"The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle - as an Aspie

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Let me start by saying please forgive me for digging up this thread when no one has posted on it for a while. I am a parent of a 5 yo HFA boy and I have been learning about mindfulness and Buddhism for myself and as I learn more I have started to see how the concepts might be helpful to teach my son as he grows. I guess I myself am NT though the more I have read and learned about autism, the more autistic traits I see in myself and my husband (self-fulfilling prophecy? I don't know). What has struck me most is the discussion of perspective. The few books I have read discuss the idea that what any of us perceive is not fact, that we each have our own perspective. I am drawn to this idea because over on the parent's forum there has been a lot of discussion about how many children's "behavior problems", as percieved by adults, are rooted is a total misunderstanding of the child's perspective on a given situation. Do any of you who are interested in or practice mindfulness think that it has helped you develop any understanding of other peoples' perspective or a better understanding of your on perspective?

I have read this book and unfortunately this specific book didnt quite catch me the way I thought it would, but the topics are interesting and Ive read similar books that I liked much better, but if it works for you, more power to ya.

As Eckhart Tolle would be the first to say, his teachings are not new nor are they unique to him. Different cultures throughout history have had some of the same spiritual insights and teachers have tried to communicate these teachings using the terms available to them from their language and culture. Unfortunately this always results in some people misunderstanding the message by getting hung up on the details of the words used to communicate the message. Sometimes they end up worshiping the messenger. Spiritual teachings are by their nature ineffable. Such teachings cannot be accurately communicated by words but only hinted at. There is a famous saying that Zen Buddhism is like the finger pointing at the moon. Alan Watts said many people instead suck the finger for comfort.

To answer your question, I have Asperger's and have found that the insights shared by Tolle do help me cope with existence. Most of our pain is self-inflicted and isn't even due to what is happening at the present moment but instead is from our worrying about the past or the future. Most of my teachings have come from Alan Watts, an eclectic scholar and philosopher of the 20th century who was a very entertaining speaker. I don't enjoy reading his books nearly so much as I do listening to him talk. He is a blast to listen to, and I have had lightning flashes of realization several times from listening to Alan Watts talk about these subjects. Many of the same ideas can also be learned from the Hindu saint Ramana Maharshi, or from Buddha, or even from Jesus when read with a certain perspective.

I once made a joke: "Have you heard Eckhart Tolle is writing a new book? Do you know when it will be published? NOW!"

I really like power of now and it is helping me and making more relaxed and able to cope with emotions. i like other similar books like tich nhat hanh and ancient zen books, but tolle seems the most immidiate and simple for when you need help and peace.

hmm, i feel all warm and peaceful thinking about the different "I"s.