Yet another example of how the Universe brings in the right information at the right time. Once I started trusting this powerful principle, I'm just amazed at the sheer number of coincidences and serendipitous events.
This month, I had enrolled in a couple of courses on "The Buddhist path of training the mind" conducted by Ven.Drolma in association with Tushita Meditation Centre.
While the course was progressing, I was shopping for my next book to read from my bookshelf. Yes, there are loads of books yet to be read and I decided to shop from my home first before I look elsewhere.
I spotted this book "Search inside yourself" in a corner and I couldn't recollect when I had bought it. I later realized that K had purchased it many years back but yet to read it himself🙂
The title of the book piqued my interest and I started reading it one night. Frankly speaking, I just couldn't bear the tiny font size of the print. A book with such powerful messages needs a BIGGER font. I hope the publishers have corrected it in the subsequent editions (the one I have is the 2013 edition).
How is this book connected with the courses I enrolled in, you might ask? Even if you didn't, let me answer🙂
This book explains the importance of mindfulness in daily life, meditations, self-awareness, dealing with triggers, etc. As I was reading chapter after chapter, it felt like a perfect supplementary reading material to my meditation course.
The author who calls himself the "jolly good fellow" working for Google has brought in a lot of interesting, easy-to-understand perspectives on the nature of our mind and emotional intelligence. His writing style is quite humorous, relatable and well-structured. Each topic is substantiated with a meditation practice/ exercise prompt.
He first talks about the intra-personal aspects of emotional intelligence. Understanding ourselves through mindfulness, training our attention, self-awareness and emotional mastery lead to self-confidence. I especially loved the section on mindful conversations.
"Our attention is the most valuable gift we can give to others. When we give our full attention to somebody, for that moment, the only thing in the world we care about is that person, nothing else matters because nothing else is strong within our field of consciousness"
On self-regulation, the author mentions letting go of two things - grasping and aversion. I heard the same from Ven.Drolma in her class. I just can't stop thinking about how the Universe tried to reinforce the message to me through this book.
"Grasping is when the mind desperately holds onto something and refuses to let it go. Aversion is when the mind desperately keeps something away and refuses to let it come"
He then moves onto the inter-personal aspects of emotional intelligence - empathy, compassion and goodness. The last few chapters focus more on applications of these aspects in the context of work and professional interactions. The topic on Mindful Emailing should be a MUST READ for all professionals. Such relevant insights!
I got so excited to read about the meditation practices I learned during my class - Loving-kindness and Tonglen.
I'll stop right there as I just can't stop myself from raving about this book and the perfect timing of this read. When you read matters as much as what you read.
Do pick up this book if you are also interested to search inside yourself for answers....and make sure the font size is readable.