by Jake Collier • When we contemplate honesty, we might think of George Washington telling the truth. “Oh yes, I chopped down that cherry tree.”
Deeper levels of honesty, being honest with ourselves, have been documented through interviews with people who’ve had near death experiences. Many of them share a common occurrence: entering a tunnel, and seeing at the end of the tunnel a wondrous white light, which was a living being radiating infinite love and grace. They found themselves being drawn to the Light.
In the tunnel they encountered relatives, and pets, and reviewed experiences of the past. Each received a life review before the Light. There was no judgment, no right or wrong; it was simply a review of their life.
When I meditate on honesty, I reflect on: Am I achieving goals that I have set? If my goal is to meditate for twenty minutes, Did I do that? And if I did, Did I set a new goal of twenty-five minutes? Was I able to focus, to concentrate and see the tunnel in my meditation? Did I try to be a better person, to help somebody? Do I see God’s face behind each of the faces that I encounter—even faces that show anger or resentment towards me?
We all need honest reflection on thoughts we just had, the action we did yesterday that we can’t undo. Through the fires of meditation, we burn up seeds of karma from past deeds, and past thoughts. And while doing so, we seed the future with positive images, positive thoughts, positive actions. Then, as we walk into that future, we want to be honest with ourselves. Did I do what I projected that I would do? Did I achieve what I projected I would achieve?
Imagine being in a room filled with people, and you are the only one who has ever tasted an orange. You have to describe to the other people what an orange tastes like. That is what it’s like to be an enlightened being on this Earth. You can talk about how it’s sweet and wet, and everybody says, “Okay, I know what that is.” But the taste is nothing that you can convey.
Being a good teacher, you come with boxes of orange seedlings, and you pass them out with instructions: How to water, care for, and fertilize your orange tree. Your parting words are, “Be diligent with these instructions and you, too, will taste an orange.”
If we could watch, we’d find that some of these people neglect the fertilizer, some neglect the watering. Only a few would end up with the sweetest, luscious, and most delicious oranges—grown by them. The successful ones can now experience the taste of an orange, and be able to share that with others. They can grow more seedlings, and pass on the sweetness.
So through meditation and virtuous living, we are watering and fertilizing the seed of sweet God-realization within us, that it may grow and overwhelm us, opening us to new understandings, true happiness and contentment, true joy and love.
I Am That I Am, you are our Mother and our Father, and you sustain us every second. We are so thankful that we can feel you today, moving within us and all around us. Strengthen our bodies and focus our minds, that we may keep our feet on the path home to you. Amen
In honor of Summer Solstice:
Breath of Fire
by Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder • Your true Self exists beyond the images of creation, in the pure consciousness of your Spirit Mother and Father. To experience who you really are, the false ego-self has to abdicate the throne; then divine consciousness will reign supreme. You, as a living spirit, will rule the forces of the ego. How is this possible?
Through cultivating devotion, through practicing selfless service in whatever way you are guided, and by using the key of Kriya meditation, circulating the breath through your body, you can gain mastery of your own life force. It becomes your magic carpet. By learning to unite the life force in your physical body with the divine cosmic forces, you become one with the sea of life that fills all infinity. Your life force travels in spirit form into the arms of a living Mother-Father Creator. You are translated wherever you desire to go, or wherever God desires to put you. You become a true caretaker of the garden universe.
As you circulate the breath of life and gain mastery, you will gain more life force. Christ promised: I come to bring you life, and bring it more abundantly. You will find that you can use this life force to accomplish whatever task you have before you, be it physical, mental or spiritual. You will be able to help your brothers and sisters, to heal them, to console them. This life is your love. You can put it all in your heart and experience ecstasy.
You, the infinite soul, the awakened son or daughter of God, will have all the forces of the creation behind you. As long as you use this force for good, you will be happy. If you use this life for selfish purposes, it will bring unhappiness, for this destroys the garden of creation. Practice your meditation diligently, and your heart will overflow with love. Perfect peace, and contentment will come.
Circulate the force of life twice a day, in the morning before sunrise, and in the evening after sunset. Practice with all the power of your concentration. The ego mind, your soul’s enemy, is not going to want to do it; but if the soul, your true Self, demands its life away from the ego, then ego has to abdicate.
The restless mind which has been going to and fro on the earth, searching for something new to do, will be conquered and made a servant. The soul, working through the mind, now controls the body and gains mastery over the forces of the air, the earth, the fires, and the waters. You learn how to communicate with and care for all life-forms. You realize that a life of virtue, of giving, brings the greatest joy beyond description. You become free. This is your destiny!
Paramahansa Yogananda: Through use of the Kriya [meditation] key, persons who cannot bring themselves to believe in the divinity of any man will behold at last the full divinity of their own selves.
Light on Sunburst Sanctuary – Yoga Retreat of June 12
By Letha Kiddie • There couldn’t have been a more beautiful day for the Sunburst Yoga Retreat, led by Nicole Hoperich (shown above).
A comfortably spaced group gathered in front of the Sunburst Lodge under the blue sky and warm summer sun for a welcoming and introduction. The participants were invited to choose a word that was important to them during the pandemic and made it a focal point of their labyrinth walk, which took place next. The Labyrinth design, which was a gift from Hopi Chief White Bear to Sunburst, is a perfect place to focus on an intention and enjoy a walking meditation.
After the walk, Nicole led the group in a wonderful yoga class, perfect for all levels. Breath-work, heart-opening exercises, and yoga poses, warmed our bodies and our hearts. The class ended with a silent meditation and the gift of a gemstone heart. A picnic lunch in the shade of the Cottonwood trees allowed time for visiting and enjoying the beauty of the Sanctuary, serenaded by birdsong.
The Yoga retreat ended with a gratitude circle, full of gratitude for Nicole’s wonderful class, gratitude for everyone who participated, gratitude for the peace and beauty of the sanctuary, and gratitude for the hopeful future of more Sunburst gatherings.
by Sibylle Custer • When we sit together to sing to God and to meditate at Sunburst Sanctuary, something very special is going on. We disengage ourselves from the world we live in. Our daily jobs fall behind us; our relationships fall away—they are not that important now. The skills that we have learned or that we were born with are not important, they are not with us right now. Our personality falls away, too. If we are assertive or gentle, have a short fuse or can endure a lot, it doesn’t matter at all. What is left of us, when we let go of this ego? Who are we, if none of that counts?
If we put our fingers on the pulse of our wrist, we feel something moving in there. It is life energy inside of us, life that we have not created, life that we receive. This doesn’t come from anything that we are doing. While we are living our daily lives, we are sustained by divine energy every day, and in this very moment. We are created beings. We would not exist if it was withdrawn. None of us!
Meditation is making the effort to get in contact with our Creator, to reach out to the energy that feeds us, that is our true being. There is a way to see God right now, right here, and we have the chance to make that contact. We are thankful, created beings that want to get in touch with our Creator. We are thankful we know how to do it. It doesn’t matter how much we have meditated before. It doesn’t matter if we are new at trying to do it or we have practiced a long time. Here and now is our unique effort, our unique chance.
Dearest Spirit, help us to be still.
Give us ears to hear you now.
Give us eyes to perceive you.
Give us abundant love that we let flow back to you.
Amen
