Whatever comes of itself, let it come, but I am ever content in my inner heart. —Swami Kriyananda “When you can be happy in the present,” Paramhansa Yogananda said, “then you have God.” I experienced this truth one day after losing my way in the mountains. It was late spring, and snow still covered the Sierra Nevada high country. While … Read More
Dear Meditator, Years ago in Hawaii I had an experience at the ocean that beautifully illustrated the power of meditation and the guru. While vacationing on the island of Kauai, I went to a beach to swim with a few friends. There I saw sets of ten-foot waves crashing along the shore. It seemed impossible to get through the high, … Read More
Dear Meditator, Last week at Ananda Village I met two people who were experiencing challenging physical karma. They each had a wonderful spirit. I shared with them the following story told by Swami Sivananda, which I have rewritten. Both friends found the story extremely helpful and I thought you might, too. Swami Kriyananda called karma an expression of divine love. … Read More
Communing with AUM makes one fearless. One’s reality shifts from the ego, which can never be secure, to the Cosmic Vibration, which is the essence of all Creation. Ego consciousness isolates us from the rest of life. Those who deeply merge with AUM, however, know, and say, “I am the whole universe. What can possibly harm me?” In his book, … Read More
Dear Meditator, Success in meditation is determined by how dynamically we channel our mind and consciousness. In her book Grace, Nancy Mair tells how we can use our minds to attune to the subtle truth of anything we do. Her story below has great implications for everyone who meditates. I first understood the power of the mind and how greatly … Read More
I had a dream many years ago, which vividly taught me that it is God — not our efforts in meditation — who actually transforms us: I was riding a bicycle on a country road surrounded by wheat fields, when a large falcon swooped out of the sky and began flying right beside me. I looked at the falcon and … Read More
This following story is about you and everyone who was created by God. It’s the story of your very own soul. See before you the Heavenly Father, our Creator. Gaze into His radiant face brighter than a thousands suns. He is a God of joy and His nature is bliss. But as Spirit beyond creation, He had no one with … Read More
A monastic disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda once had a dream in which his fellow disciples were running in a race. He understood the race to be toward soul liberation. In this dream each runner, at some point, fell to the ground. Some devotees got up right away, while others took longer. What was important, the disciple said, was that everyone … Read More
On Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido, I once led a winter nature outing for families. I still vividly recall an eight-year-old boy sitting quietly, intently writing a poem, while a downpour of thick snowflakes fell gently from the sky. The boy was so focused that he was oblivious to the cold and to the snow piling up around him. The … Read More
Dear Meditator, During my first year at Ananda Village I asked Swami Kriyananda if he had advice for my meditation practice. He replied, “Keep Divine Mother first.” I realized he was encouraging me to focus more on giving rather than receiving. The goal of meditation is self-forgetfulness. Yet one’s ego refers everything back to itself, instead of offering itself freely … Read More
