Tag Archives: spiritual

Spirituality & Relationships Pt 4

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At what point, does someway say, “Okay… it’s finally time to start looking out for my spiritual well-being” even if they know it could mean a severing of the “old ways”?

Our spiritual well-being should always be first. What good can come from sacrificing your own spirituality?  Your spiritual well-being directly affects your relationship. Just be as honest as you can about how you define your spiritual well-being. Sometimes we desire something that is different than what we have, when the greatest opportunity and what we actually need, is right under our nose.

Repeating here: Your spiritual well-being (growth) is the first need of your heart and the purpose of life. It is always time to take care of this, always.

The purpose of all life is the refinement of awareness. At the human level it gets interesting because we have the ability to make radical choices and change directions unlike other species. Growth is why we are here. We can accelerate or prolong it, but we cannot escape it. There is a great lesson plan waiting for all of us in our karma.

The main teaching overall seems to be about perfecting our love. What it is, where it comes from, and how to share it with all, is a direction we all are moving in. Our experience of love is directly related to our level of awareness. Our movement is fueled by our search for joy. We can deny it for some time, but the call in our heart will never release us until we are free.

I believe that the more we perfect our love, the deeper will our experience of joy be. We are made of love. We are rays of love shining from the heart of God into every niche of life. If we would allow God’s love to shine freely through the channels of our hearts we would know everything there is to know.

Look for opportunities to expand your willingness to accept others as they are, and to love them deeply without attachment. See those relationships you have now and pray that God help you release your attachments to the ones you love, so that your love and service for them can be even more pure than it is already.

In the act of loving we find fulfillment. Why ever stop then? Even when things do need to change or we are forced to make decisions that are difficult for others or ourselves, there is no reason to stop loving anyone.

I hope this helps answer the question posed above. Do what you feel is right. Do not be a reaction, but instead make your choices with calm intuition. Try to do what is truly best (not what is easy, or accepted as normal) for all concerned. Nothing in life is separate from your spiritual path, nothing.

Finally, if you have a partner who is antagonistic toward your spirituality or your psychological well-being, that is trying to stop you and mocks your chosen path; why on earth would you stay with them? What good could come out of this kind of relationship?

These are my honest opinions based on the questions that were posted. I always look forward to your comments and questions. Your input will help to define the direction of these posts.

Spirituality & Relationships Pt 3

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How does one remain on the path when faced with what would appear to be constant opposition where energy flow is concerned???

Never stop trying to move forward, and don’t focus on outcome as much as your moment to moment experience. You’ll never be off of your path. Do your best to work with things as they are. Do not become a reaction, but release attachments, pray and meditate, and consider the guidance you feel in your heart center. When you are calm and can release attachments, trust what you feel there, and act on it.

If your partner or any person is actively trying to control or stop your own personal growth he/she is crossing a boundary that allows for your individual needs and freedom; this is abuse. No person has the right to stop you from doing anything you believe in that is not harmful to others.

If this is about a committed partner, it may help to have clarity on what you both want to do as a pair and what you each need to do individually. I think the goal for both of you could be to actively support where you can, and where that is not a fit, be supportive in spirit by allowing the other the space they need.

In more general terms, there is a subtle energy present everywhere in our environment to varying degrees that pulls downward on your energy. It’s like the gravity that opposes the flight of an airplane, or when climbing up a mountain. It’s subtler than gravity; it operates on the level of consciousness. This is a power we must overcome daily when we are on the spiritual path. It affects us through our own attitude, and in many other ways too. There is no way around it, but you can ease your way through it with positive, loving, and accepting energy. To become negative only makes it worse. And this obviously applies to dealing with people also.

If you were not rising upward, you would not be so aware of this force in others or yourself. It’s just part of moving ahead on your path. You don’t pay much attention to the bumps in the road until you moving right? Just don’t allow them to become your main focus by taking them personally.

Keep your eyes on your destination and NEVER give up trying. Try even to enjoy the ride, for this may be the most important thing of all.

“A saint is a sinner who never gave up.”
Paramhansa Yogananda

Spirituality & Relationships Pt 1

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This is a big subject and it’s often “charged” for people. Only you can decide what is right for your situation. Honestly, this subject is intimidating for me to write about. Working directly with a couple or an individual is much different than writing for a group.

I’m going to start off by trying to answer some questions recently posted in comments that were in response to my post called “Stop Negative Thoughts.” Let’s see where that takes us.

How do you remain positive if your partner/spouse/significant other is not walking the same path?

As we mature spiritually our ability to accept others as they are actually grows. If lack of acceptance is the issue, I think we must look to ourselves for the answer.

It helps to have some clarity about what this relationship means to you, what you desire it to be. (a whole new subject? Comments are welcome)

Can you love your partner as they are? If your life has taken a new direction it can be frightening for them. We don’t often grow at the same pace or in the same way. Each person has his/her own karma and it’s important to respect that. One way to love another is to commit to seek and find the best in them. In my opinion, once we have committed to a life partnership it’s our duty to support the highest in the other, even when it’s very hard to locate! Just because you are changing, does this require your partner to change also?

More coming soon.

Meditation at Forest Lawn

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Today four friends and I made our way to the bodily resting place of Paramhansa Yogananda. It was a grayish day and the sky was calm. We all purchased a flower to offer to the master in devotion and gratitude for the sacrifice he made as all avatars do when they come into this world to uplift and guide the direction of man.

After practicing some energizing yoga exercises outside we all became inwardly focused and quiet, as we entered the mausoleum together. We were all alone and in silence we each prayed and offered our flowers to the master one by one.

As I sat down I felt resistant to chanting or doing anything. It was as if the subtle magnetism of this place had pulled me into my center instantly. I entered a meditative state with no effort at all. After a few minutes I forced my self to chant anyway, in case the others in our group were not having the same experience that I was. We softly recited an ancient sanskrit invocation and one of Yogananda’s favorite chants, “Door of My Heart”.

It also just feels good, to sing our devotions together. Such a wonderful group of friends!
We planned to meditate for one hour and the time just flew by for everyone. When I chanted aum to end our meditation (one of us had to work this afternoon) they all looked confused, and asked why I stopped our meditation so soon. But over an hour had passed. Everyone was surprised how quickly that hour flew by.

Here is what it looks like inside. Lots of beautiful marble and the stained glass windows are magnificent. It’s often a bit chilly and the marble benches can drain body heat from you pretty fast. A blanket is recommended. This is my dear partner and friend, Ashleigh.

ashmed3562blogToday was one of the sweetest days I have had in a long time. Los Angeles has many wonderful pilgrimage locations where one can feel the divine presence readily!

Paramhansa Yogananda’s resting place is located in “The Great Mausoleum” at Forest Lawn in Glendale CA. Visitors can get directions to his exact location at the main entrance.

Here is a map that has several other Los Angeles places of interest related to Paramhansa Yogananda.