•by Jonathan King•The Sunburst congregation is such an intimate group of people who I love so much. We’ve been together for so long and we help each other so much. I want to acknowledge how blessed we are to have each other, that Spirit has brought us together, has answered our prayers.
Before joining Sunburst, I was asking Spirit, “Help me find someone that has met you face to face.” I read Yogananda extensively but he was no longer here physically. Then Spirit brought me to Sunburst and allowed me to get to know Brother Norm. This answered my prayer.
In Sunburst, Spirit gave me a family of brothers and sisters who reflect the living presence of God to me every day, and give me the opportunity to reflect it back. Norm’s Sunburst teaching is so precious and comprehensive, so all encompassing.
Here, we learn to combine all of these wonderful elements: striving every day to live a virtuous life, practicing conscious living, and the eight paths. We’ve been given a tool of meditation that teaches us so many things, and brings us to a place where we can say, “Dear Spirit, what is it you would have me do? Not my will, but your will be done.” Every day we can practice; every day we can feel an incredible consciousness growing within us.
Yet sometimes, in a dry spell, we might feel we’re not that devotional. No matter what our predispositions are, everything can go better with a little more devotion. Love is the key and each one of us has a heart full of love. When we are blessed by a visitation of living Spirit, we find our heart is so full of devotion we can barely contain it.
I was reflecting on this recently and remembered a story Norm used to tell about another brother at Yogananda’s who said he really wanted illumination. This person always pestered Yogananda to give him a little thump on the chest and grant him an experience. This monk would come to Norm and say “I’m meditating day and night, but I’m not getting any results. Nothing is happening.”
I remember hearing that story and being able to identify a little bit with it. I would ask Spirit, “Fill every meditation with unconditional intense love for you. May my heart be open, pulsing with devotion, and may I offer it to you.”
Little by little, as I expressed that love to Spirit, I started to feel it returning back to me. And I wanted more. Not for myself, but when I would feel the presence of God, I wanted to give of myself without any regard for what would come in return. This felt so good.
I continued my practice, and asked Norm questions, and asked Spirit questions. I realized in practicing our Kriya meditation technique that light is always reigning down on us just like the picture of Kir Paul Sing (above).That light is coming down all the time, full of divine consciousness and full of love and devotion for us.
by Barbara McCaughey • An idea from Helen Keller’s autobiography popped into my head as I pumped gas into my car. She said that if we made it a habit to notice what we’re grateful for, there wouldn’t be enough moments in a day to acknowledge each blessing. This was a memorable statement coming from someone who could not see or hear.
I was on my way home from work and had about a half hour’s drive ahead of me. Looking up into the beautifully clouded sky, there was a small, but bright patch of blue peeking through. It had been raining off and on all day and the hillsides and air seemed so fresh and clean. I decided to use my entire drive home to notice the magnificent and varied palette of scenery.
The cares of the day melted away with these uplifting thoughts. I reached the front gate of my home refreshed and ready to enjoy the remaining daylight. Sitting in the living room talking to my husband I looked over his shoulder out the front window.
“Oh my goodness!” came tumbling out of my mouth when I spotted the most brilliant, shimmering double rainbow I had ever seen! It arced across the entire valley where we live and remained for us to stare at in wonder for about twenty minutes.
It seemed that Mother Nature was smiling back at me, loving me as I had been loving her, rewarding me with one of her most awesome images. There before us, divine Spirit’s life was represented in all the dimensions of creation in scintillating, jewel-like colors.
In moments such as these, when we choose to be part of the joy of life and turn our gaze away from less inspiring images, it seems that angels lift us on their wings and commune with us. There is a feeling that we are not alone, but an intimate part of an eternal cosmic dream.
by Norman Paulsen•The wonderful experiences that I have been blessed with were given to me for one reason only. Through all my trials, my heart never desisted from loving and seeking my divine Mother-Father. No matter what I was doing, good or bad, I could never quit loving God. If I made a mistake, I always asked forgiveness and started again.
By our love and devotion to Spirit, we begin to taste immortality. It can be seen; it can be heard; it can be felt. It is the most incredible experience. Yes, touching the hem of the divine garment.
As each and every one of us moves toward heaven within, we begin to feel God’s power in us. We are each tested to see how much we can take, like steel is thrust into the fire again and again to increase its temper. At times, you may cry to God: “Why am I so mistreated? Is your hand so set against me?”
If you listen to the silence, you will hear God saying, “I want you so strong for future work that no matter what happens, you will never break.” Our Creator cannot pour into you tremendous life and light, power and wisdom unless you, the vessel, is prepared to hold it. That is why the path to illumination is difficult, and described as a razor’s edge.
I bear witness today to the heaven we can experience within, and to the immortality of each spirit. If we persevere, each and every one of us can gain that experience, to see and know, and understand our Creator, Divine Mother-Father-God.
Oh Divine Comforter, no matter how difficult the path,
I know You have blessed me with the faculties
by which I am able to bear what comes to pass.
As I journey homeward, please hear my soul calling. I will pursue you every moment of my conscious life. I will forever persevere, Oh Spirit Divine,
to develop the willpower to never give up! I must meet you face to face. I must hold you in my arms, if you will allow.
You are my Father; you are my Birth Mother, the Creator of my soul. From you have I come forth into this world, into this sea of faces. I look for you in every face, Oh Beloved. Will you please come forth and reveal yourself to me
somehow, somewhere, someday?
I will continue to pursue you in every image and in every place,
until I find you hiding in the mirror image of my own face.
Oh Divine Comforter, No matter how difficult the path, I know You have blessed me with the faculties By which I am able to bear what comes to pass.
As I journey homeward, Please hear my soul calling. I will pursue You every moment of my conscious life. I will forever persevere, Oh Spirit Divine, To develop the willpower to never give up! I must meet You face to face. I must hold You in my arms, If You will allow.
You are my Father; You are my Birth Mother, The Creator of my soul. From You have I come forth into this world, Into this sea of faces.
I look for You in every face, Oh Beloved. Will You please come forth And reveal Yourself to me Somehow, somewhere, someday?
I will continue to pursue You In every image and in every place, Until I find You hiding In the mirror image of my own face.
• by Sandy Anderson •Divine love is the mother of all virtue. That is where it all starts. Love is the root and the source of compassion. Love makes our hearts beat. It makes our blood flow. It makes the sun shine inside us, and it brings us to understanding and compassion for our fellow beings. Our hearts can include them all.
We are all beings of divine light, of love, from the same Being whom we call God. Our greatest fulfillment is to celebrate our Creator, to embrace him and her, to live a life acknowledging the Divine Being day to day. And to know this being lives in each of us.
As parents, we wish to nurture our children with true unconditional love, total forgiveness, complete embracing, moment by moment. How could you ever reject your own child? That is how Spirit feels towards us. Each of us is their child, and we are each other’s children. I am so grateful to be a part of the human family.
In the vibration of Leo, celebrating compassion, we come to the heart, to living love, to forgiving, to holding the hands of the people next to us, rising above judgment. We all know self-righteousness is not really righteous. Understanding and compassion are righteous.
Visitors to Sunburst sometimes ask, “How do you do it? How do you get along with each other, with so many different personalities?” Living compassion, understanding, living love is the essence, the answer.
Many times, if I have a conflict with someone, I’ll say my prayers and let it float, praying for resolution. As time goes by, I will find myself in meditation with that person, and somehow their feeling is made known to me. A door opens in my heart bringing understanding, and I feel for them. Forgiveness comes spontaneously. I love that. God unites us and brings healing love as a balm, as the comforter of all hearts, solver of all problems, as the joy that we live.
by Jonathan King•One of my assignments, as a freshman in college, was to read The Confessions of St. Augustine. At the time I wondered, “Why on Earth am I reading this?” But I gave it my best. Very late at night, all was quiet and I read about St. Augustine’s life as a student. He used to go out with his buddies to hang out and carouse.
That really shocked me. At the time, I was doing the same thing quite a bit, just as he did, but I didn’t feel that good about it. I was trying to resolve my behavior and think about how I wanted to be as I moved into manhood.
As I continued to read, I started to think, “Wow! This is a dilemma.” I was reaching out to Spirit for a solution. All of a sudden the air in the room became electric. This may have lasted for a minute, but it seemed like a really long time. The room was filled with the presence of Spirit. It was so strong, I felt that it grabbed me by the heart and stopped me right in my tracks.
There wasn’t any question at that moment: “Does God exist?” The internal humming spoke: “I Am” That vibration filled everything, and it stayed. It was incredible!
Later, I thought about it until I inwardly fell to my knees saying, “My God, how could I have ever doubted you? Thank you!”
What I realize now is that I was being called. We all have the experience of being called at some time. It’s an archetypal experience which is custom tailored for each one of us. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, we know we are being asked to change — to change in a way that will give us ultimate freedom, and entrance into a realm of feelings and vibrations we could not attain any other way.
Making a commitment to live your life every minute dedicated to finding Spirit within opens up so much joy, so much meaning and satisfaction. Even after a short while, you realize there really isn’t any other meaningful choice. I hope you will remember the times you have been visited by Spirit. If you haven’t had an experience like this, you will!
What you sow you will reap. This is the law of cause and effect. It actually exists in order to multiply our joy, our bliss. God waits for us to call, so he can respond.
Listen to the voice within you; it is the voice of your pure Self. Listen to it well. Has it not been waiting for you since the beginning of your existence? – Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder
