We are pleased to embark together on a book study; we’ll systematically read a whole volume from Easwaran – which is a great habit to practice together. So let’s start right in with Take Your Time, beginning with the foreword from Christine Easwaran on pages 9–18. Christine writes:
“In this book, Easwaran offers ways to develop the skill of living in the present so that we can open up the promise held within each moment of our lives. The more we practice, the more we discover in the time we have – and so the nearer we move to having all the time in the world. That, Easwaran says, is our birthright as human beings. It has already been granted to us; we simply have to learn how to claim it.”
Let’s take this opportunity to support each other in staking this precious claim!
Is there a particular situation that causes you to get speeded up or agitated? Look into this reading for tips and try them out this week.
The current edition (2006) of Take Your Time has suggestions for practice, set apart on blue pages, to encourage experimentation. Let’s use those suggestions to extend our practice of slowing down. We’ll start with this experiment from the list on pages 55–56:
See if you can find a situation where you’re regularly pressured to speed up. Can you think of a way to forestall it, perhaps by starting earlier or rearranging your time? If you can break the pattern, you’ve made a major gain in what the Buddha calls “intentional living.”
If you don’t yet have the book Take Your Time available, make sure you get it so you can join for the rest of the book study. We offer a 20% discount on books sold through our distribution partner indiepubs.com. The discount is applied automatically when you add to cart. Here is a link to Take Your Time on that site.
