Long ago, I began mingling with the people who are part of Ananda and noticed several things: the joy in their eyes, the easy way they spoke of God, and the emphasis they placed on energy.

I had not heard the term “energy” used in so many different ways before, and in relation to so many circumstances. It took me years to understand how energy is central to Yogananda’s teachings, and now it is part of my vocabulary as well.
(I’m ready to admit I may overuse the word. My son has taken to prefacing his questions with, “It probably has to do with energy…”, accompanied by a bit of eye rolling.)

The truth is that everything has to do with energy; science tells us that everything is made of energy. Once I became aware of how energy is flowing in the body, in circumstances, in relationships and through all activities, it is a much better guide than the emotional barometer I usually use for my behavior. I have found this particularly valuable as a parent.

As my daughter works on schoolwork while stroking a guinea pig in her lap, the energy around her is uplifted and expansive. When I get impatient with her and scold, I can feel the energy get small and tight.

When I step through the door after being out, I can feel whether there were problems in my absence. When I kiss the kids goodnight, I can tell if they are relaxed and will sleep well.

Some of that sensitivity is normal Mom intuition, developed over 20 years of child-raising. But I cringe to think of the many times I let my mom agenda to get things done interfere with the happy energy in the house. I would break up a relaxed and happy scene with my directives and the energy would plummet, and then I would be hurt that everyone responded to me so negatively.

Swami Kriyananda says, “Raise your energy, and your awareness will be uplifted also. When your awareness is uplifted, you’ll feel happier.” (from Do It Now!)

I’m learning to think about how to keep energy moving upward and outward, and focus less on feelings, which are often misleading. And it’s much easier to think about how to change an energy flow than how to fix everyone’s feelings.

Last night I listened to the comfortable family laughter in the other room and then made sure my energy matched theirs before I joined in. It was a minor victory, but contributed to a harmonious evening. When I remember to pay attention to the energy, happiness flows through the house, and through my life, more freely.

In divine friendship,
Lorna

I haven’t posted for a couple months – life gets very full with a family of five! We all seem to be going separate directions these days, but part of me really enjoys all the activity and seeing three children grow and explore their potential is fun.

Many friends my age are watching their children grow up and leave home, and most are also watching their parents grow old and leave this life. A child’s independence is a joyful challenge; an elderly parent’s increasing dependence and passing can be a sad one.

My daughter and I recently visited my mother, who lives in the Napa Valley, near my sister and her family. My father passed away over 10 years ago and my mother has managed to live a life of joyful independence and adventure, despite her loneliness. However, she fell and suffered a broken pelvis over 5 months ago and has had a difficult and painful recovery. She was finally ready to transition back to her own home, after months under my sister’s loving care, and my daughter and I had the pleasure of being there.

Our days were filled with organizing and preparing her two-level condominium so everything was accessible and safe for her to manage alone. My siblings were counting on me to make an honest evaluation of her ability to handle things, so I scrutinized her every move. She couldn’t navigate the stairs, take a shower or lift a frying pan without me watching. She took my supervision good-naturedly because she was so happy to be feeling better.

It’s natural to think of when she leaves this body and when we will not be able to visit and chat. But instead of feeling sad, I was filled with gratitude for the opportunity to be her daughter.

I walked to a lovely pioneer cemetery a few times during my visit and was able meditate there late one afternoon. One could get melancholy reading the headstones and reflecting on all those people long forgotten. But one of the deep blessings of the teachings of Yogananda is the expansive view one gets of life.

I thought of all those souls represented on those gravestones, and I know that after playing through the life of a California pioneer, they all moved on to new adventures and new lessons that would one day lead them home to freedom in spirit. And I thought of my mother and my children – they too, will move on to new roles and new lessons, and I was so grateful to understand.

The life we have is not to be spent carelessly, it should be treasured and celebrated with spiritual adventuresomeness. But it is good to remind ourselves and our children of our true identity as immortal spirit, deathless, changeless and free.

In divine friendship,

Lorna

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.

May the new year bring you ever closer to God,

In divine friendship, Lorna

I’m a mom, an oldest daughter, a nurse, a teacher, a karma yogi, - any way you look at it, I have “the heart of a servant”, as one friend described me. I am happiest when serving others, I always have been.

An attitude of service is helpful when I am in a new situation or I have to speak to a group of unfamiliar people. If I ask God to use me as an instrument, I am able to see past the outward circumstances and relax into what is trying to happen.

If I am having trouble waiting for something to happen (which occurs far too often!), finding something helpful to do directs the energy away from impatience.  Joy immediately returns because I am no longer focused on me.

Paramhansa Yogananda said that service is one of the fastest paths to God, but he also said that meditation is essential. Meditation is the best way to get out of focusing on the self and learn to focus on God.

Getting up at night with a sick child, doing endless piles of laundry, rubbing my husband’s aching shoulders, and volunteering time at the Portland Ananda Temple and Teaching Center, are all done with a heart full of gratitude at the opportunity.  But when it comes to finding the time to meditate, my mind hits a snag, because it feels like “me” time. Meditation is time away from family, time away from the long need-to-do list of outward service to others. Meditation is time alone. Meditation looks…selfish.

All self-definitions are limiting, even when viewed as positive, and they get in the way of our spiritual growth. Seeing meditation like an afternoon at the spa is wrong thinking.  I have been working on correcting my thinking and perhaps you moms out there need to work on this as well.

Although more subtle, meditation is the most powerful way we have of serving our family, our community, and the planet.  Meditation opens the door for more divine light to pour into the world, through our devotion and will. The greatest servants throughout history, the saints, spend many hours alone with God every day.

When my children need my help with a special interest or concern, I spend long hours reading and doing whatever I can to assist them.  I am always looking for ways to improve my ability to serve.  Meditation is the ultimate “how-to” course. Meditation opens the heart and increases our awareness so we are able to serve more effectively in every area of our lives.

The results of meditation are harder to measure than the dwindling pile of laundry.  But if we look we will notice increased joy, patience, calmness, peace and compassion in ourselves and those around us. The improvement in our relationship with God is immeasurable, but even more profound. 

Yogananda advised, “Be ever busy for God. When you are not meditating, be active for Him. And when meditating, offer your mind up to Him in the same spirit of service, with keen, alert attention. Keep the mind ever busy with God, and with doing good for others.” from Essence of Self-Realization

In divine friendship and service, Lorna

Like most parents, I often ponder how I am doing at my job. I realize that even the most sincere efforts by my husband and myself are not enough to do it all – the list of responsibilities is unimaginably long. So if I had to choose one thing to impart to my children, out of all the important life lessons to give them, what would I choose?

I’ve concluded that if my children understand the importance of good company and divine friendship, I will have done my job well.

Paramhansa Yogananda said, “Whether one becomes a saint or a sinner is to a great extent determined by the company he keeps.” (from The Essence of Self-Realization recorded and compiled by Swami Kriyananda)

Our friends shape our thinking, influence our choices and touch every part of our lives. Divine friendship reaches deep into the soul, and is not dependent on common interests, age, gender, or other outward definitions.

My daughter and I recently enjoyed a fun afternoon with a group of friends from the Portland Ananda family, or sangha. We met at the pottery shop and spent hours decorating our chosen pieces. The outing happened to fall on my birthday so it became a birthday celebration as well.

Several times during the afternoon, as I listened to the cheerful, encouraging words and the laughter, I offered a grateful prayer for the opportunity to see my daughter surrounded by those beautiful souls. There were 8 of us, ranging from 10 years old to 70, with very few outward reasons to be friends. Our love for God and the desire to reach for the highest potential within is what defined our connection.

I want my children to feel the joy of friends who uplift and inspire with just a glance, so I have steered them into the company of such people from the time they were little. Being part of the Ananda family has provided many opportunities to be with saints-in-the-making, but such experiences also open the heart and enable us to see great souls everywhere we go.

We don’t always have a choice about who we must spend time with, and that is another lesson. But if our children learn to choose friends who have spiritual insight and wisdom, who value kindness and clarity, and who practice making their inward aspirations a reality, they will have a lifetime of blessings.

Teach your children that time spent with great souls is never wasted, it is an invitation that God cannot resist – divine light and love will flow into every circumstance that life can offer.

In divine friendship,

Lorna

Music touches people on a deeper level than words alone. The music composed by Swami Kriyananda is written to change consciousness; the experience of listening to, playing, or singing such music goes beyond the sensory experience, into the soul.

Being part of the choir at the Ananda Center in Portland has become a vital part of my spiritual practice. I count on it to bring inspiration and understanding, just as my meditations do. Every song is an opportunity to tune into divine truth and then to share with others.

The choir is made up of people with a range of musical experience. Fortunately, the only requirement for joining is a desire to sing, so I get to spend time surrounded by many with natural talent and musical ability. We all enjoy the company and the inspiration that comes with practicing together, although our companionable chatter can push our choir director to the limits of patience. I’m filled with sweet gratitude as we drive home after practice and my daughter tells me she is happy we were able to go.

My daughter, Mary, is 10 years old and she has been singing these songs for years. What would it be like to be exposed to music that uplifts the soul, from such a young age? She has a musical ear and the memory of a youngster, so it takes very little for her to memorize words and melodies.

As Mary sings around the house, taps out tunes on her keyboard, and sings for hours with friends, I am glad she looked beyond her natural shyness to find the courage to join the choir a couple years ago. Now the joy I feel in the music is doubled as she stands up with me to perform.

Many people have told me that it was the music that drew them to Ananda, and brought them back for more. I know that some of my most blissful moments have been while singing the songs that express these universal teachings so beautifully.

I encourage you to listen to the music of Ananda with your children. It provides a wonderful opportunity to talk about spiritual teachings and to explore ideas together. Even the simplest children’s songs offer a deeper reality to share that is beyond words and notes.

As one song by J. Donald Walters (Swami Kriyananda) puts it:

Joy will come to anyone whose soul has learned to fly!
Sing when the sun shines, sing when the rain falls,
sing when the road seems strange,
In a tempest seize the lightning flash,
and ride the winds of change!

Find out more about Ananda music in the posts by David Eby.

Joy always, Lorna