Two years ago, just before Thanksgiving, my mother spoke her final word: “No!” After that, her body relaxed, and the nurse thought she was resting. Actually, her body had ceased to be alive. When we first saw her body over twenty-four hours later, it looked as if she were resting. Her skin had color and was still supple. The only …
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 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 …
Sādhana Is Not Magic….
Sādhana is magical; it is not magic. This cannot be emphasized enough. In the course of spiritual practice, extraordinary experiences can be everyday events. I have seen this in my own life as well as others’. In my time with Baba, his śakti imbued everything, making everything miraculous. But there was and is no magic in this. What people want …
Baba’s Mahasamādhi 2016….
I miss Baba. I miss Baba’s form. I miss Baba’s laugh. I miss Baba’s speech. I miss Baba manifesting through Baba’s vehicles. From everything Baba taught and shared, it is clear that he was focused on his Guru, Nityananda. The Self of All was Baba’s focus. Baba rested in the Heart, where God and Guru reside. As for me, I …
Spiritual Practice Is Not a Drug….
There is a big difference between doing drugs, basking in śakti, and spiritual practice. That should be obvious, but it’s not. With drugs there is no self-effort, and the result is a counterfeit experience. We are continuing the small self’s delusion; we are on the grid. If we are lucky, we wake up where we started and have a great …
Shakti and Wisdom….
Everybody loves energy. It is everywhere, and manifests in countless ways. Without energy, there is no life. In my tradition, the term for energy is shakti; the shakti is God’s power of manifestation. Spiritual energy is latent, asleep, in each of us. And the term for that spiritual energy is kundalinī-shakti. In order to return home to who we really …
Settling into Unsettled….
From the standpoint of relative reality, everything is unsettled. Even when good things occur, everything is unsettled. The world definitely is unsettled. And the news media and entertainment industry stake everything on keeping everyone unsettled. When there is a crisis, it rises to our attention, then settles down. The truth is, the crisis has not settled; we have grown bored …
Mother’s Day….
Today in the States we celebrate Mother’s Day. Baba was for me both my mother and father. He brought me up; he cleaned me up. My first mother and father were my first teachers. They continue to teach me my life lessons. I owe them much, since they introduced me to the part I am playing and helped reveal the …
The light that enlivens….
The light that enlivens the subtle creative process is the same light that enlivens the shrunken, ignorant, delusive small self. We have to choose–and we can choose–what we enliven. Will and discernment are so important. Love enlivens everything, but because it passes through different vehicles until it reaches full manifestation, by the time it manifests fully it is twisted …