by Sandy Anderson •
God consciousness has been the essence of Sunburst’s and my studies for many years. I’ve been so very grateful for the chance to read the words of illumined masters and beautiful poets like Yogananda who wrote fabulous, inspirational works. Here is a beautiful description of Yogananda’s experience with God-illumination. It portrays his absolute awe of Divine Spirit:
ˆ“With open eyes I behold myself as the little body. With closed eyes, I perceive myself as the cosmic center around which revolves the spheres of eternity, the sphere of bliss, the sphere of omniscient living space. I feel the Lord like a gentle breath of bliss, breathing in my body of universes. I perceive him shining through the bright twinkles of all luminosity and through the waves of cosmic consciousness. I behold Him as the light of solar inspiration, holding the luminaries of my thoughts and the rhythms of balance.
“I feel Him as a bursting voice, leading, guiding, teaching secretly in the soul temples of all men and women. He is the fountain of wisdom and a radiant inspiration, flowing through all souls. He is the fragrance from the incense vase of all hearts. He is a garden of celestial blossoms and bright thought-flowers. He is the love that inspires our dreams. I feel Him percolating through my heart, as through all hearts, through the pores of the earth, through the sky, through all created things. He is the eternal motion of joy. He is the mirror of silence in which all creation is reflected.”
The greatest joy, for me and for so many, has been to go beyond reading the words that others have written, into the experience of God itself. His joy, His incredible love, and that amazing fulfillment that you feel from His presence and His blessing is beyond the realization of any other desire. It fulfills every cell of one’s body and every cell of one’s being. That fulfillment is beyond reading or talking or listening to others. It is direct inspiration and direct communion with the living Spirit…and that’s why we meditate. God illumination is the greatest ecstasy that there is, and therefore the greatest goal of our lives.
Divine Spirit,
We are so grateful for your loving presence.
You bring the love that heals and nurtures us,
that enlightens and inspires us.
For you are Father and Mother,
and the Sacred Child that lives within each of us.
Thank you for blessing us, for shining your light,
for inspiring us, and for giving us life.
Amen
by Letha Kiddie •
I love the equinoxes and solstices, time posts of the Earth’s sacred cycles. The equinoxes bring us equal days and nights, reminding us to strive for balance in our lives, and reminding us of the cosmic forces always at work. We especially see this in nature, as Mother Earth strives to keep her elements in check, trying to balance the actions of mankind. Equinoxes are also a signpost of change ahead, leading to either an expansion or a contraction of light and warmth. It gives us time to prepare both physically and emotionally for a shift whether we are conscious of it or not.
These ancient cycles are no longer honored outwardly for their gifts and importance in our lives, but their messaging to our subtle bodies still affects us. If we slow down our frenetic pace we can glimpse something very sweet as the seasons change and bring us a gift. Fall brings us the brilliant colors before the leaves fall from the trees and the abundance of the late harvest. Spring brings us the birds returning to build their nests and the bright colors of early flowers.
Humans have been given the responsibility of balancing their desires with their awe of and gratitude for the natural world, as well as a responsibility to help maintain its delicate balance. We have been named caretakers of the world we live in, including finding balance in our bodies, our homes, and in the communities we build. As we celebrate the changing of the season, let us reflect on the current balance of our lives and adjust accordingly.
Poem by Leela
by Norman Paulsen •
Where have we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going when we leave? Are there any real answers to these questions? We have our scriptures from the past to turn to, the words of men and women who have attained states of consciousness called illumination, enlightenment, God-realization, Self-realization.
We can read, we can hear, and we can try to believe. But we are the ones, right at this moment, who are faced with ourselves and what we are doing with our lives. What really is going to happen to us when we leave here to face eternity, that great beyond of which we know so little?
We want to believe that God is alive, hears our prayers and is somehow going to attend to us on that moment when we take our last breath. We spend our lives pursuing our desires, raising our families, addressing the many demands of life. But why are we here today in these bodies, on this planet? Why did Divine Spirit create all that we see?
Evolution on this planet has brought us to this day, beginning ages ago when the evolved animal forms moved into simple consciousness and finally into self-consciousness. Humankind now stands on the threshold of Cosmic consciousness, Chirst consciousness, Illumination. The human brain is now opening up into the higher brain. The upper reaches of this higher brain have been for the most part unused. Yet, the Divine has fashioned this sacred place within our bodies so that it can enter and be fully conscious in us.
The Creator, our Divine Mother and Father want to walk on the worlds they projected and created. They can do so within these bodies we find ourselves in today. The Divine set forth to create an existence for itself on this world, destined to become fully conscious within each one of us.
Our amazing higher brain will allow us access to the sixth sense, the Christ sense, the Cosmic sense, the knowledge of the whole cosmos. It is inner-dimensionally connected to the very beginning of this creation, to the first Light that was created: “Let there be Light!” We are the offspring of this light, I Am That I Am. We are the encapsulation of the whole creation. It exists within each one of us inner-dimensionally.
There is no place to go “out there.” There is a place to go within yourself, to the Light that created you and is manifesting you today. We have the ability and the tools to see our Creator face to face within ourselves—to receive that Divine knowledge and guidance, that true wisdom, peace, and love.
I feel we are now entering an age on this planet where meditation tools will be given to the people—not only statements from a pulpit and promises that may or may not happen. I believe in a meditation tool that, if practiced faithfully with love and devotion for God, will give each individual the ability to go within themselves and meet the Divine face to face. You don’t have to go anywhere, it’s all right within you. The whole creation is right within you.
by Jake Collier • Our founder and teacher, Norm Paulsen, used to refer to everyone as soul travelers. Truly we are spiritual beings traveling at this point in time, in these bodies, at this place. How precious is this process of spiritual evolvement. We must try to live our lives in a way that creates an environment around us which stimulates our higher selves, a way that motivates us to continue with our inward journey of discovery.
Years ago, in the late 70s, I was working at Sunburst’s organic wholesale produce warehouse in Los Angeles. One of the guys there had season tickets to the Dodger’s Stadium. I’m not that into baseball, but in the midst of L.A. and far away from the rural lifestyle I was used to, it sounded like fun, so I went with a good friend.
One of the first things we noticed was that we were surrounded by very boisterous people. But while looking out at all the thousands upon thousands of people in that stadium, I found myself talking to Spirit, saying, “Wouldn’t this be incredible if all these people had a common focus on you? What if all these people were chanting AUM together, if they were all meditating at this moment? How powerful that would be!”
It will happen. There will come a time when the majority of the brothers and sisters walking this earth will know God, and will realize that God is alive in them. We all hope that we are there to experience it, to feel it, to be a part of it.
As we do our spiritual work each morning and evening, as we sit down and meditate, we create future opportunities for more meditations, for more spiritual understanding. We take that vibration with us. When we look into someone’s eyes, or we hug someone, we pass on a little bit of that vibration, that awareness. Hopefully it falls on fertile soil and others will begin to awaken and begin the process of peeling back the petals, so that we may all find out who we really are, why we are here, and where we are going when we leave.
I Am That I Am 
Please help us on our journey here,
That we may discover our true selves
In our relationship with you,
That we may walk this Earth
With you living through us,
You experiencing this life
And all that you have created.
You are our divine companion,
Our true friend,
And we love you.
Amen
