In this week’s reading, pages 100–104 from The Mantram Handbook,* Easwaran starts by distinguishing between clinical depression, which may need the help of an experienced physician, and what he calls “garden-variety lows.” He lays out a systematic strategy for when we find ourselves feeling mildly depressed.. For his third tactic, he writes: “Another bit of advice for coping with depression is simple, difficult, and extremely powerful: always act as if you were not depressed. … Before you know it, you will find that you are not pretending to be cheerful any longer; you really are cheerful, because you have forgotten yourself.”
The description “simple, difficult, and extremely powerful” applies well to the skills we have been practicing in our book study.
What is the most important thing that Easwaran said to you in this reading? How can you apply it in your life?
We have been making a second pass through our mantram exercises and looking for ways to deepen them, for example by practicing more consistently or via a bit of extra effort or preparation. Here’s our mantram exercise this week:
Write your mantram in designs, perhaps using colored pens, to create a piece of mantram art. This can be very simple. You don’t need to be an artist, but the activity can engage you and allow you to stick with the mantram for an extended period.
* For those using electronic versions of The Mantram Handbook with different page numbering: this week’s reading comes from chapter seven, starting with the subheading “Getting Out of a Depression” and ending before the subheading “Spontaneity.”
For our spiritual boost this week, Easwaran explores the Buddha's concept of thirst, showing how it affects our mental states and our relationships.