Posted by Claire Hoffman on June 16, 2014 at 4:00 PM

These days I barely make a move without thinking about the consequences. Last night, I stared at my 5-month old daughter, marveling at the miracle of her being. I stroked the round curve of her belly, gazed into her bright blue eyes. My chest warmed as she cooed ecstatically back at me. Had life ever been so new and wonderful? Then, my mind wandered. I reached over her breathtaking being for my computer. I was on deadline.

With that reach came a flood of thoughtswould Vivian be forever scarred by my multitasking? Would her brain waves be altered by the glow of the computer screen? And worse, did the work I had to do really matter when such beauty lay before me?

For so long, Ive wanted to be in the moment. But I think thatmoment is over. I think the now has ended. Actually, I wonder if it ever existed.

Five years ago, I sat across from Eckhart Tollethe millennial guru of being in the Now. He said he didnt like talking to press, with the exception of his No. 1 disciple, Oprah. But, Tolle told me, his puckish face crinkling into a bemused smile, the universe had told him to grant me this interview. Ill admit I was suspicious of Tolle before I met him. I had read his books and felt vaguely annoyed that he had repurposed in a digestible form an age-old spiritual truth: Happiness was letting go. I was raised in a utopian community based on meditation that deified our guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who said he was enlightened and encouraged all of us to achieve his state of 24-hour bliss. I developed a long-standing dislike of men who stood on stages and told people to emulate them.

Still, all the meditating Id done as a child hadnt eradicated my ego. So when I heard Eckhart and the universe had talked about me, he had my full attention.

Outside the sterile studio room where we were chatting at the University of British Columbia sat one other writer who had been approved by the universe. She was from Modern Dog. Tolle, as it turned out, really loved dogs. I felt flattered despite myself. I had often thought the universe had something special in store for me and sitting across from Tolle, I tingled with the meaningfulness of it all. This was it! I was in the Now. I was in Tolles Now. We sat facing each other. Tolle, an elfin 60 years old with reddish hair and pointed ears, seemed to be slowing time with his fixed intensity.

We were in Vancouver, where Tolle lived a relatively private life with his girlfriend and soon-to-be wife, Kim Eng. Despite having book after book on the best-seller list for years, Tolle said he was modest in his habits, citing a new Lexus SUV and a nice condo as his biggest splurges.

Before we sat down together, I had been nervous about interviewing himhow do you ask somebody about their history, and about what they do, and why they do it when that person has cobbled together a philosophy of life in opposition to history and who preaches that all that really matters is the moment?

Excerpt from:
The Power of Then