“We get detached from ourselves, from our own ego, by gaining control over the thoughts with which we respond to life around us,” Easwaran explains as we conclude his essay “The Ticket Inspector” by reading pages 86–91 of Climbing the Blue Mountain.*
And while detachment may sound negative, he emphasizes that its positive implications are tremendous:
“I would even go so far as to say, on the basis of what I myself have experienced, that we can reverse any negative tendency in our personality by refusing to let negative thoughts have their way. This is a far-reaching statement, for it means that positive thoughts are already on board the train. All we have to do is make sure their places are not usurped. Love, for example, is our nature.”
We are working together to cultivate detachment and realize our loving nature. We are so glad to be traveling this way with you!
If you have a particular issue you are struggling with right now, look into this reading for tips, and try them out this week.
We've been extending our practice of putting others first with weekly experiments. This week, 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 verbal and non-verbal connections with others. Try to listen knowing that the Lord lives in this person.
For spiritual entertainment, here is Christine Easwaran reading the passage “Soul of My Soul” from Shankara.
* For those using electronic versions of Climbing the Blue Mountain with different page numbering: this week’s reading is the second half of the chapter “The Ticket Inspector,” beginning with “When we face a difficult situation….”