Yogananda used to say, “The intellect is a slave to the passions.” If we want something enough—or want to avoid something enough—we can generally be quite clever about figuring out a compelling argument that supports our preconceived notion.

There’s a joke I have always liked that makes this point clear… A man dies and finds himself at the Pearly Gates. Saint Peter is checking him in, and during the process the man notices a large pile of attractive new items. He asked Peter what they are. Peter said, “Oh, that’s the heavenly junkyard. Those are the items I tried to give people on Earth. But they turned them down.” 

There is a personal quality that is not examined often enough, in my opinion. I hope to take a tiny step in correcting what is perhaps an oversight.

Willingness is the ability to say “yes” to whatever presents itself. Our often overwhelming tendency is to say “yes” only to the things we naturally like. Viewing what comes to us as an opportunity to learn is often a much better approach to take. I believe this is somewhat clear in spiritual realms, but I’d like to look at a different application of that principle today.

Life is the only game where the goal is learning the rules.”
—Ashleigh Brilliant

The above quote caught my attention this past week. I know I have touched on this topic before, but it feels too important to pass up now that the idea has crossed my path again. We are here to learn our lessons. We all have an innate desire to merge with Spirit; feel complete; lose the sense of isolation and loneliness that we all feel deep down somewhere; experience ever new Joy, peace, and deep contentment.

Most widely held beliefs have a kernel of truth in them. That’s how they get started in the first place. But often the truth gets obscured or the aphorism takes on a different meaning. The one I’d like to tackle this week is the notion of expressing oneself. Suppression on one’s impulses is often not right, and is almost always not the highest path. However, in the name of self-expression, unkindnesses are often spoken. “I was just speaking the truth” is a rather poor excuse for being self-indulgent.

“When I became such that I was no longer the center of my own life, I found I was able to see Spirit everywhere.”
—Bede Griffiths

I came across this quote recently and thought it was lovely. It gets right to the heart of an important truth: That it is our self-centeredness that blocks the touch of Spirit we all long for. By self-centeredness I do not mean conceit (though that is surely not helpful!). In this case it refers to the fact that we see the world as revolving around us.

I’d like to write this week about pride. Pride is a form of ego attachment. It is our natural self-centeredness that keeps us from Spirit and closes our hearts to others. By self-centeredness I do not mean we are merely concerned for or interested in ourselves, but that we are the center of reality so far as we are concerned. I came across a beautiful quote recently (it escapes me where I discovered it, unfortunately): “When I became such that I was no longer the center of my own life, I found I was able to see Spirit everywhere.”

It is a lovely and uplifted soul that automatically wants to help when witnessing someone in pain or distress. The heart goes out to those suffering, and wants to ease their discomfort. But the question is actually more subtle than that, though the initial impulse is laudable and appropriate. I would like to share a story that brought this lesson home to me. When I was a boy I lived in a nice suburban home. We had a built-in swimming pool in the backyard and I would spend hours in it, as little boys do. One day I saw a large bug floating in the water….

It is perfectly natural to feel unhappy or discouraged because of a set of circumstances. “I had a hard week because…” or “If you only had heard what he said, you’d be annoyed too…” The possible reasons are of course endless. And some circumstances are clearly harder than others. But we tend to focus almost 100% of our attention on the circumstance, and little on our own consciousness and reaction to those circumstances. Picture a radio (remember those?)…

Many of the terms regarding the spiritual path are more subtle than they first appear. But a true understanding often helps us embrace things that we had a sense were right, but couldn’t fully embrace due to a confusion of some sort. Renunciation is one such concept I’d like to share about this week. Renunciation smacks of denial and contraction. Our mind immediately goes to what it cannot have. I am a vegetarian, so I deny myself meat. I am a yogi so I deny myself drugs. But this is looking through the wrong end of the telescope.

There are many paths to Spirit. But there is no “best” one. How can that be? I’m so glad you asked!...  :)

We are trying to find our way out of the tangled labyrinth of our own consciousness. We incarnate here to learn because we believe many things that are incorrect, such as: I need lots of money to be happy; I need the respect and love of this around me; I need a successful career; etc. There is nothing wrong with those things, but they are not the true source of the inner joy we all seek. That said, each person’s particular mental tangles are unique.

There are some who claim the conscious mind is your enemy. That we need to live in Spirit and heart feeling to really understand ourselves. Still others claim the heart gets wrapped up in emotion and takes us down the wrong path time after time. Both are true… but neither is wholly true. I thought to explore this question a bit. The mind is a tool. And a darned good one, I might add! But it needs to be used as a tool, and, as they say, we need to be sure we are using “the right tool for the right job.”

It is usually thought that there are many Gods in yoga and Hinduism: Shiva, Ganesha, Kali, Lakshmi, etc. While each of these characters does have a reality of its own, it is a mistake to think that Hinduism is truly polytheistic. All such depictions represent an aspect of God. I myself am a man, a husband, a public speaker, and a bookstore manager. Are there four of me? I am also an American, a Californian, a college graduate, and a voter. Maybe there are eight of me? (One is surely more than enough, thank you!)

There seems to be a bit of a lack of clarity over what “yoga” actually is and means, so I thought I’d try to be a bit more exacting as perhaps opposed to how the term is often used. As these terms are often either misused or misunderstood I thought a little explanation might shed some light. Yoga is a practice and method of uniting one’s little self with the larger Self. “Yoga” actually means “yoke” and the two words have the same etymological root.

Many have heard or used the word attunement. Here is one dictionary definition of it: Attunement is being aware of and responding to the emotions of another person and is the process by which we form close relationships. It is that essential component that allows us to feel close and connected to others. But why talk about that here? What does that have to do with spirituality? In short, everything! In that realm, however, it is not about emotions and not about any particular individual.

All pain in our lives serves a purpose. How can we know what Spirit is trying to tell us? That is a good question. Perhaps the most important of questions. After all, if our major purpose here is to be educated, knowing how to make the most out of the schooling that has been provided to us seems pretty crucial. There is no algorithm for this. No step-by-step answer. You cannot simply do A, then B, then C… and voila! There’s the answer. Like almost everything in life, attitude is primary. If we have the right receptive attitude the lessons tend to make themselves clear... and I should rush to add, but even then not always.

There is much confusion over this term. It has the connotation that Spirit has been offended. This is somehow then followed by either anger or punishment or both. However, this is merely a reflection of our own limited consciousness. We ourselves can get angry, feel offended, or want to lash out at someone, and so assume Spirit is the same. Nothing can be further from the truth. What, then, is meant by “sin”? Glad you asked…

A minister was standing outside the Church after a Sunday Service. He was shaking hands and speaking briefly with each parishioner. One lady, however, grabbed his hand and would not let go. She went on and on about all her troubles. After a while he interrupted and said, “Ma’am. You must understand: I am in sales, not in management!”

It’s the time for New Year’s Resolutions. You know, those promises we make ourselves that too often don’t make it till Groundhog Day (for those of you unaware of that holiday, it’s February 2nd. Happy Groundhog day in advance, in case I forget to mention it later. :-)) The trouble with failed promises, however, is most often not our lack of will; it is that we have a tendency to pick unrealistic goals.

Yogananda spoke often about the true spirit of Christmas. Most tend to personalize the presence of Christ. He was born at such-and-such a time, he lived in Ancient Israel, etc. The birth we are really celebrating is the birth of what Yogananda called Christ Consciousness…

Many people meditate, try to meditate, or feel guilty for no longer meditating. I have been a meditator for many decades and a meditation teacher for about 30 years. I have learned a few things that you may find helpful if any of those descriptions applies to you.

1. Meditation is a method and practice, not a hard and fast goal….