Okay everyone – raise your hand if your are a fellow addict of getting things done – hooked on that wonderful feeling of accomplishment that comes from crossing things off of the “to do” list, whether it might be cleaning the floor, planting the garden, or writing a book. (you can put your hands down…) In a recent post I … Read More
Through Many Lives: A Tale of Time Travel Through the Yugas by Nayaswami Savitri Simpson. One year ago, in a blog I wrote for this website Writing a Spiritual Novel, I told the story of how I came to be writing a novel. I told of the many interesting lessons learned thus far. If you like, you can read that … Read More
We’ve just finished a wonderful Inner Renewal Week here at Ananda Village, with classes by Jyotish and Devi, Kriya Yoga initiations, renunciate vows, and long meditations, all designed to help us go deeper into God. We have this week every year, and one of the points from last year’s classes was untangling our karma, from one of Jyotish’s talks. I … Read More
On the spiritual path, there is an interesting balance to be struck. For if one renounces the world in his search for God, it is easy to get into a mindset that emphasizes noninvolvement in outward activity. And if one is too involved in outward activity, how can one make inward spiritual progress? When am I truly content (a supreme … Read More
Dear Friends, I remember a meeting we had here in the Sangha Office some years ago. A longtime friend related the following story: In 1981 she was living in a house in nearby Grass Valley with other devotees of Ananda. Life was very simple, a little too simple. The earnings of the average “Anandite” in those years were very meager. … Read More
Devotion is the foundation of our spiritual path. All the teachings, writings, and talks emphasize its primary importance. Yet it took me over 16 years at Ananda before I realized it and started to actively practice it. My own nature is more “mind” than “heart” focused. I grew up in a Christian religion that never talked about devotion and instead … Read More
Dear Friends, We send our love to all of you, and now after nine days in India, we finally have a moment to write you some news about our travels here. This trip has had many blessings and some unexpected adventures along the way. We flew out of Sacramento on January 6 traveling to Portland, Amsterdam, and finally arriving in … Read More
Since the first supermarkets in the 1930’s, a general disregard for nature has been increasing. The need for growing one’s own food has become an inconvenience our “modern age” has conquered. With the rise of factory farms and greenhouses the size of small cities, the need to follow the “whims” of Mother Nature is behind us. The question for us … Read More
A few months ago my wife and I watched an inspiring documentary called “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead” which prompted us to take on the challenge of an extended juice fast. I had no idea what to expect, except from what I had experienced doing Yogananda’s Nine Day Cleanse (also highly recommended!) many years ago. We opened our new juicer … Read More
Dear Friend, Here is a touching story from the life of Padre Pio. Padre Pio built a hospital in a very poor region of Southern Italy. He was acquiring donations from many wealthy and poor individuals. The donation that most touched Padre Pio was from a poor widow. The donation was a 50 lire note, which was worth about 3 … Read More
