• by Dawn King • A terrible beast called Nian lived under the Mountain, and sometimes was seen swimming in the nearby sea. Annually, it caused the villagers who lived in that area to be ill, their children to disappear, or fire to break out among the houses. When the villagers were particularly frightened one year, an old monk appeared and said he would help them while they lay hidden from the monster.
The wise monk found Nian and tricked the monster when it was about to eat him. “What would that prove?” the monk shouted. “I am not dangerous. But if you ate all the poisonous snakes, and dangerous beasts in the area, you would then be known to be Great.” While Nian was busy eating, the old monk put red papers on doors throughout the village and set off firecrackers during the night. The beast, who hated loud noise and the color red, was never seen again! This legend and tradition has endured. [Traditional red envelopes are shown in the starting photo].
Thus, each Spring Festival or Chinese New Year begins its 15-day celebration that ends with the full Moon. It starts on the new Moon that appears between January 21 and February 20th. 2025, Year of the Snake, embodies resourcefulness, self-reliance, and determination. In view of world events, we have to admit that we are living in extraordinary times.
For the past 40 years or so, it has been said that an old Chinese curse was: May you live in interesting times! Interesting times are times of turmoil, upsetting the ordinary pace of a peaceful life. When Dr. Ho Yong was asked about the origin of this phrase, he stated:
I speculate that whoever it was who first coined it attempted to give the expression a mystique, and so decided to attribute it to the Chinese. …Confucius, endeavoring to give his opinions and teachings greater gravity and acceptance, once stated, “I do not create; I merely pass on the wisdom of those who have gone before.”
How do we best cope while interesting times pummeling our attention and thoughts? Paramahansa Yogananda shares:
The habit of being inwardly in the calm presence of God must be developed, so that day and night that consciousness will remain steadfast. It is worth the effort; for to live in the consciousness of God is to be done with enslavement to disease, suffering, and fear. Just be with God, that is the be-all and end-all of life.…
One who finds within themself that “secret place of the most High” becomes suffused with supreme happiness and divine security.”…
When one is kicking and splashing about in the water, there is little consciousness of the ocean itself, but of the struggle. But when one lets go and relaxes, the body floats; it feels in its buoyancy the whole sea lapping around it. That is the way the calm devotee feels God, with the whole universe of Divine Happiness rocking gently beneath their consciousness.
• by Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder • To gaze upon the past is to look upon shadows. It matters not what you have done, or where you have come from. Those who have seen and merged with I Am That I Am, the Christ consciousness, all specify that NOW is the time. This very moment, this very life, this miraculous body that you have possession of, should be deemed extraordinary. It’s extraordinary to be alive; it‘s even more extraordinary to hear about eternal life, and the fact that it can be attained. Therefore, each one of us has one goal before us: its attainment.
To think you have other lifetimes for its attainment is to be deluded. With all your strength, all your mind, and all your love, seek I Am That I Am now, while you can. Who can say if after this lifetime you will hear of it again? Now is the time!
To attain that of which we speak demands obedience to the love and virtue it teaches us. I Am That I Am seeks to bring forth this divine rebirth within each of us. It is waiting for all who will receive, guard, nourish, shelter, preserve, and grow it. Every cell of the physical body will be encompassed by it, born into the kingdom of heaven. The orbits of the atoms begin to change in vibration. The son and daughter of God comes forth in joy indescribably, unimaginable!
This earthly life is so short in duration. All that you desire in this world, having gained it, will not fulfill you. Nothing can fill the great emptiness that can only be occupied by I Am That I Am. Cast aside all desires in hopes that you might gain this pearl of great price; that which cannot be bought, sold or controlled.
Like a tiny flame within you, shelter it from the winds of worldly thoughts and desires. Once receiving it, realize that this is your moment, and only you can bring it forth to its full height and know its full purpose, as a son or daughter of God. Pray, cry, pull, desire Mother-Father Divine.
If negative thoughts surround you and plague you, realize they are not yours unless you accept them. Daily, whether you’re working, eating, playing, or praying, constantly try to give all that you do and are, the good and the bad, to I Am That I Am. In our truthfulness and sacrifice, each of us is seen as we are, and will be rewarded openly. By being honest and forthright before God, we are forgiven; we are relieved and lifted up.
Mother-Father Divine takes a seat in the rear. She is not found in front, but behind; not above, but below. Divine Father walks with you wherever you go, unknown to you unless you seek him.
I said to God, “Speak to me of rebirth. Whisper to me of immortal life. It is for all of us; this I surely see.” I Am That I Am, the name of the most high, our Mother and Father Creator, conceives the true you, the true me, the pure Self. This is the rebirth! This is the immortal Christ Child.
Speak this name, chant it. Think of Him and Her all the livelong day. One drop of that Light will change your life forever. The great bliss and ecstasy is before you now. It alights upon your head as you meditate. It touches the secret places in each of us. I Am That I Am will create us anew while yet we live, if we will but allow, if we will remain steadfast, and seek. We’re afraid to die for fear of losing the body, but in seeing I Am, we become fearless, and in giving ourselves to the Divine, we become immortal. This gift is what we seek; and it is to be administered.
• by Dawn King • Hidden, or buried treasure awaits our discovery! This treasure, we’ll find, is worth more than diamonds and gold. It is the wealth of joy, strength, and contentment continuously revealed in new ways as we mine the depths of Spirit.
By Spirit, I mean that Life within us, our innate mystical oneness with our Creator. Just as our DNA connects us to all those souls who precede us, the Life within us is our connection to ALL that exists, and its Source. Acknowledging “all that exists” includes, for me, a growing conscious understanding of the whys and hows—the answers to my questions about Life.
Because our everyday consciousness is so limited, we expand beyond it by exploring our feelings and intuition. These seem to be in another realm, other than the physical…and they are. Ever more “treasure” is uncovered as we “listen” to our intuition, and are conscious of our feelings. An introspective and meditative mind is a great tool in this endeavor, one we should maintain. Then it will never cease to entertain us.
Wayne Dyer reveals: The essential lesson I’ve learned in life is to just be yourself. Treasure the magnificent being that you are and recognize first and foremost you’re not here as a human being only. You’re a spiritual being having a human experience.
You might enjoy the following variety of quotes about finding hidden treasure:
It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure. – Joseph Campbell
Health is the greatest possession. Contentment is the greatest treasure. Confidence is the greatest friend. Selflessness is the greatest joy. – Lao Tzu
Treasure your relationships, not your possessions. – Anthony J. D’Angelo
A box without hinges, key, or lid, yet golden treasure inside is hid. – J.R.R. Tolkein
Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness. – George Sand
To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose. And if you no longer need them, then that is neither wasteful nor shameful. Can you truthfully say that you treasure something buried so deeply in a cupboard or drawer that you have forgotten its existence? – Marie Kondo
If love is the treasure, laughter is the key. – Yakov Smirnoff
Happiness is your own treasure because it lies within you. – Prem Rawat
Treasure the love you receive above all. It will survive long after your good health has vanished. – Og Mandino
• by Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder • [Prayer at a Sunburst group meditation. Thank you to Tom Rae for sharing his aurora borealis photo.]
Almighty Spirit, our Divine Father, our Divine Mother, we feel you alighting on the crowns of our heads, swirling down in your vortexes of light, touching our hearts, breathing in our lungs. We see glimpses of your light before us, through the eye of soul. You are the light of consciousness inhabiting all. You have fashioned each one of us so uniquely.
I see your miracles everywhere in the beauty of this creation. What a wonder it is to be alive in this body, to be able to meditate, to pray, to sing.
What a wonderful energy is produced in a gathering of souls, when the little self in each one joins You, the Great Self that created all of us. Like a bouquet, we offer this to You, Oh God.
Heal our minds and our bodies. Bless us with your presence. Let us feel You descending through the crowns of our heads. Let us see the light of your Cosmic Sun shining in inner space.
Oh Lord, You are the Great Comforter. You mothered us when we were babes, and you have taught us as we’ve grown. We turn to you now, and seek you in those days of life we have before us. We wish to know and serve you.
Reveal your presence to us more and more each day. In our prayers and meditations, all through our days, and when we wake in the darkness of the night, remind us of your presence.
We know You created each one of us, and You are here now as much as You ever will be. We need to discover You, to meet You, to feel your love in our hearts, and see that great light, your Cosmic Sun seen only by the eye of soul.
Divine One, when we pray to You in our meditations, if we listen deeply we can hear our voices in inner space; we have a voice in heaven! You listen to our prayers and answer us with a voice we can hear. In the great hall of the upper chamber within us, we meet You.
You are the light of soul existing in and around each thought. You know we are searching for You. You know our desires. You know our restlessness. You know our love for You. As we sit to meditate, You acknowledge all of this.
Almighty Spirit, our beloved Father and Mother, You are watching and waiting for us to give You our love and attention. You are here, residing within us. We are your children. We love You, Almighty Spirit.
• by Barbara McCaughey • I awoke on a Saturday morning just after sunrise and sat up to meditate. I could see the light of the morning sun peeking over the hills to the east. After a quiet time, I began a prayer for an experience of the uninterrupted purity of God, unencumbered by my own desires. My thoughts turned to Divine Spirit as beauty, simplicity, skill, focus, enthusiasm and joy.
When I opened my eyes, they fell on the leaves of the tree a few feet from my house. I was admiring their form and the glint of the sun upon them. Just beyond the tree it seemed there was an ongoing conference. Repeatedly, small birds flew in from various directions, lit in close proximity, chattered, then flew off.
While I was staring at this scene, out of nowhere a bird flew into view of my window, but just a few inches away. It hovered before my gaze for awhile, showing me its brilliant orange head above a dark band of feathers around its neck. This exquisite burst of color left me in awe, and a flood of tears spontaneously ran down my cheeks. It seemed that I had “tuned in,” with greater concentration than usual, to Nature’s own discovery show.
Finally I arose, filled with a quiet appreciation for the miracle I had just observed, each leaf and creature expressing pure life and joy in its unique way. To witness it was an answer to my prayer. The free, exultant expression of life in its myriad forms is the purity of God. Each individual offering, in harmony with the whole creation, seemed to sing a sweet song. I felt inspired to again read my favorite chapter in the book Cosmic Consciousness by R. Maurice Bucke. Here’s a quote:
“I left my friend and was walking slowly homeward, enjoying the calm beauty of the evening, when I became conscious of an unutterable stillness, and simultaneously every object about me became bathed in a soft light, clearer and more ethereal than I had ever before seen.
“Then a voice whispered in my soul: ‘God is all. He is not far away in the heavens; He is here. This grass under your feet is He, this bountiful harvest, that blue sky, those roses in your hand—you yourself—are all one with him. All is well forever and ever, for there is no place or time where God is not.’ Then the earth and sky thrilled and vibrated to one song, and the burden of it was, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.’”
As I finish this writing, a hummingbird is sucking the nectar from a jasmine flower by the porch. I watch with fascination and pleasure. The harmonic song of praise goes on.
God says, “It is a pure heart I look for; that is the place in which I rest.” – Thomas a Kempis
