Upon reading this title, you may be thinking, “What, eight hours! I can’t possibly do that, I just learned to meditate!” Or, “After I’ve been meditating some years, maybe I can work up to that,” or, “I don’t have the time.” If these or other objections are filling your thoughts, read on!
As spiritual seekers we know how important the blessings of Christmas are to help us deepen our devotion and expand our inner life. During this time of year, the weather turns colder (in the Northern Hemisphere at least) and animals and humans alike tend to stay home and look for comfort and quiet peace.
The presence of masters and saints can be felt more tangibly during this sacred time when we celebrate the birth of Christ and the birth of Christ Consciousness in our own hearts. If you’re looking to connect more deeply with Ananda or just don’t have any nearby spiritual Christmas activities that resonate with you, here are a few ways you can celebrate the holiday season with us online or in person.
In 1982, after many years of seeking meaning, a friend offered me a copy of Autobiography of a Yogi. I read it, and while not able to relate to many of the experiences shared by Yogananda, I instantly understood that he had the understanding that I had been seeking. I began taking his written lessons, after reading that he insisted … Read More
Ananda’s retreat near Assisi, Italy is building a new temple called the “Temple of Joy” or “Tempio Della Gioia” in Italian. Here is a video about it with a beautiful 3-D model of how the temple will look. For more information you can visit their new website TempioDellaGioia.it.
Dear Friends: Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. For those of you who live outside the United States of America, Thanksgiving Day started centuries ago, after the Pilgrim Fathers’ first year on this continent. Tradition sanctions this as a day when Americans everywhere thank God for all His blessings. We too, at Ananda, have so many blessings for which to thank Him: … Read More
We came into the world just weeks apart, Autobiography of a Yogi and I, born together in December 1946. Both of us were riding on waves of human hope: I was part of the “baby boomer” generation that emerged after millions of American servicemen returned from World War II. Hoping to leave the horrors of war behind, the soldiers wanted … Read More
Autobiography of a Yogi changed my life. Really, it did. There is a power in that book that is far beyond the ordinary. Paramhansa Yogananda said to Swami Kriyananda on their first meeting, “I put my vibrations into it.” I read it when I was at one of the natural transition points in life, the changeover from school to adulthood. … Read More
