My world and Paris Hilton's world have been colliding lately!That's because the book she is reading while she is in the pokey, along with the Holy Bible and The Secret, is The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle which is New World Library's bestseller ever. That's the amazing publishing company where I feel truly honored to be a book publicist.
We've been getting all kinds of calls this week from tabloids like OK Magazine and Life & Style to national media like TV Guide to The Early Show wanting to interview the author to learn what his book might help Paris discover while she is behind bars.
Eckhart Tolle is not your every day author, though. While most authors would leap at the chance to talk about their book in the national media, not Eckhart. He truly practices what he preaches and is not swept away by the energetic rush that the media whirlwind so often creates in our culture. Explaining this to producers and editors is its own unique callenge as a publicist.
Whatever he's doing, it's hard to deny it is working! His book is a New York Times Bestseller that week after week tops our weekly sales charts. I personally love his way...How detached from it all he is...and how he really and truly stays deeply in the present moment, even in the face of great success.
Since Eckhart's media appearances are so few and far (especially between compared to the authors of The Secret), I thought I'd share the following excerpts from a companion book we publish also by him called Practicing the Power of Now. It will give you an idea what The Power of Now is all about...Not to mention a glimpse into what is keeping Ms. Hilton busy in her cell.
**The present moment holds the key to liberation. But you cannot find the present moment as long as you are in your mind. Enlightenment means rising above thought.
**Start listening to the voice in your head as often as you can. Pay particular attention to any repetitive thought patterns, those old audiotapes that have been playing in your head for many years.
**Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the now the primary focus of your life.
**Make it a habit to ask yourself: What's going on inside me at this moment? The question will point you in the right direction.
**Presence is the key to freedom, so you can only be free now.
**Forget about your life situation for a while and pay attention to your life.
**Observe the many ways in which unease, discontent, and tension arise within you through unnecessary judgment, resistance to what is, and the denial of the Now.
**Make it a habit to monitor your mental and emotional state through self-observation.
**Become aware of your breathing.
**Die to the past every moment. You don't need it. Only refer to it when it is absolutely relevant to the present.
**To stay present in everyday life, it helps to be deeply rooted within yourself; otherwise, the mind, which has incredible momentum, will drag you along like a wild river.
**Whenever an answer, a solution, or a creative idea is needed, stop thinking for a moment by focusing attention on your inner energy field. Become aware of the stillness.
**Use your senses fully. Be where you are. Look around. Just look, don't interpret. Listen to the sounds; don't judge them. Touch something and feel and acknowledge its being.
Excerpted with permission from Practicing the Power of Now. Copyright © 1999 by Eckhart Tolle. Reprinted with permission of New World Library, Novato, CA.
