•by David Adolphsen• Over the last few years, I have really appreciated reading the poetry of Rumi. He always refers to God as “the Friend.” I like the personal feeling that it gives because when I think about the friendships that I have in my life, I realize that a divine friendship with your earthly friends is a gift that is beyond measure—to have people who support your quest to evolve and advance spiritually, and to be able to do the same for them.
While thinking about that, I remembered a saying I heard a while back: If my friend is important to me, then the things that are important to my friend are important to me. When I think about what is important to Divine Spirit, well…obviously everything is important to Divine Spirit: the Earth, all of the elements of the Earth, all of creation that we can see, and all of the creation that we can’t see. But when it comes down to a personal feeling, all of the people on the Earth are important to Divine Spirit, and it doesn’t matter one bit what any of their actions are, or what their religious or political beliefs are, or if they have any religious or political beliefs at all.
Divine Spirit is completely interested in every single individual, because we are Divine Spirit’s offspring. Just as we might look upon a little baby with awe, wonder and delight, Divine Spirit has that same feeling for each of us, and wants to enjoy living with each of us more than we can imagine. We can’t see Divine Spirit, for the most part, but Divine Spirit always sees us, and is always there.
The sun in our sky today is the same one that everyone sees all around our planet. Without that sun, none of us would be here. That physical sun is a reflection of the inner sun, what we call the Christ Light, or the first creation of light. When we sit to meditate, we connect through the crowns of our heads to that Christ Light, the divine Sun, and we draw that energy into our bodies. As we do that, it nurtures and grows our conscious awareness.
Each one of us has a deep well of goodness that we can dip into and become the best people we can be while we live on this Earth. Since we live to a certain degree in ignorance of our true identity, it’s important for each of us to nurture our soul. It’s a great responsibility, and the reward to the mind and the body is great. Feed your soul—just like you feed your body every day. The reward of developing a spiritual friendship with others, and with our Creator is a gift beyond measure.
by Norman Paulsen • Sunburst Founder • The whole creation is divine imagination made visible by thought, will and life. Each of Spirit’s children is a designer, equipped by the Holy One with the gift of imagination. By using this gift, we create images in the field of power around us, the field of life force that fills eternity.
When we cast these images, like seeds, into the field of power, they take root and appear in time. This is the sowing and the reaping. Thus, whatsoever we sow, be it good or evil, becomes visible to us in the future. As we think and desire, and desire and think, the future is written and the past is erased. The images we put forth in thought draw us in their direction like iron filings to a magnet, like a moth to the flame.
By seeding images of love for one another and of desire to know the Truth, we will come to that place on the path where the Light and Presence we seek is within arm’s reach. On that day the ego is put to the test. Is it willing to give up all it has gained and enter the place of which it knows nothing? Could this be the ego’s annihilation?
On that day, if you are able to give an answer that is unselfish and full of service, faith, and love, then that Light will burst forth in you, and you will know immortality. You will know the true reality, the infinite Holy One on his own threshold, the sea of eternity. You will merge with ever-new love, not a love that reaches a pinnacle and descends, but is forever reaching new pinnacles. Thus man and woman ascend, and put on their true spiritual selves.
Once doing this, the false self, the ego, has lost its argument. You will become a divinely conscious being, actively reflecting your true home. When you gather together with others who have reached this state, consider the power. This is what Jesus wanted to see, for surely mountains will move; but more than mountains, souls can be led to the Light.
Meditate upon the path. Test the field of power. Cultivate your imagination, for herein lies the power of the master builder, the master scientist, the master physician, the master of the cosmic forces.
As the whole creation has come forth from the Divine, it is a perfect poem by a perfect author. We each have to become perfect authors, putting forth images with thought that will create a perfect poem of beauty and goodness.
As you gain mastery of your own life, you, the infinite soul, the son or daughter of God, will have all the forces of creation behind you. You can use this divine force to help, to heal, to console. You can put it all in your heart and experience ecstasy. As long as you use this force for good, you will be happy.
by Valerie King•Dear Lovers of God, don’t get discouraged. Don’t give up! Sometimes life and meditation can be difficult, but just when the going is toughest, that’s often when you are making the most progress. God only looks upon your efforts, not your ideas of success or failure. Your loving Divine Parents appreciate your efforts to do good, and to commune with them, and will reward your desire if you persevere.
This lesson was brought home to me one evening when I was exhausted from a very stressful day at work. As I sat to meditate, my thoughts were scattered and unruly. My concentration was really bad. Sitting in my kitchen later, I held my head in my hands and cried out to Spirit, “I am so sorry. I feel like a failure tonight.”
Immediately, the beautiful inner-dimensional tunnel began to appear before my inner vision, clearer and more intense than i’d ever seen it. Pulses and waves of radiant, sparkling greens, golds, blues and purples were moving ever inward to the center. Scintillating white particles, wondrously alive and conscious, danced and flashed before me, moving in a joyous spiral toward the light beyond the tunnel. Then a radiant white Being of light appeared in the center of my vision. I smiled through grateful tears, “My beloved is here!”
“Oh my Friend, you are the One who knows all about my struggles and my efforts on the path, my failures and my successes. Thank you for reminding me that you are always here, always watching over me, supporting me with your divine love, whether I see you or feel you, or not. I know that even when I think I’m doing the worst, my journey still goes on, as long as I love you. And I will never stop loving you!”
Every time we turn to that inner center,
we are recognizing that we, of our own self, can do nothing;
we are seeking the kingdom within. This is true humility, true prayer.
It is acknowledging that wisdom, power, and strength come from the Infinite Invisible.
These periods of silence create an atmosphere of Spirit in which the activity of Spirit,
without our knowing it or having any awareness of it, goes before us to make the desert blossom as the rose. – Joel Goldsmith
•by Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder•Many people who have had near-death experiences have miraculously returned, describing seeing their physical forms on a hospital operating table or in a serious accident situation. At the same time, they describe seeing a tunnel of light of sufficient diameter for them to enter. Predominantly, these souls have also seen a light way off in the distance, seemingly at the end of the tunnel. This light is approaching them offering love, compassion, understanding and hope, and enjoining them to come to it.
They go on to describe a personal, one-on-one relationship with this Being of Light. It may appear as a spherical, brilliant orb of light, or in a human-like form. It has the ability to communicate with the individual. They seemingly hear a voice coming toward them through this tunnel. Many have been given the choice of going with the light at that very instant, or of remaining in their earthly environment to go on with the perfection of their lives.
Those who have been blessed with this experience have returned profoundly changed. They have had a taste of immortality. They know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is alive, that God is personal. They know that beyond this physical form, life goes on in a continuum, and it goes on dramatically and wonderfully!
Incredibly, this experience can be gained in full health, without the necessity of going through a terrible accident or illness. By attempting to live a balanced life of virtue and service, as well as devotion and love for God, we can set the stage for the day of illumination to come. On this day, all our efforts bear fruit. We now stand in the full light of God’s brilliance and unconditional love.
“…Having been in the presence of a Being who knows everything about you, to know he totally accepts you and totally loves you, I never wanted to leave this Being again…” – Dr. George Ritchie, M.D., describing his near-death experience
•Jake Collier•There’s a Zen saying: Before enlightenment I chopped wood and carried water. After enlightenment, I chopped wood and carried water. This quote really rings true. We’re here not to escape this world, but to be a vehicle for divine Spirit to experience all that it has created here.
When we look out at the sky at night, we notice the distances between us and other stars and planets. From astronomers’ studies, you realize the vastness of outer space. Scientists even had to formulate a different measurement called light years because the brain couldn’t comprehend how many miles it was to Jupiter, much less to the outer rim of creation.
We sit in seemingly solid chairs with a solid floor, in a solid building, and seemingly solid bodies. But within everything there’s space between the atoms, even between sub-atomic particles. Paramahansa Yogananda describes that space as divine Spirit, that energy that’s pulsating every microsecond of time, creating and continually expanding this creation.
These bodies have basic needs: shelter, clothing, water and food to sustain us. Work becomes necessary to provide these needs. When we do it selflessly, we can feel divine Spirit within us as we work. Sunburst’s founder said, “Selfless service creates spiritual evolution.”
The more we work selflessly, or self-less-ly give, the more of divine Spirit we receive—the more active Spirit is within us. And because we feel Spirit more fully, we want to do more. It’s self-perpetuating. And in the process, we inspire one another. When we see somebody else being selfless, we’re inspired to also do that.
“Whatever you do, you must do cheerfully for the service of all, and be very ambitious in well-doing,” said Yogananda. Looking back on the history of Sunburst from 1969 onward, there’s an endless list of souls who selflessly gave of themselves to make Sunburst happen. And so we continue to move it forward, to grow Sunburst and have it be a signpost, and a destination point for people to come and learn about divine Spirit and Mother Nature.
As we change our lives to live more harmoniously with the divine plan, our spirituality grows and expands, because it is part of the Creator’s imagination, for he fashioned us not to live in fear and to suffer here. God created us, that we might experience ecstasy living here—every day, and every moment of time that we’re in these bodies. Spirit flows into us and through our senses, and with that life force we create things; we help one another; we enjoy life to its fullest.
Yes, work can be a four letter word that we dread, but we each need to make it our mission to find a beneficial work that inspires us. Find a work in which you can joyously give of yourself. In doing so, you create an energy that spreads across the earth touching other souls, inspiring them to improve themselves and make the world a better place.
Through practicing meditation, reflection and contemplation, each of us can find a beneficial work we can apply ourselves to. The joy, the satisfaction, and the spiritual growth we will experience will be beyond our imagination.
Almighty Spirit, create within me a clear space, so I might see a way forward on my path. Lead me to your embrace. Let me see you as a blazing light pulsating through inner space, so I might become your joyous child, a true reflection of you. May my efforts here help Mother Earth heal herself, and inspire others to join in this mission to heal this world and create heaven on earth. Amen
• by Norman Paulsen, Sunburst Founder • Prayer and meditation, alone or with others, attracts divine Spirit’s attention. As we pray and meditate, God can appear before us brilliant like the sun! This is the subjective light, the very face of I Am That I Am. God may also appear before our gaze like a twinkling star at the end of an inner-dimensional tunnel. That light is the reflected image of the first creation of light, the Christ light that exists within each one of us. This light of Christ pervades all the dimensions of creation, all space and all time, within us and around us.
The angels in heaven and all the sons and daughters of man who have attained Christ consciousness [saints, seers and prophets] exist in that dimension of light. If we name them, we can call them forth to visit us, to help us, to heal and illuminate us—if we but call, if we but ask.
True tithing is giving our life force to God. To sit down twice a day, whether we like it or not, and call and pray that our Creator reveals himself to us— this is the real tithing. Being willing to give of yourself, your time, your love, your energy and desire to the Divine. When we tithe to God in this way in our prayers and meditations, our efforts are returned one hundredfold.
It takes self-discipline to seek God, because our self-conscious minds always want to go and play, acquiring this thing and that, running here and there. But when we discipline ourselves to sit down, even for five minutes, our divine Mother and Father will reward us. All desires are fulfilled, all transgressions are forgiven. But we have to sincerely offer ourselves.
As a young man I made the effort in prayer and meditation at the monastery of my teacher, Paramahansa Yogananda. I spent over four years diligently applying myself to meditation, praying to God to reveal himself to me. He finally came to me, and he will come to you, if you make the effort.
This wondrous experience, which surrenders the self- conscious ego, is for every one of us to have—to know our divine Parents face to face; to know our own soul—totally divine, awaiting to be awakened within us; to have our prayers answered, our desires fulfilled, our loved ones who have passed on seen again; to see God’s face shining like the sun. It will hide at times to test you to your limits, but it is always there, always loving, always miraculously returning to you.
All We Have To Give
Oh Light of Christ, we offer the life force of our bodies to you. This is our tithe. This is all we really have to give you: our life force, our energy, our consciousness.
Oh, that our consciousness might be touched by yours. That our consciousness might expand into your body of light throughout the creation.
We are here on this Earth only such a short time, only a moment in your eternity. Let us see you face to face, let us know you, let us see that place where we go when we leave here. Let your love be with us always, eternally.
Our world is in a state of upheaval, mighty changes. You and your angels, your army of light are here to see the world in peace and love, in growth and understanding.
