I’ve always enjoyed the pastime of blowing bubbles. Whether doing it as a child, or as an adult watching children delighting in it, the sight of iridescent bubbles floating through the air has never ceased to thrill me. I even had a friend who could blow different-colored ones on request: By some secret technique, pink, blue, or yellow bubbles would emerge from his wand.
The basic process is magically simple. You dip your wand into a soapy solution, blow gently through the hole, and voilà! The shimmering spheres emerge and dance before your eyes. Some bubbles last for only a few seconds, some come out in groups, some grow very large, and some, caught by a gust of wind, float high into the sky.
Paramhansa Yogananda used the imagery of bubbles in several of his chants and poems. One of my favorites is “Make Me the Sea”:
So do Thou, my Lord—
Thou and I, never apart;
Wave of the sea,
Dissolve in the sea!
I am the bubble;
Make me the sea!
Drawing from Master’s imagery, let’s consider the soul’s journey in terms of the life of a bubble. Just as we create them by dipping our wand into a soapy solution and then filling them with our breath, God creates our material body from His own iridescent consciousness, then enlivens it with life force, or prana.
Like the bubbles, some souls remain in their bodily form for but a brief period of time; some emerge in family clusters or spiritual groups; some have a bigger role to play; and some float high into the skies of divine consciousness. Whatever its particular journey, each individual bubble or soul must in the end merge back into the vast ocean of Spirit from which it came. For devotees, the desire to burst the confines of our earthly existence and merge back into the sea of Spirit is one of the strongest motivations on the spiritual path.
Will this loss of a separate existence be cause for sadness or regret? Not at all! When we become one with God, Swami Kriyananda explained, “it is not that we lose all identity; rather, we expand our identity to infinity. Being omniscient, . . . we retain the memory of having been, each one of us, a separate ego. In this way, Yogananda explained, nothing is lost in the Infinite—not even the ego. We can revive that memory of individual existence again, if ever the Divine wills that we return to earth to uplift and save other wandering souls.”
When difficult events bear down and you feel discouraged or anxious, remember that the little bubble of your life is never separate from God’s endless joy, peace, and love. You are a single drop of a much greater reality: an endless ocean of divine bliss. Master ends his magnificent poem “Samadhi” with these words:
Gone forever, fitful, flickering shadows of mortal memory.
Spotless is my mental sky, below, ahead, and high above.
Eternity and I, one united ray.
A tiny bubble of laughter, I
Am become the Sea of Mirth Itself.
With bursting joy,
Nayaswami Devi
Listen to Devi as she reads the blog, then expands on it, often adding special behind-the-inspiration stories and answers to common spiritual questions. Subscribe to the podcast or download the audio recording by right-clicking here. Or listen to it here (8:26):
19 Comments
Thank you so much i really needed this message today.
Joy love and blessings to you to 🙏🕉🙂
Duan.
Gratitude 🙏🏽 for these beautiful thoughts. We all know these things but need time to time a reminder 😊. They become more meaningful and heart touching , when one is in need of some direction. It’s just like Master’s message coming directly from Him. Thanks 🙏🏽
Is this the same group from Willow Springs Missouri, or another somewhere else. If not, Do you happen to know of them there. I had visited there once , it was somewhat Wondering, but at the time I really should have appreciated it more.
Dear Rich,
Ananda has many centers throughout the US, but I don’t believe there’s one in Willow Springs. You could check our ananda.org website to find centers near you as well as wonderful online support.
Do write back as soon as you can, because I think I might possibly work to dedicate more time there with my emotional state of mind at this time.
O Mother
Blessed are those who listen your Divine thoughts with infinite Divine blessings and love flowing through you forever and forever.
Jai Guru Dev. Jai Masters 🙏
Thank you Devi. 🙏
Beautiful analogy…I once thought I was just a tiny drop of water…but now I realize I’m part of a much larger OCEAN of BLISS! We are ONE / Indras web of life…Namaste.
Sadhguru had a talk once I seen on youtube, he said we were all just tiny bubbles in the One Conciousness Field. A few days later at work the ladies in our HR department were planning some Hatha Yoga sessions and talking while listening to the Song Tiny Bubbles, it caught me so off guard,as that was fresh in my mind, I just Burst out Laughing much to their Suprise, I had to explain I wasn’t laughing at them just the Song.
Beautifully put! Encouraging and inspirational.
This is so very beautiful dear beautiful bubble of Divine Mother Devi 💙 Your loving bubble heart made mine float 🦋happy reading your words. See you later while we float together in God’s sky🌈🌦☁️☁️😇
This brought tears to my eyes as I read it. To realize we are energetic bubbles, confined to the interior of such a fragile shell is a profound realization. Time is the fleeting river we travel on, and when our little bubble bursts, we merge into the flow, the eternal now. Thank YOU Devi, for once again, you’ve touched this heart, and made it sail high above the karma filled lands, free at last.
So light and refreshing!
This is such a beautiful image and reminder that our true home, our birthright, is in God alone.
I am a Bubble … ready to BURST :)
Thank you Deviji
Dear Nayaswami Devi ji,
Very nice blog! Thanks for sharing. The analogy of bubbles is useful and helps. Master’s Samadhi poem is very fitting to the blog and enjoyed reading it.
Joy,
Prem
Beautifully explained. Thank you.
WONDERFUL JI.THANKS FOR SHARING
WITH JOY
BALAA