Easwaran urges us in this week’s reading, “Tear out all the old resentful episodes from the past and never bother dwelling on any of them again. Otherwise they are going to cause a lot of pain in the year to come. Then go into the New Year with a fresh resolve to keep that kind of episode from causing further anguish. This is the most pressing New Year’s resolution there can be.” Please find that brief article, titled “A New Year’s Resolution,” on pages 25–27 of the Spring 2015 Blue Mountain Journal Does Meditation Really Help the World? and let’s read it along with this issue’s final statements from Easwaran on pages 29 and 32.
Read these articles as if you and Easwaran are having a conversation. What advice does he give you, and how can you apply it this week?
In preparation for our January 3 Mantram Day for Peace and Healing, we are working together on extending our mantram practice. On your regular mantram walk, try repeating the mantram very loudly (in the mind).
Save the date! On January 3, passage meditators around the world will dedicate the day to repeating our mantrams for peace and healing in the world, including participating in BMCM Satsang Live, starting at 9:40 am Pacific Time (convert to your time zone). You might start planning this day with your family so that our mantram day will blend gracefully into your unique home setting.
We’ll end with another spiritual treat: In this 22-minute video entitled “Tips for Deepening Meditation” Easwaran reminds us that we have a choice at all times to ask, “Shall I do what is pleasing, appealing only to me, or shall I choose to do what will benefit all?” By choosing the latter, he explains, we are minimizing distractions in meditation. If you want to watch a shorter section of video, consider watching the first six minutes of the talk, during which Easwaran describes the key to minimizing distractions (0:00 to 5:42).