•by Paramahansa Yogananda•“Emphasize the light, and darkness will be no more.”[We offer these words of wisdom from Paramahansa Yogananda in honor of his birthday on January 5th.]
The initiative to undertake your most important duty in life is often buried beneath the accumulated debris of human habits. You must free yourself from their stultifying influence and start to sow the seeds of the success that you desire. Life is worthwhile when you are accomplishing the most essential work, which is to find out the meaning and true values of your existence.
Man should be instructed by this cosmic motion picture of life. It is not being shown without a reason. Each day we behold different scenes, and each day has a lesson to teach. You are meant to learn the lesson by concentrating on the supreme purpose of human existence: to know Who is behind your life.
By evading self-analysis, people go on being robots, conditioned by their environment. True self-analysis is the greatest art of progress. Everyone should learn to analyze himself dispassionately. Write down your thoughts and aspirations daily. Find out what you are—not what you imagine you are!—because you want to make yourself what you ought to be. Most people don’t change because they don’t see their own faults.
…Most of the world is like a mental hospital. Some people are sick with jealousy, others with anger, hatred, passion. They are victims of their habits and emotions. But you can make your home a place of peace. Analyze yourself. All emotions are reflected in the body and mind. Envy and fear cause the face to pale, and love makes it glow. Learn to be calm and you will always be happy. Analyze your true nature and develop its best qualities.
Learn to carry all the conditions of happiness within yourself by meditating and attuning your consciousness to the ever-existing ever-conscious, ever-new Joy which is God. Your happiness should never be subject to any outside influence.
Don’t keep your mind engaged in too many activities. Analyze what you get from them, and see if they are really important. Don’t waste your time. Always point the needle of your attention toward the North Pole of spiritual joy.
You yourself made your habits, and you can change them. Make up your mind to be with good company, and to study and meditate.
There is already too much evil in the world. Don’t talk of evil, don’t think of evil, and don’t do evil. Be like a rose, wafting to all the sweet fragrance of soul goodness. Emphasize the light, and darkness will be no more. Study, meditate, and do good to others.
There are so many inspiring things to know, and yet man spends his time foolishly. Don’t waste time, constantly seeking new excitement. [Above text excerpted from “Man’s Eternal Quest” by Paramahansa Yogananda]
by Dawn King•The most important part of being human is learning to love, and letting unconditional love be the driving intention of our lives. Why is this? It’s because the driving intention of the Universe is Love. The more we can emulate this Source of all that exists, the closer we are to being one with that Source. Why do we want to be one with that Source? Because it is the greatest advancement we can make as humans, and produces our greatest joy and fulfillment.
Humans are born with the ability to develop the ego to illumination. What does that mean? The ego is a tool we have that can help us. However it’s highest state is its recognition of the Source of all, and its identification with this Source while surrendering to the wellspring of unconditional love.
How can I learn to love to this ultimate point? And why isn’t it an automatic part of life? To answer the second question: We are born into this life with a challenge—“See what you can do with this set of circumstances, and with this personality.” Each of us is given the task of bringing our own personal journey to its greatest achievement. There are conscious steps we can take each day in order to fulfill our “love and life mission.”
1.Set your intention on growing to feel and extend to others more unconditional love. Just as the Sun shines on all unconditionally each day, we can love without discrimination or judgement. Each soul is valued equally in the heart and view of Source.
2.Respect all living things; respect everything you encounter during your day; respect the Earth which is sustaining us all.
3.Put on the attitude of being helpful and giving. Even offering a smile is an act of giving, and one that can make the day of a total stranger. “It’s not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving.” – Mother Theresa
4.Share yourself; your time, efforts, and caring without consideration of what you will get out of it. Be there for another, for your community, and take time to appreciate the many blessings filling your life.
5.Forgive! As you open yourself to unconditional love, revelations will come to you giving you understanding of other’s motives and compassion for them.
6.Ask Source to open your heart and mind to experience love; this can be done during sincere prayer or as the focus of meditation. Our prayers never go unanswered. An old adage from India says “Delay is not denial.”
7.Know that you are never alone. Love surrounds you and is ever offering guidance to you. The more we embrace and accept this ever present offering of love from Source, the more we become aware of it. It protects us and leads us, if we let it. Follow the instructions of Intuition!
8.“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” – Mahatma Gandhi This lifetime is for our spirit’s education and healing. We are not guaranteed any more time than is absolutely necessary. Make the most of every day.
9.Make positive choices to the best of your ability. We are given choices to help us grow. Know that you will be quickly shown if your choice was not a correct one, and you will have the ability to change direction. Be humble, but love boldly. “For magic to happen in your life, you must believe in magic” – Lynn Andrews
• by Mary Thatcher (at age 14) •
As I bow my head in silent prayer
I feel within me, God is near. I pray that in some small way I can be of service for Him/Her today.
Perhaps a kind word, nod, or smile
Will make someone’s life more worthwhile.
When others smile or nod to to me,
It’s God’s joy on their face I see.
It’s the answer to my silent prayer To see this joy, and feel within me God is near.
She knows my thoughts and sees my deeds.
He knows my wants and fulfills my needs.
She shares my joy and will ease my pain,
He’s in the sunshine and in the rain.
In fact, my God’s in everything! Now as I bow my head in silent prayer, I know within me God is here.
•by Norman Paulsen• The life of service and self-sacrifice Jesus of Nazareth lived and gave for all of us is unparalleled on this Earth. “Not my will, but Thine be done,” he offered. Humility in action is the virtue that he personified. By his example must we all learn obedience. We must overcome the false one, the selfish ego, by living the Twelve Virtues and walking the Eightfold Path.
The virtue of Humility arises from the Divine, I Am That I Am as the pure Self within you setting aside the emotions and desires of the self-conscious mind. If called upon, the pure Self will produce reason. Reason reflects upon the paths and the virtues, and considers the options. Divine will moves the adept to make wise decisions in the practice of humility. That wisdom springs forth from the voice of illumination, Christ consciousness speaking within you.
At all times, the soul traveler who seeks illumination must remember the truths described in the Eightfold Path and Twelve Virtues. This wisdom moves the adept to the right decision for each occasion. Humility requires discipline and meditation to avoid wrong decisions in its application.
For instance, when Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth,” he didn’t mean the weak, or juvenile. Rather, he meant those who are able to discern and rise to the occasion, the eaters of the strong meat of truth. These are the ones who surrender to God’s will, pick up their cross and walk!
This is my soul calling you, Beloved. Can you hear me? How can I not express humility when I observe the immensity that surrounds me? It’s awesome vastness is filled with spheres of living light that blink at Earth from their distances! And me, who am I? So tiny, so small, in all this boundless immensity! Are you dreaming what I think is me? Am I heading toward perfection as a reflection of you?
• by Letha Kiddie•One night while I was meditating, I felt gratitude well up inside of me for the knowledge of prayer. I wondered how many people might not know how to pray, and what would be the way to teach them?
As an answer to my question, the “Lord’s Prayer” flashed into my mind. I began reciting the different verses to myself, and the meaning of the words became clearer than they had ever been. The first line became: “Our Father, who emanates heaven within and around us, sacred is thy name.” In other words, using the name of God when we pray is a powerful way to invoke the Divine presence within us.
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” My understanding of this line came with the image of my own inner light in the form of a sun above my head. As it descends into us, this most positive and enriching “kingdom of heaven” is brought to earth.
“Give us this day our daily bread…” is not referring to physical food, but to the spiritual food we receive when we meditate daily. Meditation enriches, heals, and feeds our minds and spirits.
“Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us…” Whenever we sit before our Creator, we are asking in humility to received, regardless of any past transgressions. Likewise, we must extend that same forgiveness to others, and hold them only in the light of their pure spirits. It is only ignorance that leads us astray.
“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever…” This means “Please, help me in my humanness to find my way to You, and to find a way to my own illumination.”
As I continued on in my meditation that night, I felt I had received a true gift from Spirit. In looking back, I see that these are all things that can help us when we pray:
• Calling the name of God silently;
• Receiving God into us fully;
• Forgiving others;
• Letting Spirit guide us.
Remember, all souls have a voice in heaven. We only have to learn to use our voice!
by a first-time Visitor to Sunburst • Arriving early on Sunday morning, my son Tom ushers us into the main building, the Sunburst “Lodge”. The first thing that catches my attention is the beautiful illuminated stained glass rendering of the Sunburst mandala, standing tall in one corner of the “living room” area. I gaze at its beauty for some time, when from my peripheral vision I see a painting of a Kachina.
A ripple of awareness runs through my body as I recognize this Kachina from a dream I had some time ago. In the dream, I saw this figure just as it appears in this painting, but I was not given its name. Now below it I read: “Talavai Kachina. This painting was a gift from Hopi medicine man White Bear. The blessing of this Kachina is an appropriate one to help us grow pure food, and to purify our thoughts and actions as we walk the road of life.”
While I am still taking all this in, more people begin to arrive at the sanctuary. They bring smiles and greetings and food to share. We are embraced by many beautiful people and immediately we feel welcomed.
The stained glass image of the Sunburst mandala, the synchronistic event of the Kachina from my dream hovering in the painting behind me, and the welcome and heartfelt greetings from these wonderful people are circling about, within and around me.
We move to the temple, and the singing begins. Singing is a traditional part of the Sunday morning gathering at Sunburst. Today a song seems to be dedicated to the visiting guests, including my son, my little daughter, and myself. Everyone sings: “Hello my friend, nice to see you again. Won’t you please come walk with me until the journey’s end. Just to know you’re a friend of mine makes everything alright. Got to get you into my life! And I’m gonna love you, love you, love you till my heart can take no more, find me on your doorstep, won’t you open up your door…”
Tears are streaming down my cheeks as I feel the love and the blessing of being in the company of this group of true seekers. Sunburst’s founder, Norman Paulsen smiles at me from a photo on the wall and I realize, as the Kachina suggests, that I too have been intent on purifying my thoughts and actions.
Beautiful voices continue to sing, and the harmony of their voices, and the words they are singing, speak to my spirit as I continue to weep tears of joy. Then suddenly I am at a place of knowing. I realize that I have opened a door and crossed its threshold. I have found in the midst of this group of spiritually committed people, a clearer understanding and deeper awareness of my own spiritual walk.
