It has been a blessed month indeed! Here are a few excerpts worth a listen:
First, from our Living Wisdom High School Concert on Friday, Dec 11th, a piece by John Rutter titled Mary’s Lullaby.
On Saturday, Dec 12th, I led an astounding performance of Swami Kriyananda’s Oratorio, Christ Lives! at Mills College in Oakland, in a beautiful chapel with marvelous acoustics! Here are a few choir pieces: Christ Has Come
Sing Out With Joy
When Human Hopes Toward Thee Aspire
Thy Light Within Us Shining
Then back at the village, on Sunday, Dec 13th, we had our World Brotherhood Day celebration, which included performances of: The Christ Child’s Asleep (studio recording)
And The Christmas Mystery (studio recording)
Here is a link to the video of many of the pieces performed that afternoon (Three Wise Men at the beginning, The Christ Child’s Asleep and Mother of Wisdom at 24:23).
On Sunday morning Dec 20th, we had our Christmas Sunday Service, led by Jyotish and Devi, which can be viewed by visiting our video page. It includes our children’s choir joining us at the beginning of the video for Christ Has Come and The Christmas Mystery. You’ll easily find my daughter - the only one not standing still!
That same evening we had our annual Christmas concert on Sunday, Dec 20th, which included performances of The Blue Danube, For Unto Us a Child Is Born, the Halleluiah Chorus, a visit by the Victorian Singers, and many of Swami Kriyananda’s Christmas pieces.
It truly has been a blessed month, and our wish is for you to carry with you these vibrations of Light, Love, Peace, and Joy with you throughout this coming year! May God Bless you all.
Swami Kriyananda has often said that music has the power to change consciousness, and I have always believed that to be true. But there are always new levels of understanding to discover.
I have been singing in the Ananda Portland choir now for many years and find that my consciousness is always uplifted when I concentrate on the music written by Swami Kriyananda; whether singing in choir practice, a performance, or singing to myself in the car. I know I feel more expansive and joyful at those times. But it is difficult to convey in words the power that is within each song.
This week we had two opportunities to sing in concert and celebrate the Christmas season. The first time was a Catholic sanctuary here in Portland. There is an annual festival of lights and a beautiful stone chapel with amazing acoustics. Choral groups sing every night in the chapel and we were honored to be one of them. The day of the concert, when I should have been meditating, practicing, and happily preparing for the evening performance, I was home feeling irritated and moody.
It was my one day off during the week and I felt pressured to get a lot done in very little time. The house was in chaos because of several unfinished projects. The Christmas decorating had just begun and boxes were everywhere. My daughter had a piano lesson and there was no place for the piano teacher to even sit. My oldest son was coming home for the holiday and there was no place for him to sleep or put all the stuff he was bringing with him. There were several stressful issues that came to a head on the one day I didn’t want to deal with them, and the idea of singing in a challenging concert became more of a burden than a joy.
When we arrived I was still feeling impatient and irritable while we waited our turn. After warming up and reviewing details, we all sat to meditate a bit before we were called upstairs to the stage. After meditating just a few moments, I felt calmer, but not exactly inspired. We stood in the lights to sing the first song and I could see friends in the audience. I prayed it wouldn’t be a disaster. The first song was Children of God:
Children of God, your time of trial has ended!
See where the dawn irradiates the night.
Soon all your tears will rise like dew to the sun,
Sorrow will turn to joy, your griefs to delight.
Children rejoice for lo, the kingdom of God,
Comes in full splendor,
It needs but your sight.
Listen to an earlier version (some of the words have changed, but the melody is the same) of the song:
My mood was gone and in its place was joy and gratitude.
When you sing a song with that message, there is no room for anything but joy. We sang for forty more minutes and the joy grew. As the story of Christmas unfolded through each piece, the little me disappeared and I felt a kinship with everyone in the audience and those beyond the gray stone walls. We were all blessed by Christ, and we could all experience the consciousness he manifested, if we turned our sight within.
A few days later was another concert. This time the setting was more intimate – just a small gathering of the Portland Ananda sangha. But the vibration of the music is the same, regardless of the setting. I felt blessed beyond measure.
I’ve reached a new level of awe for what Swami Kriyananda has given us. There is something about these two experiences that reach deep into my consciousness. I know the vibration of this music is changing much more than my emotions. It is not just an easy answer to mood swings (although that is a good place to start!). If I can feel it changing my consciousness, and my perception is extremely limited – I know there are subtle changes happening beyond my awareness.
I urge you to listen, sing, play, hum, and memorize the music of Ananda. I don’t know if it is the greatest gift Swami Kriyananda has given the world, he has given so many. But I am convinced it is the most accessible and powerful transformational tool available on the planet today.
Use the music of Ananda to experience the truth of Christmas. Open your heart to the message of light and love that Christ brought and that can be experienced by every soul. Children rejoice for lo, the kingdom of God,
Comes in full splendor,
It needs but your sight.
Free samples of music by Swami Kriyananda can be found at Crystal Clarity and at Ananda.
On Tuesday December 23rd, we had our annual all-day Christmas group meditation, where we inwardly celebrate the birth of Christ and the true meaning of Christmas. Paramhansa Yogananda started this annual tradition at Mt. Washington, where he held an eight-hour group meditation on December 24th (Spiritual Christmas), and followed the next day by a banquet (Social Christmas).
The inspiration and upliftment I felt that day is indescribable. As I sat in the back of the room and gazing at the crowd during the meditation, I thought how desperately the world needs more of this: people uniting together in brotherhood and harmony, honoring the lives of great saints and self-realized Masters in devotional gatherings. It is easy to get discouraged when reading the ever-flowing news of hatred, economic turmoils and environmental problems in the world. Yet, God created this duality (or dwaita) and it is up to us to recognize that and transcend it. As Yogananda said in the East-West magazine of July 1932:
The Spirit alone is perfect. Everything else in Creation is imperfect. Creation started with the law of duality, with the law of division. The Spirit was perfect.
In all of life there is an urge, consciously or unconsciously felt, for the Oneness which is our true and natural state. This Oneness can be found, not by going to some far-out extreme in which at last the opposite to that extreme (pain, for example, as opposed to pleasure) is left forever behind, but rather by returning to the central point within our selves; to the horizon line that rests forever between all opposites; to the state of rest at the bottom of the pendulum’s swing.
Meditation is the tool to return to that central point within our selves. In the Festival of Light (an inspirational ceremony which presents the core of Yogananda’s teachings through poetry and music), Swami Kriyananda writes:
God, through the Bhagavad Gita, promises: “Even the worst of sinners, by steadfast meditation on Me, speedily comes to Me.” The same Scripture declares also: “Even a little practice of this inward religion will free one from dire fears and colossal sufferings.”
And whereas suffering, in the past, was the coin of man’s redemption, for us now the payment has been exchanged for joy. Thus may we understand that pain is the fruit of self-love, whereas joy is the fruit of love for God.
And the ancient Hindu sage Patanjali defined the state of divine enlightenment as:
Yogas chitta vritti nirodh — yoga (divine union) is the neutralization of the waves (whirlpools) of feeling” (Yoga Sutra 1:2).
It is up to us whether to allow ourselves to be affected by the ever increasing swing of the pendulum, or to take charge of our lives by meditating regularly and thereby neutralizing the whirlpools of feeling.
When I left the temple early evening after the all-day meditation and walked home, I felt as if my feet were lifted off the ground. My joy level was full to overflowing. Such is the magic of our Christmas Meditation.
I leave you with these words of Christmas Meditation by Paramhansa Yogananda. May the Light of Christ shine upon you.
All my thoughts are decorating the Christmas tree of meditation with the rare gifts of devotion, sealed with golden heart prayers that Christ may come and receive my humble gifts.
I will mentally join in the worship in all mosques, churches, and temples, and perceive the birth of the universal Christ Consciousness as peace on the altar of all devotional hearts.
O Christ, may the birth of Thy love be felt in all hearts this Christmas, and every day.
Christ was always born in me. He came and preached through my consciousness to my rowdy and hypocritical thoughts. By the magic wand of meditative intuition, He stopped the storms in the seas of my life, and of many other lives. I was mentally blind, my will was lame, but I was healed by the awakened Christ in me.
Christ walked on the restless waters of my mind, yet the Judas of restlessness and ignorance, deluded by the Satan of sense lures, betrayed the Christ calmness, the Christ joy, in me, and crucified Him on the cross of forgetfulness.
He commanded my dead wisdom to come forth from its sackcloth of delusion, and raised it to life.
At last my will, faith, hope, intuition, purity, meditation, desires, good habits, self-control sense‑ aboveness, devotion, wisdom — all these disciples obeyed the commandments of the Christ who appeared on the high mountain of my meditation.
The Christmas holiday Season can get pretty crazy. Everyone knows how it feels to be frantic, over-tired, un-centered, or lonely at this time of year. This is too bad, because these Holidays can become true Holy-days and can be a time of greatest joy, if you are willing to make it so. Try a few of these suggestions—they may help!
1)While you are shopping for or wrapping or mailing or distributing gifts, pray for the person(s) to whom you are giving it and say the “Gratitude” affirmation (see #2)
2)While you are address and mailing Christmas cards, pray for the one to receive it and use this affirmation: “I give thanks to the Giver behind each gift and to the one Giver behind all that I give [and receive.]” From Affirmations for Self-Healing by Swami Kriyananda.
3)Also use the above affirmation when opening each gift or Christmas cards.
4)Save your gift tags and the Christmas cards you receive. Keep them in a basket in your meditation room and take one a day to pray for in the coming year.
5)Take a “Christmas Vow” for all or part the month of December. For example: eating no sugar, meditating a longer amount of time each day, cutting out “fillers” like TV, videos and low energy reading materials, or doing more Kriyas than usual if you are a kriyaban (Kriya yogi).
6)Study! Suggestions: re-read the Christmas story from the Bible–chapters #2 from Luke and Matthew are the best. Read slowly at the close of your meditation and feel the inner meanings of the words. Read Master’s teachings on Jesus and Christmas. Email me for suggested “Christmas Bibliography.”
7)Put out a picture of Jesus that you like. Make a small Christmas altar and look at his eyes, praying for the inner Christ Conscious to come to you in this season.
8)Set up a small “Nativity Scene” on your altar and/or re-do your altar for the Christmas season with decorations, twinkling lights, poinsettias, etc.
9)Consider participating in an 8-hour meditation, on or near December 23. If possible, do it at an Ananda center or meditation group. If not, do it on your own. Unimaginable blessings can come from Yogananda and Christ during the Christmas season, if you put forth extra effort. Be sure to have both a “spiritual Christmas” and a “social Christmas” to keep things balanced, as Yogananda taught by his example.
10)Play tapes or CD’s of Yogananda’s voice, especially those made during the Christmas Season or around his birthday (January 5th).
11)Have and light daily a special Christmas candle.
12)Get more light into your light at this darkest time of the year in the Northern Hemisphere (the winter solstice is on the 21st of December). String colored or white lights all around your home.
13)Read “Secrets of Peace on Earth,” by Swami Kriyananda, reading one page a day (and meditating on it) for the whole month of December.
14)Practice conscious forgiveness of those with whom you may have issues; take part in a Purification Ceremony or other rituals which have meaning for you.
15)Take a time of silence and seclusion. The week (or a few days) leading up to Christmas or the week between Christmas and New Years Day are often good times to do it.
16)Look around you to see who might need extra help or energy. Serve in any way you can find to offer service to others. Call and/or get together with those you know who might be ill, sad, or lonely especially at this season.
17)Music! Music! Music! Have uplifting Christmas music in your life. Chanting or listening to music is great! Ananda has much wonderful Christmas music to offer you. Attend a Christmas concert.
18)Love, give, serve, and remember who you are.
19)Consider coming to Ananda for all or a part of the Holidays. Christmas at Ananda is such a wonderful experience. I spend my first Christmas here in 1977 and promised myself never to be anywhere else. I’ve kept that promise!
20)On Christmas morning, very early, before anything else happens, meditate deeply and let the Christ Consciousness be born in the cradle of your heart.
Christmas is a holy time, a joyful time of remembering Christ’s life and mission and taking those blessings deep within. It is also a fun-filled, busy time for families, which can become frantic and harried, with all feelings of blessing and holiness lost in the hustle.
Over the years we have used many different traditions and activities in our home to keep the focus of our Christmases on spiritual blessings. At the Ananda Portland Temple and Teaching Center, we have also engaged the children in many fun activities to help teach them the meaning of Christmas.
This year at the temple we brought back the tradition of Advent. Advent is well known in Catholic churches, but not commonly practiced in the Protestant tradition or other faiths. Very simply, it is a wonderful way to repeatedly bring the focus back to spiritual blessings during the holy season.
If you look up the Advent tradition, you will find a variety of Bible readings and scripts that are used, but I’ll tell you how we adapted the idea for our Sunday Services.
An advent wreath has 4 candles placed around it, with a 5th candle in the center. Each week (starting 4 Sundays prior to Christmas eve), a candle is lit. On Christmas Eve all 4 are burning and the 5th one is lit to represent the Christ.
The wreath was set up on a table next to the altar. The children were happy to help light the candles and carry figures to add to the nativity scene. We assigned those duties prior to service, to avoid hurt feelings and save time.
The first candle represents the Promise of Christ’s birth and the eternal promise that divine light will always come into darkness. The three wisemen were brought up the first week, because they understood why Christ was coming and they followed the star (seen in the spiritual eye in deep meditation).
The second candle represents divine Love. Mary and Joseph and the empty manger were added because of the love they held in their hearts for God and for the Christ child.
The third candle represents divine Joy and the shepherds. The great joy the shepherds experienced at the news of Christ’s birth can be experienced by everyone who opens their heart to what God is offering.
The fourth candle represents divine Light, manifested by the angels. This is the last Sunday before Christmas Eve and the nativity, with the addition of the angel, was now in full splendor on the altar.
We also added a new service for families on Christmas Eve. Scheduled from 5pm – 6pm, it was accessible to all, but especially child friendly. During this service, we lit the last advent candle, placed the little baby Jesus safely in his manger, and “built” a live creche scene with costumed players of all ages.
The feelings of deep blessings, gratitude and awe were tangible that evening. Because of the focus on the Christmas story and the qualities of spiritual blessing each week, the Christmas Eve service felt like a sweet culmination of celebration, instead of a too-brief opportunity to take it all in at once.
Advent can be practiced at home and can become a deep and meaningful part of the Christmas season. Children can be engaged on many levels – they can choose stories and crafts that depict the quality focused on for the week. They can set up their nativity or decorate their room a little at a time. The advent wreath can be the centerpiece on the table and if Sunday is not a convenient time for family celebration, choose another day of the week to do your advent remembrance.
Paramhansa Yogananda taught that a long Christmas meditation was good practice for adults to balance the social aspects of Christmas with the inner opportunity for grace. For children, balance can be even harder to find. I am so grateful for the blessings shared during our Advent season, and the insights and joy experienced by adults and children together.
As I went back into the community center to pick up the last of my things after the concert, I could tangibly feel the beauty that the students created with their music. I stood for a moment in the now empty hall, and tried to imprint the feeling and vibration of this beautiful evening into my memory.
Last Friday night, Dec 7th, was our annual Living Wisdom School Christmas Concert, presenting the entire K-12 classes in an hour long program. I am so blessed to be working with such a talented group of young singers and instrumentalists. We have around 50 students, with a few hours each week to rehearse, and it is remarkable what these kids can do! We have the 21 high schoolers singing 4 part songs, including Handel’s Halleluiah Chorus this year, which is quite an undertaking! They rose to the challenge beautifully, and have learned to sing not only beautifully, but from a deeper place of inspiration than ever before.
Here is an excerpt from one of the pieces they did by themselves, without me conducting, entitled “Ave Verum Corpus” by Mozart. See if you can feel how beautifully they can present the music not only with sound, but with their feeling and channeling of inspiration.
There were many many singers who wanted to do solos, but of course there aren’t enough places to fit them all in! Here is “The Christmas Mystery,” written by Swami Kriyananda, featuring Balarama’s 2 – 3 grade class singing the first verse, a quartet of High School boys singing the second, and Sam, a second grader, beginning the fourth. (I’ve edited the recording for these highlights).
The auditorium was packed to capacity, and many felt the great blessings that these incredible kids shone forth through their music that night. My job is to keep them busy with the most inspired songs I can possibly find, and challenge them to feel as deeply as they can the Divine Presence within each one.
This past Sunday, December 2nd, was the 24th World Brotherhood Day at The Expanding Light at Ananda Village. It is a day set aside at the beginning of the Christmas holiday season where we consciously stop and remember the beauty of this season. World Brotherhood Day has been one of my favorite Ananda observances for years. I remember many years ago (yikes - almost 20 years ago) sending for the cassette tape so that I could listen to and then participate in the event from a distance. The evening began and ends with the choir singing beautiful songs, including my favorite, Christmas Mystery. This song plus others from the Christ Lives Oratrio fill me with awe.
It has been our custom on this day to contribute a day’s wage to an aspect of the outreach ministry. We place this offering at the beautiful Christmas altar then recieve a blessing by Jyotish and Devi and a small gift. This year it was a copy of a profound article Swami Kriyananda recently wrote.
In the past we have given support for the Ananda groups in Russia. We created a fund in Assisi which they could use as scholarship money for Russians and eastern Europeans who wanted to come for training programs. We have also in the past dedicated our offerings to reprinting “spiritually precious” books written by Swamiji which had gone out of print. After 24 years, you can imagine that the benificiaries of this special day are many.
This year our donations will go toward sharing Master’s light in a coordinated effort to spread the word about Ananda Village’s 40th year and Swamiji’s 60th year of discipleship. 2008 will be a special year indeed.
The evening also featured brief talks by Jyotish and Devi, Catherine Van Houten and Tim and Corinne Hickey. Tim and Corinne will be in charge of pulling all the strings together and coordinating our efforts to share the news.
The dedicated Expanding Light cooking staff and Karma yogis prepared and served a delicious banquet after the program. It was so nice to see everyone dressed up and enjoying the delightful food and pretty decorations.
This weekend was special for another reason. As many of you know Swamiji had surgery last week and after a brief stay in ICU is now again at his home in Gurgaon, India. He has inspired all of us with his courage and amazing joy. Swamiji said at the close of a letter he wrote to everyone, “You all have my deep, heartfelt love. Thank you again and again for your loving (and blissful) prayers. And, yes, I tried to share my own bliss with all of you. Let us all work together to bring Master’s wonderful message to the whole world.”
So our World Brotherhood Day gift is dedicated to try and share Yogananda’s message of inner joy with the world.
As I went back into the community center to pick up the last of my things after the concert, I could tangibly feel the beauty that the students created with their music. I stood for a moment in the now empty hall, and tried to imprint the feeling and vibration of this beautiful evening into my memory.
