55 pages • 1-hour read
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 5-6Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 5 Summary: “The State of Presence”
Tolle claims that presence can never be the way people “think” it will be because it can only be felt, not understood intellectually. He praises nature for helping people to be present since it is impossible to fully appreciate nature’s wonders while being preoccupied with one’s “personal baggage of problems” (96). Tolle feels that because people are “imprisoned in their minds,” they struggle to “truly see” nature beyond their mental processes (97). Even art, music, and architecture can be fueled by the mind alone, resulting in uninspired art. Tolle refers to modern “urban landscapes” and “industrial wastelands” as proof that mind-dominated people create “ugliness” (98).
Tolle believes that everything in the world—even inanimate objects—has consciousness and is “alive” in some way (99). Each material, animal, and person is a manifestation of “God-essence” that can be experienced as “pure consciousness” (99). Although consciousness can take many forms, it sometimes begins to identify with its “disguise,” such as when people become driven by the egoic mind (100). When people begin to observe their minds instead of identifying with them, Tolle claims that “consciousness is awakening out of its dream” (101). Tolle reiterates that he feels that most people are reliant on sleep, sex, alcohol, and drugs to escape their own minds. He reminds the reader that it would be impossible for humans to revert to the “pre-thinking level of [their] distant ancestors” and claims that progressing to consciousness is the only hopeful way forward (102).
Tolle then discusses his interpretation of Christianity. He posits that Jesus was not a manifestation of a deity but a regular man who “realized divine presence, his true nature” (104). He distinguishes Jesus the man from Christ, who was “a vehicle for pure consciousness” (104). As such, he feels that Christ’s second coming will not be as a literal deity or person but as a “transformation of consciousness” (105).
Chapter 6 Summary: “The Inner Body” Summary
Tolle promises to explain how the body can be a portal for experiencing presence. He again refers to the Christian story and claims that “sin” should be interpreted as what Buddha called “The Illusion of the Self” (109). While he understands that many people have an aversion to the word sin, he argues that unconsciousness cannot be stripped of its negative associations, since it fuels harmful behavior.
He calls the human body a mere “shell” but claims the life inside of it can help people understand that they transcend form (110). Tolle suggests that readers sit in stillness and simply feel their whole body, imagining the life in their cells. Connecting with the “inner body,” or the part of the self that is between the physical body and the Being, is important to maintaining presence (112).
He argues that if people are never truly “in” their bodies, then the thinking mind will claim all of their consciousness and turn it into “mind stuff” (111).
Tolle addresses the question of why so many faiths shame bodily functions and behaviors, particularly sexuality. He blames people’s fear of reverting to non-thinking and more animalistic behavior for the development of taboos and stigmas around the body. In time, many people disassociated from their bodies, allowing their minds to dominate their identities. He rejects ideas such as fasting, trances, or mortification of the flesh, arguing that “[t]ransformation is through the body, not away from it” (114). Tolle concludes by making a seemingly contradictory claim: People are not the “dense physical structure called the body,” but, at the same time, “[they] are [their] body,” since they contain an “invisible inner body” that provides access to “One Life” (116).
Chapters 5-6 Analysis
In these chapters, Tolle goes into greater detail about the aspects of Christianity that he feels are important and are misunderstood by Christian authorities. He refers to two Christian parables that he interprets as preaching about living in the present. In one, Jesus tells his disciple, “Be like a servant waiting for the return of the master,” so he stays “awake, alert, poised, still […]” (95). Tolle interprets this story as meaning that people should live in the present rather than become distracted by thinking. He also claims that the parable about the “five careless (unconscious) women” is meant to convey the importance of remaining “conscious” like the “five wise women” (95). This parable is traditionally told as the story of 10 virgins who await their groom. Five of the women brought sufficient oil to re-light their lamps in the night and are praised for being wise and prepared. The other five, who did not bring sufficient oil, miss the groom’s arrival when they leave to purchase more and are shut out from the wedding; they are judged for being “careless.” Tolle claims that these stories were not well understood by the men who recorded them, so they were passed down with a different meaning attached to them. He argues, “They point to the transcendence of the egoic mind and the possibility of living in an entirely new state of consciousness” (95).
By referring to Christianity and Jesus’ teachings again in more detail, Tolle pads his argument with history and attempts to establish its spiritual or philosophical legitimacy. He offers a fresh interpretation of these stories; this approach risks being appreciated by some readers but making others feel more alienated from his work if they do not share his perspective on the meaning of these Christian parables or the significance of Christian teachings. Tolle implies that Jesus was not a deity but a teacher and positions himself as a continuation of the same values and messages as Jesus.
Tolle argues that Jesus was a regular man who wanted to spread the message about presence and help people achieve enlightenment. He claims that people should not “personalize” the word “Christ” or associate it with a “form identity,” since it is a term meant only to indicate “pure consciousness,” not an entity to be worshiped as a person (104). Tolle does not give evidence from other traditions to support this claim or acknowledge biblical quotes or traditions that refer to Jesus as God.
Tolle adopts the term “sin” from the Christian tradition but changes its meaning, claiming that it refers to egoic mind thinking. However, his examples of egoic behavior, such as selfishness, violence, and disrespect, are also examples of actions and attitudes that Christianity traditionally identifies as sinful. His argument creates a connection between “sin” and “ego,” but he tells the reader to “not condemn” the egoic mind, only to observe its workings in oneself and others. However, Tolle does not address the fact that by lamenting violence and preaching against it, he makes a judgment that these behaviors are harmful. While Tolle reiterates the need to observe one’s own thoughts and the ego’s role in them, he does not advocate for any particular actions or politics to stop violent or greedy behavior. These contradictions do not suggest resolutions to questions about how to best confront ego-driven behavior in the world or how to overcome it without condemning others. He also references Zen Buddhism again and borrows the concept of “Satori” to refer to the brief glimpses of conscious presence people can experience when they quiet their thinking mind. He tells the reader to “be grateful when it comes,” since it is “a taste of enlightenment” (95).
Science-minded readers may challenge Tolle’s discussions about consciousness. His claims that “everything is alive” and that “even a stone has rudimentary consciousness” contradict modern scientific understanding about life forms and cloud his argument about the nature of consciousness (99). Typical to his style, Tolle does not dwell on the topic for long or explain how something could have life or consciousness without a brain or sentience; he does not provide empirical evidence for these statements or address scientific definitions of life. These omissions leave questions unanswered. Discussions about the “outer body” and “inner body” are less accessible since they ask the reader to suspend their disbelief about the presence of an “invisible inner body,” which is a kind of portal into consciousness or “One Life” (116). Adding these layers to his argument but not fully explaining or exploring them leaves these ideas open to criticism, although he does continue to explore the inner body in Chapter 7.
Unlock all 55 pages of this Study Guide
Get in-depth, chapter-by-chapter summaries and analysis from our literary experts.
- Grasp challenging concepts with clear, comprehensive explanations
- Revisit key plot points and ideas without rereading the book
- Share impressive insights in classes and book clubs