Only because of Muktananda do I exist. Baba left his physical body, but I will not let him leave me. I am a stubborn child who demands he stay with me. He may want me to be independent, but I hold onto his feet and won’t let go. He must stay close so that I do not cause him any …
Consciously Deeper….
In this past Saturday’s Lessons and Questions, I read aloud a passage from Devatma Shakti by Swami Vishnu Tirtha in which he lays out two ways of using the mind when addressing a problem: In the first case it grapples with a problem, sticks to it and follows the details by steps in logical sequence, and finds the conclusion, but …
How To Get Back On Track….
In my last blog post, I wrote about how we can know we are off track in our practice. Once we realize we have wandered from the path, though, we then have to know how to return. Knowing how to return begins with knowing where we are. If we want to get to Boston but believe we are in Philadelphia …
How To Know You’re Off Track….
Baba always said to be vigilant, because we can go off track spiritually in a heartbeat. And we do. We so easily slip into habitual consciousness, which is really unconscious consciousness. There is no way to pursue spiritual practice without sometimes going off track; the challenge is being able to get back on track once we have wandered off. To …
Willing To Feel….
We cannot read a situation clearly unless we can feel. But we have to know what feeling actually is. If we are truly feeling, there are no thought forms. Otherwise we only think we are feeling. Then we can fool ourselves into thinking we are feeling people. People mistake, by choice, what it means to be with their experience. They …
Emoting the Practice….
In the world around us, we see people believing that whatever comes up within them is an expression of their true, authentic self, and that they need to act out on it. And they do act out on it, thinking their actions are appropriate. There is little or no restraint, discernment, or care. These people are run by their emotions. …
Thinking the Practice….
There is a difference between thinking and listening to the letters that arise from a vibration. This is true whether the vibration is yours or you are empathizing with someone else’s. Letting whatever comes up come up from your vibration does not mean imposing letters or images on that vibration. This is a literal practice. The letters arise from the …
Sticks and Stones….
“Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never harm me”. How many times did we use this phrase as children to stand up to someone saying mean things to us? I learned that phrase so well. And yet there was never any real comfort in it in the moment. Only before or long after the event did …
Love Is Not Pain….
Love is the bottom line of life. But we are capable of twisting Love into pain. Why do we do this? We do it through ignorance of what Love really is. In order to get to pain, we have to twist Love so much. Love grounds and encompasses everything; pain is so paltry in comparison. Love is Self-illuminating; pain cannot …
Caring….
We all talk about being caring. And we usually refer to being caring for others. But if we haven’t learned how to truly care for ourselves, we will not be able to effectively care for others. The problem is, we may well have learned what care is from people who didn’t know how to care for themselves, and so did …