On Saturday, November 10th we had our third evening in the Ananda Concert Series, entitled Inner Awakenings. Held once again at the Crystal Hermitage Dome, we played and sang to a full house of long time devotees and newcomers alike, with music and interspersed guided meditations from Swami Kriyananda’s book, Awaken to Superconsciousness.
Melody, it has been said, symbolizes the aspiration of the heart, and words are thoughts crystalized - combining the two creates an incredibly powerful experience for a listener. In this program we tried to tune in to the vibration, the consciousness behind each guided meditation, and then chose music that fit that same feeling. If you’d like to listen for yourself to Swami Kriyananda reading two such meditations with music, I’d highly recommend the CD Meditations to Awaken Superconsciousness, available from Crystal Clarity Publishers. I will also be posting some of the audio from this concert very soon!
I’ve been doing a great deal of thinking about inspiration and the music, and the mystery of why music can affect us so deeply. Why can one piece inspire us, while another just leaves us flat? There aren’t any notes in music that are better than others, and after all, music is only a collection of sound waves. But is that truly all it is?
We are realizing that music is a vehicle for conveying states of inspiration, great or small. By consciously attuning ourselves to the inspiration of each song and consciously projecting that inspiration to the audience, we can create a very powerful experience to those that have ears and hearts to hear and feel. Here at Ananda, we are striving to become an example of musicians who perform with consciousness. Our singers here may not be on the same technical level as those in professional singing groups, but what we have to offer in the way of inspiration has truly changed people’s lives.
As the program progressed that evening, the audience went deeper and deeper into states of higher awareness. It was wonderful see faces in the audience filled with bliss! I’m hoping that the concert was not only a pleasing aural experience, but more importantly a direct experience of inspiration.
To listen to one of the guided meditations, click on the play button below:
At the conclusion we were faced with a very interesting problem: how do we honor those who would like to stay inward, while allowing others to share their appreciation? You can’t stop people from clapping, but perhaps as the cycles of time progress, we will find another way of sharing appreciation and thanks.
Our next performance will be Christ Lives: an Oratorio on Sunday evening, Dec 16th, at the Expanding Light Temple. Hope to see you there!
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
It has been a very pretty fall season here at Ananda. We got alot of rain off and on and then in between the mild storms we have had beautiful sunshine and clouds. The mix of rain and sunshine brought a little green back to our brown summer landscapes.
I am sharing with you a set of photographs. The first and last photo is from the “ridge” here at Ananda Village, just the other day, but the other photos are from a few weeks ago at a house blessing.
Twenty or more of us gathered in the home of Tim and Corinne. They have just settled in their new place of residence and wanted to host a simple ceremony to bless their home.
We began the afternoon with chanting led by Nalini, J.T. and Lewis. We prayed and meditated together.
We then had a strolling kirtan (walked and chanted) throughout their home and into each of the rooms holding photos of the Masters, candles, and incense. We did this to consciously ask for the presence of God and Guru in their home and in all aspects of their lives.
We come back together for another prayer and the chanting of Aum.
During the meditation (I admit) I opened my eyes and looked around at my fellow disciples and felt very grateful and blessed to be with these people and part of this simple joyful event.
I also felt grateful for these practical, but profound teachings that can spiritualize daily life and bring God’s love into even the simplest of daily activities. Creating and maintaining a home, preparing meals, being with or helping friends and family, or working at our jobs and our worship all become connected and all become a vehicle to bring us closer to God and more aware of the Guru’s presence in our lives.
I left the house blessing with a quiet recommitment to feel that my Guru is with me in all that I do during the day. And when I forget…, I just try to remember again.
The last photo is Monday’s sunset. Wow. This was also taken at the “ridge.”
Happy Thanksgiving to you all. May God and Guru bless you.
My Mother gave my Father a copy of Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda’s classic spiritual book, a few years before I was born. It wasn’t long before discovery led to commitment, and the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda became a regular part of my Father’s life.
My Dad meditated for about 10 years. My childhood memories of it are the sights and scents of my Father’s altar, mala, and woolen mat, and the (reasonable) injunction not to do noisy things – like roller-skate around the house – while he was meditating. A couple of years ago, he started meditating again. I’ve been inspired to see how much happier it has made him.
Divine Mother’s love
Both of my parents came to Ananda Village this month for their 3rd and 4th visits. I’ve also been to see them 2 or 3 times. Living in spiritual community like we do at Ananda, and even in my case living in a monastery, hasn’t in itself really changed my outward relationship to my parents. But I can relate to them, and love them, on a soul level better than I used to be able to.
To me this means relating to the God within them. When I first started on the spiritual path, I would sometimes come close to tears, simply seeing how Divine Mother was present in the love and consideration of of my “earthly” Mother. Paramhansa Yogananda once wrote this wonderful sentence:
“In the temple of my earthly Mother’s love, I will worship the incarnated Divine Mother’s love.”
On this recent visit, we spent time with long-time Ananda members, did some home improvements on my bungalow (my Mother’s idea), and visited 2 pilgrimage destinations at Ananda Village: the Crystal Hermitage, where Swami Kriyananda lives when he stays at the Village, and the Shrine of the Masters, where relics of Paramhansa Yogananda and our line of gurus are displayed.
The eventual separation of death
A friend at Ananda Village once suggested to me to visit my parents more often than I was planning to do, since they won’t always be living here on earth. I don’t consider it morbid to think this way; and it is true.
In fact, my Mother’s Father died recently, and it was one of the things that we talked about during her visit. I think having the foundation set for a spiritual response helped my Mother tremendously. She responded in a positive, soul-affirming way, praying for him often during his last weeks on earth and relating to his death as a time of transition, rather than of cold finality.
“When your parents die, and you lose their love… remember this: love itself is not lost. …
“Divine Love says to all, ‘If you love Me, you will love Me not in one being, but in all. Remember, though you try to cage Me in one person, I will destroy in the end the body-frame which holds him. I do so that you may learn to find Me in all.’”
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.
It’s been over five years since I moved to Ananda Village. In 2001, when my wife and I had decided to move here, we also had to figure out our job situation.
She was a nurse back then and it wasn’t hard for her to find a similar job in Grass Valley. I was (and still am) a Software Engineer and I knew that there weren’t too many high-tech companies in the area. But, I knew that I could telecommute as long as I managed to get a decent connection to the Internet. When I talked to my boss about six years ago and told her that I was going to move to Northern California, I also told her that I would have understood if the company didn’t want to keep me if it thought the remote arrangement would not work. I told her I wouldn’t have any hard feelings if they had to let me go. Lucky for me, she was very supportive, especially when I mentioned that I was moving into a yogic community. She also told me that she has been meditating for 20 years, which she had not mentioned before.
A few months before our move to Ananda Village, I started exchanging some emails with Kent Williams about my options for connecting to the Internet. Dial-up and satellite were the only two. I knew that the dial-up link would not be sufficient to be able to effectively perform my duties. It would have worked perhaps as a backup if the other link went down. So, I started investigating the satellite option. That wasn’t ideal either, because it wouldn’t have allowed me for a “real-time” connection due to delays of satellite links.
During one of my visits to Expanding Light in late 2001, Kent introduced me to Ric, who runs Ananda Bell. During that visit I found out that Ananda Village operated its own phone company. Apparently, many years ago Ananda Village had purchased a phone switch, much like one that might be used by a large corporation for their office buildings. With the purchase of this switch along with some business arrangements with the phone company, the phone lines within the village boundary had also became the property of Ananda Village. I don’t think anybody (except Master) probably knew that this was a major milestone in Ananda’s broadband Internet history. Without the existence of this switch and the ownership of these landlines, it would not have been possible for us to have DSL service.
During my discussions with Kent and Ric, I realized that the very products that my company sells could also be used to bring DSL service to this community. There were many details to iron out but suffice it to say that in April 2002, with an additional T1 line that was brought to Ananda Village by SBC/PacBell (now AT&T), we were able to start a pilot DSL service to a handful of “beta” customers. During the past five years, that number has grown to over a hundred DSL connections serving not only the entire community of over 200 people, but also some of our neighbors who are able to receive Internet service through Ananda Bell with the use of line-of-sight radios and antennae.
It is not common for a rural community to have this sort of fortune, as high-speed internet access is typically not possible without expensive investment (satellite links and such) for individual homes. Ananda Village residents, however, can enjoy decent Internet access for as little as $15/month.
Looking back and reflecting on the sequence of events that led to this fortune, I can’t help but think that Master must have influenced the minds of the decision makers in the village at the time to steer them toward the direction of purchasing this phone switch knowing that one day the DSL technology would become available and would enable us to provide DSL service through our ownership of the copper lines. I am grateful to Master for giving me the opportunity to serve in this manner and for giving me the ability to play some role in these sequence of events.
