Creating a New Habit

Question

Hello, I am a disciple of Yogananda since 1992. My name is Anna, and Rishika is the name that Ananda has chosen for me as a gift from Guruji. I would like to know something about how to use this gift for creating a new habit, toward a positive goal, about which, as I read, Yogananda spoke.

—Annalisa Rishika, Italy

Answer

Dear Rishika, Many greetings.

Your name is indeed a gift, as it means “saintly.” It speaks to your soul and is a direction of your growth. We all have an ego and a soul, and there is a battle going on between these two. Your name stimulates you to win that battle, as it always reminds you of your true, beautiful, divine Self.

So which habit should you create? Of course that depends on your personal battle, on your character, on the next step in your unfoldment. You may reflect: “Which habit is it that is blocking me from expressing rishika, from expressing saintliness?”

Once you have found that obstacle, you determine its opposite positive quality: that is your goal! Then work on that quality: practice it in daily life; use affirmations to strengthen it; find people who have this quality; meditate on it.

Slowly slowly “Rishika,” your saintly soul, will blossom. Think of Yogananda often. He draws the saint out of you. That’s his specialty.

In divine friendship, Jayadev