• Paramahansa Yogananda • Peace is the altar of Heaven. When peace comes to you, you are one with God. Peace is not something passive or negative. It stabs the heart of worries. One can kill worries by cultivating peace rather than by becoming angry at one’s lot.
You are swimming in an ocean of peace. Just as blood goes through every tissue, so peace flows through every cell of the body. When you are peaceful, everything is beautiful. When you lose your peace, your whole mental life becomes poisoned. Peace and divine love are much stronger than anger.
Learn to give love and calmness, and continuous understanding. When you wear the crown of peace, you will have everything. Everything you do should be done with peace. That is the best medicine for your body, mind, and soul. It is the most wonderful way to live. Cultivate peace!
• Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder • In the light of true discernment past judgments may be found to be incorrect. When equanimity is practiced, we can look at circumstances around us and apply reason and virtue to our thoughts and actions.
Existing within each one of us is the exact center of the first light of creation; it is the point of concentration in meditation. From this center of divine consciousness, we learn how to balance the dual forces within us, and live in harmony with the law of cause and effect. We are now able to choose the correct thoughts and expressions to use in our everyday living.
Though we are in the storm of life’s experiences, let us take the time to sit down within our soul—our center of consciousness—and really weigh and balance our course of action. We can choose between the forces of positive and negative options surrounding us, and sail our soul ship of life within the eye of the storm. We will continue on course until the storm abates and equanimity reveals the shining brilliance of the inner omniscient sun, the only port of refuge!
• by Diane Hope •
As October deepens, the sanctuary takes on a softer rhythm. Mornings are hushed, evenings stretch longer, and the world seems to slow, inviting us to listen more closely.
There are places here where silence holds its own presence: the bench beneath an ancient oak, where all generations have sat in wonder and reflection; the meditation hall just before dawn, where breath and stillness seem to weave together; hidden paths where the sound of footsteps blend with the wind. These spaces remind us that peace is never far — that it lives within us, waiting for us to return.
We spend so much of life searching — for answers, for clarity, for meaning — yet again and again, the path leads inward. There is a sanctuary within us that has always been whole, untouched by circumstance, unchanged by time. When we pause long enough to rest there, even for a moment, the weight we’ve been carrying softens.
The journey isn’t about becoming someone new; it’s about remembering who we already are. Beneath all the striving and the noise, there is a steady presence, a quiet belonging, a light that has never gone out.
Within me, there is a sanctuary of light, quiet, and belonging. When I rest there, I am home.
In 1939, an article by Paramahansa Yogananda stated (excerpt): Intuition is that directly perceiving faculty of the soul which at once knows the truth about anything. Unless you have the power of intuition, you cannot possibly know Truth. It is the knowing power of the soul without the help of the senses or the mind. Intuition can give you knowledge about things which your senses and understanding can never give. Intuition does not depend upon any outside data whatsoever.
Intuition means “soul-perception.” It shows the difference between true and false reasoning. Many books and courses of study are prescribed for students in school, but nothing is taught them about concentration and the development of the sixth sense–the all-knowing faculty of intuition.
By the development of intuition one can outgrow the law of cause and effect in one’s own life. Intuition tunes the mental radio so that it can intercept all vibrations of future happenings which otherwise are deflected by diverse currents.
In India, Lahiri Mahasaya, revived the ancient meditation technique of Kriya Yoga for our era. He is quoted as saying: “Solve all your problems through meditation. Attune yourself to the active inner Guidance; the Divine Voice has the answer to every dilemma of life. Though man’s ingenuity for getting himself into trouble appears to be endless, the Infinite [Comforter] is no less resourceful.”
Sunburst’s teachings, outlined by founder Norman Paulsen, lead us to a life in greater harmony with the divine creative forces. Norm wrote and spoke of humankind’s evolutionary steps, which include gaining a “moral compass that derives from knowing our oneness with all life.” He goes on: “There will be no doubt of the Absolute Godhead, as every spirit shall see and know God, I Am That I Am, face to face.” There will be “no worry of death, or the future to come.”
Oh Father, Mother, Friend, Beloved God! I will reason, I will will, I will act; but lead Thou my reason, will, and activity to the right things that I should do.
– Paramahansa Yogananda
• Sunburst blog Editor is on vacation; enjoy this 2011 article by Amanda •
One of the ways I show my love for Sunburst is to mow the rose garden lawn at the Lodge every week. To be honest, it’s not a burden at all. I love doing it.
I used to have a big lawn out in South Suburbia on a third of an acre, and l really enjoyed keeping the grass manicured, soft, and pretty. So when Jim and I came to Sunburst last summer, I saw that cute little square of lawn surrounded by Norm’s roses and I thought, “That’s mine!” I let Heiko and everybody know I wanted to be in charge of that.
I bought one of those old-fashioned push mowers with the spiral blades that rotate around a central axle. They’re so out of style now that people stop me and say, “Hey, I had one of those when I was a kid! Where’d you get that?” (Less than a hundred bucks at Home Depot, by the way.) I’ve even had guests and friends walk by and ask if they can try it out.
The question I get asked most often is, “How come you don’t use a power mower?” Well, at the ranch we have an industrial gas-powered mower that’s about two feet square, runs at roughly 85-90 decibels, and requires its operator to don several different types of safety gear. (OK, I’m including long pants in there—to me, that’s “safety gear,” especially when it’s hot!) We really need it here, with all the brush and ranch land that has to be maintained. I’ve seen The Guys running it out in the fields, and it does a beautiful job. And yes, it would mow the rose garden lawn in about 25 seconds flat.
But if I used it, would I have seen the delicate red dragonfly perched on the tip of a rose leaf who came and watched me work last week? I saw the same one, maybe, with a mate as I mowed this evening! Would I have noticed the huge, swooping brown bat looking for his hidey-hole in the Lodge rafters? What about all the Pacific tree frogs, blue-bellied lizards, and snakes that hop and slide away from my push mower as I slowly cut another stripe?
If I used the power mower, would I get to keep my arms and legs strong, breathe in the fresh, green scent of cut grass, sweat a little, stop and talk to friends, take a break to scoop critters out of the way, or pause to watch the shadow of the Lodge roof advance across the lawn in the late-afternoon sunshine? Would my son Cisco get to see how fast he can make a new swath in the thick, green growth and test his increasing strength?
So while I appreciate and admire the power of the big gas mower, I also see the beauty and value in a slower, gentler way. It may take more time, but I’d never want to miss the gifts I receive every week when I mow the Lodge lawn. (Don’t get me started about the gophers, though—that’s a topic for another time to be posted under “Perseverance.”)
Next time you come to visit, take a moment to sit on the lawn or stand and look around for a few minutes at all the life that surrounds you. If you’re quiet enough, my new red dragonfly friend might stop by to check you out!
• by Norman Paulsen, Founder of Sunburst • Researchers tell us that subatomic particles are highly intelligent; like human beings they elude detection when they want to. What does that mean to us? It means that subatomic energy is filled with I Am That I Am, divine mind. Remove the space between the electrons and protons of your own atoms, and you couldn’t be seen. When we look at one another, we are looking at space falsified by magnetism, the swirling particles of energy and light. We’re a mass of particles of light that represent the physical.
We think we have limitations, that we suffer and are weak. We have unfulfilled desires. But we are the instrument I Am That I Am created in which to enjoy Earth! It’s an illusion that each one of us has a personality, a name, desires, likes and dislikes. In reality, we are one divine consciousness which has conceded to be each one of us for a time. On that day when you fully realize this, every face you see will be your own, like looking in a mirror.
Oh, what a miracle to be alive, a glorious thing! The longer I live, the more amazed I find myself at life—in my body, the whole universe, the absolute creation of God. No doubt about it!
Do I know God? I know the Creator like I know the dearest thing within me. Yes, never do I feel lonely for a moment. I know the Father, the Mother, the Eternal Friend, I Am That I Am. These expressions of God include the great Comforter, speaking forth with the sound of AUM—the roar of all the atomic structures, star systems and galaxies in time and space—the voice and witness of God. Yes, it’s the witness that God is alive, that the great cosmic motor is turning, running every subatomic particle in your body. Press your hands over your ears and hear the sound, the roar. The deeper you listen, the greater the sound.
It’s all there if we but seek. Hard it is indeed to seek. Strong are the impressions of the outer world and the gifts it offers. Pursuing these gifts, we do not acknowledge the Giver of All Gifts. Once truly realizing our oneness with God, we have everything. “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, and all things will be added unto you.”
Immortality? You will taste it. You will feel it. Ecstasy beyond your wildest dreams—beyond your mind’s ability to comprehend. What a fantastic thing it is, this I Am That I Am, this Divine Consciousness which is all of us—here right now and as available as it ever will be for you.
Think of what it would be like to use the full power that your own consciousness can manifest. Yes, if each of us did this, we would walk the earth as gods again, and everything we do would be divine: our structures, arts, sciences. One can hardly image what it would be like in the absence of negativity, and in total possession of ecstasy, of bliss, of eternal love!
• Gregg Braden, talk excerpt • The dark night of the soul is when the bulldozer of change comes through your life and levels everything; then it backs up and makes another run so your ego, your identity, is left with nothing. You may loose all your physical resources, your relationships, your trust in others, but you will be left with your innermost self. And you’ll realize you are actually okay. Then life will get much better after all of that.
The better we know ourselves, the less we fear change in the world. We fear change because we have hinged our wellbeing on the world around us. When deep spiritual awakening leads us, we begin to realize that we’re okay no matter what’s happening out there. We begin to become more self-sufficient, rather than relying on external systems for our wellbeing; whether it’s growing your own food or having a backup power system. We take responsibility for the things that are important to us, rather than giving our power away.
You alone are responsible for yourself. Your friends and the world of activity will not answer for your deeds when the final reckoning comes. – Paramahansa Yogananda
It’s only after you’ve lost everything that you’re free to do anything. – Tyler Durden
You have a treasure within you that is infinitely greater than anything the world can offer. – Eckhart Tolle
