by Joe Belton (edits and photo by Dawn King) • As I step outside into a beautiful morning, divine Mother’s presence in the creation is so obvious. We see the reflection of divine Mother in our Mother Earth. She provides for us, takes care of us, gives us food and water for our bodies, materials for clothing and shelter. Her beautiful natural images enrich our spirits. Who has not stood spellbound by a sunrise or sunset, by a certain mountain or valley, or a majestic forest…or the awesome expanse of the ocean?
Divine Mother is also reflected in our birth mothers, who helped bring us into the world, who took care of us and nurtured us. Each one is beautiful in her own way. Each one is a daughter of Divine Spirit. Reflections of divine Mother are everywhere around us. But divine Mother is never alone; her constant companion is divine Father.
In every image that exists, throughout all of creation, divine Mother and Father dance in the midst of it, weaving light and sound, creating wonderful visible images. Above the crowns of our heads sits the brilliance of I Am That I Am, Mother and Father. Emanating from that brilliance, the sacred forces of our spiritual parents descend upon each one of us. If we sit still enough, we can feel their presence.
Divine Mother’s swirling life force spins downward around our bodies to the base chakra, then returns up the inner-dimensional tunnel of our spines toward the heart chakra.She envelops us in a cocoon of light. Through the midst of Mother’s inner-dimensional spiral the life force of divine Father spins downward meeting divine Mother in our heart chakra. Mother and Father’s vortexes combine, sustaining life, and offering Illumination, Christ consciousness.
Divine Mother’s vortex is like her mouth upon the crowns of our heads; it whispers to each one of us saying, “Breathe from my mouth the Breath of Life.” It is for each one of us to open that door on the crown of the head and invite abundant divine life force to enter in, and to illumine us.
As we inhale the physical air, we also draw the energy of divine Mother up through the base of the spine. As we exhale, we draw divine Father’s life force down through the crowns of our heads. We circulate their life force within us, and thus we breathe the Breath of Life. We become more and more aware of the presence of those sacred forces, the presence of our Mother-Father Creator, I Am That I Am.
Scientists say that at the center of every galaxy there is a massive black hole. It only appears black because its brilliance is undetectable by modern-day instruments. For each one of us there also exists a black hole, that place Sunburst’s founder Norman Paulsen calls “the smallest of all places”. As we circulate our life force and breathe the Breath of Life, we begin to penetrate the darkness within and eventually perceive the tiny light, the star that shines at the mouth of the inner-dimensional tunnel. Over time, in meditation it appears to grow into a shining sun, unveiling the brilliance of that Being we call I Am That I Am.
One day, everyone on Earth will have grown into this realization and be able to say, as Yogananda said, “In the inky darkness of my mind I could behold the Sun of Cosmic consciousness.”
“All things have God within them. Our job as humans is to make conscious contact with God within all of creation.” – Dorothy Maclean, Findhorn Community
by Michele Pike• There are many ways in which those at Sunburst Sanctuary strive toward sustainability. Organically growing fruits and vegetables is just one of those. We also applaud and support the teachings of permaculture. Earth friendly building techniques have been applied where and when possible. Using power, transportation, and other modes of operating that are more sustainable is always our goal. Although there is plenty of room to include more sustainable practices in our lives, we feel it is crucial to try, to start somewhere and move in the direction of our goals.
At the heart of all these practices of sustainability is the principle of Ahimsa, nonviolence. No relationship can be sustained if violence is present within it. Our relationship with Mother Earth is no different. In order that we may continue to survive and thrive here, we are each responsible for making decisions, taking actions, and having a conscious mindset to live lightly on the Earth.
As we each grow toward revealing the Divine within us, we do so in fits and starts. We take baby steps, moving incrementally closer to our goal of living on the Earth as completely illumined beings. Along the way, we endeavor to practice nonviolence, compassion and love for one another and our precious Earth.
“When we include God in the things we do, the things we enjoy, our work and our play, God loves to be with us. This is what the whole creation is about. Our Divine Mother-Father wants to be conscious in all of us on this Earth.
“We were placed here to include God in everything we do virtuously, for the benefit of all beings. We were born to be the caretakers of the Earth with God, looking after all of Divine Mother’s life-forms.”– Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder
We each must chooses a diet that they feel best supports their vitality and health: physically, mentally, and spiritually. Needs vary from person to person and also can change from time to time for each individual. The most important thing is to notice the effect of what we choose to consume, asking, “Is this bringing me closer to, or farther away from, my goals?”
On the journey of Self-realization, we are aspiring to refine our consciousness, letting go of lower, denser energies, and reaching for more purified awareness. For this reason, on the spiritual path we choose to refrain from the use of tobacco, alcohol, non-prescription drugs, or other intoxicants.
“The ancient adepts all said that right nourishment comes from your own planting, if it’s possible for you—the placing of seeds in the soil of Mother Earth with your own hands, then the watering with love and the harvesting. There is nothing better than your own blessing of energy on the food that you have grown or prepared, or any food that you are about to eat.
“Realize that God is building the vessel of you that will contain him. Nourish your body, mind, and spirit so that you will have the life force to do the work you came here to do.”– Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder
~ 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
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.
by Valerie King • If you sit down and are still, you start hearing the thoughts moving across your mind, like a river – an endless river. Thoughts, feelings, emotions, pains from the past and worries of the future. But is this really who you are? These are like clouds that are going by in front of the sun of consciousness that you are.
Recently, I had the great blessing to be invited to the labor and the birth of a new child. When you’re in this situation and you see the mother working so hard, this incredible, transformative act, and you see this lump inside the mother moving and moving, and all of a sudden, that lump is not just a lump. It has a face, and it is a new being.
We all went through this miracle of life. We have come out of infinity, and shortly we will go back. But the great divine consciousness, the Divine One that brought us all forth, wants to be fully awake, and fully alive in us, while we walk here upon this beautiful earth. It wants to awaken and recognize itself looking out through our eyes, working through our hands, loving through our hearts, creating through our minds and our bodies.
How can we accomplish this? How can we awaken to what’s truly inside of us? Eons ago, the ancients brought forth meditation techniques to help open the way, to help us still our minds long enough that we can begin to see the space between the thoughts where Spirit shines forth eternally. It is a work, meditation. We have to work with the life force and light we are given to create a light body that this seed can reside in, this seed of God, so that it can awaken and grow into a new being. It is our self, but our Self as we are truly meant to be—our pure Self.
We all have inklings of this pure Self in our lives. It is the power of love, wisdom, unspeakable joy. It says, “I Am.”— the answer to the question “Who am I?” The work is becoming aware of our own consciousness, and by becoming aware of it, we still the thoughts. We are not so attached to the emotions that carry us, like waves, on the ocean. We sit in the observer’s seat, where we are given the gift of immortality, infinity, infinite love, and we find out this is who we really are.
Divine consciousness lives in each one of us, and we know it as intuition and the voice of conscience. Our job is to listen ever closer to this divine consciousness, to let it heal and transform us, and bring that healing all around us.
In the gospel of Thomas, which is one of the Gnostic gospels, Jesus said, “If you have everything, but you do not know yourself, you have lost everything.” So this is the challenge for each one of us, the adventure of life. It is never too late to start the journey. Start it in this moment. Find out who you are. It is a question that can only be found by each one of us, can only be answered by each one in our own inner discoveries.
I want to end with a quote from Norman Paulsen, who is Sunburst’s founder, when he was speaking about this gift of the meditation tools: A good meditation technique is the most important thing you could ever have in your life. If you don’t have a technique to get in there and find out what’s going on within you, how are you ever going to know?
The meditation tool is the gift from the gods, the angels of divine consciousness, for our future. They are saying, “Here is your way. You’ve got to go unlock the doors. You’ve got to do the work. You’ve got to climb the mountain.”
They are not going to carry you, but here is the key. Go unlock the door; go climb the mountain. It’s all inside of you.
As we awaken to the divine consciousness within us, we will be able to look out, all the more, and see heaven as it exists on earth in this moment. As the poet William Blake said, “To see the world in a grain of sand, and heaven in a wild flower… to hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour.”
