Community, Inspiration, Spiritual Teachings, Swami Kriyananda

Service Adventure Club

Life is nothing if not an adventure. Each new day brings opportunities to explore the vast landscape of life. How we spend our time reveals much about who we are and where we’re going, and our attitudes and approach to life often determine the pace and rhythm at which we get there. Swami Kriyananda wrote “Life is a great adventure. … Read More

Community, Inspiration, Meditation, Spiritual Teachings, Swami Kriyananda

Do Trousers Matter?

Last week on Rise in Freedom, Gita reflected on the covid pandemic and how to find our way through uncertain times. Continuing that theme, the pandemic and times like it may well have be times when, like the brilliant writer PG Wodehouse’s character Bertie Wooster once inquired: “There are moments, Jeeves, when one asks oneself, ‘Do trousers matter?’” to which his … Read More

Community, Inspiration, Spiritual Teachings

Uniting in Times of Uncertainty

I just finished a novel about the pandemic that brought back waves of memories from that time. It remains surreal to me that on March 11, 2020, the world simply stopped. One day to the next, schools closed, businesses shuttered, and airports emptied. We couldn’t find toilet paper and scrambled to buy dry goods, just in case. Remember the bidet … Read More

Community, Inspiration, Meditation, Paramhansa Yogananda, Spiritual Teachings, Swami Kriyananda

The Fearless Heart

We recently celebrated a massive, beautiful week of Spiritual Renewal at Ananda Village with over 300 in attendance live, and at least that many tuning in online. The theme of the week resonated deeply with every heart: “The Battle of Life and How to Fight It”. Now is the time to keep our spiritual inspiration high, and to fight life’s … Read More

Community, Inspiration, Paramhansa Yogananda, Swami Kriyananda

Unity Through Community

  There is a better way to live in this world, and we are helping to create and share that way together. People everywhere have had enough of selfishness, divisive politics, lack of right living and kindness and respect. While we cannot solve all the world’s complex and difficult problems, we can create a powerful momentum to help support the … Read More

Community, Inspiration, Meditation, Paramhansa Yogananda, Spiritual Teachings, Swami Kriyananda

Community of Souls

There is a place on this earth where friends come together, live side by side, and support each other in their individual search for God. Not a cloistered monastery or ashram only for those who renounce the world, a place for everyone. In fact, there are several such places. I have the great good fortune of being born into one … Read More

Community, Inspiration, Meditation, Paramhansa Yogananda, Spiritual Teachings, Swami Kriyananda

The Custodians of Religion

In my early life lexicon, the term “custodian” referred only to the janitor at my elementary school. Later, in my early adult life, I read perhaps one of the greatest spiritual books ever written, The New Path by Swami Kriyananda. In Part II, Chapter 33: Original Christianity,  the author emphasizes and expounds an important message from Paramhansa Yogananda: “The saints … Read More

Community, Inspiration, Paramhansa Yogananda, Spiritual Teachings

The Trumpet Call of Friendship

The greatest joy and growth, pain and sorrows in this world all relate to our connection with others. And the highest form of connection is friendship. True friendship is a spiritual relationship of love, support and respect. Paramhansa Yogananda wrote “Friendship is God’s trumpet call, bidding the soul to destroy the walls which separate it from other souls, and from … Read More

Community, Inspiration, Paramhansa Yogananda, Spiritual Teachings

Atomic Resolutions

Now is the time of resolutions, a time for making promises that are notoriously broken within weeks. Here in Portland, we’ve had an epic ice storm to contend with as we try to maintain ours! New Year’s resolutions are not simply a social construct. In fact, they are a natural expression of what is happening for us on an energetic … Read More

Community, Inspiration

Giving Blood, by Nayaswami Hanuman

Hi Friends, I have been donating blood ever since I was 19 years old in the Army. It has been a way for me to give back to my community, my country, and all those who have given their blood to help others.  I would like to start a blood drive here at our temple. It is easy set up, … Read More