As I have written before, the major human delusion and desire is to get everything just right—and then freeze things so they do not change. We imagine that if we just try hard enough we can somehow enter that Promised Land and stay there. Good luck with that!
What's Trying to Happen Here
I'm Determined No More To Play
It's Not What Happens To Us; It's What We Become
It is perfectly natural to think about what happens to us. Things can bother us or even hurt us deeply. We also can find great happiness and even exultation in certain situations. While such swings are not necessarily the best for us, they are natural. However, there is something deeper going on that warrants our attention.
What is Yoga?
Grace and Self-Effort
There has always been an interesting dynamic between the thought of grace and our responsibility for bettering ourselves. Ramakrishna said, "The winds of grace are always blowing, but it is up to us to raise our sails." What a beautiful image and clear exposition. But it may be useful to unpackage it a little bit more. What is "raising our sails" comprised of?
Light vs. Dark
The Art of Being Open
Self-Effort
I wrote last week that we are much less in charge than we think we are. But while it is true that we need to rely on Spirit, that (unfortunately?) does not take us off the hook! Cooperating is essential for our lives to unfold in the best way, and in the way that is intended for us. A story I was recently reminded of makes this quite clear…
The Only Superpower Worth Having
We Are Not In Charge
This is a slightly different angle on the the recent theme of “there’s more going on than we know or than we can actually affect”. The part of our lives that is our responsibility should receive 100% of our focus and energy, of course, but there is more going on beneath the surface than we are aware of…
God Is Smarter Than We Are
Tune Your Radio
Why Do We Not See Certain Things?
Intention Not Action
The Value of Satsang/Spiritual Community
Do It Now!
My spiritual teacher had a phrase he often used (even writing a book with this title). I'd like to share why this is an important phrase and how and why we sometimes get it wrong.
There is a core human belief that we have a very limited amount of energy, and that conserving it is a great idea. While there is of course some truth to this thought, it gets misapplied often and to our detriment.
David G.'s Story
Happy Mother's Day
Just a brief note this week to wish everyone a Happy Mother’s Day! Mother’s Day ought not to be limited to women. It’s funny how people sometimes go back and forth about whether God ought to be referred to as “He” or “She” [Yogananda most often referred to God as Divine Mother]. But in reality, God is neither… and both.