by Norman Paulsen•Long ago in a vision, the “face” of God appeared to me as a great light, brighter than the physical sun. It identified itself to me as I Am That I Am, and conveyed the truth that the Divine is dual in nature. “I Am masculine; I Am feminine; I Am Thatness from which the two came forth.” Two equal forces neither stronger than the other, are active within the creation we observe around us every day.
“I Am That I Am” is one of the greatest mantras. When we identify with that life force and repeat those words with devotion and concentration, we will get an immediate response. We will experience that force, that life which is around and within us, keeping the atomic structure of our bodies functioning every microsecond of time.
We didn’t create ourselves, and don’t even run the inner mechanisms of our bodies. Who is doing all of this for us? There is a divine Being here in us right now that we can meet and know, who would walk fully conscious with us in these bodies it created!
There was once a devotee who was calling and calling on God, going every day to put flowers on the altar, meditating, praying, doing asanas—every practice he could think of. One day when he went to the altar, he was suddenly struck with illumination, and put the flowers on his own head! So it is when we start awakening into the Cosmic conscious mind that we begin to realize this body is a divine creation, spun together by dual divine forces.
Why does this creation exist? Why are all of us here? I Am That I Am says: “I created all of these beings so that I can become fully conscious in each one. I walk in the masculine and the feminine. I enjoy the experience of being human. I bathe in the waters. I gaze at the universe, and breathe the fresh air.”
To become fully conscious God-realized beings is what Spirit wants for all of us. Once you experience God-consciousness, it will never leave you. You may go astray, but it will never leave you. It’s like having a gentle hand on your head, always drawing you back to it.
Having this experience doesn’t mean you’re infallible, or that you don’t make mistakes. You’re like a child with a new sense added to the five outer senses. Call it the Cosmic sense, the Christ sense. It’s the sense that knows you are one with the whole cosmos, and it’s one with with us. The divine Being is you, and you are the divine Being, along with everyone else! Your awareness expands into everyone and everything you see. You realize that God is the only reality. Hold fast to that divine Being you know!
by Dawn King•The image for this article is of hands on a 9,000 year-old cave wall in Argentina. Isn’t it wonderful, as though all those people are reaching out to us from the past. We have to wonder what inspired them.
Creative expression is part of our DNA. The greatest creative energy of all has manifested each of us, and enlivens our every breath, so how could we not be creatively expressive beings as well? Art in every form, whether story telling, shaping clay, creating a song, or decorating a cake, is part of being human.
Psychologists tell us that being creative is vital for our well being, and believe it’s a mechanism to help us cope with life and prepare for challenges. A story from the journal Frontiers in Psychology:
A student was severely depressed because her grades were very poor, and she felt hopeless. At art therapy she selected a black marker and colored her entire page black. After looking at it for a while, she commented that it looked “really dark and bleak.”
She looked around and grabbed some pink sculpting clay, then started making flowers: “You know what? I think maybe this reminds me of spring.”
“Through that session and through creating art,” says her art therapist, “the student was able to imagine possibilities and see a future beyond the present moment in which she was despairing and depressed.”
As Thomas Merton has written: “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.“ Today we might call this “being in the zone,” transcending time and space. Christianne Strang, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Alabama Birmingham (and a former president of the American Art Therapy Association) says: “Creativity in and of itself is important for remaining healthy, remaining connected to yourself and connected to the world.”
Scientific studies have shown that the brain’s reward center (the medial prefrontal cortex) has increased blood flow when study participants engage in art. Researchers conclude that art could be helpful for improving health, overcoming addictive behaviors, as well as mood and eating disorders.
So what does creative expression do for us? 1. It clears our head; 2. Helps us make sense of our emotions; 3. Relaxes and calms us; 4. Affords us a different way to communicate; 5. Helps us imagine a more hopeful future—to solve problems and face situations; 6. Activates the reward center of our brain (the medial prefrontal cortex); 7. Lowers stress and anxiety (cortisol levels); 8. Lets you focus deeply.
It takes a little effort, but is well worth letting the creativity within you express itself. Do it for your own self-enjoyment, and you will be improving the happiness consciousness on the planet.
•by James Kelleher•Author of 2 books on Vedic Astrology, James gives us a glimpse into the focused mind of a deep meditator.
At the moment we are passing through Dwapara Yuga, an age which is characterized by the growth of science and technology. Dwapara Yuga began around the time that the printing press was invented, when science and technology started to develop more rapidly.
The ancient seers had an amazing ability to use astrology to shed light on the events and trends of our world. They not only mapped out the ups and downs of civilization, but also described larger periods (Yugas) that coincided with universal trends of creation and destruction. They had an expanding and contracting model of our universe, and they believed that the universe was several billion years old. Not bad for a bunch of Yogis sitting in caves around 10,000 years ago.
How did they even come up with such sophisticated ideas that are very close to modern concepts of the universe? The answer to that is called “direct knowledge.” The nature of the mind is pure silence and pure knowledge. All one has to do is to simply experience the pure, silent nature of the mind, and any knowledge can be revealed directly.
It sounds easy, but it’s easier said than done. Our minds are filled with restless chaotic thoughts, and we are constantly distracted with various desires. Our modern world doesn’t help! In ancient times, Yogis spent long periods in deep meditation. Their total focus and fascination was with their inner experience. Instead of getting a PhD in engineering, they got a PhD in the science of their own minds. The result was the ability to access knowledge without reading books and without speculation and theory. They got their knowledge directly from the Source. That’s why we call them Seers.
You too can be a Yogi and experience the silence within your own mind. All you have to do is learn to meditate. Meditation is something anyone can do. It is simple, natural, and delivers a state of rest to the body that is deeper than your deepest sleep. It releases stress and has a wide range of physiological and psychological benefits. It might not make you a Seer overnight, but it can certainly improve your intuition. So why don’t more people do it? Beats me! Maybe it’s because there isn’t an app for it yet. But I’m sure that will simply be a matter of time.
• by Valerie Joy King • It’s vital to remember how powerful our thoughts are and how much we influence others just by the way we think about them. If we’re having difficulty with another person, it’s an incredibly powerful thing to visualize their positive attributes and see them in all the light they can potentially manifest.
In reality, whatever we think about another person can cause that person to reflect those thoughts back to us. If we’re holding negative thoughts of another, we’re going to strengthen those images. Yet, the beauty of it is that if we see them in a positive light, we help that light expand and grow in them. This is the gift of silent compassionate communication we can offer all the time.
There are many tools to aid your practice of compassionate communication. Some of these work from the outside in, and others work from the inside out. This is what Yogananda called the inner and outer path of Self-realization.
A good technique of meditation such as Kriya Yoga works from the inside, clearing out our personal karmic seeds and subconscious energies. As we practice, we lift these energies up into the light of consciousness, exchanging them with the pure life force of Spirit.
The other way of practicing is from the outside in, finding tools to use during everyday life. For example, before the thought of worry or frustration turns into something big, try to catch it. If you can be aware of it, sit with it and offer it up to Spirit. It’s like catching the mosquito before it bites, or a weed before it becomes bigger and stronger. You can nip it in the bud.
The ancient yogis state that if you make a habit of always speaking truthfully, your words become imbued with spiritual power. What is truth? Paramahansa Yogananda said, “Don’t speak unpleasant words even if true,” so there is a difference between the truth and the facts.
The truth is: You are an immortal soul. You are not this body; you are not this mind. Speaking truth means communicating in ways that strengthen those truths, those realizations, in yourself and others. That is the ultimate Truth.
Each year a special full moon occurs in May. If there are 2 full moons, it is the second of these and declared the celebration of Wesak, or Buddha’s commemoration. The name Wesak is derived from the Sanskrit name for this particular month.
Buddhist temples, decorated with the appropriate flags and flowers, are visited before dawn. Hymns are sung to celebrate the Buddha, his teachings (the Dharma), and his disciples (the Sangha). Processions with candles light up the evening.
During Buddha’s life, he told his followers to commemorate his life by living his teachings of compassion, peace, and good will, and by devotion to the service of humanity. Thus, at this time Buddhists give extra energy to performing noble deeds: observing vegetarian diet; offering donations of money and food to people and charity organizations in need; there are blood drives; and wild animals are released back into nature.
Buddha was born in 623 B.C. in India. It is believed that he attained enlightenment during the full moon in May, and that his final liberation from this material world was on the same day. Buddha’s birthday is also celebrated as being on this day by his millions of followers.
Buddha gained enlightenment while meditating under a tree (Ficus religiosa), called peepalin India. It has heart-shaped leaves, and is used medicinally. This kind of tree is said to live over 1500 years. A cutting from the original Bodhi tree was planted in Sri Lanka and is claimed to be over 2200 years old. In Burma, during Wesak, Bodhitrees are watered to ensure their survival through a dry summer.
