This week’s reading from Take Your Time includes a fascinating analysis of the interval between one thought and another. “This gap of stillness between one thought and another is our safety,” Easwaran writes. When something upsetting happens, “you have only to enter that interval where there is no thought and rest there.” Thus “extending that gap is the secret of an unhurried mind.”
Let’s read pages 177–184 and see what tips we can glean for extending that gap and moving toward a mind at peace.
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.
We are working to extend our practice of the mantram to help still our minds. This week, on your regular mantram walk, try repeating the mantram very slowly, with for example five steps per syllable instead of one step per syllable. This is an experiment Easwaran did to deepen his mantram.
Let’s return to the audio section of the Easwaran Digital Library for our spiritual bonus and continue exploring the Passages for Changing Negative Patterns of Thinking.* This week, try clicking the heading Fear, Anxiety, Inadequacy near the bottom of the page. Then in the player near the top of the page check Play all passages in this category and use the Play button to begin.
* You’ll need to log in for the link above to work. If it’s your first time, use the button Create new account from the login page.