Articles - مقاله, Cultural - فرهنگی, تازه‌های کتاب

The Power of Now خلاصه کتاب نیروی حال

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

INTRODUCTION THE ORIGIN OF THIS BOOK

I have little use for the past and rarely think about it; however, I would briefly like to tell you how I came to be a spiritual teacher and how this book came into existence.

Until my thirtieth year, I lived in a state of almost continuous anxiety interspersed with periods of suicidal depression. It feels now as if I am talking about some past lifetime or somebody else’s life.

One night not long after my twenty-ninth birthday, I woke up in the early hours with a feeling of absolute dread. I had woken up with such a feeling many times before, but this time it was more intense than it had ever been. The silence of the night, the vague outlines of the furniture in the dark room, the distant noise of a passing train – everything felt so alien, so hostile, and so utterly meaningless that it created in me a deep loathing of the world. The most loathsome thing of all, however, was my own existence. What was the point in continuing to live with this burden of misery? Why carry on with this continuous struggle? I could feel that a deep longing for annihilation, for nonexistence, was now becoming much stronger than the instinctive desire to continue to live.

“I cannot live with myself any longer.” This was the thought that kept repeating itself in my mind. Then suddenly I became aware of what a peculiar thought it was. “Am I one or two? If I cannot live with myself, there must be two of me: the ‘I’ and the ‘self’ that ‘I’ cannot live with.” “Maybe,” I thought, “only one of them is real.”

I was so stunned by this strange realization that my mind stopped. I was fully conscious, but there were no more thoughts. Then I felt drawn into what seemed like a vortex of energy. It was a slow movement at first and then accelerated. I was gripped by an intense fear, and my body started to shake. I heard the words “resist nothing,” as if spoken inside my chest. I could feel myself being sucked into a void. It felt as if the void was inside myself rather than outside. Suddenly, there was no more fear, and I let myself fall into that void. I have no recollection of what happened after that.

I was awakened by the chirping of a bird outside the window. I had never heard such a sound before. My eyes were still closed, and I saw the image of a precious diamond. Yes, if a diamond could make a sound, this is what it would be like. I opened my eyes. The first light of dawn was filtering through the curtains. Without any thought, I felt, I knew, that there is infinitely more to light than we realize. That soft luminosity filtering through the curtains was love itself. Tears came into my eyes. I got up and walked around the room. I recognized the room, and yet I knew that I had never truly seen it before. Everything was fresh and pristine, as if it had just come into existence. I picked up things, a pencil, an empty bottle, marveling at the beauty and aliveness of it all.

That day I walked around the city in utter amazement at the miracle of life on earth, as if I had just been born into this world.

For the next five months, I lived in a state of uninterrupted deep peace and bliss. After that, it diminished somewhat in intensity, or perhaps it just seemed to because it became my natural state. I could still function in the world, although I realized that nothing I ever did could possibly add anything to what I already had.

I knew, of course, that something profoundly significant had happened to me, but I didn’t understand it at all. It wasn’t until several years later, after I had read spiritual texts and spent time with spiritual teachers, that I realized that what everybody was looking for had already happened to me. I understood that the intense pressure of suffering that night must have forced my consciousness to withdraw from its identification with the unhappy and deeply fearful self, which is ultimately a fiction of the mind. This withdrawal must have been so complete that this false, suffering self immediately collapsed, just as if a plug had been pulled out of an inflatable toy. What was left then was my true nature as the ever-present I am: consciousness in its pure state prior to identification with form. Later I also learned to go into that inner timeless and deathless realm that I had originally perceived as a void and remain fully conscious. I dwelt in states of such indescribable bliss and sacredness that even the original experience I just described pales in comparison. A time came when, for a while, I was left with nothing on the physical plane. I had no relationships, no job, no home, no socially defined identity. I spent almost two years sitting on park benches in a state of the most intense joy.

But even the most beautiful experiences come and go. More fundamental, perhaps, than any experience is the undercurrent of peace that has never left me since then. Sometimes it is very strong, almost palpable, and others can feel it too. At other times, it is somewhere in the background, like a distant melody.

Later, people would occasionally come up to me and say. “I want what you have. Can you give it to me, or show me how to get it?” And I would say. “You have it already. You just can’t feel it because your mind is making too much noise.” That answer later grew into the book that you are holding in your hands.

Before I knew it, I had an external identity again. I had become a spiritual teacher.

THE TRUTH THAT IS WITHIN YOU

This book represents the essence of my work, as far as it can be conveyed in words, with individuals and small groups of spiritual seekers during the past ten years, in Europe and in North America. In deep love and appreciation, I would like to thank those exceptional people for their courage, their willingness to embrace inner change, their challenging questions, and their readiness to listen. This book would not have come into existence without them. They belong to what is as yet a small but fortunately growing minority of spiritual pioneers: people who are reaching a point where they become capable of breaking out of inherited collective mind-patterns that have kept humans in bondage to suffering for eons.

I trust that this book will find its way to those who are ready for such radical inner transformation and so act as a catalyst for it. I also hope that it will reach many others who will find its content worthy of consideration, although they may not be ready to fully live or practice it. It is possible that at a later time, the seed that was sown when reading this book will merge with the seed of enlightenment that each human being carries within, and suddenly that seed will sprout and come alive within them.

The book in its present form originated, often spontaneously, in response to questions asked by individuals in seminars, meditation classes and private counseling sessions, and so I have kept the question-and-answer format. I learned and received as much in those classes and sessions as the questioners. Some of the questions and answers I wrote down almost verbatim. Others are generic, which is to say I combined certain types of questions that were frequently asked into one, and extracted the essence from different answers to form one generic answer. Sometimes, in the process of writing, an entirely new answer came that was more profound or insightful provide further clarification of certain points.

You will find that from the first to the last page, the dialogues continuously alternate between two different levels.

On one level, I draw your attention to what is false in you. I speak of the nature of human unconsciousness and dysfunction as well as its most common behavioral manifestations, from conflict in relationships to warfare between tribes or nations. Such knowledge is vital, for unless you learn to recognize the false as false – as not you – there can be no lasting transformation, and you would always end up being drawn back into illusion and into some form of pain. On this level, I also show you how not to make that which is false in you into a self and into a personal problem, for that is how the false perpetuates itself.

On another level, I speak of a profound transformation of human consciousness – not as a distant future possibility, but available now – no matter who or where you are. You are shown how to free yourself from enslavement to the mind, enter into this enlightened state of consciousness and sustain it in everyday life.

On this level of the book, the words are not always concerned with information, but often designed to draw you into this new consciousness as you read. Again and again, I endeavor to take you with me into that timeless state of intense conscious presence in the Now, so as to give you a taste of enlightenment. Until you are able to experience what I speak of, you may find those passages somewhat repetitive. As soon as you do, however, I believe you will realize that they contain a great deal of spiritual power, and they may become for you the most rewarding parts of the book. Moreover, since every person carries the seed of enlightenment within, I often address myself to the knower in you who dwells behind the thinker, the deeper self that immediately recognizes spiritual truth, resonates with it, and gains strength from it.

The pause symbol § after certain passages is a suggestion that you may want to stop reading for a moment, become still, and feel and experience the truth of what has just been said. There may be other places in the text where you will do this naturally and spontaneously.

As you begin reading the book, the meaning of certain words, such as “Being” or “presence,” may not be entirely clear to you at first. Just read on. Questions or objections may occasionally come into your mind as you read. They will probably be answered later in the book, or they may turn out to be irrelevant as you go more deeply into the teaching – and into yourself.

Don’t read with the mind only. Watch out for any “feeling-response” as you read and a sense of recognition from deep within. 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. Living knowledge, ancient and yet ever new, is then activated and released from within every cell of your body.

The mind always wants to categorize and compare, but this book will work better for you if you do not attempt to compare its terminology with that of other teachings; otherwise, you will probably become confused. I use words such as “mind,” “happiness,” and “consciousness” in ways that do not necessarily correlate with other teachings. Don’t get attached to any words. They are only stepping stones, to be left behind as quickly as possible.

When I occasionally quote the words of Jesus or the Buddha, from A Course in Miracles or from other teachings, I do so not in order to compare, but to draw your attention to the fact that in essence there is and always has been only one spiritual teaching, although it comes in many forms. Some of these forms, such as the ancient religions, have become so overlaid with extraneous matter that their spiritual essence has become almost completely obscured by it. To a large extent, therefore, their deeper meaning is no longer recognized and their transformative power lost. When I quote from the ancient religions or other teachings, it is to reveal their deeper meaning and thereby restore their transformative power – particularly for those readers who are followers of these religions or teachings. I say to them: there is no need to go elsewhere for the truth. Let me show you how to go more deeply into what you already have.

-Eckhart Tolle

Source: Eckhart Tolle Website

کتاب نیروی حال نوشته ی اکهارت تله (توله، تول یا تولی) ترجمه ای از کتاب The Power of Now، سفری فلسفی و خارق­ العاده پیش ­رویمان می­ نهد. کتاب پرفروش نیروی حال کتابی است که فقط در انگلستان، بیش از یک میلیون نسخه از آن به فروش رسیده است. در این کتاب، اکهارت تله به چگونگی زندگی سالم تر و شادتر درلحظه حال می پردازد.

اکهارت توله یک رهبر معنوی آلمانی تبار است که در شانزدهم فوریه سال ۱۹۴۸ در شهر لونن آلمان متولد شد و کمی بعد، به همراه پدرش به اسپانیا نقل مکان کرد. او دوران کودکی ناخوشایندی داشت چراکه همیشه شاهد اختلافات و جدال والدینش بود. اکهارت توله، در لندن به تحصیل پرداخت و در حال حاضر، شهروند کانادا بوده و در شهر ونکوور زندگی می کند. او همه وقت خود را صرف افزایش آگاهی معنوی انسان ها می کند.

اگر کسی را در خیابان ببینی که با صدای بلند با خود حرف می ­زند حتما می گویی دیوانه است اما حقیقت این است که او فرقی با تو ندارد. او بلند بلند حرف می ­زند و تو آهسته در ذهن خود مشغول به حرف زدن هستی. ذهن تو دائما در حال حرف زدن است، قضاوت می­ کند، مقایسه می­ کند، شکایت می­ کند، ارزیابی می­ کند و …!

این صداها ممکن است زنده شدن خاطرات گذشته یا خیال ­پردازی و نگرانی درباره­ ی آینده باشد. این صدا، به ذهنِ شرطی­ شده­ ی تو تعلق دارد. بنابراین، تو حال حاضر را از چشم گذشته می­ بینی و امور را بر اساس داده­ های گذشته تفسیر می­ کنی. این صدا که صدای خود دروغین یا نفس است، دشمن اصلی توست.

ناتوانی در توقف فکر، بزرگ­ترین مصیبت است. همه به این رنج مبتلا هستند و این رنج عادی شده است. هیاهوی بی­ وقفه­ ی ذهن، مانع حضور در لحظه ­ی حال می ­گردد و باعث ایجاد خود دروغین یا نفس می ­شود. منشا همه ­ی ترس­ ها و رنج­ های زندگی، همین نفس است.

در کتاب نیروی حال با مفهومی به نام روشن­ شدگی آشنا می شویم، روشن­ شدگی یعنی پیدا کردن حقیقت خویشتن، حقیقتی که ورای نام­ ها و صورت­ هاست. وقتی به روشن­ شدگی دست نیافته باشی، دچار توهم جدایی از خود و جهان پیرامون خود می ­شوی. خود را چیزی منفک در نظر می ­گیری. و همین توهم جدایی باعث ایجاد ترس ­ها و خصومت درون و بیرون تو می­ گردد. و این خصومت نیز به قاعده­ ی زندگی تو تبدیل می­ گردد. وقتی در لحظه­ ی حال حضور داری و تمام توجهت به لحظه­ ی جاری معطوف است، هستی را تجربه می­ کنی. بزرگ­ترین مانع تجربه کردن این حقیقت، یکی ­انگاری خود و ذهن است، یعنی پرسه ­زنی فکر (خودگویی های ذهنی).

خبر خوب این است که تو قادر هستی از ذهن خود رها شوی و این رهایی، تنها حقیقت زندگی­ است. به صدای درون سرت گوش کن. به تکرار الگوهای ذهنی ­ات دقت کن. درواقع، حاضر باش و ناظر بر افکارت باش. هنگام گوش دادن به صدا، بی ­طرف باش و قضاوتی نکن چون اگر قضاوت یا سرزنش کنی یعنی آن صدا باز هم بر تو غالب است. حضور خود را آنجا احساس کن. وقتی فقط خودت را ناظر بر صداها ببینی، یعنی نیروی لحظه­ ی حال را دریافته­ ای، یعنی فکر دیگر بر تو سلطه ندارد. وقتی فکر فروکش می ­کند، تو شکاف بی­ ذهنی را تجربه می­ کنی و این شکاف، به­ تدریج طولانی ­تر می­ شود و حسی از سکون و آرامشی بی ­انتها در درونت ایجاد می ­گردد. این آگاهی، میدانی از انرژی را پیرامون تو ایجاد می­ کند که به نشاط و شادابی تو می ­انجامد. و حالا درمی­ یابی که این احساس حضور توست که خود حقیقی توست.

با حضور در لحظه­ ی اکنون، تو آگاهی خود را از فعالیت ­های ذهن جدا می­ کنی و شکاف بی­ ذهنی ایجاد می ­کنی. شکافی که بدون واسطه­ ی فکر، هشیار و بیداری هستی. و این همان حقیقت مراقبه است. نسبت به سکوت و احساس قدرتمند حضور خود آگاه باش. یعنی هر کاری که در لحظه انجام می­ دهی را عمیقا حس کن و بر آن متمرکز باش؛ مثلا وقتی دست­هایت را می ­شویی، به احساساتی که در تو ایجاد می ­شود توجه کن: صدای آب را بشنو، ریختن آب روی دست­هایت را حس کن، جنبش دست­هایت را، رایحه ­ی صابون را حس کن. پس به­ خاطر داشته باش که هرگاه، شکاف بی­ ذهنی ایجاد کنی، نور آگاهی شدیدی بر تو می ­تابد.

ذهن، فقط یک وسیله و ابزار است برای انجام کارهایت. پس از استفاده از ذهن، باید آن ­را زمین بگذاری. فکر، موجب نشت و اتلاف انرژی حیاتی تو می ­شود. چنین فکر ناخواسته ­ای، درواقع، نوعی اعتیاد است. چون نمی­ توانی متوقفش کنی، ظاهرا از تو قوی­تر است و احساس لذت کاذب برایت دارد اما درنهایت، به رنج ختم می ­شود. وقتی خود را با فکر یگانه می­ پنداری، باور می ­کنی که اگر ذهن نباشد، تو هم نخواهی بود. نفس یا خود دروغین که ساخته و پرداخته ­ی ذهن توست، در اثر همین یکی ­انگاری به ­وجود می ­آید. نفس با لحظه ­ی حال کاری ندارد، فقط در گذشته و آینده سیر می­ کند و با سیر کردن در این زمان­ ها تغذیه می­ شود و بقا می­ یابد. حتی وقتی به لحظه ­ی حال می­ پردازد، آن را بد می­ پندارد چون از دریچه­ ی گذشته یا با توجه به آینده به آن می ­نگرد. ذهن خود را مشاهده کن تا این عملکرد را ببینی. پس کلید رهایی، حضور در لحظه ­ی حال است و تا زمانی ­که ذهن خود هستی، نمی ­توانی نیروی حال را درک کنی.

[allstore_products orderby=”post__in” order=”” items_per_page=”3″ load_more=”hide” catalog_galimg=”carousel” catalog_galbtns=”price” ids=”155777, 155735″]

Related Posts

Leave a Reply