The importance of routine

From “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

" ‘It would have been better to come back at the same hour,’ said the fox. "If for example, you come at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, then at three o’clock I shall begin to be happy. I shall feel happier and happier as the hour advances. At four o’clock, I shall be already worrying and jumping about. I shall show you how happy I am ! But if you come at just any time, I shall never know at what hour my heart is to be ready to greet you…’ "

My reason for having a set time for practice, so that my heart is ready to greet the Self.

Why ? Oh, why must you do this ?
Now I’ll feel more quilty when I don’t manage to stick to a fixed schedule. :smiley:

what a lovely quotation! by coincidence i have got myself a little prince diary for 2010. i love routines - it provides some form of foundation for this fast changing world. but pleasant surprises are welcome too. whatever is happening the greatest challenge is always to be present.

I have to share this with people I love.:slight_smile: It’s a delight.

I read a Buddhist text that says that discipline is related to joy. Your quote reminded me! Thanks!

[QUOTE=lavina;4631]
My reason for having a set time for practice, so that my heart is ready to greet the Self.[/QUOTE]
Advise from Maharishi Patanjali:
I.13 tatra sthitau yatno ?bhy?sa? - [B]Practice is the sustained effort to rest in that stillness.[/B]
I.14 sa tu d?rgha-k?la-nairantarya-satk?r?sevito d??ha-bh?mi? -[B] And this practice becomes firmly rooted when it is cultivated skillfully and continuously for a long time.[/B]
I.15 d???nu?ravika-vi?aya-vit???asya va??k?ra-sa?j?? vair?gyam - [B]As for non-reaction, one can recognize that it has been fully achieved when no attachment arises in regard to anything at all, whether perceived directly or learned.[/B]
I.16 tat param puru?a-khy?ter gu?a-vait???yam - [B]When the ultimate level of non-reaction has been reached, pure awareness can clearly see itself as independent from the fundamental qualities of nature.[/B]

i need to have some routine in my life… with work and just life… its hard sometimes to find that place and peace in your heart that we all need.

beautiful poem.

Hi,
We are all more like a robot, a machine with conciseness, machine never the less.
say you take breakfast at 8 in the morning, over a period of time like the fox, your body is ready with all the juices ready to absorb it, if you go without your breakfast the chemicals ultimately, acidic as they are, will rather harm your intestine.
If you stick to routine you will live healthy. so is the case with what you consume, any new intake will force the body to figure out what to do, it will figure out if you stick with it, any challenge to the body suddenly makes it go Topsy turvy.
If you stick to one particular drink, and at rather same time, your liver will never go bad, even you increase the amount slowly.
Indian princes used to select beautiful young girls known as Vish kanya (poisonous girls) by giving them small amount of poison every day, slowly increasing the quantity. These beauties were used to kill whom they wanted, normally the rival kings, by making them available to them. Any physical contact or penetration would kill the person. Ones body can even withstand poison.

I have just been learning this lesson the hard way. I was working with a teacher (not yoga) who asserted that we should not keep to routines. That, as spiritual warriors, we should be able to weave in and out of daily living effortlessly and without routine because when we live with routine, we become inflexible and overly attached to the definitions of our life. Makes sense. BUT, quite frankly, I decided I am not that spiritually advanced.

I believe abandoning routine is the ultimate goal where we reach a level of detachment from routine so that we are ready for anything and everything that presents itself. However, I don’t believe that goal can be achieved until one has mastered discipline, which can only be learned through routine. I am in that facet of my learning now, making major lifestyle changes and creating routine.

Thank you for the quote. I needed that today!

Thanks you for the quote.