The Timeless Wisdom of Eknath Easwaran
Retreats in Phoenix (Jan 28th) and Los Angeles, Encino (Feb 11th) From our Programs staff: Passage meditation is meant for people who live in the midst of the world, interacting with frazzled relatives and grumpy grocery clerks. It's meant for people who yearn to dwell in peace and compassion while still getting the dog to the vet and the kids to school on time.
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A Practice for Today: Training the Senses "In the food we eat, the books and magazines we read, the movies we see, the television shows we watch, all of us are subject to the dictatorship of rigid personal likes and dislikes. To free yourself from this conditioning, practice juggling with your likes and dislikes cheerfully when it is in the interests of those around you - or yourself." . . . more
Easwaran on Thomas a Kempis' The Imitation of Christ: Talk 42 This is the 42nd in a long series of talks Eknath Easwaran gave on The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis. In this talk Easwaran reads and discusses book 3, chapter 10, "That to Despise the World and Serve God is a Sweet Life." . . . more
"Any new videos?" Another chance to see how Easwaran turned to meditation Our friend Christy was asking us over breakfast in the retreat house if the BMCM has produced any new videos of Easwaran. We asked her if she'd seen the short video from November featured on our website – the one in which Easwaran describes very movingly how he turned to meditation. . . . more
Thought for the Day
January 27
Households, cities, countries, and nations have enjoyed great happiness when a single individual has taken heed of the Good and Beautiful. . . . Such people not only liberate themselves; they fill those they meet with a free mind.
– Philo
Just as we live in a physical atmosphere, we are surrounded also by a mental atmosphere. And just as the air we breathe may become polluted, our mental atmosphere can be polluted by negative thinking. If trees were not always releasing oxygen into the atmosphere, scientists tell us, all life on earth would suffer. On a smoggy day the trees along the freeway look grey and drab in the haze; they do not seem to add anything valuable to the landscape.
Yet they are performing a vital function: they are taking in our carbon dioxide and giving us oxygen in return.
A person whose mind is free from negative thinking spreads a life-giving influence in much the same way that a tree gives oxygen. Although a selfless man or woman may seem to go through the day doing nothing extraordinary, without them nothing would revitalize the atmosphere in which we think. By being vigilant, and not encouraging negative thoughts, all of us can offer this vital service – which benefits everybody, including ourselves.
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