Free Time! from clock-watching to free-flowing, a Buddhist guide
In our fast moving world many people can feel their time is wound tight, their 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.
Listen to an audio interview with the author
£11.99
In our fast moving world many people can feel their time is wound tight, their 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.
Listen to an audio interview with the author
Endorsements
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? Vajragupta’s new book offers fresh perspectives on a problem that continues to worsen, and original ways to address it. – David Loy, Buddhist teacher and author
Vajragupta’s new work is refreshingly original, beautifully written, and crystal clear. Although not long, it took me some time to read because on almost every page there is something to reflect on. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I read a book that yielded so many insights. Go and get yourself a copy as soon as you have some time. – Ratnaguna, author of The Art of Reflection and Great Faith, Great Wisdom, and co-founder and director of Breathworks
Vajragupta’s book offers deep insight into untangling the frenzy of time. We’re all caught in the accelerating currents of time, surrounded by labor saving devices that paradoxically rob us of the free time we desire. His suggestions can provide a positive life change with less time stress. Clearly a book worth reading. – Stephan Rechtschaffen, MD, author of Time Shifting, a founder of Omega Institute and Blue Spirit Costa Rica
In this new book, Vajragupta takes us on a tour of time in the light of Buddhist wisdom. He starts by pointing out the ways in which our subjective experience of time relates to our states of mind. Grasping and aversion change the pace of experience and the generosity with which we engage the world. He explores clock-time and the changes in the cultures, technologies and economies of time over the last centuries. Reflecting on the three lakshanas, or marks of being, in Buddhist thought, he asks the fundamental question of how we can develop a healthy relationship to change. What sense of self do we invest in? What are our stories and the attachments they engender? Are they true? Are they liberating? The book is easy to read, dealing with tricky philosophical issues in an accessible and enjoyable way and packed with everyday wisdom. You’ll find moving examples, fragments of dream and metaphor, anecdotes from Buddhist practice, and resources for reflection on your own times and mind. It’s a delightful and insightful read. – Dhammamegha
