Who Is Eckhart Tolle?
He is a German-Canadian spiritual teacher and self-help author best known as the author of The Power of Now and A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose.
The books have received a wide range of praise and criticism from reviewers. In 2000, Carter Phipps wrote that “Tolle’s clear writing and the obvious depth of his experience and insight set it apart”.[26] In 2003, Andrea Sachs characterized The Power of Now as “awash in spiritual mumbo-jumbo”,[27] while in 2008, an article in The New York Times stated that Tolle is “not identified with any religion, but uses teachings from Zen Buddhism, Sufism, Hinduism and the Bible”.[9]
Some critics have characterized his books as unoriginal or derivative. James Robinson in The Observer in 2008 called his writings “a mix of pseudo-science, New Age philosophy, and teaching borrowed from established religions”.[28] A 2009 article in The New York Times stated that he is “hardly the first writer to tap into the American longing for meaning and success”.[3] Sara Nelson, the editor-in-chief of Publishers Weekly, said Tolle’s writings had been successful due to surging public interest in self-help books.[3]
Others have praised his re-working and synthesis of traditions. New Age writer William Bloom wrote that “Tolle is offering a very contemporary synthesis of Eastern spiritual teaching, which is normally so clothed in arcane language that it is incomprehensible”, thereby providing “a valuable perspective on Western culture”.[5] Publisher Judith Kendra says, “The ideas [that Tolle is] talking about have been in existence for thousands of years in both Eastern texts and with the great Western mystics, but he’s able to make them understandable”.[5] Musician Annie Lennox said he “has some kind of special quality that I’ve never encountered before”.[5] Go to Wikipedia for footnotes and more information.