the past or projected future. The kindest thing we can do for our self is to keep our attention in each moment, with full awareness of what we are doing, how we are feeling and the surroundings and environment we find ourselves in. That is all that exists, and that is all we would be advised to focus on as anything else creates imbalances within us.