5-April-2004 |
Faith: Taking the risk of being vulnerable. |
|
4-April-2004 |
There is a fine line between a groove and a rut. |
John Page (my dear friend) |
3-April-2004 |
Awareness of your feelings
enables your to have conscious and appropriate boundaries.
Conscious and appropriate boundaries
enable you to feel safe.
The feeling of safety
enables you to be vulnerable.
Vulnerability enables you to feel love
Love is God.
|
|
27-March-2004 |
Not 2, not 0, but 1 |
|
26-March-2004 |
Let it be. |
By letting ourselves just be, we find that we can let the whole of creation just be. |
3-March-2004 |
We are beings with a will-ing-ness in the pull of the good. |
John Bradshaw speaking about the will in a talk entitled "Return to Virtue: An Ancient Key to Developing Emotional Intelligence" |
25-February-2004 |
Friends are everywhere,
friends care for you.
When you fall they help you.
Thats how I love my friends.
When you are in the park,
your friends ask you to play.
You run and skip and have fun.
Thats why they want to be with you.
But when I fall over,
crying and sad,
they come to you and say
"are you ok?"
Thats how I love my friends. |
"How I love my friends", by Molly Higgs, at age 7. |
24-February-2004 |
The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, nor the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when he discovers that someone else believes in him and is willing to trust him. |
Ralph Waldo Emerson |
23-February-2004 |
Seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his Bliss and Light,
then everything shall be given unto thee.
Allah Hoo, Allah Hoo Aaah
Allah Hoo Aah, Allah, Allah Hoo Aah
Allah Hoo Aah, Allah, Allah Hoo Aah
And thou needn't seek without,
thy holy Self,
for the whole great kindgom of God,
is contained within thee.
Allah Hoo Aah, Allah, Allah Hoo Aah
Allah Hoo Aah, Allah, Allah Hoo Aah
|
"Seek first within" - modified from a classic hymn. |
22-February-2004 |
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. |
Jesus (maybe) |
21-February-2004 |
Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional |
Buddhist saying (not sure of source) |
20-February-2004 |
Up there is infinite, pure white light, down here there is not.
Up there is indescribable bliss, down here there is not.
Up there is no concept of separateness, down here there is.
Up
there is no body, down here there is.
Up there is no creation, down here there is..
Up there is no up nor down, down here there is.
Why choose down?
|
Comparison between god beyond creation, in the unmanifested form and the creation. |
17-February-2004 |
A Journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step |
Lau Tzu. One of Barry Vissell's favorite quotes |
24-August-2003
|
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an
understanding of ourselves.
|
Carl Jung
|
19-August-2003
|
Life is all about holding on and letting go.
|
John Bradshaw
|
10-August-2003
|
Just then a stocky young man in a khaki bush jacket jostled through the crowd, and when he was directly in front ofGandhi, he fired three shots into the Mahatma at point blank range. The Mahatma's hands folded in friendly greeting, descended slowly. 'He Ram (Oh Rama).' he murmered, and sighed softly as the frail body slumped to the ground.
|
The Assasination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
|
26-June-2003
|
If one follows, would one be wisest to follow:
- a priest?
- a scripture?
- a master?
If one is a disciple, would one be wisest to build ones faith upon the solid rock of:
- another disciple?
- another disciple's own realization?
- one's own realization?
|
Inspired by Matthew 16:15-20. Applicable to all religions.
|
18-June-2003
|
The part of you that's part of me,
will never die, will never leave.
|
Lyrics from a song by Sizpence None The Richer
|
12-June-2003
|
Find your authentic swing, Bhagavance
|
|
11-June-2003
|
What do you really want? Unconditional Love?
As ye give, so shall ye receive.
As ye receive, so shall ye give.
Free choice, risk, courage.
|
|
10-June-2003
|
Baptism is just an outward ceremony which symbolizes a profound and changing inner spiritual event.
Most people need to be cleansed of sin inwardly many times, before they fully and continuously realize that they are the pristine Soul, made in the image of God. At which point, they are perfect, as their Father in heaven is perfect.
They will then drink forever more from the grail of ever existing, ever conscious, ever new Bliss.
|
|
9-June-2003
|
Put Love first and all the practical stuff will fall out. Put the practical stuff first and Love will not result.
|
|
8-June-2003
|
Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven is within and that it is like a mustard seed.
Saint Teresa of Avila talked about watering her garden.
In joy!
|
|
7-June-2003
|
By immersion in Christ*
You'll be inwardly cleansed
Then you will love God** perfectly
In your "enemies" and "friends"
|
This poem came to me while writing an email to a friend today.
* Christ meaning Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Light, and so on.
** God meaning the only thing that really exists.
|
31-May-2003
|
My "beliefs" allow for your "beliefs"
|
Inspired by and almost a quote of a friend of mine.
|
23-May-2003
|
The sum of the rates of energy transfer into a confluence point from
all sources is always equal to the sum of the rates of energy transfer
out of that confluence point to all drains (allowing for finite
storage). That is, the net accumulation of energy at any confluence
point is always finite and usually zero (unless that confluence point
has some capacity for storage). This is due to the law of conservation
of energy.
|
Kirchoff's Current Law
|
22-May-2003
|
Where do we go? nobody knows.
Don't ever say you're on your way down.
God gave you style and gave you grace,
And put a smile upon your face.
|
Lyrics from "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face" by Coldplay
|
21-May-2003
|
Religion is all bunk.
|
Thomas A. Edison
|
20-May-2003
|
The rate of transfer of energy from one location to another is
proportional to the difference in energy between the two locations and
inversely proportional to the amount of obstruction to energy transfer
between the two locations.
|
Ohm's Law
|
17-May-2003
|
To all those who received Him (Christ Consciousness, which manifests
in flesh as one of his Awakened Sons), to them he gave the power (in
inverse proportion to their resistance) to become the sons of God.
|
|
16-May-2003
|
The Light of Christ (Consciousness) comes to wash away the worldly
sins. Look up and watch for Him to come again, so that you may be
perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect.
|
|
12-May-2003
|
Any fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction.
|
Albert Einstein
|
8-May-2003
|
By realization that one is not that which is fearful, fear ceases.
By realization that one is not that which suffers, suffering ceases.
By realization that one is not that which hates, hatred ceases.
By realization that one is not that which is jealous, jealousy ceases.
By realization that one is not that which breathes, breathing ceases.
By realization that one is not that which pulses, pulsing ceases.
"Verily, I protest by our rejoicing which I have in Christ, I die daily."
Corinthians 15:31. "our rejoicing" is the correct translation; not, as usually given, "your rejoicing." St. Paul was referring to the omnipresence of the Christ Consciousness.
|
Reference to Corithians and comment on translation from "Autobiography of a Yogi" by Paramhansa Yogananda, published by Crystal Clarity Publishers.
|
2-May-2003
|
Happiness is making a bouquet of those flowers within reach.
|
Goddard
|
1-May-2003
|
Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
|
Mohandas Gandhi
|
29-Apr-2003
|
If you hold onto the handle, she said, it's easier to maintain the
illusion of control. But it's more fun if you just let the wind carry
you.
|
From "Going Somewhere Soon" by Brian Andreas
|
25-Apr-2003
|
Choose a job you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life.
|
Confucius
|
24-Apr-2003
|
What you are looking for is who is looking.
|
Saint Francis
|
23-Apr-2003
|
To empty one's mind of all thought and refill the void with a spirit
greater than oneself is to extend the mind into a realm not accessible
by conventional processes of reason.
|
Edward Hill, The Language of Drawing, 1966
|
19-Apr-2003
|
So you've got a job and some money, and you've got your family and
friends and you can learn more stuff and acquire more and do more
thrilling things. Then you'll get old and your body will start to
fail and your friends and family will pass on and eventually you will
too.
so, what is the point?
Very good, now you're asking the really big questions.
the Father of all fathers
the Mother of all mothers
the Friend of all friends
the Lover of all lovers
the Son of all sons
the Daughter of all daughters
the Taste of all tastes
the Smell of all smells
the Touch of all touches
the Love of all loves
the Thrill of all thrills
the Joy of all joys
the Power of all powers
the Acquisition of all Acquistions
the Light of all lights
the Truth of all truths
the Acceptance of all acceptances
the Honor of all honors
the Success of all successes
the Sound (Aum, Amen, Amin) of all sounds
the Contentment of all contentments
the Satisfaction of all satisfactions
the Beauty of all beauties
the Being of all beings
the Body of all bodies
the Thought of all thoughts
the Awareness of all awarenesses
the Perfection of all perfections
the Objective of all objectives
the Point of all points
... is within you.
|
Inspired by my Guru, Paramhansa Yogananda.
|
18-Apr-2003
|
"The master approached me comfortingly. 'Here, touch my flesh,' he said. 'I am
living, as always. Do not lament; am I not with you
forever?'"
From the lips of these three great disciples, a story of wondrous
truth has emerged: At the morning hour of ten, on the day after the
body of Lahiri Mahasaya had been consigned to the flames, the
resurrected master, in a real but transfigured body, appeared before
three disciples, each one in a different city.
"So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then
shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is
swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where
is thy victory?"*
I Corinthians 15:54-55
|
From "Autobiography of a Yogi" by Paramhansa Yogananda. First Edition,
published by Crystal Clarity Publishers. Chapter 36: Babaji's Interest
in the West, page 333.
|
17-Apr-2003
|
The trouble is that everyone talks about reforming others and no one thinks about reforming himself.
|
Saint Peter of Alcantara.
|
16-Apr-2003
|
Plan like you'll live forever and live like you'll die tomorrow.
|
What it says on the back of my money clip.
|
14-Apr-2003
|
Be more concerned with understanding others than with being understood by them, and you'll find you always have their support.
|
From "Do It Now!" by J. Donald Walters. Published by Crystal Clarity Publishers. Page 48 (April 12).
|
10-Apr-2003
|
Indeed, it may well be said that until a person can express a thought clearly and simply, he hasn't yet fully understood it himself.
|
Swami Kriyananda, Art as a Hidden Message: A Guide to Self-Realization, Chapter Two: The Need for the Arts, page 38, published by Crystal Clarity Publishers.
|
9-Apr-2003
|
Tie yourself to the mast my friend
and the storm will end.
|
From "One Day" by The Verve.
|
8-Apr-2003
|
There is fire inside the tree,
flames on knowing kissing me.
|
From "Moving On" by Sixpence None The Richer.
|
7-Apr-2003
|
"There ain't no real truth, there ain't no real light"
Keep on pushin' 'cause I know it's there.
|
From "Space and Time" by The Verve
|
26-Mar-2003
|
So I found hypnosis to be a very interesting experience. All the time you're saying to yourself, "I could do that, but I won't" - which is just another way of saying that you can't.
|
Richard Feynman, "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman", page 68, Chapter: Meeeeeeeeee! Published by W. W. Norton & Company
|
26-Mar-2003
|
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour
|
William Blake, Auguries of Innocence
|
22-Mar-2003
|
Why not spend some time surfing the innernet.
|
|
21-Mar-2003
|
"Lahiri Mahasaya was the greatest yogi I ever knew. He was Divinity
Itself in the form of flesh."
If a disciple, I reflected, could
materialize an extra fleshy form at will, what miracles indeed could
be barred to his master?
"I will tell you how priceless is a guru's help. I used to meditate
with another disciple for eight hours every night. We had to work at
the railroad office during the day. Finding difficulty in carrying on
my clerical duties, I desired to devote my whole time to God. For
eight years I persevered, meditating half the night. I had wonderful
results; tremendous spiritual perceptions illuminated my mind. But a
little veil always remained between me and the Infinite. Even with
super-human earnestness, I found the final irrevocable union to be
denied me. One evening, I paid a visit to Lahiri Mahasaya and pleaded
for his divine intercession. My importunities continued during the
entire night.
"'Angelic Guru, my spiritual anguish is such that I can no longer bear
my life without meeting the Great Beloved face to face!'
"'What can I do? You must meditate more
profoundly.'
"'I am appealing to Thee, O God my Master! I see Thee materialized
before me in a physical body; bless me that I may perceive Thee in
Thine infinite form!'
"Lahiri Mahasaya extended his hand in a benign gesture. 'You may go now and meditate. I have interceded for you
with Brahma.'
"Immeasurably uplifted, I returned home. In meditation that night, the
burning Goal of my life was achieved. Now I ceaselessly enjoy the
spiritual pension. Never from that day has the Blissful Creator
remained hidden from my eyes behind any screen of delusion."
Pranabananda's face was suffused with divine light. The peace of another world entered my heart; all fear had fled.
|
Swami Pranabananda speaking of Lahiri
Mahasaya. From Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda. First Edition pushlished by
Crystal Clarity Publishers. Page 27, Chapter 3: The Saint with Two
Bodies.
|
20-Mar-2003
|
Whether or not one believes in himself as a soul, he is bound by the
cosmic law to develop, consciously or unconsciously, his deeper
nature. Whatever a person's occupation in life, his consciousness is
evolving whenver he is planning something or otherwise using his
intelligence creatively. Man evolves through every constructive action
he performs.
The trouble with most people is that when they are performing an
action, they are thinking about something else. They don't know how to
concentrate on what they are doing, when they are doing it. You should
learn to think of one thing at a time with all the power of your mind. Your
whole attention should be there. Don't drag along. Doing things in a
lackadaisical way leads to failure and misery.
|
From Man's Eternal Quest, Paramhansa Yogananda, published by Self-Realization Fellowship
|
18-Mar-2003
|
The Lord once told me that no petition made in his name would fail to be heard.
|
Saint Teresa of Avila speaking of Saint Peter of Alcantara. From "The
Life of Saint Teresa of Avila, by Herself", published by Penguin
Classics.
|
17-Mar-2003
|
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the
kingdom of God* is within you.
or Brahma, Heavenly Father, Yahweh, Allah, Ra, Zeus or
any other name for the unnamable
|
Luke 17:21
|
16-Mar-2003
|
If you want to reach the shelf of peace, you need to stop jumping and stand on the stool of humility.
|
|
15-Mar-2003
|
Fill my heart with song
Let me sing for ever more
You are all I long for
All I worship and adore
|
Frank Sinatra, Fly Me To The Moon
|
14-Mar-2003
|
No time for sad lament
A wasted life is bitter spent
So rise into the light
In or out of time
|
The Verve, This Time
|
13-Mar-2003
|
A place for everything, everything in its place.
|
Benjamin Franklin
|
10-Mar-2003
|
Our One Father, we are travelling by many true paths unto Thy one
abode of Light. Show us the one highway of common realization, where
all bypaths of theological beliefs meet. Make us feel that the diverse
religions are branches of Thy one tree of truth. Bless us, that we may
enjoy the intuition-tested, ripe, luscious fruits of self-knowledge,
hanging from all the branches of manifold scriptural teachings. In Thy
one temple of silence, we are singing unto Thee a chorus of
many-voiced religions. Teach us to chant in harmony our love's many
expressions unto Thee, that our melody of souls may rouse Thee to
break Thy vows of silence and lift us upon Thy lap of universal
understanding and immortality.
|
From Whispers from Eternity - A Book of Answered Prayers, Paramhansa Yogananda, fifth revised edition, 1949, published by Self-Realization Fellowship. p. 59.
|
6-Mar-2003
|
Don't your scriptures say that you are gods?
|
John 10:34 edited
|
5-Mar-2003
|
Take time for all things: great haste makes great waste.
|
Benjamin Franklin
|
3-Mar-2003
|
A loving heart is the truest wisdom.
|
Charles Dickens
|
28-Feb-2003
|
Co-operate with the inevitable.
|
From How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, Dale Carnegie, published by Pocket Books.
|
26-Feb-2003 (b)
|
I do not feel obliged to believe the same God who has endowed us with
sense, reason and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.
|
Galileo Galilei. Provided by Wayne, a colleague at work.
|
26-Feb-2003 (a)
|
One of the reasons that children do not respect their parents is that their parents are not respectable. Strangers don't know what you are like at home. A child can be like a mirror, showing you what you are really like. Children provide an opportunity for development.
|
An extrapolation from something that Swami Kriyananda mentioned in a talk.
|
25-Feb-2003
|
Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress.
|
Mahatma Gandhi
|
21-Feb-2003
|
It has been my observation that people are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
|
Abraham Lincoln
|
20-Feb-2003
|
But focus ye primarily on realizing your Divinity and then as a consequence, all these other desires will be fulfilled, either outwardly or inwardly.
|
An understanding of Matthew 6:33
|
19-Feb-2003
|
There is freedom within. There is freedom without.
|
Crowded House, Don't Dream It's Over.
|
14-Feb-2003
|
If you follow your conscience, it will guide you to your Guru.
If you follow your Guru, (s)he will guide you to your Self.
|
|
13-Feb-2003
|
Don't say that later will be better, now you're stuck in a moment (and you can't get out of it).
|
U2, Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of.
|
12-Feb-2003
|
It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop.
|
Confucious.
|
11-Feb-2003
|
Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff
life is made of.
|
Benjamin Franklin
|
10-Feb-2003
|
Searching for happiness in the world is like looking for a candle
while sitting outside in the sun.
|
Paraphrased (I can't find the page again) from something Paramhansa Yogananda said in The Essence of Self-Realization, Paramhansa Yogananda, published by Crystal Clarity Publishers.
|
7-Feb-2003
|
If you want a plant to grow, you mustn't keep digging it up to check
it's roots. Pulling on it will also not help it to grow. It needs
light and regular watering and feeding. You might also try singing to
it once in a while.
|
Inspired by St Teresa of Avila and Paramhansa Yogananda.
|
6-Feb-2003
|
Energy and persistence conquer all things.
|
Benjamin Franklin
|
5-Feb-2003
|
The state of complete tranquility of the feeling (chitta), attained by yoga meditation, in which the self (ego) perceives itself as the Self (soul) and is content (fixed) in the Self;
The state in which the sense-transcendent immeasurable bliss becomes known to the awakened intuitive intelligence, and in which the yogi remains enthroned, never again to be removed;
The state that, once found, the yogi considers as the treasure beyond all treasures - anchored therein, he is immune to even the mightiest grief;
That state is known as yoga - the pain-free state. The practice of yoga is therefore to be observed resolutely and with a stout heart.
|
Jadava Christna to disciple Arjuna recorded by Vyasa in the Bhagavad Gita VI:20-23. Translation by Paramhansa Yogananada, "God Talks With Arjuna", published by Self-Realization Fellowship
|
4-Feb-2003
|
Calm acceptance of the present provides the firmest foothold with which to make hasty progress.
|
|
31-Jan-2003
|
Always respond to darkness with light.
|
Inspired by Jesus Christ.
|
27-Jan-2003
|
Fear blocks Creativity.
Creativity re-unites problems with their solutions.
Let go of fear and feel the flow of Creativity.
|
Inspired by my Heavenly Father.
|
24-Jan-2003
|
Energy has intelligence. Use energy and the answers will come.
|
Inspired by Paramhansa Yogananda and Swami Kriyananda.
|
23-Jan-2003
|
Be still, and know that I am (God).
|
Psalms 46:10
|
22-Jan-2003
|
The only thing you have (for all eternity) is the current moment. But in this moment is everything.
|
Inspired by the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda & Eckhart Tolle
|
21-Jan-2003
|
The reward of a thing well done, is to have done it.
|
Ralph Waldo Emerson
|
17-Jan-2003
|
Click on the diagram for a larger version.
|
Inspired by part of a talk by Paramhansa Yogananda entitled "Be a Smile Millionaire". Published on audio cassette by Self-Realization Fellowship. Augmented with knowledge of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
|
16-Jan-2003
|
She travels outside of karma.
|
U2, Grace.
|
15-Jan-2003
|
Greatness comes to those who develop a burning desire to achieve high goals.
|
Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude,
Napoleon Hill & W. Clement Stone, published by Pocket Books, p. 17
|
13-Jan-2003
|
The essence of creativity is not the possession of some special talent, it is much more the ability to play.
|
John Cleese
|
10-Jan-2003
|
There she goes
There she goes again
Racing through my brain
And I just can't contain
This feeling that remains
|
Sixpence None The Richer, There She Goes.
|
09-Jan-2003
|
Pranayama (life force control) - Practice makes perfect
|
Inspired by two lines from chant that Swami Sri Yukteswar liked; "Pranayama be thy religion. Pranayama will give thee salvation.", mentioned by Paramhansa Yogananda in The Essence of Self-Realization, published by Crystal Clarity Publishers.
|
08-Jan-2003
|
Without regular deposits of peace in your life account, you will run out of strength, calmness and happiness. You will finally become bankrupt - emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually.
|
Paramhansa Yogananda. From Man's Eternal Quest, Paramhansa Yogananda, published by Self-Realization Fellowship. p, 314 (in the chapter entitled "The Ten Commandments: Eternal Rules of Happiness")
|
07-Jan-2003
|
It ain't what you do, it's the way that you do it.
|
Bananarama, It Ain't What You Do.
|
02-Jan-2003
|
You can't beat darkness out of a room with a stick. But even if the room
has been in darkness for a thousand years, when you bring light
into it, the darkness will leave instantly.
|
Paraphrased from a saying of Paramhansa Yogananda.
|
31-Dec-2002
|
When you set a goal - aim higher.
|
Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude,
Napoleon Hill & W. Clement Stone, published by Pocket Books, p. 189
|
30-Dec-2002
|
Be a student, not a teacher. Even if you find yourself in the role of
teacher, remain a student still, sharing with your friends, simply,
fresh insights and discoveries.
|
Do It Now, J. Donald Walters, published by Crystal Clarity Publishing, p. 133
|
27-Dec-2002
|
Q: Why so much suffering?
A: What suffers?
When there is no "I", there is no suffering.
|
Inspired by conversation between Paramhansa Yogananda and Ramana Maharishi
mentioned in God Alone: The Life and Letters of a Saint, Sri Gyanamata,
published by Self-Realization Fellowship, p. 190
|
??-???-2002
|
Blessed are the pure in/of heart.
|
Matthew 5:8
|
??-???-2002
|
Yoga chitta vritti nirodha.
Yoga* is the neutralization of the vortices of feeling (in the heart).
* Yoga refers to the goal (the blissful state of I-lessness) as well as the process (yoga meditation) for attaining that goal.
|
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali 1:2 as translated and interpreted by Paramhansa Yogananda.
|
??-???-2002
|
Our natural state is complete immersion in ever existing, ever conscious, ever new bliss during every moment from now until eternity, independant of any external circumstances, favorable or unfavorable. Realizing or re-claiming this state of consciousness is the sole purpose of all things in existence, whether they are aware of it or not.
Humans have evolved sufficiently that they are aware that they are searching for bliss and can seek it wisely. The irony is that the rational mind, which is a stage on the path to the natural state, tends to think that it and its perceptions of the world are all there is.
The mind continually searches for outward circumstances which it thinks will result in coming closer to that bliss. But that bliss is never attainable through outward circumstances, perceived with the mind through the senses. Rational thought is just a stage on the path to the natural state.
Don't get stuck here too long.
|
Inspired by Paramhansa Yogananda through Swami Kriyananda.
|
??-???-2002
|
What the mind of man can conceive and believe, the mind of man can achieve - with PMA.
|
Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude,
Napoleon Hill & W. Clement Stone, published by Pocket Books
|