In Divine Service

We should view whatever gainful employment we seek as a service, never merely as work. The mere thought of hard work, indeed, often drains a person’s energies, whereas joyful, willing service opens inner floodgates to a boundless supply of energy. -Swami Kriyananda

Here are three keys to help you transform your attitude about your work into Joyful, Willing Service.

• Do everything you do with the consciousness of inner peace.

If you find yourself getting tense, nervous, or upset at work, take a break, breathe, or meditate for a few minutes — whatever helps you to return to a balance point of inner peace and centeredness. Consciously try to bring peace and calmness into every activity. You’ll find you get a lot more done, too, and at the end of the day, you’ll feel refreshed and uplifted.

• Be intensely aware of what you are doing

Be intensely aware of what you are doing — not with strain or tension, but with quiet absorption. Serving with concentration also draws intuitive guidance and creative solutions to deal with the task at hand. A concentrated mind, as opposed to a scattered one, is automatically filled with upliftment and peace.

• Offer everything you do to God

Whatever your job may be — important or humble — offer it joyfully and freely to God. Remember, all work is His work – we are merely His channels in this world. No work is important or unimportant in God’s eyes, but serving in a spirit of self-offering draws His blessings.

At the conclusion of our community satsang we shared this list: 101 Ways We Serve at Ananda. We hope that you can find something on this list that you do, too, and join us in your service to God.

In Divine Friendship,
Nayaswami Jyotish and Nayaswami Devi
October, 2011

101 Ways We Serve at Ananda

1. Raise cows, goats, and chickens
2. Run an online radio station that plays Ananda music 24/7
3. Grow vegetables and fruits
4. Build and maintain water systems
5. Do property management overseeing infrastructure and roads

Temple of Light under construction, 2018

6. Develop new property
7. Run a talk-of-the month group with Swami Kriyananda’s archived lectures
8. Build and maintain homes
9. Do community planning and master plans
10. Compile phone lists, birthday lists, and The Villager newsletter
11. Oversee the community membership process
12. Teach children and run schools
13. Start colleges and teach classes
14. Run clinics as doctors, nurses, clerical support
15. Raise children and build marriages
16. Train and counsel new members
17. Run markets, stock shelves, cook lunches
18. Run a phone system

Ric Moorehouse, ironsmith & Director for Ananda Bell

19. Operate a blacksmith shop
20. Design beautiful gardens and plant tulips
21. Maintain Crystal Hermitage and keep the garden systems working
22. Pray for others and run a Healing Prayer Council prayer group
23. Teach people Kriya and support their practice
24. Train choirs and perform music every week of the year
25. Sell gems and make jewelry
26. Design and publish books and market them globally
27. Ship Ananda books and products
28. Develop websites
29. Make meditation benches and cushions
30. Develop online businesses and boutiques
    

    Meerabi, Rajarshi Day landscaping, 2017

30. Make sandwiches, hummus, and cookies for the market
31. Offer online classes and webinars
32. Commute or telecommute to jobs in the tech industry
33. Do art and crafts
34. Publish an online magazine
35. Dry tomatoes
36. Teach yoga and train teachers
37. Work with community finances and pay bills
38. Write paychecks
39. Do financial and investment consulting
40. Put mail in boxes and label packages
41. Raise funds to keep things going
42. Start new foundations to expand Ananda
    

    Swami Kriyananda Mandir

43. Attract the devas
44. Make altars and sacred spaces beautiful
45. Keep computers and computer systems running
46. Teach a friend to use their iPhone or Kindle
47. Teach people to meditate and train teachers
    

    4th of July celebration, 50th Anniversary, Siana and family, 2019

49. Cook meals for family and friends
50. Take people to the hospital and pray during their surgeries
51. Run The Expanding Light or the Ananda Meditation Retreat
52. Organize Day of Service workdays
53. Maintain The Expanding Light buildings and gardens
54. Write books
55. Create yearly calendars for The Expanding Light classes
56. Answer emails
57. Design flyers and brochures
58. Give massages
59. Give haircuts
60. Take photos and make videos
61. Support and visit meditation groups
62. Harvest figs for friends
63. Run boutiques and shrines
64. Operate costume shops
65. Care for our parents

Virani Ramsden, Yogata Dairy Founder with Jenny

66. Do fire-clearing
67. Start new centers and communities
68. Smile at a stranger
69. Help people sell things on eBay
70. Start endowment funds for the future
71. Donate and tithe
72. Direct or perform in plays
73. Raise bees and gather honey

Sevaka program, Meditation Retreat, 2018

74. Join the local volunteer fire department
75. Develop a Spanish Ministry and teach Spanish-speaking people in Latin America and Spain
76. Cook three meals a day over 365 days a year at The Expanding Light
77. Bring meals to people who are ill
78. Lead sadhanas
79. Sew curtains
80. Fix cars
81. Use big equipment to keep property open and beautiful
82. Proofread new manuscripts
83. Babysit
84. Tell someone, “You can do it!”
85. Send out mailings
86. Teach people how to have radiant health

Rajarshi Day of Service, 2017

87. Clean houses

88. Do landscaping and create fountains

89. Make someone laugh

90. Teach the AUM technique

91. Stay calm in a crisis

92. Host thousands of people to see the tulips (and feed them scones)

93. Share nature with children

94. Go to book fairs, trade fairs, and New Age fairs

95. Teach Karma Yoga to new people

96. Feed the birds

97. Operate databases

98. Share divine friendship

Crystal Hermitage Gardens

99. Attune with Master
100. Love God
101. Do lots of other things that never make it onto lists

Jyotish & Devi dedicating an altar and new Meditation Retreat structure, 2017

What ways do you serve?