9 Comments

Complete Concentration

 
 

As we now read the closing of chapter 3, pages 73–79 in Take Your Time, Easwaran presents various facets of what it means to be master of your attention. “When concentration is deep,” he explains, “we may forget our body completely. In fact, we may forget altogether about that dreariest of subjects, ourselves. This is the real secret of happiness.” And as we forget ourselves, Easwaran explains, we lose any sense of being separate from the rest of creation: “This awareness of unity is the distinguishing mark of spiritual awareness. Such people will consider you as part of themselves, and their welfare as part of your own.”

  • Identify something in your life that you find confusing at this time, and where you wish you could ask Easwaran for his tips. See what he has to say in our readings. How can you apply his words to your situation?

  • We’ve been extending our practice of one-pointed attention by working through the ideas and suggestions on pages 80–81. Read through that list and choose an experiment that fits best for you this week.

9 Comments

8 Comments

Don’t Wobble

 
 

“When we do things with only a part of the mind, we are just skimming the surface of life,” Easwaran warns us in this week’s reading from Take Your Time. Throwing light on the dynamics of divided attention and its resolution, he explains:

“Nothing sinks in; nothing has real impact. It leads to an empty feeling inside. Unfortunately, it is this very emptiness that drives us to pack in even more, seeking desperately to fill the void in our hearts. What we need to do is just the opposite: to slow down and live completely in the present. Then every moment will be full.”

Let’s read this section, pages 68–73, and continue observing the connection between one-pointed attention and slowing down.

  • What is the most important thing that Easwaran said to you in this reading? How can you apply it in your life?

  • Let’s continue extending our practice of one-pointed attention using the ideas on pages 80–81. Here’s a suggestion for this week:

    • Remember the Buddha’s words: “When you are walking, walk; when you are sitting, sit. Don’t wobble.”

    • Consider a situation or activity in which you tend to “wobble.” Try using one-pointed attention to not wobble.

For our spiritual bonus this week, here is Christine Easwaran reading the passage “The One Thing Needed” from Tukaram.

8 Comments

8 Comments

One Thing at a Time

In this week’s reading, on pages 62–68 from Take Your Time, Easwaran brings the topic of one-pointed attention to focus on one of his favorite themes, personal relationships:

“Effortless concentration is the secret of all personal relationships, whether it is with casual acquaintances, co-workers, colleagues, friends, or family. And when relationships are not particularly cordial, one-pointed attention is even more important. It is an exceptional person who can give complete attention to somebody who is being unpleasant, but when you can do this, you can slowly disarm even a hostile person simply by listening without hostility, with complete and even loving attention.”

Let’s take a small step toward making the spiritual renaissance a reality in our lives by giving our best attention in personal relationships this week!

  • If you have a particular issue you are struggling with right now, look into this reading for tips, and try them out this week.

  • As a challenge this week, try this experiment from the “Ideas and Suggestions” on pages 80–81:

    • When talking with someone, give that person your full attention, even if his attention wanders or she is saying something you dislike.

For our spiritual bonus this week, here is Easwaran reading the passage “Four Things That Bring Much Inward Peace” from Thomas à Kempis.

8 Comments

8 Comments

Directing Attention at Will

 
 

We hope you’ve been enjoying the Take Your Time book study as much as we have. We feel Easwaran used this little book to frame for us, his students, what the spiritual renaissance should look like and how we can make it happen. What an opportunity!

We are ready to dig in to chapter 3, starting with pages 57–62. Easwaran now introduces one-pointed attention and makes the case for its necessity for training the mind and living in freedom. And he reveals that the benefits extend even further:

“When we learn to recall attention from the past and keep it completely in the present, we reclaim a tremendous reserve of vital energy that has been trapped in the past like a dinosaur. Every time we do this, we restore a little more of our vital wealth to the present moment.”

  • What is Easwaran telling you about the workings of your own mind? This week, use this new understanding to get some cooperation from your mind when it is being uncooperative. Tell us how it goes!

  • The current edition (2006) of Take Your Time has suggestions for practice, set apart on blue pages, to encourage experimentation. The suggestions for chapter 3 are on pages 80–81, and we can start with this one:

    • When your attention gets caught somewhere other than here and now – for example, in some past event you can’t stop dwelling on – bring your mind back to the present.

For our spiritual treat, we are pleased to share the final segment from the Easwaran video “The Other Shore.” Note that the full video is 26 minutes, but the excerpt begins at 19:05 and the player should start there automatically. Of course, you are welcome to back up and watch more as well.

8 Comments

8 Comments

Slow Down Your Mind

 
 

This week let’s finish chapter 2 of Take Your Time, reading pages 48–54. Having offered a number of skills and strategies for prioritizing our time and relieving pressures, Easwaran now reaches what he describes as “the real crux of slowing down: developing an unhurried mind.” And he makes clear that the implications are profound:

“The Buddha called this ‘living intentionally.’ It is a way of life. Slowing down is not the goal; it is the means to an end. The goal is living in freedom – freedom from the pressures of hurry, from the distractions that fragment our time and creativity and love. Ultimately, it means living at the deepest level of our awareness.”

  • Is there a relationship in your life that you wish you could improve? Read this article for tips from Easwaran. Try applying those tips, even if you can’t apply them directly to this particular relationship.

  • We’ve been extending our practice of slowing down by working through the ideas and suggestions on pages 55–56. Read through that list and choose an experiment that fits best for you this week.

For our spiritual treat, we are pleased to share the next excerpt from the Easwaran video “The Other Shore.” Note that the full video is 26 minutes, but the excerpt goes from 12:26 – 19:05 and the player should start and stop automatically at those times. We’ll share the final segment of this video next week. Of course, you are welcome to watch more now as well.

8 Comments

8 Comments

Ask What’s Important

In chapter 2 of Take Your Time, Easwaran has been giving us a list of ways to get started with our practice of slowing down, with each being a skill he says will grow through practice. This week let’s read pages 42–48, which includes Easwaran’s “red pencil” exercise:

“Long ago, when I began to see the benefits of meditation, I wanted to be sure I made time for it every day. But I couldn’t see how I could fit it in. I had an extremely busy schedule, with responsibilities from early morning until late at night.

“I valued all this, but I was determined to make meditation a top priority. So I sat down and made a list of all the things I felt bound to do.

“Then I took my red pencil and crossed out everything that was not actually necessary or beneficial. Some of the results surprised me. I found I had been involved in activities that I couldn’t honestly say benefited anyone, including myself. I had simply become used to doing them. When I surveyed what remained, I found I had freed a number of hours every week.”

  • Read this article as if you and Easwaran are having a conversation. What advice does he give you, and how can you apply it this week?

  • We are working on slowing down, using the ideas and suggestions from Take Your Time. This week try the “red pencil” exercise, described on pages 44–45 and in the excerpt above.

For our spiritual treat, we are pleased to share the next excerpt from the Easwaran video “The Other Shore.” Note that the full video is 26 minutes, but the excerpt goes from 5:09 – 12:25 and the player should start and stop automatically at those times. We’ll share the next segment of this video next week. Of course, you are welcome to watch more now as well.

8 Comments

7 Comments

Slowing Down

In this week’s reading, page 34 to the top of 42 in Take Your Time, Easwaran recounts:

“…gradually I understood that living completely in the present is the secret of an unhurried mind. When the mind is not rushing about in a hurry, it is calm, alert, and ready for anything. And a calm mind sees deeply, which opens the door to tremendous discoveries: rich relationships, excellence in work, a quiet sense of joy. It was a revelation. There was a door to the discovery of peace and meaning in every moment! All I needed to open it was a quiet mind.”

Then he starts right in with eight ways for us to share in that revelation by making the best of the time we have every day.

  • Is there a particular situation that causes you to get speeded up or agitated? What tips does Easwaran offer in this reading that you could try out in this situation? Even if the tips don’t seem to directly apply, try them anyhow and tell us what you find.

  • We are working on slowing down, using the ideas and suggestions on pages 55–56. This week let’s try:

    • Experiment with getting up a little earlier each day. Use the time you gain for getting a more relaxed start on the day: more time for breakfast, a few minutes’ walk, or reading something inspirational. Avoid the temptation to check e-mail, catch up on the news, or anything else that you know just adds to the pressure or speeds you up.

For our spiritual treat, we are pleased to share the Easwaran video “The Other Shore.” Easwaran begins with a precise examination of the way we usually see the world – divided into the things and people we like and the things and people we don’t like. This duality (often unconscious) determines not only how we act, but how we see life. It is possible, he suggests, to jump beyond those opposites – and he tells us how.

Note that the full video is 26 minutes, but the excerpt ends at 5:09 and the player should stop automatically at that time. We’ll share the next segment of this video next week. Of course, you are welcome to watch more now as well.

7 Comments

9 Comments

Facing Pressure Without Losing Peace of Mind

This week in our new Take Your Time book study, Easwaran presents two of his favorite lofty examples of inner strength and mastery: his grandmother and Gandhi. And for each, he highlights their complete command of time, pressures, and priorities. Of Granny, Easwaran write, “She arose daily with the morning star and worked till evening – sometimes, when necessary, well into the night, long after others had gone to bed. She did everything carefully, giving each task her full attention without pressure or hurry, enjoying her work without ever being driven by it.”

  • Let’s read this section, pages 27–33, and continue working together on slowing down.

  • Which lines particularly strike you, and how can you apply them to your life this week?

  • Let’s continue extending our practice of slowing down using the ideas on pages 55–56. Here’s a suggestion for this week:

    • Meals are a great time for giving relationships a more important place in your day. If you often eat alone, find a friend to share lunch with. Give yourselves enough time not to hurry – and avoid talking business!

For our spiritual bonus this week, here is Christine Easwaran reading the passage “In the Midst of Darkness” from Mahatma Gandhi.

9 Comments

9 Comments

Take Your Time

In this second week of our Take Your Time book study we’ll begin chapter 1, covering pages 19–27. We hope you find this opening as compelling as we do. As usual Easwaran makes clear that the implications are practical and profound:

“It may sound paradoxical, but however tight our schedule, however many things clamor to be done, we don’t need to hurry. If we can keep our mind calm and go about our business with undivided attention, we will not only accomplish more but we’ll do a better job – and find ourselves more patient, more at peace.”

  • What is one statement that speaks to your heart in this reading? How will you put it into action this week?

  • As a challenge this week, try this experiment from the “Ideas and Suggestions” on pages 55–56:

    • Set aside a regular time for reflection. A weekend morning, before the day gets started, is a good way to begin. You might use the time for thinking about what’s really important to you in the long run – a “Lifetime To Do” list, or even a “To Be” list.

  • If you don’t yet have the book Take Your Time available, make sure you get it so you can join for the rest of the book study. We offer a 20% discount on books sold through our distribution partner indiepubs.com. The discount is applied automatically when you add to cart. Here is a link to Take Your Time on that site.

9 Comments

11 Comments

The Gift of Time

We are pleased to embark together on a book study; we’ll systematically read a whole volume from Easwaran – which is a great habit to practice together. So let’s start right in with Take Your Time, beginning with the foreword from Christine Easwaran on pages 9–18. Christine writes:

“In this book, Easwaran offers ways to develop the skill of living in the present so that we can open up the promise held within each moment of our lives. The more we practice, the more we discover in the time we have – and so the nearer we move to having all the time in the world. That, Easwaran says, is our birthright as human beings. It has already been granted to us; we simply have to learn how to claim it.”

Let’s take this opportunity to support each other in staking this precious claim!

  • Is there a particular situation that causes you to get speeded up or agitated? Look into this reading for tips and try them out this week.

  • The current edition (2006) of Take Your Time has suggestions for practice, set apart on blue pages, to encourage experimentation. Let’s use those suggestions to extend our practice of slowing down. We’ll start with this experiment from the list on pages 55–56:

    • See if you can find a situation where you’re regularly pressured to speed up. Can you think of a way to forestall it, perhaps by starting earlier or rearranging your time? If you can break the pattern, you’ve made a major gain in what the Buddha calls “intentional living.”

  • If you don’t yet have the book Take Your Time available, make sure you get it so you can join for the rest of the book study. We offer a 20% discount on books sold through our distribution partner indiepubs.com. The discount is applied automatically when you add to cart. Here is a link to Take Your Time on that site.

11 Comments

7 Comments

The Power and Peace of Meditation

 
 

Easwaran begins this week’s reading with a stirring quote from the Gita (6:26):

Wherever the mind wanders, restless and diffuse in its search for satisfaction without, lead it within; train it to rest in the Self. Abiding joy comes to those who still the mind.

Let’s read the article, “The Power and Peace of Meditation,” on pages 23–27 of the Summer 2014 issue of the Blue Mountain Journal along with the journal’s final article from Easwaran on page 29. And may we each be inspired to deepen our concentration in meditation!

  • Let’s continue extending our practice of one-pointed attention. Is there a tip in this reading that is particularly challenging for you? How will you wrestle with it this week?

  • In this issue of the journal, Easwaran repeatedly describes how one-pointed attention is especially rewarding in personal relationships. Let's try it out this week: plan a time of day when you will give extra effort to one-pointed attention to those around you. For example you might choose a meal time when you will be eating with others.

  • In one week, on February 28th, the eSatsang will begin studying Easwaran’s Take Your Time. To prepare, make sure you have the book available.

    • We offer a 20% discount on books sold through our distribution partner indiepubs.com. The discount is applied automatically when you add to cart. Here is a link to Take Your Time on that site.

For our spiritual treat, we are pleased to share the final excerpt from the Easwaran video “Love Alters Not.” Note that the full video is 34 minutes, but the excerpt begins at 26:45 and the player should start automatically at that time.

7 Comments

12 Comments

Six Ways to Tame an Unruly Mind

 
 

“The essential problem in doing one thing at a time is that we don't really want to—or, more accurately, the mind doesn't want to,” Easwaran diagnoses in this week’s reading from The Power and Peace of a One-Pointed Mind. What a familiar predicament! And yet, he assures us, “The ability to work on a job with total concentration, and then put it out of your mind when necessary, is a skill which can be cultivated.” This week’s article, “Six Ways to Tame an Unruly Mind” on pages 11–22, is full of practical tips for building one-pointed attention skill. We are eager to hear how you put them into action.

  • Is there some tip from Easwaran in this reading that you tend to skim over because you have already heard it many times before? Try focusing on it this week to extend your practice of one-pointed attention.

  • In this week’s reading, Easwaran writes, “…what I recommend is simple but intriguingly difficult: do only one thing at a time and give it your full attention. This is the key to doing a good job of any kind.”

    • This week, try to notice a time when you feel inclined to do more than one thing at a time, and experiment with choosing to be one pointed instead. Let us know how it goes!

  • In two weeks, on February 28th, the eSatsang will begin studying Easwaran’s Take Your Time. To prepare, make sure you have the book available.

    • We offer a 20% discount on books sold through our distribution partner indiepubs.com. The discount is applied automatically when you add to cart. Here is a link to Take Your Time on that site.

  • Thank you to everyone who has participated in our month of mantrams for peace and healing in the world.

    • Here at the BMCM, we are honored to be receiving your books and pages full of mantrams. We have gathered them all together before Easwaran's picture, to be offered today, February 14 - Ramagiri Aspirations Day - when the Ramagiri residents re-dedicate themselves to Easwaran's legacy and way of life. Your efforts this month are joined with the Ramagiri residents’. This is our collective prayer for Divine help for our suffering world.

    • Let's keep those mantrams going, Easwaran reminds us we have no idea of the power of the mantram, so can imagine every repetition may be helping someone in need in these difficult times.

For our spiritual treat, we are pleased to share the next excerpt from the Easwaran video “Love Alters Not.” Note that the full video is 34 minutes, but the excerpt goes from 9:35 – 26:45 and the player should start and stop automatically at those times. We’ll share the final segment of this video next week. Of course, you are welcome to watch more now as well.

12 Comments

11 Comments

The Power and Peace of a One-Pointed Mind

 
 

After a fascinating month spent on the challenge of turning spiritual ideals into action, we’ll now drop that topic and turn to The Power and Peace of a One-Pointed Mind, the Summer 2014 issue of the Blue Mountain Journal. Let’s use this journal study to work together at deepening our practice of one-pointed attention!

We’ll start by reading the brief pieces on pages 2 and 3, and then continue with the title article from Easwaran on pages 5–10. One powerful theme Easwaran draws out here is the connection between complete attention and detachment: “Through many, many years of unremitting effort based on the practice of meditation, we can train the mind to be detached from every attempt to cling for security to anything outside. That's what detachment means: you need nothing from anything or anyone outside you; you are complete.”

  • What is the most important thing that Easwaran said to you in this reading? How can you apply it in your life?

  • In this week's reading, Easwaran writes, "Doing a routine job well, with concentration, is the greatest challenge I can imagine. You're not just doing a job but learning a skill: the skill of improving concentration, which pays rich dividends in every aspect of life." Can you make a plan to practice that skill during a routine job this week?

  • In three weeks, on February 28th, the eSatsang will begin studying Easwaran’s Take Your Time. To prepare, make sure you have the book available.

    • We offer a 20% discount on books sold through our distribution partner indiepubs.com. The discount is applied automatically when you add to cart. Here is a link to Take Your Time on that site.

  • If you’ve been filling a little mantram book for peace and healing in the world, it is time to send it in! We hope to gather all the books by February 14, a day especially inaugurated by Christine as “Ramagiri Aspirations Day.” On Aspirations Day, the Ramagiri residents gather to rededicate themselves to Easwaran’s legacy. We hope to place all those books full of mantrams before Easwaran’s altar at Ramagiri. That will be a fitting offering for peace and healing in the world.

    • Let’s all send our mantram books to:

      BMCM
      PO Box 256
      Tomales, CA 94971

For our spiritual treat, we are pleased to share the Easwaran video “Love Alters Not.” Easwaran recites from Shakespeare throughout the talk, commenting on the accordance with the Bhagavad Gita and the Dhammapada, and on how each of us can learn the skill of unchanging love.

Note that the full video is 34 minutes, but the excerpt ends at 9:35 and the player should stop automatically at that time. We’ll share the next segment of this video next week. Of course, you are welcome to watch more now as well.

11 Comments

9 Comments

Ideals Are Living Forces

Turning Ideals Into Action: The Spiritual Challenge, the Spring/Summer 2017 issue of the Blue Mountain Journal, has been our focus the past several weeks. Now let’s conclude that study with the issue’s powerful final article from Easwaran on page 59, along with reading the passages on pages 13, 17, 20, 27, 31, and 35, and these final words from Easwaran on page 64:

“Ideals in action in daily living are the very foundation for peace, the very basis for love, the very fulcrum for selfless service and a better world.”

  • Is there a particular situation that causes you to get speeded up or agitated? What tips do Easwaran or these passages offer that you could try out in this situation? Even if the tips don’t seem to directly apply, try them anyhow and tell us what you find.

  • As a putting others first challenge this week, what is one small thing you can do to turn this enticing observation from Easwaran into reality in your life?

    • “…As meditation deepens, you find there is a fierce satisfaction in letting go of your own way so that things can go someone else’s way instead. Gradually you develop a habit of goodness, a hang-up for kindness, a positive passion for the welfare of others.”

  • In four weeks, on February 28th, the eSatsang will begin studying Easwaran’s Take Your Time. To prepare, make sure you have the book available.

    • We offer a 20% discount on books sold through our distribution partner indiepubs.com. The discount is applied automatically when you add to cart. Here is a link to Take Your Time on that site.

  • Mantrams for Peace and Healing

    • If you’ve been filling a little mantram book for peace and healing in the world, it is time to send it in! We hope to gather all the books by February 14, a day especially inaugurated by Christine as “Ramagiri Aspirations Day.” On Aspirations Day, the Ramagiri residents gather to rededicate themselves to Easwaran’s legacy. We hope to place all those books full of mantrams before Easwaran’s altar at Ramagiri. That will be a fitting offering for peace and healing in the world.

      • Let’s all send our mantram books to:

        BMCM
        PO Box 256
        Tomales, CA 94971

For our spiritual bonus this week, here is Christine Easwaran reading the passage “Radiant Is the World Soul” from Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook.

9 Comments

8 Comments

How to Make Wise Choices

 
 

In this week’s article, “How to Make Wise Choices,” Easwaran responds to the frequent question, “How can we know what the perspective of the Self is? Let alone identify with it? We don’t even know where to look.” His answer is a stirring guide for prioritizing activity throughout our lives. Here is one memorable piece of his strong advice: “…remember Sri Krishna’s injunction from the Bhagavad Gita: ‘Make Me your only goal.’ Everything can be referred to that. Will this deepen my meditation, improve my concentration, make my mind more even, make me less self-centered? If it will, I will do it; if it won’t, I will not.”

Let’s read that full article on pages 53–57, along with Easwaran’s brief article “Putting Anger to Work: The Bear” on pages 36–38 of the Spring/Summer 2017 issue of the Blue Mountain Journal.

  • Read this article as if you and Easwaran are having a conversation. What advice does he give you, and how can you apply it this week?

  • Here’s this week’s putting others first challenge, direct from Easwaran. He writes:

    • “I am all ears when somebody says, ‘I don’t know how to be kind. I don’t know how to release deeper resources to make my life count.’ I say, ‘I can teach you!’ That is what meditation is for. Memorize a passage on kindness, memorize a passage on goodness, and then drive it inwards. You will become kind; you will become good.”

    • Try his advice this week and tell us how it goes!

  • Mantrams for Peace and Healing

    • If you’ve been filling a little mantram book for peace and healing in the world, keep those mantrams coming! We hope to gather all the books by February 14, a day especially inaugurated by Christine as “Ramagiri Aspirations Day.” On Aspirations Day, the Ramagiri residents gather to rededicate themselves to Easwaran’s legacy. We hope to place all those books full of mantrams before Easwaran’s altar at Ramagiri. That will be a fitting offering for peace and healing in the world.

      • Let’s all send our mantram books to:

        BMCM
        PO Box 256
        Tomales, CA 94971

And for our spiritual bonus, here is Easwaran reading “The Way of Love” from the Bhagavad Gita.

8 Comments

7 Comments

All of Us Are One

We’ve been doing the hard work of Turning Ideals Into Action, the topic of the Spring/Summer 2017 issue of the Blue Mountain Journal. In this week’s article “All of Us Are One,” Easwaran inspires us toward this challenge, writing, “The same spark of divinity – this same Self – is enshrined in every creature. My real Self is not different from yours nor anyone else’s. The mystics are telling us that if we want to live in the joy that increases with time, if we want to live in true freedom independent of circumstances, then we must strive to realize that even if there are four people in our family or forty at our place of work, there is only one Self.” And later he explains, “When the sages talk about ‘realization,’ what they mean is making this Self a reality in our daily living. We have to practice it in our behavior.” Let’s read that full article on pages 41–46, along with the extended passage Easwaran’s article refers to, on pages 48–51.

  • Which lines particularly strike you, and how can you apply them to your life this week?

  • In this issue Easwaran writes, “…whenever I see somebody changing herself to be kinder or more selfless, my heart leaps in delight.” Can you take the opportunity to make Easwaran’s heart leap by changing something small this week? Use the comments below to let us know how so we can leap too!

  • Mantrams for Peace and Healing

    • Throughout the ages, when times were dark and people were losing hope, the saints and sages gathered with their students to lift up their prayers, asking for the Lord to bring help to the suffering world. It is said that over and over again, we’ve been rescued by Divine forces in this way. So let’s join Easwaran, Christine and Granny in this ancient tradition. We’re calling on all of us to lift up our mantrams for peace and healing in the world throughout the entire month of January. Here is how we will do it:

      • Please find a nice little blank book to fill with mantrams. We’re going to aim to fill up our books with mantrams by the beginning of February, and then, if you will, please send your book of mantrams to us here at the BMCM. We hope to gather all the books by February 14, a day especially inaugurated by Christine as “Ramagiri Aspirations Day.” On Aspirations Day, the Ramagiri residents gather to rededicate themselves to Easwaran’s legacy. We hope to place all those books full of mantrams before Easwaran’s altar at Ramagiri. That will be a fitting offering for peace and healing in the world.

      • We’ll need to get cracking with our mantram writing so we can get those books filled. Please join us, this is a grand offering for a very grand and needed purpose!

      • Let’s all send our mantram books to:
        BMCM
        PO Box 256
        Tomales, CA 94971

For our spiritual bonus this week, here is Easwaran reading the passage “That Invisible One” from the Kena Upanishad.

7 Comments

8 Comments

Make Peace Your State of Mind

What does it mean to make peace your state of mind? “Gradually you develop a habit of goodness, a hang-up for kindness, a positive passion for the welfare of others,” Easwaran explains. “In terms of emotional engineering, you are using the mind’s enormous capacity for passion to develop the power to put other people first: and not just verbally, but in your thoughts and actions as well. Eventually kindness becomes spontaneous, second nature; it no longer requires effort. There is nothing sentimental about this quality, either; kindness can be as tough as nails.” Continuing our study of Turning Ideals Into Action: The Spiritual Challenge from the Blue Mountain Journal, let’s read Easwaran’s article on pages 23–33 and examine more of his presentation on the dynamics of acquiring a peaceful mind.

  • What is Easwaran telling you about the workings of your own mind? This week, use this new understanding to get some cooperation from your mind when it is being uncooperative. Tell us how it goes!

  • Let’s continue extending our practice of putting others first. In this week's reading Easwaran writes, “Nothing we do could have a more beneficial influence on those around us than remaining calm and considerate in the midst of ups and downs.” For this week’s challenge, reflect on a situation where you’ve been agitated recently and craft a strategy for remaining calm and considerate the next time you face it.

  • Mantrams for Peace and Healing

    • Throughout the ages, when times were dark and people were losing hope, the saints and sages gathered with their students to lift up their prayers, asking for the Lord to bring help to the suffering world. It is said that over and over again, we’ve been rescued by Divine forces in this way. So let’s join Easwaran, Christine and Granny in this ancient tradition. We’re calling on all of us to lift up our mantrams for peace and healing in the world throughout the entire month of January. Here is how we will do it:

      • Please find a nice little blank book to fill with mantrams. We’re going to aim to fill up our books with mantrams by the beginning of February, and then, if you will, please send your book of mantrams to us here at the BMCM. We hope to gather all the books by February 14, a day especially inaugurated by Christine as “Ramagiri Aspirations Day.” On Aspirations Day, the Ramagiri residents gather to rededicate themselves to Easwaran’s legacy. We hope to place all those books full of mantrams before Easwaran’s altar at Ramagiri. That will be a fitting offering for peace and healing in the world.

      • We’ll need to get cracking with our mantram writing so we can get those books filled. Please join us, this is a grand offering for a very grand and needed purpose!

      • Let’s all send our mantram books to:
        BMCM
        PO Box 256
        Tomales, CA 94971

For a spiritual treat, here is the second half of the video we started last week. The player should start automatically where we left off at timepoint 8:30, so feel free to restart at the beginning if you missed it last time. In the video, Easwaran reminds us about all the opportunities our desires offer for gaining a firmer, fitter will. He also discusses practical ways we can make great strides towards realizing our true Self within.

8 Comments

9 Comments

Hold On to Your High Ideals

 
 

“If you are one of the great majority of human beings who have allowed their ideals to get vague around the edges,” Easwaran consoles us in this week’s reading, “meditation can sharpen and strengthen them. Simply refreshing these ideals in meditation can bring an immediate sense of relief, as if coming home again after a long absence or finding something precious you had lost and forgotten.”

This week we take up Turning Ideals Into Action: The Spiritual Challenge, the Spring/Summer 2017 issue of the Blue Mountain Journal, starting with the first article by Easwaran on pages 5–14. May we each be inspired by this sweet promise of coming home again to our own ideals!

  • Identify something in your life that you find confusing at this time, and where you wish you could ask Easwaran for his tips. See what he has to say in our readings. How can you apply his words to your situation?

  • In this week's reading, Easwaran writes, “Ideals are merely ideas until we translate them into daily life – and that means learning to go against the conditioning that urges us to put ourselves first instead.” What is one small way you can go against your conditioning and put others first this week?

  • Mantrams for Peace and Healing

    • Throughout the ages, when times were dark and people were losing hope, the saints and sages gathered with their students to lift up their prayers, asking for the Lord to bring help to the suffering world. It is said that over and over again, we’ve been rescued by Divine forces in this way. So let’s join Easwaran, Christine and Granny in this ancient tradition. We’re calling on all of us to lift up our mantrams for peace and healing in the world throughout the entire month of January. Here is how we will do it:

      • Please find a nice little blank book to fill with mantrams. We’re going to aim to fill up our books with mantrams by the beginning of February, and then, if you will, please send your book of mantrams to us here at the BMCM. We hope to gather all the books by February 14, a day especially inaugurated by Christine as “Ramagiri Aspirations Day.” On Aspirations Day, the Ramagiri residents gather to rededicate themselves to Easwaran’s legacy. We hope to place all those books full of mantrams before Easwaran’s altar at Ramagiri. That will be a fitting offering for peace and healing in the world.

      • We’ll need to get cracking with our mantram writing so we can get those books filled. Please join us, this is a grand offering for a very grand and needed purpose!

      • Let’s all send our mantram books to:
        BMCM
        PO Box 256
        Tomales, CA 94971

For our spiritual bonus this week, let’s enjoy the first half of this video, ending at timepoint 8:30. Of course you are welcome to continue and watch the second half as well, but note that we’ll be using it for our treat next week. In the video, Easwaran reminds us about all the opportunities our desires offer for gaining a firmer, fitter will. He also discusses practical ways we can make great strides towards realizing our true Self within.

9 Comments

7 Comments

Original Goodness

Easwaran presents a lofty vision in this week’s reading: “The seed is there, and the ground is fertile. Nothing is required but diligent gardening to bring into existence the God-tree: a life that proclaims the original goodness in all creation.” Please find that brief article, titled “Original Goodness,” on pages 51–52 of the Winter 2015 Blue Mountain Journal The Challenge of Choosing to Be Kind, and let’s read it along with the “Last Reminders from Easwaran” on pages 48–49 and the passages on pages 9, 13, 22, 26, and 53.

  • If you have a particular issue you are struggling with right now, look into this reading for tips, and try them out this week.

  • Easwaran says, “Exercising discrimination is part of being kind. We need to combine a soft heart with a hard nose.” This week, watch for examples of people who exercise good discrimination and are able to be warm-hearted yet firm when necessary. Are there situations when you can exercise this skill yourself?

  • Mantrams for Peace and Healing

    • This week, on December 29, we will have our annual New Years day of mantrams for peace and healing in the world. This is very important this year. Throughout the ages, when times were dark and people were losing hope, the saints and sages gathered with their students to lift up their prayers, asking for the Lord to bring help to the suffering world. It is said that over and over again, we’ve been rescued by Divine forces in this way. So on December 29, let’s join Easwaran, Christine and Granny in this ancient tradition. We will pour our mantrams out throughout that day and night for peace and healing in the world. The centerpiece of our day will be Satsang Live, and we will join together at 9:40 am PT to start writing mantrams.

    • But it won’t stop this year at the end of that day. We’re calling on all of us to lift up our mantrams for peace and healing in the world throughout the entire month of January. Here is how we will do it:

      • Please find a nice little blank book to fill with mantrams. We’re going to aim to fill up our books with mantrams by the beginning of February, and then, if you will, please send your book of mantrams to us here at the BMCM. We hope to gather all the books by February 14, a day especially inaugurated by Christine as “Ramagiri Aspirations Day.” On Aspirations Day, the Ramagiri residents gather to rededicate themselves to Easwaran’s legacy. We hope to place all those books full of mantrams before Easwaran’s altar at Ramagiri. That will be a fitting offering for peace and healing in the world.

      • We’ll need to get cracking with our mantram writing so we can get those books filled. Please join us, this is a grand offering for a very grand and needed purpose!

      • Let’s all send our mantram books to:
        BMCM
        PO Box 256
        Tomales, CA 94971

For our spiritual bonus this week, here is Christine Easwaran reading the passage “You Are That” from the Chandogya Upanishad.

7 Comments

8 Comments

Seeking the Same Self in All

Let’s keep learning how to choose kindness! This week we’ll finish Easwaran’s answers to the frequently asked questions in the Winter 2015 issue of the Blue Mountain Journal, reading pages 30–38. Here he reminds us, “What matters is the friendliness we show, the attention with which we listen – and, more than anything else, the complete absence of any sense of superiority.”

And thanks for all your examples and inspiration throughout this past month! It is very uplifting to be studying Easwaran’s timely message together.

  • What is the most important thing that Easwaran said to you in this reading? How can you apply it in your life?

  • A challenge: practice listening. Take time to listen to others this week. Particularly if there is disagreement, make it your goal to understand what the other person is expressing. But don’t stop just with disagreements. Simply enjoy listening to other’s verbal and non-verbal connections. Try to listen knowing that the Lord lives in this person.

  • Mantrams for Peace and Healing

    • On December 29, we will have our annual New Years day of mantrams for peace and healing in the world. This is very important this year. Throughout the ages, when times were dark and people were losing hope, the saints and sages gathered with their students to lift up their prayers, asking for the Lord to bring help to the suffering world. It is said that over and over again, we’ve been rescued by Divine forces in this way. So on December 29, let’s join Easwaran, Christine and Granny in this ancient tradition. We will pour our mantrams out throughout that day and night for peace and healing in the world. The centerpiece of our day will be Satsang Live, and we will join together at 9:40 am PT to start writing mantrams.

    • But it won’t stop this year at the end of that day. We’re calling on all of us to lift up our mantrams for peace and healing in the world throughout the entire month of January. Here is how we will do it:

      • Please find a nice little blank book to fill with mantrams. We’re going to aim to fill up our books with mantrams by the beginning of February, and then, if you will, please send your book of mantrams to us here at the BMCM. We hope to gather all the books by February 14, a day especially inaugurated by Christine as “Ramagiri Aspirations Day.” On Aspirations Day, the Ramagiri residents gather to rededicate themselves to Easwaran’s legacy. We hope to place all those books full of mantrams before Easwaran’s altar at Ramagiri. That will be a fitting offering for peace and healing in the world.

      • We’ll need to get cracking with our mantram writing so we can get those books filled. Please join us, this is a grand offering for a very grand and needed purpose!

      • Let’s all send our mantram books to:
        BMCM
        PO Box 256
        Tomales, CA 94971

For a spiritual treat this week, here is a brief video in which Easwaran draws inspiration from the great mystic poet Kabir.

8 Comments