“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
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.
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.
In this month of Libra, I am endeavoring to practice equanimity. Another term for it is “being centered.” It’s not so easy to stay centered through all my life’s challenges, especially if I resist them, and try to push them away as if God has just served me a plate of something I detest. I’ve found the practice of acceptance to be key. I can accept the challenge, the heartbreak, the disappointment, if I realize that it’s part of my journey — an opportunity to be transformed into someone who is ready for Divine Union. God is with me, cheering me on, supporting me, and being my true and ever-present helpful friend.
But why only paddle to keep my head above water when I can walk on water through adding the practice of gratitude into the mix. It brings a great beacon of joy into the nightlife of challenges. My own mother took this biblical practice of gratitude, “giving thanks always, for all things, unto God…” to heart in a profound way.
When she was diagnosed with breast cancer, her quiet prayer unknown to anyone at the time was: “Thank You, God.” She knew that God was with her, and that “God causes ALL THINGS to work together for the good of those who love God.”
I recently read another powerful statement: “If the only prayer you ever prayed was to say ‘Thank You,’ that would suffice.”
Walking the Sunburst Path, each month of the zodiac brings the opportunity to celebrate, study, and focus on a virtue. The virtue of Virgo is Continence.
Some of us have had the privilege to take care of our elderly friends and family and so have had the opportunity to visit the incontinence aisle at the drug store. As people get older they sometimes become incontinent, and that means they can’t hold it. The virtue of continence is the ability to hold all of the energies that help us succeed in achieving our aspiration for Divine Union.
Thoughts are energies; emotions and desires are energies. By our conscious effort these energies can become a powerful catalyst towards the Divine. We want to hold them sacred and point them in a positive direction, and homeward.
Ghandi was a lover of the virtue Continence: “I know the Path—it is straight and narrow. It is like the edge of a sword. I rejoice to walk on it. I weep when I slip. God’s word is: ‘He who strives never perishes.’ I have implicit faith in that promise.”
Paramahansa Yogananda is quoted as saying: “Self-Control is the key to a happy life.” Boy, is that ever true!
I look at the times I’ve eaten a big dinner and not had room for dessert, but ate it anyway. We’re not just talking about a piece of pie; let’s not forget the ice cream. I went to bed so uncomfortable that I‘d have nightmares something like being chased by a man carrying a knife, fork, and a spoon!
I was once told that a good yogini never eats to fullness but always saves room for digestion. So, Continence speaks of moderation. We respect our need to eat delicious, healthy food, but we moderate the amount so that we’re also taking care of our body Temple that houses the Divine.
These changes don’t take place overnight. They take place over time—it’s a transformation that begins with a sincere declaration and prayer, saying, “I really want to be a healthy person. I really don’t want to be driven by my desire world. I want to be the master of my senses. Please help me.” Sincere prayer lights the fire that begins the transformation and the outpouring of grace. We are giving God a request he wants to support, and aid us with.
Speaking of the virtue of Continence and the desire realm, Sunburst offers a wonderful affirmation: “I apply wisdom and care in directing the gift of life force. I refrain from the misuse of sexual energy, realizing that this can bring deep suffering. Through my devotion and love for the Divine, I know this powerful force can become the fires of my illumination.”
Moderation of sexual activity allows the reservoir of life force in the second chakra to build and become full. That energy comes up the spine in meditation and is an illuminating force.
How about Continence in the realm of our thinking world? How powerful thinking can be to create and generate good feelings, positive energy, and enthusiasm for life. Continence means not doing what I’ve done so many mornings in the past, lying in bed, dwelling on unpleasant thoughts about the past or the imagined future––thoughts that make me so upset I jump out of bed just to save my sanity.
Mindfulness is another definition for Continence, and it means staying in the present moment. God is always in the here and now. The present is the only place where the Divine can be felt. So, I pay close attention to what I’m doing. Sometimes, to stay present and keep my mind happy, I’ll label what I’m doing: “Washing dishes! Washing dishes!” or “Walking, walking!” and I often feel for the Presence of the Divine.
So, developing Continence in the mental world means developing mindfulness. Developing, Continence in the desire realm means moderation—taking health and spiritual goals into consideration. Our opportunity is to discover that, as Sunburst’s founder, Norman Paulsen said, “Self-discipline is a liberation!” Through our sincere efforts to make our thoughts, emotions, and actions positive and healthy, we receive great benefits and a sense of freedom.
There’s an even more powerful reason why we make an effort to develop the virtue of Continence. There is a benefit even beyond being a healthier, happier person, and this is spoken of by Gerhart Tersteegan in his beautiful prose:
“Within, within, O turn thy spirit’s eyes, And learn thy wandering senses gently to control; Thy dearest Friend dwells deep within they soul.”
The most precious benefit of Continence is that by holding these energies, our Path to Self-Realization and Divine Union is quickened.
Being outdoors is ENLIVENING! This is how I feel after my playdate with Sandy today, a day that began with watching her crack a square top into a round coconut with a cleaver. We drank the nectar of gods out of the shell, just the way Nature seems to have intended it. This was followed by a breakfast of sweet organic pineapple, and I made a juice from organic carrots, apples, pineapple, and a squeeze of lemon. Yum!
Sharon and Sandy
Thus thoroughly and beautifully nourished, Sandy and I took off for one of Sandy’s favorite hikes up a nearby fire road trail. Very soon after starting out, we entered a beautiful oak grove where old growth oaks twisted and turned above our heads and showered us in dappled light. “My favorite oak lives here,” Sandy told me. “I haven’t seen it in two years.” When we came upon the majestic tree she stopped, and I could hear something like cooing coming from her throat.
“I think that’s poison oak,” I warned as she began to make her way closer to her branched friend.
“Oh, I don’t mind it,” she said, and blithely walked through the “leaves of three,” which somehow didn’t touch her, who they knew bore them no ill thought. In fact, she was on her way to give the tree a tender, giant hug.
Young milk thistle emerging from the ground
Walking with Sandy is such a treat as she is an herbalist and humbly and naturally shares her knowledge along the way. I met the Japanese catnip herb growing under the oaks, and Sandy told me how wonderful Japanese catnip is when it is juiced as a bedtime drink, its properties can bring relaxation and the calming of the nervous system. We later discovered some milk thistle, and Sandy explained that the first two leaves of the milk thistle are called its “embryonic leaves” and can be eaten, as well as the seeds that come later in the year, to help cleanse the liver.
The hike to the top of the winding road was mostly uphill, with some welcome flat stretches in between. My legs felt happy to be out exerting themselves, and it all felt pretty delicious. While we walked, a certain fragrance filled the air, disappeared, then came again. It kept coming and going, and whenever I inhaled it, the feeling I got was “Wow, this is all I need.” Sandy told me later that the fragrant plant was sagebrush, explaining: “its property is to drop everything you don’t need, and stick to the essence of things,” which coincided exactly with the feeling that arose in me when I experienced its scent!
At the top of the trail we saw a large boulder called “Victory Rock,” so named, I’m supposing, for the feat of those who make it that far in the intense summer heat. Our conditions today were very mild with a sweet, cool wind blowing to keep us happy and refreshed.
Victory Rock holds a secret, sacred formation on its hidden side: the birthing canal. This is an opening in the boulder that Sandy uses when she is experiencing transformation in her life. Sandy’s beloved son, Lorin, is soon to be married, and as she descended the steep side of Victory Rock and looked back up at me just before making her entrance into the birthing hole, she told me that this time through would signify her life transition from mother to wise elder woman. I crouched and watched in silent support as my friend went through the hole and out the other side.
Sandy at the “birthing canal”
Now, it was my turn. I shared that, for me, going through the birthing canal symbolized my transition into living in a body that is energized by plenty of Divine Life Force through the changes I’m making in my habits of conscious nutrition and exercise. Meeting at the other side of the birthing canal, we gave each other a high five.
Sandy and I walked down the trail in silence. We drove back to where we’d met early in the morning—at Sunburst Sanctuary. We had both worked up an appetite, and proceeded to satisfy it by sharing an organic salad. It was made of lettuce grown on Nojoqui Farm, organic avocado, lentils I’d sprouted, all bathed in a dressing of olive oil, Braggs, and fresh squeezed lemon.
I feel wonderful and strengthened physically, mentally, and spiritually. No wonder that conscious nourishment, recreation, and association are three rungs on the Path to Self-Realization.* The day is soon coming when more people will recognize the deeper benefits of these activities and doctors will begin to advise, “Take a two-mile hike, and call me in the morning after you’ve had your fresh coconut juice.”
Oh God, blessed is the Path that leads to You!
*The Sunburst Path recognizes the importance of consciously and virtuously including eight activities in our lives: meditation, study, conduct, speech, work, association, nourishment and recreation.
