We hope our study of forgiveness is inspiring you to make small experiments in your own life! We’ll continue with the 2016 Blue Mountain Journal Forgiving Others, Forgiving Ourselves, this week reading Christine Easwaran’s introduction to the issue on pages 2–3, along with a short article from Easwaran titled “Our True Self” on pages 32–33, and “A Prayer for Meditation” from Easwaran on page 4. In her introduction Christine writes, “We think of forgiveness as a response to wrongs, but the forgiveness the mystics plead for is universal: a state of mind that Easwaran said absorbs ill will as trees absorb carbon dioxide in the air and transform it into life-giving oxygen.”
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?
Continue your effort to imitate Easwaran’s evening routine. Even if some nights you can’t do it, try again to see the evening as a time for lighthearted, loving harmony with others and yourself. At the end of the day, build your routine of turning off other media, reading from Easwaran for a few minutes, and then going to bed repeating the mantram.
We’ll end with another spiritual treat: we hope you enjoy this recording of Christine Easwaran reading the passage “The Saint” from the Dhammapada!