Description
Book SynopsisIn our fast moving world many of us feel our time is wound tight, our lives constantly hassled and hectic. `Fast-forward' seems to be the collective default setting. So often we can be over busy and over stimulated, and this can send stress levels higher and higher. In Free Time!, Vajragupta Staunton shows us that investigating our experience of time, and considering our relationship with it, can be deeply and powerfully transformative. Noticing the feel and texture of our time can help us see more clearly, and understand more profoundly, the anxiety and restlessness that so often dominates our minds. We and time are intimately intertwined. It is not something we are in; it is something that we are. That means we have a choice about our experience of time: what we do with our minds and our hearts, with our thoughts and emotions, will condition the quality of the time we live in. Vajragupta Staunton explores time from a number of different angles, in order to see how we can have a more healthy and human relationship with it. He looks at our actual day-to-day experience of time and applies a variety of Buddhist ideas and teachings in order to understand what time really is. He also offers practical ways of helping us live in a way that is relaxed and open, in a way that is not oppressive and restrictive, but free and flowing.
Trade Review‘Today we’re all familiar with time-stress – how can Buddhist practices help us cope with it? What does Buddhism have to teach us about our experience and understanding of time? Staunton’s new book offers fresh perspectives on a problem that continues to worsen, and original ways to address it.’ David Loy, author of Money, Sex, War, Karma; ‘Refreshingly original, beautifully written, and crystal clear. I can’t remember the last time I read a book that yielded so many insights.’ Ratnaguna, author of The Art of Reflection; ‘As someone who suffers from chronic, clock-watching, inbox-obsessing busyness, I found this a challenging, but ultimately inspiring, book. Hints for experiencing timelessness, and stories of both contemporary acquaintances and the life of the Buddha, make it all very human and accessible, firmly rooted in experience.’ Sir David Spiegelhalter, Centre for Mathematical Sciences, University of Cambridge
