Located in the beautiful Umbrian hills near Assisi, Italy, the Ananda Center offers many programs based on the principles of Kriya Yoga and Self-realization, which were brought to the Western world by Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the spiritual classic, Autobiography of a Yogi. His direct disciple Swami Kriyananda, the founder of Ananda communities in the United States, Europe and India, … Read More
A Place Called Ananda, Yoga
How Yoga Will Save the World
We cannot overcome today’s challenges by meeting them at the level that they exist, we must rise above them to find superconscious solutions. I spent the last fifteen years working for humanitarian organizations, striving to provide education, dignity, and opportunity to disenfranchised populations around the world. Progress in the realm of the human condition has been incredible since the Millennium … Read More
A Place Called Ananda, Daily Life
I Found Attunement to Babaji by Making the Ananda Meditation App
My path is devotional. After reading about Divine Mother in Autobiography of a Yogi, I had found my ticket to bliss. First I found love for Her through the trees, as I would walk to work through the streets of Los Angeles. Then, once I found Her in my own heart, accessible anytime anywhere, I understood that I needed no … Read More
A Place Called Ananda
Millennial Meditations: 3 Reasons to Use the Ananda Meditation App
I’m a longtime meditator, so when Ananda launched it’s new meditation App I thought, “Cool, glad there is something for beginners.” I was terribly wrong. The new meditation App is changing my meditations, and thus, changing my life. The key is to use the “Custom Meditation” section in the App…it’s AMAZING. Here’s why: Inspiration: Like many meditators, I suffer from … Read More
A Place Called Ananda, Spiritual Growth
Humble Pie and Writing a Wrong
Life has a knack for humbling you. A few people might not experience the humility gained in a life well-lived, but the rest of us know what it means to think, “Oh yeah, I got this,” only to smack, cartoon style, into an unnoticed wall. I had a moment like that recently when I thought I had created something awesome … Read More
A Place Called Ananda, Music and the Arts
Introspection and Journal Writing Suggestions
Paramhansa Yogananda said that meditation is the “jet plane route to Self-realization.” Meditation, however must be balanced with selfless service, for most of us cannot spend all of our time in meditation. Divine Mother (as Yogananda used to refer to God) knows this, and has arranged it so the many lessons we need to learn are offered to us in … Read More
A Place Called Ananda, Parenting and Education, Spiritual Community
Growing Up Ananda: How a Bunch of Hippies Got it Right
I was born and raised in a spiritual intentional community. To answer your first question, yes, I loved it. If you google “intentional community” and try to find a glowing testimonial from a child raised in one, you’ll most likely find none. I certainly haven’t. Every article I’ve ever read has been from someone who is coming to grips with … Read More
A Place Called Ananda, Music and the Arts
Starving Artist
I walked out of Master’s Market at Ananda Village on a summer day in 1978, wondering how I could make the money to buy a new camera. Digging in my jeans pocket, I found thirty-four cents – the extent of my net worth. We lived simple lives, free of electricity and indoor plumbing, just kerosene lanterns and outhouses. I worked … Read More
A Place Called Ananda, Parenting and Education
Generosity is Genetic: The Yoga of Prosperous Parenting
This week my husband and I did our annual budget. With two kids and barely-above-the-poverty-line salaries, this might be a terrifying experience, but for us it is not. For us, our budget is a tangible experience of the Divine; an ongoing testament to the truth that, “a consciousness of abundance, attracts abundance,” as Swami Kriyananda taught. This year we were … Read More
A Place Called Ananda, Divine Love
Rock in the Snow Field
When we woke at 2:30 a.m., the tent seemed smaller than it had when we crawled in to sleep a few hours earlier. It had begun to snow and the walls were caving in. For the rest of the night, we thumped the nylon periodically to keep the snow from accumulating and collapsing the tent. We were sleepless, but not … Read More
