Most of our waking hours we live in the senses, identified with our human nature. Meditation gives us an opportunity to identify with our divine nature, Spirit—God. Meditation gives us a respite, where we enter into the realm of spirit. Paramhansa Yogananda said: “Meditation is the inner switch that you turn on to connect yourself with the Infinite.” The essence … Read More

Paramhansa Yogananda writes in his book, How to Have Courage, Calmness, and Confidence: As a devotee on the spiritual path, give little weight to the trials that beset you. Be even minded. Walk with courage. Go forward from day to day with calm, inner faith. Eventually, you will pass beyond every shadow of bad karma, beyond all tests and difficulties, … Read More

Swami Kriyananda offered a number of “secrets of meditation.” This one has recently been very helpful to me: “Pray not as an outsider to heaven, but as one whose true home is heaven.”  Especially when life is busy and it’s easy to become identified with the projects and the to-do lists, I have been trying to use this secret. If … Read More

Yogananda was once asked how much free will do we have. His response was, “Our free will exists to this extent: to think of God or not to think of God.” In this seemingly simple choice lies the path to inner freedom: The more we attune our individual will to God’s will, the more we free ourselves from karmic compulsions. In … Read More