Reengineeing Our Patterns
by Eknath Easwaran
[Listen to Audio!]
 When I recommend to someone that they slow down, they often raise a legitimate question: “There is so much that I have to do; how can I go through it slowly and get it all done?” I usually answer by referring to my own experience as a teacher in India. As chairman of the Department of English at a large university I had heavy responsibilities. But I wanted very much to train myself to do things slowly and without tension because I knew it would be a help on the spiritual path.
I began by making a list of all the activities I engaged in on the campus, the things I was expected to do and the things I liked doing. It turned out to be a long list. I said at the time what people tell me today: I simply cannot go slowly and take care of all these vital matters.
Then I remembered my spiritual teacher, my Grand-mother, who had great responsibilities in our extended family of over a hundred people and in our village. She always fulfilled those responsibilities splendidly, and I recalled that she had an unerring sense of what was central and what was peripheral. So using her example, I started striking from my list activities not absolutely essential.
I was amazed at the number that could go. I began to avoid those functions that I could not justify to myself. Putting aside my likes and dislikes, keeping an eye on what was necessary, using as much detachment as I could, I struck more and more from the list. Soon half of it was gone, and I found I had more time to give to what seemed likely to be of permanent value.
Re-engineering our patterns in the way I have mentioned will not be easy or painless. It will require persistent efforts for a long time. But the benefits are magnificent and we begin to receive them from the very first day we try to make a change.
About the Author: An excerpt from ‘Meditation’ , a book by Eknath Easwaran.
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Reengineeing Our Patterns
How do you relate to the author’s observation of how being selective helped him grow on the spiritual path? Can you share a personal story where you experienced a re-engineering of your own patterns? What helps you let go of the unnecessary and focus on the essential? |
| susan schaller wrote: Easwaran’s reminder is a good gift for starting my day. My life began changing when I began to incorporate “First things first” in my life. As often as I can, I ask myself what is the pri… |
| Rajesh wrote: Dropping what feels unnecessary has been very liberating for me. Over the years, it has felt like more and more time has opened up to just stay with what feels meaningful. There is a sens… |
| Abhishek wrote: Being in presence (and in present) is a requirement for being able to sharply distinguish the baggage activities (tasks we may be robotically continuing, needless and indulgent activities) vs the ess… |
| Kristin Pedemonti wrote: I relate very much to the feeling of needing to let go of the periphery and focus on the essentials. Feeling grateful that more days than not it is possible and only when I get caught up in lif… |
| Jagdish P Dave wrote: If we equate time with money, then we are the losers. It is like putting myself in the ever-busy hands of time. So when I say I don’t have time, I need to pause, be quiet for a moment to ask th… |
| david doane wrote: For me, a spiritual path entails remaining aware that all is one and sacred and my activities are part of that big picture. I can get so busy and stressed that I forget that. Being select… |
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Editor’s note: Humility is often underrated. Most of us have an infinite capacityfor self-deception — countless unconscious ways we protect ourselves from pain, uncertainty, and responsibility — often at the expense of others and of ourselves. Iris Murdoch’s definition of humility is, simply ‘selfless respect for reality.’ Everyone experiences failure in their lives but only the wise learn from life’s lessons and find humility. This 
