“Fast away the old year passes / Hail the new year, lads and lasses!”
Welcome to the last few days of the decade! We hope that your Christmas holiday was a blessed one. What did you do to replenish your inner Light and nourish your soul? I love hearing about the different ways my gurubhais spent this time re-connecting with the Christ Consciousness within. A special treat for me this year was attending the Christmas morning meditation at the Temple. It was a simple event led by Surendra, with recordings of beautiful music, a brief audio clip of a Christmas greeting by Yogananda, and, of course, ample time for meditation.
As Rose shared in her talk yesterday (see video below), the Christmas season often turns into a bit of a let-down after all the concerts are over, gifts are unwrapped and goodies are eaten. How can we sustain that open-hearted joy and goodwill day after day, once our “Christ-Consciousness training wheels” (a new term coined by Rose) are removed on Dec. 26? Watch the video for Rose’s insightful and inspiring thoughts on the matter.
For devotees of Yogananda, the holiday season continues for a few more days, as we celebrate the 127th anniversary of his birth on Sunday, Jan. 5. Join us at the Festival of Light service, when we’ll commemorate Master’s incarnation on Earth and celebrate our own discipleship to him; it’s sure to be a moving experience. (2020 will also mark the 100th anniversary of his arrival in the U.S. to begin his ministry here—stay tuned for ways we will be celebrating that happy event!)
A new calendar year can inspire hope and anticipation; for some, however, it can also be a time of apprehension. Experiencing joy in all the aspects of daily life requires discipline, perseverance and commitment to right action. And certainly, sometimes there is no more right action than… sitting still. For this week’s inspiration, we present a light-hearted yet wise post about just that, via Tyagi Jyadev.
This next year, let us join together in supporting one another in our efforts to go deeper into bliss, and further toward Self-realization. Together we are guaranteed to succeed!