By Sharon Ray
Sunburst offers surrender as one of the words that describes humility—surrender to the Divine. Who among us has not had those moments of excruciating pain and frustration over an unwanted situation that seems like it simply will not change? Those are the moments in which we can pick up and develop surrender to the Divine, dropping the story, the struggle, the fight, our resistance. Finally, we can just relaxing into what is. With this surrender comes the grace of peace, finally peace. There is nothing more to do. The war is won because the battle has ceased. Often, such letting go is followed by moments of tremendous grace, as if our resistance was a lock on the floodgate to Union with God.
We are taught to fight, to struggle, and to win. There is a place for that in human development, but at some point in our spiritual walk we begin to develop surrender, saying to the Divine, “Thy will, and not mine, be done.”
In the book, Cosmic Consciousness, is a detailed account, in her own words, of a woman’s experience of Illumination as it took place in the late 1800’s. It came upon her after a time of inner discontent, pain, and ultimately, surrender. She writes of this period in her life just before Illumination, “Something in life had been missed which it seemed ought to be there; depths in my own nature which had never been sounded; heights I could see, which had not been reached. The chasm between what I was and what I needed to be was deep and wide, but as this same incompleteness was obvious in the lives of others, it was accepted as my share in the common lot.” At this point, C.M.C. fell into a long physical illness which brought about her ultimate surrender.
She reported, “I had come to see that my need was greater even than I had thought. The pain and tension deep in the core and center of my being was so great that I felt as might some creature which had outgrown its shell, and yet could not escape…. The great tide swept on uncaring, pitiless, and strength gone, every resource exhausted, nothing remained but submission. So I said: There must be a reason for it, a purpose in it, even if I cannot grasp it. The Power in whose hands I am may do with me as it will! Meantime, with every internal sense, I searched for that principle, whatever it was, which would hold me when I let go. At last, subdued, with a curious, growing strength in my weakness, I let go of myself!”
This letting go, this surrender of herself, opened the floodgates of grace and she wrote about the immediate improvement of her condition, and of a surprising happiness that she began to enjoy. She describes what happened in the evening of that same great day. She said, “Perfect rest and peace and joy were everywhere, and, more strange than all, there came to me a sense as of some serene, magnetic presence—grand and all pervading…. Presently what seemed to be a swift, oncoming tidal wave of splendor and glory ineffable came down upon me, and I felt myself being enveloped, swallowed up…. Now came a period of rapture so intense that the universe stood still, as if amazed at the unutterable majesty of the spectacle! Only one in all the infinite universe! The All-loving, the Perfect One! The Perfect Wisdom, Truth, love and purity! …Then came the relaxation, the happy tears, the murmured, rapturous expressions. I was safe; I was on the great highway, the upward road….”
So, let us lovers of God fight the good fight. If we one day, however, see that we are fighting a losing battle, let us put all needs—ours and the needs of others—in the hands of the Almighty, resting finally, as did C.M.C., in the Everlasting Arms: “It was as if surrounding and touching me closely on all sides were the softest, downiest pillows. Lean in what directions I might there they were. A pillow or pillows which fitted every tired spot…. It was ‘the everlasting arms’. I was anchored at last!”
Dear God, help me to anchor in the truth that You have created all world; You fill all worlds; and YOU are the Savior in all worlds. I put all needs and outcomes in Your hands. I am the humble and surrendered servant of Your will. Show me the way, and I will walk it with all my might, doing Your will in this world, loving You with all my strength, body and mind, and loving others as my very own Self. Amen.
By Sharon Ray
We have just stepped into the time of year when the sun is in the sign of Sagittarius. The strength of this sign is the virtue of humility. When trying to understand and more deeply embody this virtue, one can make use of defining its opposite: pride. Pride says, “I’m better than you,” whereas, humility gives a person the true vision that every single human being has equal value because God lives in every heart!
Humility dissolves the conditioning that has taught us, “My level of education makes me superior;” or, “My financial status makes me superior.” Don’t forget, “My good looks make me superior;” and possibly the most outrageous, “My deep spirituality makes me superior.”
But love doesn’t WANT to be higher. Love wants to be joined together as one, like two hands with fingers interlaced.
Love and humility cannot be separated. Permeated with humility, one feels love and respect for every other person (and creature), and feels the desire to serve and uplift them. Gone is the sense of high and low, “me” and “them.” Arising is the sense of “us” and “we,” and of caring about others as much as we care about ourselves.
Selfishness begins to fall away, being replaced by compassion. A tender and shocking transformation takes place and we begin to see and feel that our needs are not more important than the needs of the person next to us. We are equal. Humility cuts the chains that bind us to a self-centered life, setting us free on the wings of love.
Jesus was a great teacher of humility by his personal example. He washed the feet of his disciples and taught them that they should also wash one another’s feet. He was teaching us to serve one another with love, and not to consider status in this world.
Humility is harmlessness, “Ahimsa” in Sanskrit. Jesus taught the importance of harmlessness and revealed that what we do to one another, for good or ill, we also do to Spirit, because Spirit lives in each and every heart.
Beloved God, help me to develop true humility in myself, recognizing the equality of every human being. May I see You in all lifeforms. Fill my heart with Your love so that I may embrace every person in a spirit of respect and service, truly and deeply caring about their welfare equally with my own. May the way I live my life be pleasing to You.
by Sharon Ray
“We come to the profound realization that the true path to liberation is to let go of everything.” Jack Kornfield
As we grow and change and evolve it is natural that our needs and our environment should change and evolve along with us, otherwise we are like a rose trying to bloom in the desert of the past. Our life is a reflection of what we value and, as what we value transforms, so does our life transform: our environment, our friends, and our activities. Sometimes these changes require a decision be made that says, “This doesn’t fit me anymore; it doesn’t describe me. I’m going to let it go and replace it with something better, something higher.”
It very often requires courage to let go, to detach. In fact, Sunburst teaches that detachment is one of the important words describing the virtue of courage. One of its opposites is grasping.
It takes courage to go into battle, but it also takes courage to walk away from the battlefield when we are called to stop fighting. An example is to let go of a relationship or an activity that no longer serves you. We grasp, clutching onto the hope that someone else or something else will change. We hold onto key people, places, and things because we are attached (sometimes addicted), and feel that we need them, that we won’t be happy without them, even if we are miserable with them.
Detachment is key on the spiritual path. It is difficult to go far without it—like trying to reach the top of Mount Everest but forgetting your water or your oxygen, or like trying to sail into outer space without dropping your booster rockets. Detachment is the ability to let go of every person, place, or thing that holds us back from progressing along the way. There are activities and people that, although they bring some pleasure or comfort in the moment, it is more destructive than constructive to have them in our lives. How can we detach so that we can move over onto the fast track in our spiritual life? After all, letting go leaves a void.
Filling that void with devotion is key. When we develop a love for God and a passion for God Union, where God becomes our mother, father, lover and best friend, our all-in-all, then little else is needed. “Become a spiritual alcoholic!” Yogananda said. This passion for God gives us the courage to do what we must do to live a healthy, serviceable life on the fast track to God. Devotion, in its ultimate form, gives us the ability to let go of everything, even of the small self we perceive ourselves to be, cleaving at last solely to the act of loving God.
God please empower me to let go of everything and everyone that is holding me back on the path homeward. I only want to see Your face. I only want to be with You. Make me a courageous Warrior of Light, strong in Your service. I am Yours, forevermore.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” ~Winston Churchill
By Sharon Ray
We are in the month of Scorpio, so it is an auspicious time to study and more deeply embody the virtue of courage. Courage has many sources. A new source of courage has come to me recently. It began with a look…
I watched the trailer to the movie, “Awake”, on the life of Paramahansa Yogananda. I have been waiting for years for someone to make a movie about the life of this great Teacher, and now has happened and I can’t wait to see it. Through the image on my computer screen I looked into the eyes of Yogananda, or rather, he looked into mine, and I saw in them something I didn’t have. There was this intensity of focus. I imitated that look of his, putting it into my eyes, and I realized: he was totally awake. And totally courageous. What did this mean? What was the difference between his consciousness and mine?
Generally, my mind is in neutral. My will says, “We are driving to the store now. Here we go,” and my body goes along for the ride, basically unaware. My mind goes along too. On the way it wanders everywhere. That is what I would call being in neutral gear.
The awake state is much different. The gear switches into forward drive. My will says, “We are driving to the store now. Here we go,” and my mind says, “Okay, I’m driving to the store,” my body says, “I’m going to the store,” and all along the way to the store my will, my mind, and my body are in alignment. They are all doing the same thing. This is not just living in the present moment, a worthy goal in itself, but in the awake state there is a very special ingredient: there is a force of intention and purpose. Instead of going to the store like a sleeping woman can be carried across the river in a boat, I am going to the store with intention, and with my will, my mind, and my body in alignment behind this intention.
Here’s the result of this practice: my entire body is energized, my mind is clear, and there is a power that begins to run in me. I’m awake! When I say that I’m awake I’m not talking about THE spiritual awakening. I’m talking about a state of consciousness that is not asleep, but is truly alive, clear, powerful, and naturally courageous. I know I can do whatever God asks me to do.
This practice, applied to all activities and projects, can become a way of life where one can become a powerhouse for God.
If you live in the Central Coast area of California, “Awake” will be shown at the Edwards Cinema 10 Theater in Santa Maria on Tuesday, November 11th at 7:30pm. Tickets will not be sold atthe theater and must be reserved online here. Tickets are $11.00 each. For more information, contact Sarah at: earthsongemail@gmail.com.
Click here for information on other screenings around the country.
by Sharon Ray
Paramahansa Yogananda said, “Drink with the hero the good wine of virtue.” I feel that my Sunburst friends, Al and Dawn, are heroes, and that hearing their report of a recent trek into the high Sierras is drinking the good wine of the virtue courage with them. This is most apropos because we have just entered the month of Scorpio where we are studying and embodying the quality of courage, and certainly admiring it in others.
Our friends can inspire us. Dawn and Al recently took a trip to the high Sierras, and brought back photographs of God’s breathtaking creation. The vistas are so majestic that one feels a sense of deep beauty, and a longing to enter the frame. I want to enter into it because I know that looking at the photographs doesn’t compare to being there. Standing on top of a mountain, almost 10,000 feet high, and looking down into a sky blue lake of pristine water with the smell of pines all around is really special.
Banner Peak (12,942 ft.) – High Eastern Sierras
Dawn and Al have had that experience because they imagined it, then worked to earn it. Their intense love of God’s oh-so-obvious presence in the high country motivates them to go and be there. They plan in detail, prepare physically, organize their lives and gear, then pack. They drive for hours just to get to the trailhead. They carry backpacks with forty or more pounds—camera gear, and everything else needed for a week on the trail—up steep mountains and down tricky descents. They sometimes even trek over rugged terrain where there is no trail. But what a sublime reward!
I don’t want to be a couch potato. The qualities I see in these friends of mine are exactly the qualities needed to attain God-union: perseverance, the willingness to work for it, courage, passionate enthusiasm, and an intense love for the journey and the goal.
Practicing the Sunburst meditation techniques out in such pristine beauty has to be an amazing experience. At the first opportunity, I will go climb such mountains; until then, I’ll continue my inner trek. My strength is renewed by the example of my friends at Sunburst.
Dawn on the worst part of the climb on day hike of day 4. Rocks are moving and it’s steeper than it looks.
