I am writing this out of a deep sense of sadness as we keep heading down a road that hurts us all. Many years ago, I worked with an eleven-year-old who was extremely troubled. His parents were a big part of the problem, though there was no recognition of that fact. What I heard over and over again was the …
The Evil and Good of Destruction….
We have talked about hate before, as a vibration to be stilled. Here destruction comes into the mix. When we do not know that we hate because we either numb, deny, or call the vibration something other than what it is, we can use the outcome of our actions as a way to unveil our motivations. If we say we …
Om Bhagavan, Muktananda Bhagavan….
As I grow older, my appreciation for Baba only deepens. The more I learn and let go, the more my understanding of what Baba taught, and the way he taught, continues to expand. When I first followed him, I knew enough to be able to treasure Baba; now that I understand so much more, I can’t thank him enough. …
The Manchurian Candidate Student….
Some people do not have the capacity to see me. They decide me. So they never know me; they only know what they project on me. The picture they project depends on what they bring to the table unconsciously. And sometimes, I can’t even recognize myself in their projections. These people already have a guru—their early guru. They are committed …
Five Kinds of Seeker…..
Baba used to say, “I give you what you want so that someday you will want what I have to give”. He was Self-realized and saw the world as it really is. I am not where Baba is, and I am less patient. I have waited and waited and given many students what they wanted. But, as this body ages, …
Journey of the Practitioner….
What is a practitioner? In many cases, academics, theologians, and intellectuals believe their expertise is the highest level—they assume they rank above practitioners. In truth, mystics are the practitioners of spirituality. According to Evelyn Underhill, what idealists and theorists can only speak of, practitioners live: In Idealism we have perhaps the most sublime theory of Being which has ever been …
Tools To Still….
No matter what the tradition, the goal of spiritual practice remains the same. It follows that every spiritual tradition draws from the same essential tools for practice. Teachers within a given lineage expand and refine its toolkit as time goes on. Below is a list of some tools from the kit I was given by Baba. If practiced appropriately, with …
Seamless Always….
There are certain questions we need to ask ourselves constantly: Do I have public and private faces? Do different people get different versions of me? Can I be good without someone else being bad? Is how I act in line with what I profess? Am I seamless? In order to be seamless, we have to have good boundaries. This seems …
Subjectivity Is the Wedge….
Subjectivity is the wedge we must use to get rid of the wedge of subjectivity. By subjectivity I mean “subject” in the grammatical sense. We have to accept our agency as the individual subject in order to let go of our limited subjectivity and get to the Absolute Subjectivity of God. We need agency to move from dualism to nondualism. …
Emotional Maturity….
Baba used to say we have to have a strong mind and ego to get rid of the mind and ego. Watching many people over many years, I have found that he was so right. People with undisciplined minds could not last around Baba; they were unwilling and had made themselves unable to do the hard exercise of practice. Sādhana …