In Sunshine
The Secret Presence
by Valerie Joy King • My husband Jonathan and I were getting ready to leave Flagstaff for the ten hour drive home. We had been visiting for a week, helping to get our natural foods store on track after its move to a new, larger location. I had really enjoyed our stay. I have always loved Flagstaff!
It is nestled against the foot of the San Francisco peaks, Arizona’s tallest mountains. The whole town is covered with ponderosa pine forests. The sky is crystal clear blue because of the high elevation. The Hopi people state that the Kachinas, guardian spirits and teachers of humankind, make their home in the sacred San Francisco mountains.
While we visited, every day would start out sunny and clear, then storm clouds would roll in amidst thunder and lightning, pour down buckets of rain, and then the sun would return again. I loved the exciting weather!
This particular morning I was sad to be leaving because during our visit I had been working at our store every day, and hadn’t a chance to walk in the pine forests and greet my friends, the trees and rocks, and wild animals. This is one of my favorite things to do.
I sat down on a curb beside our car and looked out across the valley to a rolling foothill adorned with pines. Suddenly I felt the soft yet powerful embrace of Divine Spirit spinning all around me, expanding outward, stretching to encompass my gaze. The hill now also became embraced by the spinning cocoon. I could feel all the trees, the rich, red earth, and the lichen-covered boulders, all living within me. How joyous was our communion! “Hello, dear trees,” I whispered. “Thank you for your life in I Am That I Am.”
I noticed that everything I looked at seemed to be composed of tiny, shimmering orbs of divine life and consciousness. Even things I ordinarily consider ugly, like exhaust from a tractor, now was filled with the secret Presence.
As I breathed in and out, I felt the dancing, shimmering lights enter in and out of my body. I felt completely clean and renewed, as a favorite poem rang through my consciousness: In Joy I live. In Joy I breathe. In sacred Joy I melt. Thank you, Creator Spirit, I Am That I Am.
Studying Nature
~ by Craig Hanson ~ Some years ago I had the good fortune to travel to England. I spent an early morning meditating inside the enormous, ancient stone circle at Stonehenge. It’s very easy to feel the two divine forces there—one vortex descending through the crown of the head, the other vortex ascending up the spine.
As I completed my meditation I glanced down at the grass in front of me and saw a dark green, humble plant. What struck me was that it’s leaves formed a perfect five-pointed star. I realized it was the same shape as the five-pointed star I’d seen in meditation.
By studying nature we begin to understand the imagination of our divine Creator. Studying nature can mean looking at a beautiful sunset, listening to the chirping of birds and the myriad sounds of the other animals. The great beauty of spiritual vision is that it feels so natural. Wondrous it is that we can use our senses to understand some of God’s nature. It’s a great blessing that what we find within ourselves, we may also see reflected without, and vice versa.
The deeper science delves into the mysteries of creation, the more it has to go within, to the spiritual mysteries behind it. Spiritual disciplines help to fill out that understanding. The more we reflect and experience within ourselves, the more we’re able to understand the processes of creation around us. The patterns of nature, the two forces of vortex, mirror the Kriya meditation tool that we’ve been given.
Brother Norman talks about the importance of being in nature, of deeply studying it, and meditating on it and in it. He recommends the greatest book we can ever read: our own Book of Life, so unique and personal for each one of us. We read it each time we sit down to meditate, and we read it when we engage with nature.
Oh Great Spirit, bountiful are your gifts to us.
You pour out all the knowledge of the universe upon our heads.
We have only to open, to see.
You are not complicated; You are simplicity itself.
You are the Divine; You are the spiral,
the architect for everything in creation.
May we come to be as Christ Jesus, a son, a daughter
forever conscious in every particle of your creation.
And someday we will smile within the shape of a flower,
and within the spiral of a breaking wave upon ocean shores.
Amen
Soul Resurrection
by Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder • I was so blessed to have been led as a young man to my teacher, Paramahansa Yogananda. Many years ago, he was planning to take me along on a steamship voyage to India. He even sent me shopping to get the right suit for the trip.
Only a couple weeks before we were to leave, Yogananda called one night and said: “Big Boy—he always called me Big Boy—Divine Mother has told me that I will be leaving the body shortly and that I would not go to India.”
I responded, “Sir, if you are leaving, I want to go, too.”
“Oh no!” Yogananda replied: “You have a work to do.”
I remember the day I was told of his passing out of the body. I rushed to Mount Washington to see him one last time. Master had told me before he left that he would come to see me after he left his body.
Some months later I was living in Santa Barbara, wondering if he would ever come back. One Saturday I came home from work and sat down in my room to read. Suddenly, the wind came up outside my apartment, shaking the front of the building.
The door blew open and Master Yogananda walked into my room. He stood before me and gave instructions as to how I should live my life.
I received the glorious message that he was immortal—that he could come back to talk to me, and that this was proof that we all have immortal souls. We can all come back to see our loved ones; our lives go on in this great immensity of God’s creation; I saw the resurrection of the man I loved.
Yogananda proved to me that through the practice of meditation and the ancient teachings, the way is open for all to come and enjoy life, with God-realization alive in our consciousness. That experience has brought me to this day and to this place, and I thank him, my teacher. I thank God for allowing me to be here with this message and this truth.
Through deep meditation and prayer, may we all seek those teachings that will guide us on our journey onward through our inner-dimensional tunnel, to the light that is right within us. Jesus said, the kingdom of heaven is within you. Inner-dimensionally, it is all here. Not somewhere out in space, but so near that you can touch it, feel it, and see it in your deep meditation, if you persist. Resurrection of the soul is possible for each one of us. Love is the key that unlocks the spiritual gates.
Quote from Paramahansa Yogananda follows:
by Paramahansa Yogananda • Resurrect your soul from all dreams of frailties. Resurrect your soul in eternal wisdom. What is the method? It includes many things: self-control, good diet, fortitude, an undaunted mental attitude, and relaxation of the consciousness from body identification by daily practice of scientific concentration and meditation principles. Refuse to be defeated. You have unlimited power; you must cultivate that power, that is all.
It is time to realize your unity with all by experiencing your oneness with God. Again and again, pray in your soul: “Oh Lord, come, clear away the dust of my indifference. Flood my consciousness, Oh Infinite Christ, with thy divine consciousness!”
Light on Sunburst Sanctuary
Light on Sunburst Sanctuary – Finding Plant Pioneers • Striving to exist gently on the Earth, Sunburst Sanctuary practices organic growing techniques along with permaculture. The ecological term for a weed is “pioneer,” because it appears where soil has been disturbed. It’s job is to bring normalcy back to the soil structure. But when a plant appears where we don’t want it, we call it a weed. The photo above was taken in Sunburst Sanctuary’s “Garden”. A significant amount of wood chips have been placed on the path to discourage weed growth. The orange and gold calendulas provide beneficial insect habitat.
Above: Curtis sprays a natural weed deterrent on new growth in the Sanctuary’s labyrinth. His mixture is a gallon of white vinegar with a cup of salt and a tablespoon of dish soap. Weeds retreat from this mixture. Although the lush greenery Craig is mowing looks lovely in the photo below, it needs regular trimming in order to maintain it as a beneficial ground cover.
We’re thankful for the weeds, our plant pioneers, because they return the soil to a natural healthy state after it’s been disturbed. Nature is wise beyond our understanding.
Give thanks!
When you arise in the morning
Give thanks for the morning light.
Give thanks for your life and your strength.
Give thanks for your food
And give thanks for the joy of living.
— Chief Tecumseh of the Shawnee Nation
Karmic Transmutation
Art & article by Lucinda Kinch • Clearing and transmuting karma begins with removing energy blockages from our beings. Effective meditation techniques and prayer nurture this process, allowing us to become more integrated and whole. Our hearts and intuition are activated; we receive clearer guidance from the Divine, and understand our soul’s purpose—giving deeper meaning to life.
Meditation techniques offered at Sunburst create a spiral of living transmutation through our dimensional centers, activating openings of light to pour from the depths of our being, healing blockages from prior years and even lifetimes. As like calls to like within our own inner universe, pain, joy or accomplishment travels with us from lifetime to lifetime. The more we transmute inner negativity, the more we are able to absorb positive spiritual energy. Start this karmic transmutation process by learning how to meditate to achieve inner peace and stillness of the body. Accelerate your evolution with the advanced techniques of the ancient Kriya Yoga meditation.
Transmutation of karma is also the source of all true forgiveness. One way to take full responsibility for your path, and reclaim a sense of personal spiritual empowerment, is to deeply reaffirm to the Divine that you are not a victim of any of life’s circumstances. With loving willpower, devotion and regular spiritual practice, we will transmute our karma and rise above fear and judgment.
We can become a potent stimulus for the transmutation of the collective consciousness, creating heaven here on earth for all! Since we are undergoing an accelerated evolution in consciousness on earth, there are many turbulent events occurring—yet another reason to hold dear to your heart and habits the blessings of daily meditation and prayer.
You alone can make the choice to overcome fear, to empower your own divine, pure Self. Sit in deep mediation and declare to Source that you are no longer a victim to anything you have experienced or will experience. Realize that all experiences are your teachers; be grateful for these experiences. Ask for courage to do this; it takes a new mind-set to inquire in this way. This practice will help bring understanding and humility, and attract more positive experiences. If you can continue to deepen in virtue, you’ll be able to reach deeper levels of fulfillment, gaining courage and satisfaction from life like never before.
We are the bearers of the Light frequencies on this Earth! By transmuting karma within ourselves, we are making great changes in the collective consciousness as well. Our own karmic transmutation is vitally necessary, without exception. Each one of us is key to the process and it is up to us to get the job done. Our essence is Love, not fear. We are loved infinitely and boundlessly, ever-supported by the great Source from which we have never been separate.