We are eager to hear about how your experiment is going in slowing down and becoming more aware of conditioned behavior. Were you able to recall it at the time you wanted to? Was there a change in the situation, or interaction? If you haven’t yet chosen an experiment, it’s not too late! Remember to keep it small. Click here to read all about it. We’d love to hear your reflections or observations.
To inspire us to continue deepening our appreciation of Slowing Down, we’re offering a short clip (three minutes) from Easwaran called “Slowing Down Our Thoughts.” Let’s try watching him with as much One-Pointed Attention as possible. Please feel free to share your reflections on Easwaran’s tips.
In a year when many friends have been asking the BMCM for guidance, the BMCM is sharing Easwaran’s message of hope through this special edition of the Blue Mountain Journal. You’ll find inspiration and practical advice in two articles from Easwaran, two short pieces that Christine Easwaran wrote after 9/11, and a new, previously unpublished passage for meditation.
Here on the eSatsang, we will be studying articles in this journal together throughout January 2019. We’re sharing today however, so that you could have this resource at hand right away.
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When we’re more slowed down and one-pointed during the day, we’re more likely to be aware of our conditioned habits. This awareness provides us with opportunities to begin reversing or reengineering our conditioned patterns. We invite you to try a tiny experiment this month. Please make it very small! Ideally, it will fit into something you are already doing.
Please let us know what experiment you’d like to try and if you have ideas of other small ways we can give the gifts of time and attention throughout our days and busy lives!
To inspire us for the week ahead, enjoy this reading below by Easwaran from the book Passage Meditation.
This month, we’ll focus on giving the gifts of time and attention through the subtle points of Slowing Down and One-Pointed Attention. Slowing Down dovetails nicely into our spiritual reading topic from last month, because part of slowing down is prioritizing how we spend our time effectively.
As this holiday period begins around the world, we consider gifts to our families, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances. This month, we’ll also consider the generosity that comes from the gift of our time and attention. It’s a gift we can give every day, in any season. During the month, we’ll sharpen our focus on how we can give gifts of time and attention more of the time.
Is there something you have done in your life to help you slow down effectively? How has that helped you and those around you? We’d love to hear your strategies and tips!
This month we will continue our experiment of bringing a Tomales retreat experience home, by focusing on this year’s BMCM Weeklong Retreat theme of “Building the Will.” We’ll suggest ways in which you can get a taste of a Weeklong Retreat from wherever you are. As a practical way to approach this week’s focus, think of an instance in your daily life where you’d like to apply One-Pointed Attention more. Please share this with us! Hearing about your efforts helps us all to develop our skills.
Consider how you might make the most of this opportunity for applying more One-Pointed Attention during the week. You might choose an idea from the list below, adapted from a worksheet in the Weeklong Retreat, or choose an idea of your own. You may decide to extend an instance where you already have success with One-Pointed Attention. Choose something that will work for you!
This week, our reading from Easwaran discusses how practicing One-Pointed Attention, or ekagrata in Sanskrit, helps us to build our will and deepen our love and loyalty to everyone around us. Please feel free to highlight particular lines or sections from the reading that resonate with you.
We are thrilled to share an new addition to the eSatsang website: our Resources page! We invite you to explore this new page, and let us know what you think. On this new page, you'll find study guides for 72 of Easwaran's Video of the Month, resources to help you plan a regional satsang event, and more. To close our discussion of One-Pointed Attention, we’d like to finish with a 5-minute video talk by Easwaran. (Click the title to read more.)
How did your experiment with one-pointed attention go this this past week? If you forgot to try it or weren’t able to find the time, we’d love to hear your insights about that, too! Easwaran provides several encouraging and desirable benefits to a one-pointed mind. What benefits have you noticed from your own experience of practicing one-pointedness during the day? (Click title to read more.)
Over the next three weeks, we’re taking a focused look at one of the eight points: One-Pointed Attention. We’ll have an opportunity to explore this topic through a variety of materials. Let’s start this month’s theme by trying out an experiment. Identify a routine time in daily life when you would like to be more one-pointed... (Click the title to read more.)
