My life, when it’s on track, adheres to a pattern of spiritual growth that guides me increasingly to the flow of grace. That is to say, good things happen when I’m true to what’s good, even when things may not seem so good at the time. This pattern, as I perceive it, falls neatly into five steps, all of which … Read More
First Things First
Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.” He didn’t mean earthly stuff, he meant much more. Thankfully, there are several first ways to seek that divine realm. We know about prayer and meditation. At least we know that, along with devotion, they’re the first things we’re told to put … Read More
Learning to Count What Counts
Does it count as a “been there, done that” if you don’t remember much of anything about it? If it’s something you’ve read or watched, remembering only that you did and almost nothing more, is it still part of you? Aging takes a lot away. There’s no getting around it. When our auto-save is no longer saving where we’ve been … Read More
Inspiration, Paramhansa Yogananda, Spiritual Teachings
Make Haste Slowly
Real or Not?
We see, and we believe, isn’t that right? Look, there’s a chair. Yep, right over there, that’s a chair. We can sit in it too. But is that enough to say that it is real? Real or not, it would be extremely unwise to ignore the possibility that chairs and other perceived objects exist. An oncoming train will quickly dispatch … Read More
Inspiration, Spiritual Teachings
Facing Into the Hard Stuff
A friend who is prone to depression asked me a question that is difficult to answereasily. It’s a common question: How do we get through a difficult loss without becomingdepressed when depression is our conditioned response?The uneasy part of the answer is that no easy answer exists. In truth, it is going toinclude a dose of even more difficult news … Read More
Spiritual Teachings, Swami Kriyananda
Remember to Self-Forget
I am of a “certain age,” as they say, when memory becomes less reliable. This can be hard to gracefully accept and adjust to. I can recollect in my youth having almost photo recall, when I could bring all kinds of information from storage to speech in an instant. Not so today. I depend more on writing notes and lists, … Read More
Inspiration, Spiritual Teachings, Swami Kriyananda
See It As Already Broken
Have you noticed how often you fight with yourself? It’s usually over wanting to do what know that you shouldn’t, or should do and really don’t want to. If you step back and watch from a neutral corner, the battle that ensues can get pretty amusing. “I really want to do this.” “But you should be doing that other thing … Read More
Noble Is As Noble Does
In my years at our Ananda Pune ashram, we followed each day’s group meditation and breakfast with a morning circle. My wife and I, with our staff and guests, would discuss the day’s projects and assignments, and then we would all affirm together, loudly at first and then more inwardly, “I will do my work thinking of Thee, Lord. I … Read More
