The summer I turned 24, life fell apart. I lost one job, and my closest friendship crashed and burned. My parents didn’t understand me, and I considered giving up on them, as well. “Wait,” I thought. “Have you tried explaining yourself? It would be dumb to give up without having done your part. Besides, if you took the time, there’s … Read More
Swami Kriyananda asked a group of people to move to Los Angeles and help Ananda happen down here. So last fall 10 or so of us packed up and moved down to the big city. We are now quickly coming up on our one year anniversary. I think all of us have been stretched in ways we couldn’t have even … Read More
Finances are tough for everyone, especially now and usually the thought is “We must save and pinch our pennies!” Now this isn’t a bad thing; in fact we should be smart with our money. Though, as with everything on the spiritual path, the better question would be, “Am I being more contractive or more expansive?” Even though we might have … Read More
This slogan was printed on the t-shirts we received at the Ananda Laurelwood dedication on Labor Day weekend. It captures the spirit of the dynamic group of people spanning three generations who are building Ananda’s newest community near Portland, Oregon. On the back of the t-shirt the letters “J-O-Y” were formed by listing the many projects they’d been working on: … Read More
Recently the majority of the East Coast experienced multiple days of hurricane warnings and subsequent weather with winds and rains causing flooding in some regions and power outages for days to weeks in others. Road signs flashed everywhere to prepare for the hurricane and stay home. As I was preparing for the storm in southern Maine, it occurred to me … Read More
Instead of holding the thought hopelessly, “I can’t do that!” I’ve told myself, “Even though I don’t see how I can do that, I know God can do anything, even through the poorest instrument!”
Always be wise in your seeking. The emotional excitement of finding new ways must always be balanced against the truth that “loyalty is the first law of God.” Eclecticism indicates a lack of serious purpose.
To understand human origins, a true scientist must not only evaluate the tangible evidence gathered by archeologists and other experts, he must also study consciousness, without which he neglects the most basic human capacity — the ability to think creatively and aspire spiritually.
The ultimate culprit that holds us back spiritually is the non-use of Paramhansa Yogananda’s techniques. The failure to use the spiritual tools given by the Guru puts us out of attunement with him.
I came to realize that the God I believed in was a Jewish God, and that my entire self-identity was wrapped around that concept. Each step of the way was like shedding a layer of myself.
