Eknath Easwaran - God Makes the Rivers to Flow
(Nilgiri Press, 1982/1991/2003/2009)
I learned about passage mediation and Eknath Easwaran from a good friend that I met while working in 2010. During the summer of 2013, I mentioned to her that I was interested in learning more about meditation. It just so happened that she had recently started to practice passage meditation. She offered to lend me her book about passage meditation and by August, I had read the book and began to practice passage meditation.
My first impression of meditation was that it was like taking my brain for a walk - it was something that occupied my mind and made it less likely to wander aimlessly or become bored. In this way, I found meditation similar to the walks I take my dog on in the morning. I also found that my mind has the ability to run off on it's own tangents every five seconds on some days. When I realized that I was not even able to direct my thoughts for more than a few minutes at a time, I realized why I was having problems managing my emotions and my life. I have not felt an intense or profound impact from practicing passage meditation but I have had a few moments of insight during meditation and even without any strong, 'concrete' results - I know that mediation is good for my psyche and soul. My friend gave me Eknath's book, God Makes the Rivers to Flow, as a birthday present in 2013 and we went to a few meditation meetings together in Nov/Dec of 2013 before I moved back to Iowa. Reading and learning about passage meditation and Eknath Easwaran has been enlightening and adds strength to my new understanding of, and perspective on, life. Top of page: Sunset at Wash Park - Denver CO
At righ: Fall foliage on hike in Telluride, CO (Oct 2012) |
At one of the meditation meetings I attended with my friend, a teaching/prayer of Eknath's was shared.
My spiritual teacher, my grandmother, used to din into my ears: "Don’t ever ask for a quarter from life. Don’t ever ask life for any favors. It won’t have any respect for you. Tell life every day, I don’t care what you bring. I am prepared to face whatever you bring, not only with equanimity but with the confidence that I can use difficulties, suffering, even ordeals to grow taller, to become more loving." - Eknath Easwaran
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