One of India's great lights was named Lahiri Mahasaya. There was another great soul in India named Trailanga Swami. Trailanga referred to Lahiri as "God's kitten."

Trailanga's disciples naturally asked him what he meant by that. He explained that a kitten is picked up by the scruff of the neck by its mother and instantly and completely relaxes. The kitten totally trusts the mother and knows it will be taken to wherever is best.

Well, that's sort of a big question, so before jumping in I thought to tell a story:

George Washington Carver was born into slavery and became a deeply spiritual man. He also had an insatiable curiosity about—well—almost everything. One day as he was praying, he asked God, "What is the purpose of everything? I want to understand it all!" God answered, "Well, George, that's a mighty big question for a little fella like you." "O.K. then," George said, "how about telling me everything there is to know about the peanut?" God answered, "O.K... now we're talking."

This is a story that has made the rounds over the years, but is just too good not to share…

There was a businesswoman sitting in the airport waiting for her flight. A gentleman sat down next to her. Her open bag of mini-cookies was between them. She reached in, grabbed one, and started to munch. A moment later he smiled at her and he reached in and grabbed one himself, not saying a word.

It is easy to see something that is "off" and allow a desire to blot it out to well up within us. This is of course understandable, but when it comes to dealing with ourselves, often not the right idea. It is not, of course, that discipline and will power have no value—they obviously have great value—but using our will to prevent a negative tendency can be exhausting and somewhat self-defeating.

I believe a humorous story can often be more effective than the expounding of an idea. To that end, there are a couple of stories I’d like to share this week with a similar theme: that we are not as much in charge as we think! The part of our lives that is our responsibility should receive 100% of our focus and energy, of course, but there is more going on beneath the surface than we are aware of…

Yogananda spoke about being even-minded and cheerful in all circumstances. The mind immediately goes to an extreme. "Do you mean to tell me that if this horrible thing happens [fill in your own blank] I am supposed to stay even-minded and cheerful? How absurd!"

This is a trick of the mind. Rather than seeing success as directional improvement, it latches onto an extreme, to show that whatever thought it does not like is therefore unrealistic.

Perhaps you have seen one of those old movies about a hard-working scientist. He suddenly shouts “Eureka—I found it!” with great joy. It’s a well-known cliche, but there is perhaps a bit of a flaw in the depiction.

There’s a great quote uttered by John Kenneth Galbraith, famed Harvard economist:

Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.

It is of course quite perceptive and somewhat endearing, but the deeper question is… why is it so true?

I have just returned from Italy and was with many friends at the large Ananda center there. It reminded me of an experience from years ago that is a great subject for this week's letter...

A friend of mine was talking with an atheist one day. As the topic drifted to God and he described his atheism, she had a marvelous reply: "I don't believe in the same God that you don't believe in."

I have recently run up against a pandemic perhaps more dangerous, and certainly more widespread, than the one that caught all the news recently: perfectionism. If this afflicts you or someone you love, please read on (even if you discover a typo! :-) ).

I bet you do not fix your car yourself. I bet you do not fix your plumbing yourself. I bet you seek expert advice on complex tax situations. I bet you seek advice from a physical therapist if a muscle or joint problem persists. Why, then, are people so terribly hesitant to seek advice or guidance about something much more important: Their inner life, relationships, or even life in general?

I had a most interesting experience some time ago…

I went to Castro Street for a walk with my wife and to have a coffee at Red Rock. Outside the shop I saw a cute, tiny dog. A woman had the adult dog in a small baby carriage.

There’s a good friend of mine who is an American living in India, where he has been a teacher of yoga philosophy for many years. He has been a disciple of Yogananda for over 50 years, and is one of those I have looked up to as a friend and mentor for decades.

It is a natural tendency to focus on what would be better for everyone were a given situation different. Obviously there are times where focusing on and preventing something from happening is both best and entirely sensible.

But it is a habit of the mind to focus on the darkness and it is very often not particularly helpful for either the situation or for ourselves.

We live in such an us-centric universe in our own minds that we assume our perceptions are rock solid, so whatever we are seeing that is “off” must itself be out of whack. If you knew that someone had slipped a drug into your drink, you’d be less confident in your own perceptions as being true to reality. Well, the truth is — we all have been slipped a drug. The Yogis call it maya, the sanskrit word for “delusion."

I want to tackle a challenging topic this week. Yogananda said, "All conditions are neutral. It is our response to conditions that determines whether they are good or bad."

I thought to share some thoughts about the true meaning behind Easter according to deeper mystical teachings. After all, it's not just about hidden eggs, bunnies, and chocolate. (It'’s better than that. I promise...!)

The real resurrection is not about a man and a single miracle. It is about our own resurrection that is ready to take place in our minds and hearts.

This is a tricky topic because there are so many facets to it. On the one hand you might think, "What is a Spirit-oriented newsletter doing talking about money?" Rest assured, we will not be talking about the hottest investment trends, or how to get rich from the latest multi-level marketing scheme.

It is easy for some folks who are spiritually inclined to think that "meek and mild" is the way to go. That a lowered voice, slightly bowed head, and slow movements indicate great spirituality. Someone once said to my Teacher, "Several people are mad at me." His shocking reply was, "Good! It shows you are doing something!” Vivekananda said it is better to steal than lay around doing nothing. At least energy can be redirected through learning, but it is hard to create energy from nothing.

"You're stuck in your head." "Stop overthinking things." "Truth must be experienced, not understood." "Book learning is not real knowledge." — etc. The mind often gets a bad rap, but like many things with some truth in them, this oftentimes is due to a misunderstanding.

Music is a special thing. It has a way of going right to the heart in a way that bypasses the conscious mind. This is a good thing as our minds can thwart our best intentions at times. Vibration is often more important than content.

Isn't that a great quote? I'd like to look at it a bit this week... First off, it actually does matter what others think. We are here to learn and to grow, so closing our minds and hearts to feedback from the world around us is not helpful. That said, the "none of my business" part is about our emotional reactions to things and not about shutting off from reality.

We live in a material world. As such, we see things as fixed forms. While this is of course true, there is quite a bit more going on than what is clear to the eye.

I wanted to share a few thoughts this week about renunciation. It’s a common phrase but tends to leave people feeling that denial is involved. That of course is somewhat unattractive, so renunciation tends to be quite unpopular! True renunciation is of the heart. It is not about denial; it is about understanding that nothing on the outside will ever truly fill the hole in our heart.

We all want to do what’s right. We all (hopefully!) accept that our own sight is limited by our past experiences and our current fears and desires – the twins that cloud judgment and intuition. I have personally made it a life-long practice to do my best to constantly ask for guidance. There are many images of Spirit, and each speaks to us individually, but the process is the same.

The world is a mixed bag. There are lovely, heartwarming, and inspiring things going on. And also dark, troubling, and somewhat frightening things going on. I am sure this is not new information for anyone. For us, however, we have a choice to make, as the situation is much like radio waves. We are bathed in signal waves all the time, so the question becomes: what station are you tuned to?

I have read a number of articles about “balance” recently, especially as things seem more chaotic than normal. Surely it is better to be balanced than imbalanced! But there is an implication in that concept that I am not sure is as helpful to us as it appears, or at least may not be addressing the more important issue.

Last week I wrote about accepting what comes on its own. But that idea can easily be misunderstood of its meaning. It absolutely does not mean becoming passive. Acceptance is an attitude and not a behavior.

Saying "Yes!" to life means embracing whatever comes our way. One of Yogananda's most advanced disciples put it this way: "What comes of its own, let it come."