A few days ago a friend shared an article written by the well-known writer Jean Houston, describing her “chance” encounter with an older gentleman and how it blossomed into a deep friendship. Unbeknownst to her at the time, he was the well-known philosopher, Teilhard de Chardin. But that is beside the point. The point is that we are all part of God’s intricate web of life and consciousness. If we treat everything and everyone as a friend, as an extension of our own self, life becomes magical.
I read an intriguing article recently about scientists that are doing cutting-edge research on how memory works. Their focus is not the typical one on why memory loss occurs, but rather on why memory exists at all. In other words, these researchers are trying to discover what the mechanism is that holds and releases our memories.
Every soul yearns for the light, and will find a way to grow toward it. No matter what the obstacles, the soul will find its way upward just as a blade of grass will sometimes grow through a slab of concrete.
One of the most frequently asked questions on this topic is “How do I know what my dharma is?” Let’s talk about two different aspects of this: the longer rhythms or patterns that govern our lifetime as a whole, and the situations that arise from moment to moment as our life unfolds.
It is helpful to recognize that we have two dharmas: the timeless dharma of the soul aiming to reunite with God, and the dharma of our current life. Happiness and success will follow only if we align the actions of this life with the eternal dharma of our soul.
There are times when life seems to bear down on us. It’s difficult then to remain positive amidst the challenges in our life, and that we see in the lives of others, and in the world at large. Yet in this world of duality, the alternating waves of joy and sorrow are a constant. It’s how we deal with them that keeps us either forever tossed on the crashing waves of maya, or resting in the unmoving peace of God.
In such a chaotic world it is easy to feel overwhelmed. How do we cope with the pressures and demands? It helps if we break things down into small steps.
The traditional explanation of these words of Jesus Christ is that he’s urging his disciples to go out and convert people to his teachings. Paramhansa Yogananda interpreted Christ’s words in a different way: Christ was speaking of the inner “harvest” of divine consciousness, which few people actually seek.
From time immemorial, stories have entertained, informed, amused, and united us. Spiritual stories can also enlighten us. While I was recently in seclusion, I reread a wonderful but lesser-known book, Thank You, Master. It contains reminiscences by three direct disciples of Paramhansa Yogananda: Hare Krishna Ghosh, Meera Ghosh, and Peggy Deitz.
Meditation is a subtle art. Although it’s essential to learn and practice its techniques properly, in the end we must make meditation a creative experience for ourself. Swami Kriyananda wrote an extremely helpful book in this regard called Secrets of Meditation. In it he gives seemingly simple, but profoundly insightful, suggestions for deepening and personalizing our practice.