Swami Kriyananda’s study course Material Success through Yoga Principles has been a major focus of my teaching for the past two years here at Ananda Seattle. 2010 is the third year of teaching this course and I find that the experience just gets richer and deeper with each go-around. Recently in class, we were discussing Lesson #9, The Importance of … Read More
Stillness cannot be achieved by simply doing nothing because movement is deeply embedded into our body cells and into our subconsciousness. Stillness lies at the center of all movement. It is the source of our vitality and intelligence. The science of meditation gives us the tools to discover the passageway to the hidden chamber of silence within. Ignoring the science … Read More
Dear Friends, Padma and I wanted to share a bit more in depth about our experience at Ananda in Italy where we went for the inaugural initiation of nayaswamis and other renunciates for the Nayaswami Order on Friday, November 20. Swamiji has long recognized the need to create the opportunity for individual devotees to give themselves fully to the spiritual … Read More
Dear Friends, Padma and I are honored and humbled to travel to Italy a week before Thanksgiving to participate in the first initiation ceremony as nayaswamis in a new, worldwide order of swamis recently announced by Swami Kriyananda, founder of Ananda, and direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda. During his life, Paramhansa Yogananda invited men and women from all walks of … Read More
A challenge for anyone who meditates, whether new to the practice or a long time meditator, is how to quiet the active mind! The “monkey mind” is a big contender for our attentions! Paramhansa Yogananda, in the book, Conversations With Yogananda, offered this solution to Swami Kriyananda when Swami was having difficulty quieting his mind in meditation: Yogananda said, “Don’t … Read More
The journey to find the missing link in my life began with a strong desire for something I KNEW was out there, somewhere. I didn’t even know what it was, but I wanted to find it. Most of my life was spent raising a family and doing volunteer work. My early spiritual life started out in the Dutch Reformed Church, … Read More
Meditation is deep concentration on God or one of the 8 manifestations of God as per Yogananda’s definition. The key to this is “deep concentration!” We can be faithful and practice our techniques regularly but without deep concentration, we won’t be making a lot of progress. Master said, ”Mechanical practice is not enough. There must be sincere interest in what … Read More
It is an axiom of yoga that we should live more at our own center, or as yoga teachers will sometimes say, “live more in the spine.” But in fact a little introspection reveals that no matter how often we leave our “home” in the spine we always return to it. For this is how we are made. Think of … Read More
Sometimes (and sometimes a lot!) on the spiritual path, we experience times when we struggle with our meditation practice. This is not new to most of us who have been meditating for a while. During these times we need to do what ever we can to keep ourselves motivated and inspired. Make this a conscious choice. It is the desire … Read More
I was raised in the Southern Baptist church, and even as a child I was expected to tithe 10% of every dime I received, from whatever source. As I grew toward young adulthood, I began to have serious questions about the religion of my youth, and ultimately rejected it in its entirety. My parents were never wealthy, but always had … Read More