After a fascinating month spent on the challenge of turning spiritual ideals into action, we’ll now drop that topic and turn to The Power and Peace of a One-Pointed Mind, the Summer 2014 issue of the Blue Mountain Journal. Let’s use this journal study to work together at deepening our practice of one-pointed attention!
We’ll start by reading the brief pieces on pages 2 and 3, and then continue with the title article from Easwaran on pages 5–10. One powerful theme Easwaran draws out here is the connection between complete attention and detachment: “Through many, many years of unremitting effort based on the practice of meditation, we can train the mind to be detached from every attempt to cling for security to anything outside. That's what detachment means: you need nothing from anything or anyone outside you; you are complete.”
What is the most important thing that Easwaran said to you in this reading? How can you apply it in your life?
In this week's reading, Easwaran writes, "Doing a routine job well, with concentration, is the greatest challenge I can imagine. You're not just doing a job but learning a skill: the skill of improving concentration, which pays rich dividends in every aspect of life." Can you make a plan to practice that skill during a routine job this week?
In three weeks, on February 28th, the eSatsang will begin studying Easwaran’s Take Your Time. To prepare, make sure you have the book available.
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.
If you’ve been filling a little mantram book for peace and healing in the world, it is time to send it in! We hope to gather all the books by February 14, a day especially inaugurated by Christine as “Ramagiri Aspirations Day.” On Aspirations Day, the Ramagiri residents gather to rededicate themselves to Easwaran’s legacy. We hope to place all those books full of mantrams before Easwaran’s altar at Ramagiri. That will be a fitting offering for peace and healing in the world.
Let’s all send our mantram books to:
BMCM
PO Box 256
Tomales, CA 94971
For our spiritual treat, we are pleased to share the Easwaran video “Love Alters Not.” Easwaran recites from Shakespeare throughout the talk, commenting on the accordance with the Bhagavad Gita and the Dhammapada, and on how each of us can learn the skill of unchanging love.
Note that the full video is 34 minutes, but the excerpt ends at 9:35 and the player should stop automatically at that time. We’ll share the next segment of this video next week. Of course, you are welcome to watch more now as well.