•by Dawn King with Paramahansa Yogananda•Unknown to most is the fact that you and I are one with that power and intelligence that has created the whole Universe, the very Life that makes our hearts beat. We have free will to hold our consciousness on an elevated plane of spiritual awareness, or to let it slip into distraction and be entertained by the endless stream of images we attract to ourselves. Yes, we have a choice to live joyous and free in our identification with Spirit, or be bound to the circumstances we create by our attachment to worldly images.
Paramahansa Yogananda is quoted as saying “You have no enemy greater than yourself, and no greater friend. God has given you free choice to keep yourself in delusion or to extricate yourself from it. It is your own dreams that are frightening you.”
If possible, remember not only during meditation but with every breath you take, that you are one with the infinite Spirit, your Creator who loves you. Your existence is vital to the manifestation of this Spirit on planet Earth. You are the hands and physical representative of this Intelligence. Each of us is a vital part of the whole, remembering, generating, and upholding the unconditional Love that is Life.
Keep your emotions, mind, and body filled with positivity for the greatest good of all. Be a smile millionaire, giving freely of compassion, hope, and unconditional love. Divine Spirit will come and remain with you, enlightening your intuition and wisdom. You will then remember your perfect oneness with the Creator. You will remember that you have come from Spirit into this flesh, into this little cage of bones, which only seems like a sort ofprison.
Get away from mortal consciousness and consciousness of the world. There is no end to your consciousness; all things are glittering like stars in the firmament of your being. Suddenly you will find that your memory has subtly become intuition, the infallible insight of the soul. You no longer have to make the effort to remember anything, because memory has metamorphosed into all-knowing omnipresent intuition. In that omniscient light of divine recollection, you shall not only remember, you shall realize that you are the Infinite Spirit existing as a unique soul.
Each precious unique soul is responsible for the current frequency of planet Earth. We are dialing in what happens here, and what happens in our personal lives. Each of us has a purpose and a job to lift earthly humanity and this planet into its next state—one of greater consciousness, harmony, peace, and love. Simply by holding your own consciousness in this state, you are uplifting the planet, a work so needed and so important at this time of planetary growth. We each must awaken to the greater reality!
“Build your joys on the sure foundation of inner harmony. Cherish no thought that does not harmonize with the love and lawful ideals of the Creator. Thus, will your whole life be flooded with the light and bliss of the divine harmony.”– Paramahansa Yogananda.
The Bhagavad Gita emphasizes the following qualities of the pure Self, the individual life essence and soul of each of us:
Your pure Self is unborn, though born in a body. It is eternal, though its bodily dwelling is impermanent. It is changeless, though it may experience change. It is ever the same, though in the long pathway of reincarnation which ultimately leads to perfect union with God, the soul appears in countless forms. The soul is not slain when the body dies; and even when the soul returns to Spirit, it does not lose its identity, but will exist throughout eternity.
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.
