• by Dawn King • A terrible beast called Nian lived under the Mountain, and sometimes was seen swimming in the nearby sea. Annually, it caused the villagers who lived in that area to be ill, their children to disappear, or fire to break out among the houses. When the villagers were particularly frightened one year, an old monk appeared and said he would help them while they lay hidden from the monster.
The wise monk found Nian and tricked the monster when it was about to eat him. “What would that prove?” the monk shouted. “I am not dangerous. But if you ate all the poisonous snakes, and dangerous beasts in the area, you would then be known to be Great.” While Nian was busy eating, the old monk put red papers on doors throughout the village and set off firecrackers during the night. The beast, who hated loud noise and the color red, was never seen again! This legend and tradition has endured. [Traditional red envelopes are shown in the starting photo].
Thus, each Spring Festival or Chinese New Year begins its 15-day celebration that ends with the full Moon. It starts on the new Moon that appears between January 21 and February 20th. 2025, Year of the Snake, embodies resourcefulness, self-reliance, and determination. In view of world events, we have to admit that we are living in extraordinary times.
For the past 40 years or so, it has been said that an old Chinese curse was: May you live in interesting times! Interesting times are times of turmoil, upsetting the ordinary pace of a peaceful life. When Dr. Ho Yong was asked about the origin of this phrase, he stated: I speculate that whoever it was who first coined it attempted to give the expression a mystique, and so decided to attribute it to the Chinese. …Confucius, endeavoring to give his opinions and teachings greater gravity and acceptance, once stated, “I do not create; I merely pass on the wisdom of those who have gone before.”
How do we best cope while interesting times pummeling our attention and thoughts? Paramahansa Yogananda shares: The habit of being inwardly in the calm presence of God must be developed, so that day and night that consciousness will remain steadfast. It is worth the effort; for to live in the consciousness of God is to be done with enslavement to disease, suffering, and fear. Just be with God, that is the be-all and end-all of life.… One who finds within themself that “secret place of the most High” becomes suffused with supreme happiness and divine security.”… When one is kicking and splashing about in the water, there is little consciousness of the ocean itself, but of the struggle. But when one lets go and relaxes, the body floats; it feels in its buoyancy the whole sea lapping around it. That is the way the calm devotee feels God, with the whole universe of Divine Happiness rocking gently beneath their consciousness.
• by Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder • To gaze upon the past is to look upon shadows. It matters not what you have done, or where you have come from. Those who have seen and merged with I Am That I Am, the Christ consciousness, all specify that NOW is the time. This very moment, this very life, this miraculous body that you have possession of, should be deemed extraordinary. It’s extraordinary to be alive; it‘s even more extraordinary to hear about eternal life, and the fact that it can be attained. Therefore, each one of us has one goal before us: its attainment.
To think you have other lifetimes for its attainment is to be deluded. With all your strength, all your mind, and all your love, seek I Am That I Am now, while you can. Who can say if after this lifetime you will hear of it again? Now is the time!
To attain that of which we speak demands obedience to the love and virtue it teaches us. I Am That I Am seeks to bring forth this divine rebirth within each of us. It is waiting for all who will receive, guard, nourish, shelter, preserve, and grow it. Every cell of the physical body will be encompassed by it, born into the kingdom of heaven. The orbits of the atoms begin to change in vibration. The son and daughter of God comes forth in joy indescribably, unimaginable!
This earthly life is so short in duration. All that you desire in this world, having gained it, will not fulfill you. Nothing can fill the great emptiness that can only be occupied by I Am That I Am. Cast aside all desires in hopes that you might gain this pearl of great price; that which cannot be bought, sold or controlled.
Like a tiny flame within you, shelter it from the winds of worldly thoughts and desires. Once receiving it, realize that this is your moment, and only you can bring it forth to its full height and know its full purpose, as a son or daughter of God. Pray, cry, pull, desire Mother-Father Divine.
If negative thoughts surround you and plague you, realize they are not yours unless you accept them. Daily, whether you’re working, eating, playing, or praying, constantly try to give all that you do and are, the good and the bad, to I Am That I Am. In our truthfulness and sacrifice, each of us is seen as we are, and will be rewarded openly. By being honest and forthright before God, we are forgiven; we are relieved and lifted up.
Mother-Father Divine takes a seat in the rear. She is not found in front, but behind; not above, but below. Divine Father walks with you wherever you go, unknown to you unless you seek him.
I said to God, “Speak to me of rebirth. Whisper to me of immortal life. It is for all of us; this I surely see.” I Am That I Am, the name of the most high, our Mother and Father Creator, conceives the true you, the true me, the pure Self. This is the rebirth! This is the immortal Christ Child.
Speak this name, chant it. Think of Him and Her all the livelong day. One drop of that Light will change your life forever. The great bliss and ecstasy is before you now. It alights upon your head as you meditate. It touches the secret places in each of us. I Am That I Am will create us anew while yet we live, if we will but allow, if we will remain steadfast, and seek. We’re afraid to die for fear of losing the body, but in seeing I Am, we become fearless, and in giving ourselves to the Divine, we become immortal. This gift is what we seek; and it is to be administered.
•by Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder•[Prayer at a Sunburst group meditation. Thank you to Tom Rae for sharing his aurora borealis photo.]
Almighty Spirit, our Divine Father, our Divine Mother, we feel you alighting on the crowns of our heads, swirling down in your vortexes of light, touching our hearts, breathing in our lungs. We see glimpses of your light before us, through the eye of soul. You are the light of consciousness inhabiting all. You have fashioned each one of us so uniquely.
I see your miracles everywhere in the beauty of this creation. What a wonder it is to be alive in this body, to be able to meditate, to pray, to sing.
What a wonderful energy is produced in a gathering of souls, when the little self in each one joins You, the Great Self that created all of us. Like a bouquet, we offer this to You, Oh God.
Heal our minds and our bodies. Bless us with your presence. Let us feel You descending through the crowns of our heads. Let us see the light of your Cosmic Sun shining in inner space.
Oh Lord, You are the Great Comforter. You mothered us when we were babes, and you have taught us as we’ve grown. We turn to you now, and seek you in those days of life we have before us. We wish to know and serve you.
Reveal your presence to us more and more each day. In our prayers and meditations, all through our days, and when we wake in the darkness of the night, remind us of your presence.
We know You created each one of us, and You are here now as much as You ever will be. We need to discover You, to meet You, to feel your love in our hearts, and see that great light, your Cosmic Sun seen only by the eye of soul.
Divine One, when we pray to You in our meditations, if we listen deeply we can hear our voices in inner space; we have a voice in heaven! You listen to our prayers and answer us with a voice we can hear. In the great hall of the upper chamber within us, we meet You.
You are the light of soul existing in and around each thought. You know we are searching for You. You know our desires. You know our restlessness. You know our love for You. As we sit to meditate, You acknowledge all of this.
Almighty Spirit, our beloved Father and Mother, You are watching and waiting for us to give You our love and attention. You are here, residing within us. We are your children. We love You, Almighty Spirit.
• by Norman Paulsen, Sunburst’s Founder • The experience of Cosmic consciousness is ecstasy beyond description, far beyond the self-conscious mind and its perimeters of existence. It is That which innumerable writers and poets have tried to put into words: Gautama the Buddha in the sutras; Jesus in the parables; Shakespeare in the sonnets.
Following this ecstatic state comes the illumination of the intellect, again quite impossible to describe. In that great flash of light, all is known—or should we say, all is comprehended. The very essence of life force, the Breath of Life which created all images, is now dwelling completely exposed within and around you. This penetrating force shatters all your previous concepts concerning God, the visible and invisible universe, and Life itself.
You no longer see planets, suns, and galaxies as inert, lifeless matter. All images become alive, and are pulsating with the rhythm of eternal energy combinations. In an instant, you learn more than many existences could ever contribute.
The infinite floodgate is breached, and that flood never ceases in this life or hereafter. Above and beyond this, God, I Am That I Am, is experienced as ever new and expanding joy, love and bliss which rests on the surface of eternal peace. The experience reveals that the very essence of the creation is Love!
For lack and want of words, how can I express this divine state, this pearl of great price? You, dear reader, can only know this through your own experience of it.
•by Dawn King•Much as things may seem to be unchanging when we want them to change in some way (an illness, our paycheck, a government), Life is Change. We need to appreciate those things we count on each day. Take time to think about what those things are and be grateful for them. They may be gone tomorrow!
I’m stopping now to acknowledge those anchors in my life: my husband, my spiritual community, the wonderful area in which I live. No matter how much I may think of myself as a “loaner”, each of us needs our community, our “tribe,” because thetribal survival instinct is built into our DNA. If you haven’t done so already, find your tribe! Any group will do if it gathers due to a common interest that you enjoy pursuing. But it should be a physical face-to-face gathering to truly meet your need for tribe; i.e. not one on social media or Zoom.
We’re living in a time of amazingly rapid changes in technology and consciousness. As someone with many decades to reflect upon, I’ve experienced a much simpler life (the 60s and earlier), moving at a much slower pace. It was wonderful! We could actually digest the experiences of each day, instead of reeling from the dizzying barrage of stimulus that assaults us from every direction today.
How can we find our center in this busy world today? In perfect harmony with Paramahansa Yogananda and Sunburst’s teachings, Omar Itani reminds us of the ancient Japanese Wabi-Sabi philosophy:
“Wabi is about recognizing beauty in humble simplicity. It invites us to open our heart and detach from the vanity of materialism so we can experience spiritual richness instead. Sabi is concerned with the passage of time, the way all things grow, age, and decay, and how it manifests itself beautifully in objects. It suggests that beauty is hidden beneath the surface of what we actually see, even in what we initially perceive as broken. Together, these two concepts create an overarching philosophy for approaching life: Accept what is, stay in the present moment, and appreciate the simple, transient stages of life.
Strive not for perfection, but for excellence instead. In other words, simply do your best to be the best that you can be.
All things in life, including you, are in an imperfect state of flux. Change is the only constant. Everything is transient and nothing is ever complete. And that’s why perfection doesn’t exist.
Slow down and simplify your life. Otherwise, you’ll rush through it, arrive at the end and wonder, ‘What was the point?’ Slowing down is what helps you become a more observant person. Which then helps you become more self-aware.…Immerse yourself into the fabric of this universe and appreciate it for what it is: The joy of watering your flowers in the morning, the joy of watching a sunset, etc.
So what’s the problem with chasing success? First, it will always evade you. And second, it’s virtually impossible to be happy all the time. The root of all unhappiness is born from being discontent with where you are and what you have. It really is as simple as that. To be content with what you have and where you are is to be grateful. To be content with what you have and where you are, while working toward what you want, and fully trusting that you can achieve it, is to be intentional. And through gratitude, intention, and action, you find happiness.
But at its core, wabi-sabi reminds you that life is fragile and temporary, it is as impermanent as anything else in nature, so why not give yourself permission to be just that, yourself?”
You may want to read the whole article; it’s found at: https://www.omaritani.com/blog/
by Dawn King•The image for this article is of hands on a 9,000 year-old cave wall in Argentina. Isn’t it wonderful, as though all those people are reaching out to us from the past. We have to wonder what inspired them.
Creative expression is part of our DNA. The greatest creative energy of all has manifested each of us, and enlivens our every breath, so how could we not be creatively expressive beings as well? Art in every form, whether story telling, shaping clay, creating a song, or decorating a cake, is part of being human.
Psychologists tell us that being creative is vital for our well being, and believe it’s a mechanism to help us cope with life and prepare for challenges. A story from the journal Frontiers in Psychology:
A student was severely depressed because her grades were very poor, and she felt hopeless. At art therapy she selected a black marker and colored her entire page black. After looking at it for a while, she commented that it looked “really dark and bleak.”
She looked around and grabbed some pink sculpting clay, then started making flowers: “You know what? I think maybe this reminds me of spring.”
“Through that session and through creating art,” says her art therapist, “the student was able to imagine possibilities and see a future beyond the present moment in which she was despairing and depressed.”
As Thomas Merton has written: “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.“ Today we might call this “being in the zone,” transcending time and space. Christianne Strang, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Alabama Birmingham (and a former president of the American Art Therapy Association) says: “Creativity in and of itself is important for remaining healthy, remaining connected to yourself and connected to the world.”
Scientific studies have shown that the brain’s reward center (the medial prefrontal cortex) has increased blood flow when study participants engage in art. Researchers conclude that art could be helpful for improving health, overcoming addictive behaviors, as well as mood and eating disorders.
So what does creative expression do for us? 1. It clears our head; 2. Helps us make sense of our emotions; 3. Relaxes and calms us; 4. Affords us a different way to communicate; 5. Helps us imagine a more hopeful future—to solve problems and face situations; 6. Activates the reward center of our brain (the medial prefrontal cortex); 7. Lowers stress and anxiety (cortisol levels); 8. Lets you focus deeply.
It takes a little effort, but is well worth letting the creativity within you express itself. Do it for your own self-enjoyment, and you will be improving the happiness consciousness on the planet.
