Ganesh….

RohiniReflections, Stories and Occasions, Uncategorized

Baba used to call me Ganesh. At the time, the name did not bring joy into my heart. What am I supposed to learn from this? Why is he calling me Ganesh? These were my questions. Yes, I was in charge of security for the ashram. Yes, Ganesh was the guard at the door for his mother, Parvati. Yes, I …

Constancy in Practice….

RohiniPracticing, Reflections, Uncategorized

Spiritual practice is not a crisis intervention to use only when we are in trouble. It is to bring us to peace not only for a moment but for all time.  So we practice and get to a state of peace and then we go about the business of life. When we walk into the world somehow we lose this …

How Spiritual Practice Unfolds….

RohiniPracticing, Reflections, Uncategorized

All is misery. This is because of the kleshas, the afflictions spoken of in the Yoga Sutras. Our ignorance of who we are is what causes our misery. There is always a sense of missing something, of not being true, of not feeling fulfilled or experiencing Love. We can have moments and then say we are fulfilled in our work …

We are our own worst victim…..

RohiniPracticing, Reflections, Uncategorized

It is not my fault. It is your fault. This view works for me. The only time this does not “work” is when both of us claim the role of victim. Then we have a competition. When this happens we can have a standoff for hours or even days. We are committed to our small self as a victim, and …

We Are Not as Good as We Think….

RohiniPracticing, Reflections, Uncategorized

We cannot go forward without first bringing down our small self. What is the small self? Simply, it is who we think we are. It is not who we are. The small self is just a set of ideas, but we then believe those ideas are who we are. Our true Self actually enlivens these ideas, but our small selves …

Magic is Illusion….

RohiniMaps and Principles, Reflections, Uncategorized

Magic is Illusion. The Goal is Magic. Therefore the Goal is Illusion. Unfortunately and unknowingly, many people seeking “the Path” are following the above logic. The promise of power, wealth and supersensuous abilities entice people to pursue what is called spiritual practice but is really just magic. In just two weekends, you will be a master of this or that; …

Using the Foursquare Game to Get to Love….

Rohini"Walking Home with Baba", Fourchotomy, Practicing, Reflections, Uncategorized

These last few weeks in class we have been working on a new foursquare that has been a little different. This is the vibration of what we have called love. When we were very little and saw our caregivers, we “knew” they loved each other and us. We took the vibration they had to be love; that is what we …

Leaving the Fall….

Rohini"Walking Home with Baba", Maps and Principles, Reflections, Uncategorized

Every spiritual tradition values what is known in Sanskrit as sahaj samādhi, or walking bliss: being in the Heart and being with the world simultaneously. The problem is that we make this state of being into a lovely ideal or a distant place that we could never attain. In fact, walking bliss is available to each of us. The real …

Don’t Waste Time….

RohiniMaps and Principles, Reflections, Uncategorized

Why do we waste our time with people, things, objects, etc. that only engage the small self? So we may keep our false identity. We will use anything to maintain our sense of self. So anything that can keep us distracted, away from God, away from our true Self, we will pursue. How sad that we are so attached to …