Spiritual Teachings from Our Dogs and Cats - Guardians of Being

Touching and thought-provoking work by talented artists! "Guardians of Being" is delightfully humorous approach, and a new way of looking at, the very special relationship between humans and other species. I was (and remain) so impressed that I've purchased copies for everyone in my family.
"Guardians of Being" is a wonderful addition to any home library! Buy it. Read it. Enjoy !!

Guardians of Being by Eckhart Tolle, Patrick McDonnell is the perfect book for fans of both authors. A refreshing, re-readable little book. McDonnell's illustrations are wonderful and mesh beautifully with the words of Tolle

Very good book, short and cartoonist,but with an inner connection that is hard to explain. I recommend to everyone to read and find out you can have that inner feeling of connection that can only be love of yourself and a wonderful best friend.

Amazing what we can learn from our critters. My poodle guru has taught me much about unconditional love, even when others around me think I don't deserve it. I've also learned perseverance from my tortoise, as we get there eventually with or without the worry factor. To quote the great philosopher Alfred E Neuman, "What me worry?"

great ship, quick ship, book as described, did not need to contact about product. thanks. good price, packaged top notch. this was a gift so no other comment since i have not heard from the gifted person

I bought the book as a Christmas gift, based upon the effusively favorable reviews and a quick flip through the illustrations. I wasn't sure it wouldn't be viewed by the recipients as too schmaltzy. Evidently it wasn't, because they loved it. What power the endorsement from Oprah must have! Books make wonderful gifts anyway.

The book was in the condition described by the seller and was delivered as promised--no problem with the seller. However the book itself was not as impactful as I had envisioned from the write-up. The combination of Tolle's wisdom with the illustrations didn't work for me. Next time I'll stick to Tolle's standard books.

Beautiful in content, composition and illustration. I read it most days as part of my waking meditation. As far as I am concerned, the author reveals a critically important concept and truth of our connectedness to one another and the Mystery as well as the interactive process in evolution of consciousness. We NEED our pets and NEED to listen to them and to treat them with the respect and love they deserve.

The kindle version is very low resolution. There is no excuse for it in this day and age where you can buy great looking comics digital with high resolution (with useful zoom options). The low rating does not reflect the content which is charming enough.

Unforunately I did not receive my book due to a problem with our mail forwarding while we were traveling. The post office returned it to the store. Within a short time the store credited back the purchase price of the book back to my credit card no questions asked! I really appreciate the straight forward way the store does business. Thank you.
Pardon me now while I order the book again from the store now that we are at our home address.
Larry Skidmore

The word Cats should be removed from the subtitle. You could say Dogs and Owls or Dogs and Frogs or - how about just DOGS? Because it is 95% about dogs. So, it just irritated me. This was a conscious marketing sham to capture the large CAT population. It was ok, but I was too mislead to be energized spiritually. I just kept thinking "My God, Eckhart Tolle sold out for a few more bucks to add to his millions? Pu-lease...."

Unfortunately, the Kindle version is unreadable. Too bad, as it appeared to be a cute book. The text is so small that on a Kindle you can't even read the words and the font makes the text garbled. I'm sure the message is great, but when you can't read it, well, go figure. Darn.

Given what I was told about the book from a minister, I was expecting some deep, spiritual book that explored the relationship between pets and people and how pets handle life better than we do sometimes. This book was very simplistic. More like a child's picture book. There were cute little illustrations with maybe a few words of supposed wisdom to go along with each picture. I think I got through it cover to cover in about 10 minutes. Disappointing.

Overall I was disappointed in the book, but the few gems in it made it worth my while to purchase. The quote about cats being Zen Masters made my purchase worthwhile to me. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to others before they saw more about the book. The illustrations were great, but the content was very light. I expected more.

"Dogs emanate a goodness that people respond to. One of the joys of walking your dog is that often people come up to you and immediately their hearts open. They are not interested in you, of course. They want to pat your dog." - Eckhart Tolle, from the book Guardians of Being

In a delightful collaboration between spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle and Mutts comic strip creator Patrick McDonnell, the book Guardians of Being combines the Now-centric words of Tolle with the whimsical drawings of McDonnell, illustrating the oneness of all life, the joy found in simplicity, and the profound truths conveyed by our furry friends.

Frankly, I dare anyone to read this book and not have at least one belly laugh at best or several wide grins at worst (as if that's really a "worst"!). I read Guardians of Being yesterday, and I can honestly say that joy and stillness overflowed from within. My 10-year-old son wanted to know what I was chuckling about, so after I was done reading the book, he read it! (And he actually erupted into laughter several times.)

Here are but a few gems from Guardians of Being (although the meaning is magnified by McDonnel's adorable comic strips):

* "When you pet a dog or listen to a cat purring, thinking may subside for a moment and a space of stillness arises within you, a doorway into Being."

* "I have lived with many Zen masters, all of them cats."

* "You just watch the tail...with some dogs you just look at them--just a little look is enough--and their tail goes... `Life is good! Life is good!' And they are not telling themselves a story of why life is good. It's a direct realization."

* "Give yourself completely to the act of listening. Beyond the sounds there is something greater: a sacredness that cannot be understood through thought."

* "The one life, the one consciousness, takes on the form of a man or woman, a blade of grass, a dog, a planet, a sun, a galaxy... This is the play of forms, the dance of life."

Perfect for animal lovers, Guardians of Being reminds us that all is one, God resides in stillness, peace is our core, and that we're all connected by the same precious life force. Those who resonate with Tolle's teaching will also treasure this lovely book, as would anyone needing a good dose of inspiration, gentle humor and uplifting wisdom.
It's not only a wonderful book for adults, but also for children--and waiting rooms, doctor's offices, libraries, coffee tables, churches and daycares would be the richer for having the Guardians of Being close by.

-- Janet Boyer, author of Back in Time Tarot

I just loved this book!
Patrick McDonnell and Eckhart Tolle make a great partnership of minds.

This tiny, extraordinary book absolutely captures the essence of Tolle's work illustrating his profound concepts using the example of animals, for whom 'being in the moment' is purely instinctual.

I looked at my cat after I read this amazing book and it occurred to me, wow! he lives ONLY in this moment of now! And I do not mean to sound trite here. Literally, he doesn't work on himself, he doesn't work on his parents, his kittenhood, which was spent roughing it on the street, does not exist for him anymore, nor does the future. When he was sick, he was just sick, not worried about the future, not resisting it, not comparing himself, not feeling sorry for himself.

Sunlight on his face, chasing a fly, curled up...I believe, far from trite, this is EXACTLY Tolle's point to us all. It is what living in the moment actually looks like - from a being that is just 'being,' that in fact only knows how to just live in the now.

McDonnell and Tolle have made a great example to their readers with this lovely, illustrated text of how to live in the moment. If you enjoy 'Guardians of Being' - and you absolutely will - check out two of my other favorite books by two of my favorite authors, the awesome Ariel and Shya Kane, Working on Yourself Doesn't Work: The 3 Simple Ideas That Will Instantaneously Transform Your Life and Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment Enjoy!

Guardians of Being: Spiritual Teachings from Our Dogs and Cats is an impressive volume. It is light, airy (as in light and free), yet, serious and it carries a valuable message.

The book reminds us of what lessons our cats and dogs teach us whether or not we realize they are being our spiritual guides. Artist Patrick McDonnell (MUTTS) draws his playful scenes while author Eckhart Tolle (A New Earth) adds contemplative lines of script that bring to mind the joyous state in which our pets live as we struggle with- well - just about everything.

The book makes me smile and think - a great combination. It would make an excellent gift for young or old, and everyone in between. It's well worth the price; I'm enjoying it, tremendously.

The saying 'Dont' judge by it's cover would apply here." It's a simple book, and yet in it's simplicity it is closer to the 'truth' then most books you could read on truth, being, spirituality . . . AND it left me smiling . . . after pretty much smiling and oooing and awwwwing throughout the whole read. I read it right before I went to bed . . . and then when I got awake I noticed my mouth was smiling and felt my eyes were, too:) . . . and then I remembered this book:) it had lingered with me all night . . . so simple, yet touched me in a deep way, right to the heart. The heart remembers the truth . . . and this book speaks the truth of 'being' in a light 'hearted' way. Sages have said many times over, "the truth cannot be taught, but can be CAUGHT" - and this book was a catalyst for a deeper and yet, very simple way of 'catching' IT.

- Nature can show us the way home . . .
- Just watching an animal closely can take you out of your mind and bring you into the present moment, which is where the animal lives all the time.
- It's so wonderful to watch an animal, because an animal has no opinion about itself. IT is. (I love this !!!)
- When you pet a dog or listen to a cat purring, thinking may subside for a moment and 'a space of stillness' arises within you . . .
- We have forgotten what rocks, plants, and animals still know. We have forgotten how to BE - to be still, to be ourselves, to be where life is: Here and NOW

This book is illustrated by Patrick McDonnell .... creator of "Mutt's" comic strip and the drawings and captions are very funny, cute, and precious . . . and speak sooo much truth . . .

I do not have any pets of my own . . . however, my daughter's dog, Rooti, comes to stay with me sometimes . . . last year he was with me more than half the time . . . and then I got busy and couldn't have him over as much. Just recently, BEFORE reading this book, I was thinking I need my 'teacher' back . . . he is also still my #1 guy - glad he's a dog, as he'd probably not want to come over again, 'thinking' I left him behind last year for somebody else . . . but the 'master' that he IS - he will likely be as happy and cheerful as EVER to come back and cuddle with me, and take me for some much needed WALKS in the SUNSHINE. He is that 'Sunshine' :)

[...]

It was Patrick McDonnell, the creator of the popular cartoon series Mutts, that first came up with the idea of approaching spiritual author Eckhart Tolle with the notion of a collaboration. After all McDonnell's simple, animal cartoons, often convey the essence of appreciating the world we live in while bring it down to the most basic level of the world of pets. Tolle agreed, added some tweaks to McDowell's original idea, and the result is `Guardians of Being,' which is both a illustrated book and a volume of inspirational messages from the master himself.

While the images and words are well suited to each other, the extra value in this work comes in it's usefulness not just to adults, but particularly to children, who would have never been exposed to Tolle's work. With the addition of the Mutts style drawings, simple but effective messages about awareness and the here and now can be understood and embraced by readers of all ages. Though a short read, it is a seemingly natural fit.

Guardians of Being is another delightful collaboration between spiritual teacher, Eckhart Tolle and Patrick McDonnell, the creator of the Mutts cartoon characters. Despite the cartoon illustrations, unless your child is a little Buddha, this is really a book for an adult's inner child.

The charm and quirky humor of McDonnell's cartoons marries perfectly with the deep peace and serenity of Tolle's words, lifting the combination to a new plane and calling you into the moment like an irresistable siren song. It is the perfect book for the bedside, coffee table or "Throne Room," and would make a wonderfully subversive gift for Type A personalities.

The real wisdom in this wonderful new book by Patrick McDonnell and Eckhart Tolle is that their words and images reach deep into the world's religious traditions to truths many of us have forgotten. There aren't many of Tolle's words in this book--but the handful McDonnell selected are glistening gems. You'll find echoes of Zen and also Christian teachings in this book. The truths they're sharing also echo spiritual giants like St. Francis and even Methodism's founder John Wesley, who was an early crusader for rethinking our relationships with animals.
Aside from the wisdom--which has sent me back to the book over and over again since I got my own copy some weeks ago--this book is just flat-out beautiful, imaginative fun.
McDonnell talks about his style in drawing "Mutts" as a kind of scratchy, hand-crafted style. That makes a lot of sense here. Each of us is seeking spiritual answers in our daily lives and the Mutts sketches here come across almost as loving notes from a good friend. (Well, an extremely talented good friend--but there's a friendly homey quality to them that adds to my own affection for the book.)
One last note: I've carried this book around with me in visits I've made to various book groups and classes and discussion circles for weeks now--and I can't tell you how many times I almost lost my copy! People open it up and don't want to give it back! That's further testament to its appeal.
Buy one for yourself now--and you'll likely wind up giving one to a friend soon after that.

This book is adorable and wise at the same time. Usually books like this are too cutesy/sweetsy for e and it's 'once and done' but this one is a keeper.. Get one for yourself and every cat and dog lover on your gift list.

This is a great collaboration between well-known author Eckhart Tolle and illustrator Patrick McDonnell, creator of the comic series Mutts. This book will move the reader to remember the simpler things in life, which are the true pleasures, the ones we often pass over without a second thought. In this simple yet powerful book, I found pleasures long ago lost in this busy, hurried life style that so many of us live. It reminds us all to enjoy the joys our four-legged guardians of being show us every day. One of my favorites: "When you pet a dog or listen to a cat purring, thinking may subside for a moment and a space of stillness arises within you, a doorway into being." Being in the present moment with life and feeling God in all life -- a book for beings of all ages.

-- Vicki Burr, New Connexion

The collaboration between renowned author Eckhart Tolle and
illustrator Patrick McDonnell is a match made in heaven. Together
they created a book that is a fun, easy read that was simply delightful.
The illustrations, both beautiful and whimsical, combined with Eckart
Tolle's words are priceless. It is doubtful once you pick this book up
and start reading it, you will be able to put it down.

Another book that's priceless and impossible to put down is titled,
 Being Here: Modern Day Tales of Enlightenment by award winning
authors Ariel & Shya Kane. Check out both of them!

Tolle writes about the essence of existence in simple, light and beautiful terms; McDonnell illustrates it accordingly. Educational, inspirational and meditative, the book is one to give, share and read time and again.

My twin sister in the US introduced me to Patrick McDonnell's "Mutts" just around the time I discovered Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now. I acknowledged the deep wisdom inherent in Tolle's teachings, but found his book rather dense and difficult to read.

However, when I met Mooch, Earl and the rest of the Mutts family, I instantly recognized kindred spirits, and have been an ardent fan ever since. I receive the Daily Mutts cartoon and monthly newsletter online, and The Gift of Nothing, Just Like Heaven, an autographed copy of Sunday Mornings, and now Guardians of Being are cherished gifts and hold a special place in my book collection.

Guardians of Being is a divinely inspired collaboration. Tolle's insights are bite-sized and easy-to-digest, and are beautifully complemented by McDonnell's uplifting, humorous illustrations. The message is simple yet profound: that the plant and animal kingdom can open our hearts and teach us to be still, to be present, and to just BE. It gave me a renewed sense of appreciation for all the wonders of God's creation, but especially my beloved dog and cat. I will be ordering many copies of Guardians of Being for friends who are both animal lovers and spiritual seekers.

Eckhart Tolle has a large following in Australia, but Patrick McDonnell is relatively unknown. I hope Guardians of Being will help spread his imaginative joy to a wider international audience.

PS: Has anyone else noticed how much Eckhart Tolle and Patrick McDonnell resemble their dogs?

I got this little book from the library the other night and what a joy it is! "Guardians of Being" is a little hardcover with words by Eckhart Tolls, author of The Power of Now and A New Earth and art by Patrick McDonnell, creator of the Mutts comic strip.

Each page has a few words by Eckhart Tolle and a corresponding cartoon by Patrick McDonnell. The book is about how our animals, dogs and cats specifically, live in the moment and are here to help open our hearts and connect to the present moment ourselves.

I think I am going to do some research to see if I can buy some of the images to frame. Although I read through the book in about 15 minutes, I decided to buy it to keep on hand.

An example of one of the many lovely quotes is "Just watching an animal closely can take you out of your mind and bring you into the present moment, which is where the animal lives all the time - surrendered to life." The words invoke a positive emotion and bring me to the present moment, and the pictures next to the words seal the deal.

I highly recommend this book to everyone! Anytime you are feeling blue, you can pick it up and open it to any page!

A Coffee Table Book almost by definition is large and glossy. Something to look big and beautiful on a table in the living room. Guardian of Being is neither. It is small and unassuming. However, it goes beyond the standard and creates a new definition: a book to have handy and read over and over.

Each time I read Guardian of Being it gets better and/or I perceive something new in the universe. I sometimes read this book cover to cover or sometimes focus on a particular illustration with its associated text.

I love my new Coffee Table Book.

A good friend of mine gave me this book because she knows I love dogs and the work of Eckhart Tolle.
It's beautiful, simple and enlightening. If you'd like more peace of mind in your life, I encourage you to
have this book handy. If you ever feel overwhelmed, 5 or 10 minutes with Guardians of Being will remind
you of things you can do, right now, to breathe easier. The drawings and cartoons make me feel like my
heart can relax, give and receive more love.

I received this book as a gift. Sometimes, I used to buy the Sunday paper just to get the color version of the Mutts comics.
One of the main reasons I read it, is because I love Mooch, the cat who always cracks me up with his pink sock. It sometimes crossed my mind, that it perfectly captured some of the most profound ideas, that some of my spiritual books tried so hard to communicate and explain.

Now, with a collaboration between Tolle and McDonnell, this book captures the essence of life, on a level that only poetry and humor can sometimes accomplish.
Not much more to say really, except it's nice to open this book and allow it to bring joy into our lives, whenever we need it. Two very adorable pets, who simply live their lives. That's all it takes.

I wanted to really like this book because of the wonderful reviews. And I wanted to like it because I really am inspired by Eckhart Tolle. I go back to The Power of Now, and A New Earth again and again. But somehow this one just didn't resonate with me. I didn't see the connection between the cartoons and the written words that many others identified with. I bought it as an introduction to Eckhart for someone who still hasn't picked up the copy of Power of Now I bought him. I haven't decided whether to give it or not.

My guests love to pick it up. The cover alone is enticing with the Yin/Yang Dog/Cat, it's irresistible! Love the quality and care that Tolle and McDonnell have taken in the creation of this amazing convergence of soul. Tolle fan here.

My feedback is not on the book per se, but against its format on the Kindle version.

I wish I could review the Kindle version of this book I downloaded on my Kindle Paper White. Unfortunately, its format is not Kindle-friendly at all - the fonts and cartoons are extremely small and there is no way to increase font size through the tool bar. However, when you do increase the size of the font and cartoon on a page by swiping the thumb and index finger outward, then you can read the text...but you can't see the adjoining cartoon! When I try to download this book through the Kindle App on my Apple MacBook, I get the message "The item is not compatible with this device!"

This is of course not a problem for other books I have on Kindle.

Very frustrating. I would highly recommend ordering the regular book, not Kindle.

Excellent and whimsical reminder of how important living in the present moment is for us.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is struggling with grief and/or trauma. It's a short read, and it's spot-on affirmation.

Simple, fresh, and potentially life changing. I read it all in about 10 minutes standing up at the library, and checked it out for my wife. She loved it and asked if we could buy our own copy (at least one) to share with others.

To declare the collaboration between 'The Power of Now' author Eckhart Tolle and 'MUTTS' cartoonist Patrick McDonnell "unique" would be obvious. Not so fast. What any animal person knows is that living in the moment is far easier for the furred, feathered, and finned than those of us with skin--thin or otherwise. McDonnell's beloved late dog Earl and his cast of friends are here to illustrate Tolle's lessons of staying in the present. 'Guardians' might only take 15 minutes to read, but they'll be the happiest and most grounded minutes of your day.

Friends told me about Tolle, but I remained skeptical. Because I am a major fan of the artist Patrick McDonnell, I bought the book. When I finally got around to reading it, the beauty of the words resonated within me like no others have.
If you are ready for a mind-changing experience, buy & read GUARDIANS OF BEING. It is sublime!

This simple, concise little book takes Eckhart's most important teaching and makes it very simple and easy to understand.

Even though I'm not a person with pets/animals in my life, the teachings make sense and many times they just make you smile and think, this is right.

It was a quick read but even so there were several things I made note of to post and review to keep me on track, I hope you are able to do the same.

A lovely feeling book. I lost my best friend a couple of months ago. I bought the book on a recommendation from someone else who just lost their dog. This book made me feel so close to my Nikko and so grateful for his life and companionship. I think everyone that has a pet should read it - it's true that our pets can teach us the most important thing we need to learn in life - we only need to listen with an open heart!

If you're not a big fan of self-help books, try Guardians of Being, the book that combines pet illustrations from Mutts comic strip artist with Tolle quotes. Learning the power of now from dogs and cats might be our most direct route! Love this approach!

This is a beautiful book. I am a pet lover and could really relate to the simple messages. It made me smile and brought me back to the NOW. A lovely gift for everyone and especially for pet lovers. Add your comments to our blog [..]

Guardians of Being is a wonderful book for kids and adults a like. The lessons in it are ones that all of us can practice no matter what stage of life we are in. I believe that our animals are here to show us how to live better and happier lives. This book has a permanent place on my coffee table.
-Margot ([...]

Ekhart Tolle has become a famous man thanks to Oprah's support and he has released several self-help books. However, I have found that there is much less depth in his content than I expected. The words are inspirational, provide hope and a sense of goodness as you read them, but a practical application of the material is barely provided. I felt good when I read the book but it was easily forgotten because I realized that, in the end, it didn't actually tell me anything new.

Jim Carrey's on You Tube exulting the virtues of reading Eckhart Tolle and discovering `The Power of Now'. What a selfish millionaire! To paraphrase Joseph Conrad, Jim Carry doesn't realise that his life, his very essence of his character, his capabilities and audacities, are only the expression of his belief in the safety of his surroundings," or George Orwell, who argued that "people -like Jim Carry- sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their -Jims- behalf". So let's parachute Jim Carry onto a desert island, without his philanthropic support, his starry eyed hangers-on, and his electric barbed wire fence; and let's see how mindful and how 'Now' Jim Carry can get. What his next trick, inventing fire?

Eckhart Tolle reckons that these are wrong thoughts created by my overly switched on ego. He would point out that I have never met Jim Carry; he only exists in the TV screen playing inside my head, so why am I so angry? We thinkers are proud of our mental machinery though, the way we can use satire to snigger at the powerful; but Tolle says that this intellectual masturbation is only my ego massaging itself; after all, satire makes us feel better and, worse still (or better still, depending on which way you see it), our ego is not our true `self'. Instead, the ego is the false personality; the unconscious part that thinks it is the true self; and so the job of your life is to slay your ego; so as to let out who you really are. Thus knowing thyself requires a shedding of this egoic mechanism. An example of the egoic mechanism is the fact that I use my intellect allot, but Tolle would say that my constant thinking is only my ego chattering away and that my ego is not who I really am, and so it is a very bad thing, this parasite masquerading as me!. Indeed, New Age bookshelves are populated with anti-ego tonics. In the New Age, the word 'ego' is a very bad thing; a very bad thing indeed. If you get inflicted with an ego, then you are afflicted with a terrible thing.

The New Age has erected a cartoon circus, dedicated, nay, obsessed, with the ego, and Eckhart Tolle is big in the New Age. But hold on a minute; just because Oprah has taken the German gnome into her bosom, making him a very rich man, this does not mean he's a weasel, does it? I mean, just look at His Holiness the Dalai Lama; he's a sincere monk, but, these days, he's bigger than the Beatles! So fame and truth can coexist like bread and butter. Anyway, my girlfriend and I have gotten something out of Eckhart Tolle's teachings, and we are far from menopausal mystics. So here I will not attempt to satirise Tolle's ideas, but sort out the gold from the manure. I think a Poe faced simile is in order then...

Imagine a race of people, born on a treadmill with only two TV screens for company. One screen only ever shows the past and the other screen only ever shows the future. Some runners are glued to watching re-runs on the nostalgia screen, whilst the others are glued to the future screen; and because nobody has ever pointed out the absurdity of their positions and revealed the possibility of looking away from the screen, the runners are convinced that the screen represents reality. Even though the screen is playing a film, and indeed, stuff is happening in the film, so giving the sense of temporal succession, i.e. time, this sense of time is an illusion, just as the memory playing inside your head is an illusion, because just as memories are neurons firing, rather than real things, the happenings on the screen are mere pixels. Therefore we can say with confidence that the treadmill runners are prisoners of time and it is unlikely they will awaken because if all they have ever known is the treadmill, it is very unlikely that a runner will be get the idea of stopping to away from the screen, and just look around the stationary room, at real life. And why would they even want to stop and look, when all they have ever known is the TV screen? Nobody has ever told them that the screen is an illusion. So like fish unaware of water, the runner is unaware of reality. The TV screen is the only reality for these people; the room is the hidden Now. Very rarely, an awakened person can come along and state the obvious to the runners. However, there is a slim possibility that the runners will throw the awakened one into the cooking pot!

We can say the two TV screens represent memories, and because memories are not solid objects, like footballs or trees, we can say that memories are false versions the objects they are supposed to be resonating with. Memories do not even resonate with the moment you are in right now. Memories are time-binders, hopping hither and thither through past and future, like a grass hopper. Memories constantly drown out the moment then. Memories replace the moment with either a future worry pot or a nostalgia worry bot. We can name this eternal memory the ego. Ego, as we shall see below, is not who you really are. You see, ego is like a cancerous tumour, churning out thoughts and thoughts are smoke screens. It doesn't matter whether they are negative thoughts or positive thoughts, because the thinking is what we need to stop. But why is thinking bad? Well when we introspect, that is, when we think to ourselves, we are living in past and future time zones, when our true standing ground should be right here right now, in the Now. The Now is the only thing that you will ever experience. The Now is not even a moment because a moment implies temporal succession. There is no temporality in the Now. So this is why introspection is the wrong way of doing stuff; thinking to oneself is a noisy veil, clouding the real you. Mindfulness helps to switch those thoughts off, to still your mind, to gently float down stream (sorry I couldn't help myself) and enter eternity. It will be like removing cataracts from a blind man. Like the treadmill runners, we are all blind. If we you can conquer your thoughts, then you will awaken
This is the ego then, and just like our own ego, the images on the screen are forever running inside the heads of the runners, that is, the past (TV screen) and the future (TV screen). The ego, then, is in time and this is what is meant when we say that `time is an illusion'. All those thoughts inside your head, from different periods in your life, are not in this room right now, are they? This is a fact, memories are not even in the world; the things you are thinking about are images on a mental screen, rather than real thing. But at least images are replicas of the world; we cannot say the same about our memories. False memories are more common than we imagine. We can do a little experiment to demonstrate our false memories. I remember a scene in my favourite film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, were Jack Nicolson is in the bath with a cigar in his mouth, talking to the nurse. I was absolutely certain of the scene; I even had the dialogue and picture in my memories. So I re-watched the film again and it wasn't a bath, but a pool and the dialogue was completely different from my memory of it. You can do this simple experiment yourself. Just remember a great movie you enjoyed years ago, and write down a few stand out scenes and watch the film again. You will be surprised. I even have false memories about chapters in books. We believe our memories because they are overpowering in their verification of the past. Memories are the only link we have to the past and, better still, they are playing right as this moment, in our heads. Psychologists call this false memory. There is even a famous text-book example on false memory, were a person is shown a tampered photo-shop photograph of herself at Disney Land, when she was a little girl. Most people suddenly develop a memory of being at Disney Land; they can even remember smells and textures from that time! Hey so my embarrassments didn't happen the way I remember then; this is liberating.
So the screens are showing a recording and a recording is an illusion you see. By illusion, I do not mean false, but illusion in the sense that Microsoft Word is not really a sheet of paper; instead, Microsoft Word is a `user illusion'. This paper user illusion helps us navigate our computer, like our memories, they help us navigate the world, but we make the mistake of thinking that our memories are real objects and that the future is definitely going to be an exact copy of the image of a future playing in our heads. This false image is why we are constantly worrying about tomorrow; we are running an illusion in our heads. And so we resemble these treadmill runners, most of our lives. We can be walking down the road and our chatter box mind is thinking over that incident that happened years ago, in school (on the past TV screen), or you could be in the park, with you three year old, but your mind is somewhere else, in the imagined future (the future TV screen). We believe that our memories and dreams are objects in the world, when instead; they are neurons firing inside our brains.

So our ego is a past and future time processor; it is in time rather than in the Now. The Now is eternal. Time, Plato said, is the moving image of eternity.
The Now is eternity. We can better picture the eternal by imagining a fixed star and its moving satellite. The moving satellite is the ego, the stationary star is the eternal Now. You see, the ego is moving around its host, as it is in time.

This is what is meant by the statements, `you are not your mind', or you are not the image on the TV screen. You are orbiting your real self. The trick is to realize this. You are not your mind or ego because mind is only ever two TV screens, rather than the solid world. So the TV screens represent an illusion, and this is why time is an illusion.

So we are in an unconscious state. Look at it this way, the runners are unconscious of room, and this is what is meant by us being unconscious. After reading this, and hopefully understanding it, you will be able to notice the chatterbox mind, just as sometimes you notice the central heating, humming in the background, when it eventually stops humming, or you notice the clock ticking, when you look up at the clock face; then you will be conscious. Now Eckhart Tolle claims that he has switched off his TV screens, permanently, and he is always in the now. I doubt I will ever achieve this goal myself, but it makes allot of sense to practice switching off the screens and trying to grab hold of the moment.

So we are imprisoned on the treadmill and even though some runners are focused on the past, we optimists are very mindful of the future. We hope and aspire and always look ahead, anticipating things to come, thing that will bring us true happiness while the present slips by, unnoticed. The future feels more real than the now and the passed is always better than today, but the past is a false memory and the future is a mental wish. We are never really conscious of the here and now; well I'm not anyway. It is unfortunate then, that we are unconscious, and worst still, running the treadmill forces us to resemble those donkeys we see in Spain, that have a stick fastened to their head with a carrot dangled in-front of their nose. They only see the carrot in front of them and hope they will be able to reach it, so they quicken their pace. We are like this, because we feel the imagined future is a real thing, like the carrot. But here the analogy breaks down because at least the carrot is a real object; the image of the future racing inside our heads is never ever how the things turn out to be. Unless, that is, you are a Nostradamus', able to predict exactly what will happen in the future.

This illusory nature of mind then, is obvious if we continue to use the TV screen example, and so we can say that our true self is not the screen, but something more than the images racing in our heads. The TV screens playing in our head are not in this room right now. Neither are they `out there' outside my window. They are mental noises that follow us around like flies on a hot summer's day. If we silence the noise, the flies will go away.

Just to re-cap; remember the satellite orbiting a bigger object? Imagine a sun with a planet orbiting around the edges. Well the sun is the self and the little planet is the ego. The sun (self) sits there, permanent and the little planet (ego) moves around in time. When we talk to ourselves or just thing about a past event, this is ego. I'm sure you too have experienced the `chatter box' voice inside your head that, chews over something what happened years ago, or it always thinking about what that girl really meant the other day. Well these are ego. Tolle says that sometimes you catch your ego at it, and you stop this endless thought chatter, this is you true self. By the way, Tolle used the word `Being', rather than self. They are the same thing though. Even when we are in conversation, the chatter mind drowns out what the other person is saying.

A conversation involves waiting for the other person to shut up so I can get my two cents worth in; especially in an intellectual conversation. In a conversation with another smart arse, I'm only half listening, because my internal voice starts mumbling about `how can I retort' or `I must think of a clever quote' or `I must not seem stupid', and 'I need to sound smart'; and so my introspection voice talks over the other person and so I am not paying attention to the other person, and the same is probably going on inside his or her head. You can do an experiment. After a conversation, ask the guy you have been speaking to, "what have I just said"? You will be surprised. We are not aware that inside, we carry a competitive ego and that the average conversation is two egos competing for the clever prize. Indeed, according to this model, correcting a person is merely an ego boost. The trick then is to be able to switch off introspection and just listen, and hope they are doing the same.

All goes well; but will you and I ever be able to practice this living in the Now but still survive the wheel and who of life? Let's keep our feet on the on the ground, for a minute, and keep in mind that Oprah and her minions live in gated communities and this makes it very easy for the likes of Jim Carrey and Tom Cruise, with their millions sitting in the bank, and their team of bodyguards a few feet away, to switch off their social guard. If you yourself were ever to become a millionaire, you too will enjoy Jim Carrey's freedom; you too will have the confidence, with host of hangers-on, to talk about how happy you are to the rest of us. You too will be free to act any way you choose. You can choose to be mindful and believe it, and you can act with bliss and bless whoever who want to your captured audience (the fans) and tell them that you have cracked it and that from now on, you will be forever happy, promise it to them and tell them that they can be happy too. You will also be able to hand over a few hundred dollars to a homeless man, without the worry normal people have about handing over so much cash; but all this self congratulatory breast beating wouldn't make you generous, on the contrary, it will reduce you to the level of a tourist. You will only be as euphoric as Jim Carrey because of the assurance that your bodyguards are willing to do violence in your favour.

Right then, that's the philosophical flailing out of the way, now onto the fun bit, is all this `we are all connected' and time being an illusion idea true? The German philosopher Immanuel Kant reached this Hindu conclusion in the icy little Prussian town of Konigsberg some 250 years ago, independent of any Eastern influence. Kant's philosophy is the culmination of the western journey and it came full circle and agreed with sages of India. Is this a coincidence?

The Eastern idea of we being little bundles of space-time, manifesting out of the navel of Brahman, is more sophisticated and a truer explanation of our sorry state than the western idea of a man in the sky, who, to use Milton's phrase, hung the stars like lamps in heaven, or God the Father, who guides the flight of every atom and the fall of every leaf. This is why intellectuals run off to India! Erwin Schrodinger believed this and there were many early 20th century scientists that believed in something similar to the above. Those eastern gurus and sages knew a thing or two about existence and this is why Eckhart Tolle sounds so wise and calm, because he speaks a truth that the Bible and Koran bashers out there would have you not hear. Tolle is a soothing lubricant, to sooth the aches of trendy nihilism, the consumer, the rat race and the humiliation of the work cycle; a cycle that disembowels us through advertising and envy and shopping and sexual frustrations. These are the reasons why Eckhart Tolle's popularization of the East is catching Oprah and Jim Carrey in a fit of excitement; they may not realize it, but what Tolle is offering is an escape hatch to a calmer place.

But you need to live in a mansion to practice living in the moment! Or you need to be a hermit, which, funnily enough, is what Eckhart Tolle is (as too is The Miracle of Mindfulness Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh). Most of us live in the real world. If you're looking after a three year old and you are working your own little rat race and if you're trying to study and write, all of the time; then living in the moment is not easy. Our society is run on the lowest common denominator mode of capitalist existence, so only the rich can pursue this bourgeois game.

Now about Jim Carrey and Oprah and Tolle, they are later-day escape artists, trying to leave us plebs behind! Now you yourself may choose to leave this word of skyskrapers, Starbucks, finace and monkey politics. However, if you want Sarah Palin to become the next emperor of the world, then your moral duty is to throw you own dirt back at the powerful!