by Norman Paulsen
Contemplate the fact that in whatever direction you may gaze into space, there is an end to the visible expanding sphere of creation. Reaching the outer limits of the expanding sphere, one would be confronted with the unmanifested, primordial sea of life and consciousness. Our self-conscious; minds cannot conceive of an endless eternity. The forces of speculation and meditation lead us on to this realization eventually, that eternity does indeed exist. The soul, the center of our consciousness, is able to contemplate eternity. Why? Because it is our true home.
True meditation is direct contact with the eternal, living, Divine Spirit; the experience of being one with life; of Spirit’s dual forces, entering into us, embracing us, circulating freely; of Divine Mother and Father encountering one another in the stillness of our heart, bringing the conception of the Christ deep within—the ignition of birth and light.
Each day, a tremendous amount of life force exits outward through the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. This is necessary in order to experience the phenomena of our physical world. Very often our conception of a living, Divine Spirit, in time and space, consists of only the limited perceptions of our five senses. If one can succeed, in deep meditation, to still the parade of images before the conscious mind and senses, the life and vision of Divine Spirit, I Am That I Am may be experienced. We then see into the great, boundless immensity of inner space.
The form of meditation we practice at Sunburst was present within the forces which generated the first ignition and birth of the expanding sphere of creation. Many ancient civilizations in the remote past have used this technique. If practiced with devotion, along with a life of service, it can lead to a face-to-face encounter with the Great Being, the Christ Light, I Am That I AM.
I had seen visions,
gazed across celestial panoramas,
encountered spheres of light
and sat beneath brilliant rainbows of color in inner space.
I had conversed with saints and adepts from the remote past,
and visited ancient and future civilizations.
I thought my progress on the spiritual path was good,
until my first encounter with I Am That I Am, the Christ.
My body, mind and spirit were so shocked,
that all I had experienced in the past
was nothing before the incandescent brilliance of His gaze.
by John Kiddie
We join together as one family, and offer up all that we are to Spirit. We do this with our meditation technique and the devotion of our heart. We reach down into the center of our Mother Earth and bring her energy up to our spine and offer it to our Father. We open the door at the crown of our head, looking for the white light, and draw the Father’s energy down through our spine.
As we do this, we are mixing and melting our Mother and Father’s energies in us, healing us, giving us strength, and wisdom. We’re also growing our spirit bodies. You can imagine that, as we bring the energy up and down our spine, a layer of light covers our spirit body, one breath at a time. With each circulation, we’re adding to that spirit body. It gets larger, and spreads out in all directions. Spirit wants to experience the joy of the creation through us.
As we grow our spirit bodies through meditation, and through our daily lives of virtuous living, we are holding space for Spirit to share our earthly experience. In this way, we become a vehicle for Divine Will.
As we meditate today, let’s open our hearts up to our best Friend, our dearest Companion, that we may be filled and transformed into that vehicle of white light. Thus, our actions may be in harmony with Spirit’s will, manifesting the kingdom of heaven here on earth.
People of good heart, find one another;
Together there’s much work to do.
The natural laws of our Mother and Father
In our hearts are written anew.
Amen.
by Norman Paulsen
How blessed we each are to be alive, to be present in this moment, and when we ask God to reveal himself to us. I see him in every face, beating in every heart, existing at the center of every soul. To find that light within us, to let it grow, to nourish it, to receive its love and allow it to open our hearts, this is why we meditate.
This Being that has created all of us wants to become conscious in our minds, in our thoughts, participating in everything we do that is virtuous, giving and loving. We each have this wonderful gift of God’s presence in our souls—that light of consciousness, that spark that God gave each one of us.
Years ago, I began my journey, seeking the light of soul within myself. I was finally led to a teacher who gave me the direction I needed to begin my meditations. Meditation is the key that unlocks the door to our souls. I spent many hours in meditation every day, calling on God to reveal himself to me. I wanted to see God face to face; this was my desire. Could it happen? is it possible that the Creator of everything we see could reveal itself to each one of us?
After years of meditation and service, God did come to me in a body of light as bright as the sun shining in the sky today. Wondrous it is that God will come to us if we persist and call with all our love, and open our hearts to receive this visitation. With diligent practice, meditation will bring us to that point in our lives when God is going to open up the window of our soul and say: My son, my daughter, it is me; I am here! It has been me all along that you were searching for.
What a supreme unimaginable day it is when we meet God, our Creator, face to face, when we can actually get our hands around God and hug him, love him, and bare our hearts to him. God is so close. My teacher, Yogananda, used to say, “If you only knew how close God is, you would see him right now.”
God wants you to know him, wants you to see him. The unimaginable can be seen. When the inner eye of soul is opened, God comes blazing into our consciousness, filling you with the greatest love you can ever conceive of. Why meditate? To find God within yourself, to follow a spiritual life, a virtuous life, to become a true servant of God that you may help others, that you may support our world that so desperately needs support today.
Meditate on the fact that when Jesus was baptized in the waters by John, the Spirit was seen descending like a dove upon his head. What was actually seen were the dual sacred forces, the right and left hands of God that descend like spirals, the baptism that waits to settle upon each of us if we seek to receive it. It brings with it the sacred birth, the birth of the Christ child inner-dimensionally within our hearts of love.
Yes, Jesus spoke of the new creature we can all become if we but receive and believe. That Christ child is waiting in the center of our souls to be born in its light, and ascend to the throne of consciousness within us.
This can happen for each one of us in this lifetime. This is the promise, this is the pledge that Spirit has made to all the children. I bear testimony of it; I humbly submit that it has happened to me. We need but to ask; the promise is: “It shall be given,” if we but believe, if we but make the effort. Breathe in that light of God through the crown of your head. Let it descend into your heart. It builds a mighty heart within us that can withstand anything. It makes living virtue wonderful and simple. It makes our work and our lives a joy.
by Letha Kiddie
While the whole world has been in lockdown, Sunburst sanctuary has been busy keeping the home fires burning.
Shown below: Sean, Curtis and Al construct a hoop house for frost protection of young plants; finished hoop house shown above.
Mowing the roadways, painting the Sunburst kitchen (Craig on scaffold above), and getting the permaculture garden planted for spring and summer are just a few of the projects that have been happening. Below, David is shown while moving equipment.
Although meditations have been temporarily suspended due to the pandemic, Sunburst ministers have recorded short talks that you can find on Sunburst’s
YouTube channel. There is a continued effort on everyone’s part to meditate at home and to project a positive outcome to this challenging time.
The names in our prayer circle are given out each week so that we can all send light and healing energy to those in need. Please feel free to email the Sunburst office at contactus@sunburst.org to add someone to the list who you feel could use some extra support. We miss our friends and look forward to being together again to share in the joy and inspiration of Spirit! Meanwhile, feel free to reach out and connect by phone or email.
Every little moment you spend with God
will be spent to your best advantage;
and whatever you achieve
with the desire to please God in your heart
will stand unto eternity.
– ParamahansaYogananda
