Staying Centered in Life
Nayaswami Pranaba shares this deep inspiration during his Sunday Service talk at Ananda Village, May 15th 2022. You can find the complete talk here.
Transcription
In the cobra pose, there's the affirmation I mentioned: "I rise joyfully to meet each new opportunity." Well, what happens to us is that that's our experience in life. We're really feeling that as the deepest truth: that we rise joyfully. That's our normal, natural, and immediate response as we grow—that I rise with that joy. Whatever happens in life, I'm there to engage in it.
And then the affirmation for the child's pose: "I relax from outer involvement into my inner haven of peace." So without saying, "I'm not involved outwardly;" does it? It doesn't say that, does it? It says, "I relax from outer involvement into my inner haven of peace." Well that inner peace can happen in the midst of intense activity. But we're just relaxing from being identified or caught by the whirlwinds of tension that may be there.
And so we gain perspective, or more importantly, we gain the experience that everything is God flowing through us. There is no other than that. And all we're doing is we're improving that experience. We're improving that knowledge of that; we're improving that ultimate merging into the Divine Consciousness.
But each one of us has the adventure of doing this. And there are times when the challenges may be overwhelming. I mean, you know, it appears likely from what's happening with COVID-19 and its variations that we're in for a surge either soon or later this year. But I think we're all tired of it. But the point is that that really isn't a factor. The point is: "I rise joyfully to meet each new opportunity," even if that opportunity has repeated itself numerous times.
And I'm centered in myself enough where I can feel: Okay, whatever happens, I can be relaxed, and I can be an instrument, as, you know, the poem that's attributed to St. Francis. Which they found now is actually written by William the Conqueror, who Paramhansa Yogananda said he was that incarnation as William the Conqueror. So we have this poem, "Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace," coming from Yogananda through the blessing that St. Francis used it frequently with.
But that idea: Make me an instrument of Thy peace, whatever is going on. You know, let me be that receptive agent for the Divine, that when we're pummeled by circumstances, where there is injury, let me pardon others. And, you know, where there is hatred, let me share love: that we can be just completely immersed, but dynamically engaged, in the world around us.
And so the world becomes the treasure trove of possibilities. And we can fly like angels of light through it all and be in that experience completely.
