We do sādhana for ourselves. We also do sādhana for the sake of the Self. And if we all did sādhana for the sake of the Self, then we would all be living in peace and love. We would not be killing, and we would not be blaming. We would be taking responsibility for our actions and being empowered to …
Grow up by Giving up….
One day in late summer, in the heat and humidity of Maryland, I was out on the deck when I heard a horrible whine. I could not figure out what animal was making the sound. The animal sounded injured. Finally I saw a hawk, a male hawk, screaming. A female hawk flew into the area and the young hawk went …
Surrendering to Baba….
Why do we seek great spiritual beings? Why are great spiritual beings here? What do great spiritual beings offer? The answers to these questions come from my experience with a great spiritual being, Swami Muktananda. Within each of us is the longing to be whole again. We all move unconsciously towards whatever will bring us to ourselves. We must, though, …
Raised By Baba….
When people say there is nothing like a mother’s love, I ask them what they mean. The usual responses to my question are unconditional love, warmth and compassion, softness, caring, and giving. For me those qualities are not limited to a mother’s love. They are not gender based. I have met men with these qualities. My Guru, Swami Muktananda, lived …
Mirror, Mirror….
When my two sons were born, I felt that one of the most important jobs I had was to be a mirror for them. As I looked into their eyes, I would also be looking into my Heart. There was a strong feeling of connecting with them, and this was not about me; this was about us in the greater …
What We Do Here….
Spiritual practice is not nice, sweet, or soft. Spiritual practice is not easy. Spiritual practice will turn your world upside down for the better. Spiritual practice requires rigor, vigilance and non-attachment. Spiritual practice requires humor. Spiritual practice demands surrender and redirection to what is Real. This steep path requires courage. There are three levels of spiritual practice. Each level is …
The Love Machine Part Two….
How we resolve the love machine: The love machine only keeps running because we fuel and maintain it. We even make sure to fix it when it breaks down. Any time the machine breaks down, we are given an opening, a wonderful opportunity—but we don’t take advantage of it; we don’t recognize the experience of actual love, and we reject …
The Love Machine Part One….
It’s all about recreating our childhood vibration, which we call love. We call it love (or safety, comfort, normalcy, etc.) because it is how the small self gets attention, and therefore power. For the small self, power is the surrogate for love. Intellectually we hate the vibration and look for “solutions”, but emotionally we crave it and keep looking to …
Talking, Doing, Being….
Idealists are idealized, and there is little people will say against them. We tend not to argue with them; most of the time they are right. Other names for idealists are visionaries, idea people, intellectuals, and talkers. Many of these people believe talking and sharing ideas are at a higher level than doing, and think their job is done when …
The Buck Stops Here….
There is a hidden joke in the title of this blog. I approach the protection of my garden in very much the way Baba taught me to handle security in the Ganeshpuri Ashram. In Ganeshpuri there were walls with broken glass on the top. Intruders came in through the drainpipes or the front gates. After we put screens over the …