As a college teacher of two related courses: "Science and Spirituality" and "Near-Death Experiences," I find your programming a phenomenal resource. However, for many of us, once exposed to Eckhart Tolle, all other voices become of "relative importance" (Tolle's term) as opposed to absolute importance. This is not a criticism, just a personal sense that Tolle is speaking from another level of understanding that makes him a true bodhisattva. I would love to hear you interview Deepak Chopra, Ken Wilbur, Andrew Cohen, Gregg Braden, or even one of the legitimate channels like JZ Knight, Pat Rodergast, or Jani King. In any event, thanks for the great work you are doing and for heaven's sake (no pun), keep it up.

I recently came out of a rehab facility for substance addiction after attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for 14 years. Although I identified as an alcoholic all those years, I found that not drinking was not enough. I believed that there was a God, but only as a concept and not a living presence within myself. I became unhappy and desperate. My mind was never at peace. My drinking was the only thing that used to calm my mind, and now even that was no longer an option. So I eventually started drinking and using again, even more so than the first time.

I almost died as a result of my substance abuse. It wasn't until a counselor at the rehab facility explained it this way — that I have a disease that wants me dead — that I began to finally comprehend the nature of what I was up against. While in recovery someone there told me about a group of AA meetings in my area focusing on alcoholism, ego and self. I had never heard my disease described this way — alcoholism as a mind-powered disease and how it manifests itself in the day I'm in. I immediately connected with the message.

One evening, as I was returning home in my car, I heard the first chapter of Tolle's The Power of Now in the author's own voice on Air America radio. I was instantly transfixed. It was as if the universe had placed exactly what I needed to hear at exactly the right time in my recovery. I have been listening to audio CDs of the Power of Now and A New Earth for several months now. Each time I listen, the teaching becomes richer, deeper and more relevant.

My awakening has absolutely transformed my life in the way I interact with others, in the way others treat me and in the peace and inner joy I have in my daily life. I enjoy spending time with people much more than I ever have. I listen more. Strangers smile at me in the street. I sense I am emitting a positive energy flow that i know people feel. I am at complete and utter peace with myself. As Eckhart says, through pain we create the opening for change. I am grateful for the suffering I needed to go through to get me to "crack open my ego," to recognize my compulsive alcoholic thinking so I could dis-identify from it and find ultimately find serenity in my life.

Tolle's teachings are a wonderful companion to the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. They work together synergistically to deepen my understanding of myself and my conscious contact with my higher power. Thank you, Eckhart, for making such a profound difference in my life. I hope I can pass along my experience, strength and hope to other alcoholics who are still suffering in sobriety. Much love to you, John S (AA traditions do not allow me to release my full last name as this is a program of anonymity. I hope you will understand.)

A couple of months after reading Eckhart Tolle's books I decided to really put these teachings into practice by quitting smoking. I had smoked for over 30 years and had tried to quit a number of times. At first I used a drug to help me quit but then went of it completely after a month.

It's been 5 months now, the longest I've ever gone without a cigarette and I hope to continue being smoke free. This has been one of the hardest things I've ever voluntarily put myself through and I NEVER EVER want to repeat the first 3 months of it again. However, I credit the success I've had with Tolle's teachings. I've stayed present for much of the pain of these 5 months. I've come face to face with the seething rage, more times than I realized I would, that was one of the emotions of the pain body that smoking has masked for me.

There were times when I just sat with the anger or the sadness, not judging it, not putting a story to it, just sitting with it and allowing it to be and sometimes it would get bigger but always it got smaller. A number of times this exercise would exhaust me physically, however, I would always feel some kind of opening that allowed me to feel the freedom of diminishing the long held pain.

I am by no means free of all my pain; I still lose my state of present moment awareness on a daily basis; I continue to get caught in the web of my own pain body but now a space has opened that wasn't there before. This gives me hope and inspires me to continue putting forth the effort of staying present in the now.

The Power of Now changed my life three years ago. I too was suffering from severe depression rooted in the poor decisions I made in my recent past, my current situation (I was without a job) and I thought my future was lost. A very good friend had who interviewed Eckhart — Glenn Plaskin — gave me a copy of the book. At first I thought it was a tough read, but then I got the reduced version, Practicing the Power of Now, got it in Audio Format as well, downloaded it to my iPod and now I listen to it whenever I need a "refresher" or reminder…

I remember to "laugh" at that inner voice when it comes up to beat myself down or when I get angry at myself — it happens a lot!

I now live in Bogotá, Colombia and have purchased the book in Spanish and gave it to a friend who is a counselor here in the LGBT community. He loves it and said last night that it will transform his practice!

And a good friend who lives in Poland who has a lifelong chronic illness bought the book upon my recommendation and said it transformed her life…

I was given Eckhart Tolle's audio tapes by my son a few months ago and I can't tell you how much they have impacted my life. I listened to the tapes many times, and they have helped me with my depression and the way that I look at things. I use the signpost of asking myself during the day "am I friendly with the present moment?" and it totally changes something inside. I love listening to Eckhart Tolle's teaching and it has changed how I think about life.

I came across Eckhart Tolle's book The Power of Now quite by accident while browsing the shelves of a local bookstore. After leafing through it I found that I was attracted by the theme and bought the book.

Eckhart's proposition of turning down internal dialogue has been helpful to me. I used to get myself worked up just thinking about problems in my life. I now try to not dwell on situations but rather take action and move on. I find that this has improved my quality of life tremendously. I have always been able to enjoy the moment, being just as happy listening to the birds chirping in my backyard as going on vacation, so that part came easily to me. I think that if more people embrace Eckhart's philosophy, the world would be a better place. I also admire his modesty. He stresses the message and not the messenger, something that isn't practiced by many spiritual teachers.

I have recently read his second book A New Earth and found it very good. Hopefully, being associated with Oprah will spread Eckhart's message to a broader audience. When I was younger, I read the works of Ram Das. I found his writing beneficial also, but there is something about Eckhart's writing that brings home the message more clearly.

I am 53 years old and my story reaches back to my early to mid 20's, where being raised with no religious roots, I had an inner quest for something "more". From the age of 16 to 23 I was heavy into drugs and toward the end of that era I was mixing marijuana with transcendental meditation. Shortly thereafter I heard the "good news" of God's love and accept that for the next 30 years. I met my wife at a nondenominational church and raised 3 children in that environment.

I could write pages detailing my journey to Mr. Eckhart's The Power of Now but I will just hit some highlights. I bought the book just over a year ago and I didn't start reading it until 3 months ago. I couldn't get past the first chapter earlier until my "world" shook a little wilder. He is right; it’s suffering that propels us to wake up. I believe I am on the same path; I just merged onto a new highway.

At times now, I want to sell everything, divorce everyone and move to Thailand to spend all my time in quiet secluded meditation. (I thought that with the Christian faith though too.) I am convinced that whatever your spiritual practice is it has to work in the day to day moments of this "life". So I am patient with my self as my practice take root and grows. Mr. Eckhart is truly a sage of our times.

Just as The Power of Now, A Course in Miracles, and Conversations with God have had an impact, so has A New Earth had its influence. When we speak of "impact" or "influence" we may very well be speaking of "tugs at our consciousness." I can afford to be open to any of these sources because I base everything I learn on the idea that I am free to believe whatever I want. My "feelings" tell me what I can accept or not. I have learned to be patient, and wait for my voices to tell me that I am ready for this new insight, or not. Life has never been easier, thanks to that awareness.

I read Power of Now in 2004, shortly after my Father passed away. I read it rabidly and took notes on note cards, which I still read from time-to-time, 4 years later. They are getting quite dog-eared!

It was a life-changing book. I was glad I stumbled on it, before all the hype; as I, like you, Krista, am wary of hype. Especially in regard to spiritual figures, like Tolle.

I have since given and recommended it to many friends. My (new) husband, is currently listening to it on CD.

This is somewhat humorous story regarding Tolle's teachings. A couple of months ago I decided to adopt a young feral cat that was hanging out in the yard. I drew her in with food and over time gained her trust. Things were going well and I was able to catch her one morning and take her to the vet for shots and to be spayed. When I brought her home, she stayed inside for a couple of days to recover, but it was clear that she wanted back out.

The problem was that I was (am) going to be leaving the country for four months and needed to take her to my brother's home to be cared for. The catch was, she would have to be an indoor cat during her stay there. I then decided to lure the cat — now named Zazz — back inside and keep her there. I was successful but Zazz was miserable; I had attempted to force something and it was not good. After several days of misery I decided to give it up and take Tolle's advice on just embracing uncertainty. I let Zazz back out and decided the worst case scenario would be that she would just stay on the property and my neighbor would set out food when he could. My job was to dump the fear, accept the moment, and go with that.

The funny thing was, as soon as I let it go and left it up to Zazz, she started wanting to come in — and now — loves being in the house. She has her favorite chair and a host of cat toys. In short, she discovered she can have a pretty cushy cat life and I discovered I can actually practice acceptance. We're both a lot happier.

Thanks very much for such a consistently fantastic program. Both the variety and depth of topics is so stimulating and refreshing, yours is one of the best programs on the radio! Because you've frequently included contemplative themes in your program, I wonder if you might be interested in interviewing the Great Mirabai Bush, who served as the founding director of the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society in Northhampton, MA. For over a decade, she pioneered the teaching of meditation practice in mainstream institutions like Harvard and Yale law school, and most recently at Google. She is certainly a quiet cultural figure who has been working mightily to bring a contemplative perspective in unlikely places with great success. It was Mirabai who also helped to start teaching mindfulness at the Monsanto corporation in the late 1990s with some interesting results. Because mindfulness and the like are now close to mainstream, I' d like to think her efforts have been successful. She'd be a fascinating person to talk with and perfect for your show. Please let me know if I can facilitate an introduction. I'd be happy to do so. Sincerely, Jeremy Hunter, PhD Peter F. Drucker School of Management Professor of "The Executive Mind"

As someone who has studied religion at the seminary level, I was amused by Tolle's answer to the question of whether he is teaching New Age. I can't remember the exact words, but he said to the effect that he was "beyond" New Age. He then proceeded to spend the rest of the interview extolling the core teachings of New Age: pantheism, monism, achieving a new "consciousness", suffering is a result of erroneous perceptions of our existence, and an almost total focus on self.

Eckhart is certainly entitled to his opinions, even to teach others about them, but I think your listeners deserve to know the background behind Tolle's belief system.

I was also amused by the abject elitism with which Tolle characterized those who live under survival conditions. He said they were too busy trying to survive to be "unhappy," ultimately never answering the question put to him. It was as if he was saying that since he would have a difficult time selling them his materials, those people were of little concern to him. The absolute disregard for those in poverty by proponents of New Age is one of the more troubling characteristics of New Age philosophy. Instead of finding our worth by selfishly looking inwardly, I believe we should look for ways to serve others, putting their needs first, which was one of Jesus' central teachings. While I would not call myself a follower of Liberation theology, I do believe Christianity should help those who are suffering.

I listened to both the edited and the full version of your interview with Eckhart Tolle and noticed several points of similarity with my own religion of Judaism:

1. God as the ineffable that cannot be put into words. The Hebrew language captures this concept by expressing the name of God in the Hebrew consonants for the sounds Y-H-V-H. This word, because it has no vowels, is unpronounceable in Hebrew, and is usually pronounced by using the Hebrew word for LORD. Additionally, it consists of letters that, when they appear in the root of a Hebrew verb, generally disappear in other forms of the verb. So it is a word composed entirely of disappearing letters!
2. Krista's observation during the interview that the Greek word for sin means "to miss the mark" also is true in Hebrew. The word for sin, "chait" (pronounced like the English word "hate" but with the "h" pronounced as if you were clearing your throat rather than the way it is pronounced in English) means the same thing.
3. As a sidelight, the first appearance of the word "chait" in the Hebrew bible is not in the story of the expulsion from Eden, but in the story of Cain and Abel. In Hebrew, expulsion from Eden is a consequence of Adam and Eve's disobedience, but there is no suggestion that the disobedience is sinful; only that one's independence as an adult human being, through the knowledge of right and wrong, comes at a price.

Realizing that I am not in my thought changed everything. No longer am I in control of my mind and that is such a relief. I feel rooted now. There is another important teaching but this realization had the most impact on my life. I [can't] thank Eckhart enough.

All my teachers have arrived in perfect order. After years of therapy, spiritual exploration, and regular hour-long meditation, Mr. Tolle came a-knockin'. He articulates what has been for me experiential, non-verbal. I now have virtually no drama in my life which is nothing short of a miracle. Absence of drama has made my life more exciting, passionate, and fun. It's like overcoming an addiction: I could not imagine a life without alcohol. I'd be bored and boring! Now 6+ years sober, I cannot imagine a life with alcohol. Living according to Tolle and other teachers along the same vein has given me so much peace and joy, enthusiasm, and humor.

Here's a wonderful example from last week: a senior manager aggressively and impolitely accused me of messing up a small request. At the moment it happened I immediately went into the witness/awareness state without even thinking about it. I watched the situation outside myself. I heard the person's concerns; got that his overreaction had nothing to do with me; and responded with genuine compassion. Yes, I hadn't completed the task and I would do so within 15 minutes. The person's energy completely shifted, he apologized for jumping down my throat and expressed his relief I would take care of that and other issues. I have no doubt a potentially stressful altercation (for all concerned) never manifested because I would not allow it to escalate and become more than it actually was. I thank my years of practice, study, and of course Eckhart Tolle.

There are many areas of my life where I have put into action the philosophy that Eckhart is teaching. The biggest one area is to stay present in the moment. That in and of itself says it all.

My husband and I have agreed to stay present with our disagreements. We are no longer allowed to bring the past into our conversation, no more 'you always' or 'you never' or 'it's always been like this or that.' We stay present, and if something bothers us, we need to speak up now, and if not, then we have to let it go. It has made even the need to speak out seem less important. I have noticed we argue considerably less, not really at all anymore. We are incorporating this into dealing with our children, and although it is difficult at times, it is helpful and I feel less stressed.

That leads me to the next area, stress. I have a lot less stress. I am able to work through stressful moments by mentally noticing my stress and then letting it go. There was an interesting moment when I was listening to the Eckhart/Oprah class, and Eckhart said something to the effect of your mind not knowing the difference between what is happening now and what you are remembering. So, if you are always replaying bad memories or thoughts, you are continuing the stress process. This made a lot of sense to me, and I became aware of the physical reaction each time it happened to me afterward. It is a lot easier to 'let go' now, and if I feel myself going there with the stress, I just say to myself, 'oh, there is that feeling again.' I acknowledge it, and release it.

Another way these teachings have impacted me is in my career. I am a nurse in a busy hospital, and deal with patients with all sorts of illnesses and diseases. I feel that I have more patience with my patients, and that I am able to work with them in a more calm, relaxing demeanor. I use staying present and positive with my patients in order to help them through difficult or painful times. I have noticed an improvement in my patient care, and in my patients' attitudes.

One important way Eckhart's teaching has really helped me is that it also took me out of the victim role. I have spent many years mourning my parents' death, and feeling sorry that I lost them both by the time I was 21. I never understood 'why I had to live my life out with no parents.' It always seemed a cruel way to be treated by the universe. Now I feel like my parents' death has happened and its okay. I am still here living today. Today is a gift, the present. I spend a lot less time thinking of the their death, and more on living today, now.

So, when asked how Eckhart's teachings have impacted my life, I would have to say in every way possible. I feel a more positive change in my life. I have found myself sharing these thoughts/ideas with friends and loved ones when they are having their own troubles in life. They seem to get it, right away, and state feeling better by the end of our conversation. I recently sent A New Earth to my brother who is going through a divorce. He is on his second read, and highlighting areas in the book; he tells me that this book has changed his life. Wow! What else can I say. The message is loud and clear.

Tolle's work is refreshing and gave me the inner and outer freedom I was looking for. I believe that I came into contact with his work because I was ready emotionally, mentally, spritually, and socially.

I communicate with others from a deeper level, and I am more authentic in my interactions. When I have anxiety or conflicting situations (which of course are man-made experiences — forms) I stay within my body (which Gesalt theoriest would say — the body never lies.) You see Tolle is right, the body is the "gateway to the present state." I also believe in the universal law (not sure if Tolle talks about this) thus, what I project out to the world is what I attract to myself. However, if I am present in all my interactions and experiences I will experience Maslow's "peak experiences"; and I won't play games with others, as Eric Berne talks about, because I won't be trying to elivate myself in any way.

Lately, I told a co-worker that "I want to get closer to myself." She wasn't very supportive of my statement. You see Tolle's work is helping me get closer to me, I love being within my own skin. I don't feel the need to have noise or people or events to be content/comfortable within me. I really make decisions from a different place now. I am not as reactive — perhaps my age has something to do with this. I feel peaceful and I thank Tolle and many other scholars for this their work.

I live a very quiet personal lifestyle, at first some coworders and family made comments about me living in solitude (meaning I spend my days off work walking, reading, watching drama movies or documentaries etc…) and basically I can go without talking to another human being or having any contact with another human being for several days. They stated, it's not normal/natural or "don't you feel lonely, I would feel lonely being all by myself." I have always been somewhat sensitive and reactive to these comments, but to be honest I love the isolation, although ironically I don't feel isolated within me. Reading Tolle's work inspired me to trust my "organic self" as Carl Rogers would have stated.

Of course everything I say is an attempt to put into words something that exists on many levels. I was totally blown away when I read A New Earth by virtually everything in it. I had danced around these ideas as they were presented by other spiritual teachers and disciplines. But Eckhart's book really made it all understandable as a whole way of thinking rather than in bits and pieces.

One of the most freeing aspects was the notion of the pain body. In my life I have always felt guilty about the pain I felt or more truly the pain I was always trying to suppress. To understand that as humans we are the inheritors of pain to a greater or lesser degree depending on our circumstances was a revelation. I now see the pain I am more willingly experiencing as my fair share of the pain of humanity.

Instead of feeling it as a judgment of me, I see it as part of our inheritance as humans. Now I think "why not me." Just this one aspect has been transformational, but, along with experiencing the present moment, the idea that the ego feeds on the drama it creates (righteous suffering, etc.) has been transformational to my thinking, my being, and my life.

Having been born into and raised in the Catholic tradition, that was the sum total of my faith and belief. I was comfortable with the edicts and rituals that were established centuries ago. I married a man of the same faith, as did my four sisters. We all appreciated the morality and discipline of this religion and wanted our children to be raised and educated in the same tradition.

When the sex abuse scandal within the Catholic Church came to light in 2002, I felt the same sense of disgust, as many did, and even though I personally knew of two children who had been molested by priests, the impact of this crime was very slight to my psyche. That all changed abruptly in 2004 when my son recovered the memory of sexual abuse by a priest from our parish, a man who had abused three boys at another parish before being reassigned to our church and school. The abuse took place in a hotel and my son dissociated and repressed the memory through 20 years of a very tortured existence. In the aftermath I was left with no faith, no beliefs, and a mountain of pain and hurt.

In 2007 my sister gave me The Power of Now. As I listened to the CDs, much of his teaching made sense and equally as much did not. How can we stop our thoughts and how can we stop the horrible pain that we live and breathe. I had so assimilated the Catholic religion into the core of my being and now how could I believe in a God associated with unspeakable evil. As I read church history and watched and listened to the news, God and all religions became an absurdity. In the name of God, religions have used their power to molest, murder, debase, control, and manipulate the human race. And yet, we must surely, at least up to this point in our evolution, have a base need for organised religion. Why else would churches be such a huge part of our landscape.

Now it is 2008 and Oprah has brought Eckhart Tolle and A New Earth into the homes of millions of people across the world. We are all searching, we are all hurting and in need of a new perspective on a path to peace. Mr. Tolle came into our living rooms and other gathering places with a nonjudgmental acceptance and love of the world. He understands suffering, as he has suffered. As I listened and began to apply the principles of living in the present I began to notice a change in my perception. I have learned the importance of surrendering and accepting the pain of this heinous crime to my son and the effects it will have on the rest of our lives. When thoughts of anger and despair, with their all-consuming negativity, enter into my mind, I tell myself that now, in this moment, all is well and I can move into just simply "being," and with that, I feel a peacefulness and a reprieve from conflict.

Now, I know I have my work cut out for me. You can't take 60 years of Catholicism and flip it to a new spirituality. However, in my search for answers, I have found the beauty in stillness, the easing of pain in surrender and acceptance of what is, and in the practice of the now, of just being, I experience a sense of enlightenment, a grand harmony with the universe. That is God!

Whatever our beliefs, whatever our age, whatever our past history, we all have the power to turn off the noise and go deep within to that place of stillness where your truest self resides.

I have not read any of Eckhart Tolle's teachings, however, in reading your description of his work I am reminded of my favorite passage ever written. It was the opening paragraph to a movie review written by Richard Corliss of Time magazine about two monologue-based movies, the most well known being Lilly Tomlin's The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life. I was blown away by the realization that the bulk of our lives are spent in our heads and that, therefore, we have enormous control over how we choose to act on out thoughts. I immediately copied it and hung it on my refrigerator where it has hung for 17 years. I only wish Mr. Corliss knew how much that single paragraph has meant to me. I share it with you:

Monday, September 30, 1991
Richard Corliss, Time Magazine

"We all live monologues. These conversations with ourselves are the endless, anarchic commentary running in our brains. They contain — just barely — our rage and desperation. They are the rough drafts of spoken discourse, the side trips into daydream irrelevancies, the lusts and prejudices left unsaid but so deeply felt. Ultimately, our interior monologues amount to a lifelong novel in progress, or perhaps the world's windiest suicide note. Transcribed, they could tell more about what we are than everything we do."

The Power of Now is my bible! For me, all the answers I need to get through life are contained within this book. What it provided me was access to an incredible satisfaction and peace about all situations in life, and from there my happiness and freedom of self just expanded.

Over the years, I've noticed that the world around us is filled with reminders and examples, i.e. the unconditional love/appreciation/loyalty of a dog, the miracle and endurance of nature's existence in spite of the products of our fear and chaos and simple reminders like trees and plants (and animals for that fact) don't argue with rain, wind, sleet, or snow — they bend with, adjust, and adapt.

Life is simple and simply fulfilling just as it is; it is us humans that complicate it.

My story: A long time ago I took a course in Jewish mysticism, Kabala, at the Tremont Street synagogue in Cambridge. One day when I exited with my friend Sarah, we saw in the moonlight, in the street, the Hebrew letters made of rain water and it was such an intense, mystical, shared experience that we never returned to this class, feeling we could not handle this. This was awesome but also created great fear in both of us.

Since then Sarah has died of breast cancer but what is coming to me, namely the deconstruction of language, of letters, is showing me that there is a vast story created through words themselves and my life is a dance of astounding visible synchronicity. I know I am not alone in this experience as the astonishment of this is palpable wherever I go and others are telling me their stories as we do connect around the world.

Many books have been written about synchronicity and books have been written about the power of the letters, the Hebrew letters and about Babel. It is said in Jewish mysticism and in Sufism that the power of the letters themselves, in that contemplation, that an entire universe arises and that they contain the entire creation.

I have proof on paper that there is nothing, cannot be anything, random about what I am experiencing and putting down on paper, day after day. I do see that the well we draw from, that well that is spiritual, comes from the same source and that certainly, as Tolle writes, there is such synthesis, such One-ness. It is not a new notion as there are so many books, so many poets of soul, who have gone to this place. There is a one-ness to all of this and I am saying God wrote a story and that we are all of us in this together, more connected to each other than we ever thought possible. There is already palpable proof, call it scientific, that this is true, and certainly by way of a life, namely mine as I am doing a weave across the universe and it is astoundingly beautiful.

We must act as if we have free will, namely the "man date" is to honor all creation, all beating hearts and we need to care for the environment now. I think the phrase I follow is more: I love therefore I am. For whom does the bell "Tolle," it tolls for us all, and we must move towards awe, a deep feeling of sanctity. This is a short note (insert musical not here). I am saying it's about the music, always has been about the music. The Al Gore Rhythm (algorithm) is to "get with the program" and global warming is surely close to Global Warning.

No one is interviewing me nor do I seek interviews. The Diary is at the Hay Library, in parts, The Mel Yoken Collection of Letters, Brown University. This story is about love. To experience such massive synchronicity is a humbling experience and it is also to go to the Wall, to that Wailing Wall, because suffering is an intrinsic part of the human condition in this, most bipolar world.

I just listened to the Tolle interview. I really appreciated your last question. You asked him if he believed in God. He answered in the affirmative. Tolle says he uses the word "god" rarely because it has been misused so much by the human mind. Tolle then proceeds to tell us how "god" should be used. I find this contrary, at best, and possibly arrogant. Thanks for your program!

Eckhart Tolle is unlike almost any other teacher in that he radiates the Presence or Being that he talks about so very strongly that it is sufficient to entrain the listeners up into that state. This occurs whether one is watching him on video, listening on audio, or reading one of his books. His careful focus and centering within, rather than placing his focus outside and all around himself, as people commonly do, along with his quiet, measured tone and pace of speaking all help one to enter into Presence with him, to enter the now. This is a blessed state.

Another distinction that sets his teaching apart from the masses of books and teachings all about is that he is insistent on the listener/reader's ability to literally experience this now, this Presence, immediately, or at least very quickly. He is famous partly because "the proof is in the pudding"; his simple writing helps us all to practice what he preaches. I have been deeply immersed in the Presence often ever since the early part of his webinar with Oprah.

So many of us are and have been spiritual seekers for years, for decades, and yet we never quite get where we want to be. Eckhart takes us there. He makes it easy and simple, he radiates the Presence he speaks of, and he is thoroughly humble, in full awareness that he is not the source of the light that he brings. This, in fact, may be his biggest secret. No one gets this big on his own. Spirit, or God, is so clearly, blatantly apparent when he speaks. It is this to which we all respond, I think, whether we are aware of it or not.

I want to re-emphasize a very key highlight of Tolle's magic, which is his insistence that we can all do the exact same thing. We can all contact and get into the flow of the exact same Presence. It is not personal, it is universal! The Presence is literally, not figuratively, One. So, it is not really Tolle's magic at all; it is the magic of the Presence. He is just the vehicle, the transparent window, or window pane, as he likes to call himself. This is the absolute truth, based on my experience.

Okay, there is one more important thing, and that is his teaching on the mind, and identification with the mind, and how to break this identification. He actually gives us our identity back, for goodness sake! The mind will not get you where you want to go. This simple, yet profound teaching, brings gently earth-shattering changes to anyone who practices what he teaches. This is precious beyond belief. He shows you how to leave the mind behind, for you cannot bring it with you into Presence.

Tolle is a simple, humble man whose transparency allows the light of God to shine through him and use him to deliver a very needed teaching in these difficult times. There are few teachers of this caliber alive today, or at any time.

Thank you for the opportunity to voice my feelings and awareness about Eckhart Tolle. I hope you can sense in my writing the Presence that I enjoy since encountering the Tolle teachings. He does not really originate anything. He just ties it all up together into a very simple, workable, practical, demonstrable, experiential teaching. :-D

The teachings have changed how I view who I am. They have opened up a space for healing and comfort and peace. After losing my only son to suicide in 2007, I would never of thought that I could experience such peace and tranquility. I was in awe in how you [Eckhart Tolle] spoke to my soul on every level, and I am continuing to transform and intentionally bring into consciousness each day.

After having an experience where my son's soul or consciousness connected with mine, I do know that only form dissolves and consciousness continues. I speak about your book and this wonderful journey to everyone I meet. I am open to being used to bring light and consciousness with everyone I meet. Thank you for sharing your light and helping others on this journey.

I've enclosed a picture of Ryan when he participated in the triathlon in our community. We believe he suffered from schizophrenia.

I came across Eckhart Tolle's Power of Now at Amazon four or five years ago and was not immediately drawn to it, as it seemed a little more God-centered than things I normally read. I finally looked for it at our local library and found The Power of Now on cassette tape and checked it out. I was immediately taken with the message in the work and started talking with others about it.

I have read a lot of books over the years and been impressed with their messages, but never so much as with this work. Since that time, I have collected most of Eckhart's books on CD and listened to them over and over. The major message in the work is that stepping back from the unobserved thinking mind, which he calls the ego, will allow the real you, consciousness itself, to have control of your life. I am able to step back sometimes and recognize this particular state. It does dissolve conflict, it does bring peace to the moment, and it does eliminate the normal insanity that we are all experiencing.

For me, I have to keep listening to Eckhart's works frequently to get pointed in the right direction. This could be boring, but listening to him read his books or listening one of his interviews actually reduces boredom. I have actually listened to him while exercising and it actually reduces a lot of the anxiety that I feel. There was a year or two when I had stopped listening to his works. A friend whom I had introduced to his work told me about the Oprah webinar back in February and I ended up buying the book and CD of A New Earth. I am so glad for that, now.

Eckhart's becoming widely known seems a positive thing. I'm sure that many will listen for a short time and then move on to the next big thing. However, the simple message is so genuinely powerful, that it will make large impact on some people. The big challenge is for Eckhart's "signposts" to remain in front of people for the tremendous amount of clock time that it takes to retrain people's brains.

At an Omega Institute conference in New York City perhaps nine or ten years ago, I chose to attend Eckhart Tolle's workshop on his philosophy and book, The Power of Now. His ideas touched me then, but I was not yet ready to pursue his teachings.

Apparently, this past year my own journey has brought me to readiness. A New Earth has been transformative; it is a continuing part of my journey as I struggle each day to be aware, conscious, and recall that "I am not my story." It has been difficult to quiet the voices in my head, but my I am able to notice visceral feelings that tell me to stop and take time to be witness to my ego. I can visualize putting my ego on my shoulder. I breathe deeply and summon the courage to wait and watch. Everything seems okay, if even for a second. Actually my experience of time, (perhaps timelessness) is different, as well.

To be conscious of my feelings (ego, pain-body) and know that all is truly fine now has changed my understanding of myself in relation to all the significant others in my life. I am able (more often) to feel and think at the same time. I am grateful for that gift.

I attend an ongoing discussion group and read and reread chapters of the book and occasionally watch the podcasts. I have listened to Eckhart's retreat tapes on The Art of Presence. There is always a new awareness that deepens my spiritual growth. Words do not suffice; it is only more of a 'story.'

Eckhart's teachings have brought an end to 40 years of seeking for spiritual truth. With his guidance, I have found the truth right here in my own being.

My Christian upbringing taught me that there was a God who lived outside of me and judged me constantly. I tried to be good and became a people pleaser, but I so longed for a real connection. It wasn't until I read The Power of Now that I finally was able to drop all concepts of an external god, immediately recognizing the truth in what Eckhart was saying.

While reading his book, I was experiencing intense suffering in a dark and difficult relationship. Even though I knew of my inner divinity, my strong egotistic conditioning fought hard against that realization, until I finally surrendered to Life. I learned to love in a completely new way. Although the relationship eventually dissolved, I realized that I had lost nothing, because nothing could destroy the love that is inside of me. This painful situation, along with Eckhart's teachings, awakened me to ananda — divine bliss.

I now know that Life, as it unfolds each minute, is perfect. I practice coming back to the present moment thousands of times each day. In the sanctuary of this presence, in my own being, I find release from all fear, release from the need to control life, and support that helps me not to react even when my conditioned mind says I have every reason to react.

My practice is minute by minute, waking up out of my thoughts again and again, whenever I remember, and letting go of judging how well I do that. Sometimes I have to let go of not being able to let go. The trick, Eckhart has taught me, is to allow whatever is happening to be as it is. My own reactions and self-judgment are sometimes a part of what is. I let it go now, not exactly by deciding to let it go, but by simply dropping all of my thoughts and coming into presence. I do this by remembering my body, going down into my heart, my belly, and my feet. I then know that I am consciousness. I am that which is looking out from my eyes. It is both exhilarating and peaceful. And it is available to me every single minute. This is the practice. There is nothing to believe in: no rules, no authority, no ideas, and no punishment. There is simply being and the freedom to play with form — to cry and to smile.

Eckhart gave me permission to do this. When I finally gave myself permission to just be, I found the meaning of Life. I am so grateful.

I have spent my life trying on a variety of spiritual traditions in search of the right fit, though no single tradition in all its elements has ever rang true enough for me to wholly embrace. A spiritual grazer of sorts, I'd consider everything offered, help myself to what nourished me, then move along.

While the Buddhist teachings have always held the strongest draw for me, as with many other spiritual traditions I've explored, I would always reach the point in my practice where I felt mired in what felt like unnecessary complexity. Either that or it would become apparent to me that the teacher had not sufficiently overcome egotistic issues to aptly guide me in overcoming my own. That's why I still have to laugh when I consider that the purest spiritual truth I've ever discovered came to me by way of a talk show host, a mega pop culture icon named Oprah. And it happened at a time in my life where the urge to move forward in my search was particularly intense.

I don't recall how I ended up on the Oprah Web site that day; I believe I was researching a story I was working on (I'm a writer and editor) and found myself staring at an advertisement for something called A New Earth. So, Oprah is pushing environmentalism, I thought. Good for her. My curiosity was piqued and I clicked the mouse. It's funny how such a small act can turn out to be a life-changing one.

From the moment I first read and subsequently heard Eckhart Tolle's teachings, I experienced something I thought I'd either never experience or would eventually experience years down the road — core spiritual truths stripped down to their simplest form, conveyed in simple language, offered freely — no allegiance required; no "God club" to join. More importantly, these truths put into practice have transformed my life. I've experienced more peace, more joy, more acceptance in my life through the miracle of a few simple, conscious breaths, than through all the complicated yoga poses, costly retreats, time-consuming meditation efforts and church services I've ever attempted.

Through the recognition of myself as witness to my mind, I've found that what I was seeking so desperately was something I've always known but forgotten. It was like awakening from a self-induced amnesia. Though I sense that even Tolle's teachings can never reach the full depths of spiritual truth, this is the best damn launching toward it that I've ever experienced. My belief about my true purpose has shifted and after long years of wandering and wondering, I am here now. And that happened in the blink of an eye, really — the moment the truth of what Tolle said revealed itself to me, that was it.

I shifted direction, and the path was so much clearer. And the shift has had physical ramifications, as well. I realized recently that since that shift occurred, I have not been physically ill for a single minute. I lost the extra weight I was carrying, my stress has gone. The financial problems, work problems, relationship problems that once filled my mind and drove me to near madness — well, they just aren't there anymore. Nothing changed outwardly; I still earn the same paycheck, work the same job, have the same partner. The alleviation of self-imposed suffering was always just a shift in thought away. I have quit resisting my life and through acceptance of what is, have discovered satisfaction and peace in all aspects of my life, including the very ones I fought tooth and nail to remove myself from just months earlier.

I'm noticing the wonderfully rich natural environment around me and seem to have more time than ever to spend in the peace and beauty of nature, often sharing it with my precious grandson — that's a far cry from the frantic, frazzled "Granny" he had just months ago!

The most profound spiritual truth wasn't something far away, after all, something unattainable, hidden, or available to just a privileged few. It was always right inside. I just needed to hear the softly spoken, well chosen, simple words of Tolle to point the way to myself through presence. I had to be still to know…

I was having problems nine years ago. I was guided to a spiritual teacher in Princeton, New Jersey: Teresa Badher. Teresa used Eckhart Tolle's book The Power of Now as one resource in helping me to not live in the past. Not dwell on old wounds or issues. Not to have hidden shame of things "I" thought were bad. It is only the "now" that is important. The past is just that "past."

I still work with Teresa Badher when I start drifting out of "spirit." When I started with Teresa I had to be very careful when I talked to my friends about my discussions with Teresa as they thought I had gone over the edge. Now the world has shifted. Mostly in the U.S. People are accepting and wanting more information. The more you (the United States) accept, the more the awareness is going to awaken in the people.

I put his teaching into practice by listening to people and asking them questions. If a stranger is talking to me about something that happened to them, I ask them a question for them to think about. Not giving advice, just asking question makes people think about an answer.

For example, if someone is mad at someone else, ask them to tell you what they would say if that person was right in front of them now. Expressing their anger about them to you sometimes helps by getting it out in the open so it can be released. Things like that are important to all. It is better for everyone to take on a little anger then to have it dwell inside of a person. That is when the anger can build and then explode.