Or, “What Happened At Our House During the Big Storm.”

The short version

A huge oak tree fell on our dome-home at noon on Friday in the middle of a large windstorm. We were at home, but not hurt. We have quite a bit of damage to the dome, but we have received tons of help on every level and we will be able to keep living there while repairs are happening. We are very grateful to God and Gurus, but certainly would appreciate your prayers at this time. It was and is all quite an adventure, full of challenges and many special blessings. If you want to know more details, read on:

The long version

A big storm and high winds were expected here including power outages and all that sort of thing. But we are used to it out here in the country – it happens every winter – and we thought we were prepared. Sudarshan and I both came home early from work because the electricity had gone off everywhere and it was difficult to work without it. This was a great blessing, because we could start dealing with everything very quickly after the tree fell and get help also. So at 12 noon, I was sitting at the dining room table eating lunch and Sudarshan was a couple of feet away from me, talking on the phone. Our kitty Grayson, who is generally a quiet cat, starting yowling a lot. We tried to calm him, but he wouldn’t be calmed and finally went to the bedroom and hid (intuitive cat – they often seem to know these things ahead of time).

One of the big black-oak trees in our front yard was uprooted by a huge wind gust and thrown on to the house, hitting the dining room area about 2 feet from where I was sitting. I saw it coming at the window out of the corner of my eye, but there was nothing I could do. I felt very calm and was mostly surprised to see all the pictures and a mirror flying off the walls all around me (the mirror didn’t break). The big window beside broke and plexi-glass flew my way, but again didn’t hit me. Sudarshan calmly said to the person on the phone: “I’ve got to go now. A tree just fell on Savitri.”

Naturally the friend he was speaking to was shocked, but she could hear me saying in the background: “I’m OK! I’m OK!” I stood up, folded my hands and said a prayer of thanksgiving to my guru. Our phone friend hung up and called her husband and lots of other guys in the community who were there with chain saws and tarps within 20 minutes. They worked for quite some time under very dangerous conditions. The storm was at its full furry, wind howling, debris blowing about. It was spectacular. They were able to chain-saw the tree carefully into sections and use a winch to pull it off the house in such a way as to not damage the dome any further. But several folks were high up there on ladders or on our slippery dome in high winds. What heroes they all were! We are so grateful for all the help.

The tree punched a big hole in the side and top of our dome and did some damage to the cupola a the top and another section higher up also. I stayed inside and tried to deal with all the water coming into the house (fortunately it was on to vinyl flooring and not carpeting) and move furniture out of the way of the instant interior waterfalls. Several women friends came to help me deal with the inside of the house and that was great. Once the outside workers got a big tarp lashed on to damaged part, things quickly got a lot better inside the house.

So we have spent the last couple of days (Yogananda’s birthday weekend, no less) working hard to clean up, to assess the damage, to take pictures for insurance purposes (we are insured through the Village, thank God!) and to start some of the actual repair work.

All this took place without electricity as we were without power for three days and during intermittent snow falls, which were fortunately not too heavy in our area. Friends came through with all sorts of food and repair work and continuing offers of aid. We have much hard work to do, perhaps months of it, to get it all repaired. Because of the gaping hole in the dome, we have to use more than the usual amounts of fire wood to keep warm, but other than that, we are able to eat, sleep, and carry on. We’ll be living in the middle of a construction project for as long as it takes, which you know is never fun, if you’ve ever had THAT experience yourself. It is sad on another level, because Sudarshan had recently finished re-shingling the whole dome pretty much by himself, and now a large section of has to be re-done. It’s very tricky doing this, because the roof comes all the way to the ground on our dome and the sides are steep and the angles are tricky. Ah, well!

All through it I felt very calm and blessed, so meditation does help “free one from dire fears and colossal sufferings” (smile). I feel that there was indeed a great amount of karma which was held at bay by divine forces, especially by Master himself. We are taught in our path that often when karma is coming to us, the gurus protect us. We still get the karma, but may be mitigated. Instead of breaking an arm, you might just get a scratch – that sort of thing. Sudarshan and I were about 2 feet from what would have been either sudden death or severe injury, if the tree hadn’t been nudged out of the way just a little and kept from falling on to the window near us instead of the roof/wall.

We had an engineer-architect friend helping us yesterday. He explained that a regular building, being hit by such a force, most likely would have been totally destroyed. But a geodesic dome, because of the way it is built, has a way of deflecting a blow and spreading it all over the structure instead of concentrating it at one place – making it super-strong. This is an amazing fact about geodesic domes, I think. Swami Kriyananda, our founder, really encouraged us to build domes in the early days of Ananda. Esthetically they are unique and the energy is excellent inside them. Practically, they present many unusual privacy challenges. But safety-wise, I now believe that they can’t be beat! Thanks Swamiji!

Another lesson driven home once again: Living in an intentional, spiritual community like Ananda Village has value beyond all measure. In times of trouble, sickness, disaster, whatever, your gurubais are there beside you, never questioning the cost to themselves personally, going the extra mile. And I am sure all our friends here understand that we would do our best to do the same for them in a situation like this one. Everyone in the world should live this way! I know it’s not possible in the world just now, but do I wish I could convince everybody otherwise. The blessings are amazing! As Swamiji’s song says (”Many Hands Make a Miracle”) “…when people laugh, and dance, and struggle as friends, then all their dreams achieve their ends.” So very, very true. Cooperative living, at its finest! Loving, divine friendship made manifest.

Ananda’s outreach efforts in Spanish started in the ’80s with Marga Dominguez-Goering. She began by translating Swami Kriyananda’s “Festival of Light” ceremony performed at Sunday Services, and Ananda’s beginner lessons in meditation.

In 1997, with my arrival at Ananda Village, we founded Ananda’s Spanish Ministry, which is now online at www.anandaespanol.org.

Marga (from Spain) and I (from Colombia) both shared the desire to spread Paramhansa Yogananda’s teachings and Ananda’s way of life with Spanish speaking people.

However, without a Spanish speaking population nearby and without a web site, the Spanish ministry was not going to grow very fast – this was obvious. Ram Smith, an Ananda minister, encouraged us to organize a workshop at Ananda’s Meditation Retreat. We created a very simple web site and a whole family from Colombia, who lived in the San Francisco Bay Area attended. About 6 people came.

Retreat participants doing yoga exercises

In the following months and years, we continued our outreach efforts, and attracted devotees from all over – including some who were interested in sharing the teachings of yoga and meditation, helping them to reach more people.

Seeing these students’ commitment and devotion to this spiritual path made us feel that Paramhansa Yogananda was helping us to find leaders that could take these teachings back to their own homes, in places like Spain, Argentina, and Los Angeles. When the Internet became popular everywhere, the work was cut out for us.

In time, with the help of Ananda’s Director of the Kriya Yoga Ministry, we decided to focus on finding and training people who were interested in Kriya Yoga. Paramhansa Yogananda called Kriya Yoga “the easiest, most effective, and most scientific avenue of approach to the Infinite.”

Students who take Kriya Initiation start with lessons in meditation, continue with the Spanish version of The Art and Science of Raja Yoga, and accept discipleship to Paramhansa Yogananda before learning the techniques of Kriya Yoga.

The students download the lessons through our web site: Ananda Español. 3,000 people signed up for the lessons in the last 3 years, and we are getting about 80 new students a week! We have students in 26 countries and new meditation groups are forming on a regular basis.

It’s a team effort!

On one end, we have Marga and I, who correspond with new students, welcoming them and answering their questions. I coordinate North America, Mexico, and Latino America, while Marga coordinates Spain and other countries. We have students from Croatia, Malaysia, and Israel! (You can find Spanish speaking people everywhere in the world.)

An Ananda minister arranging flowers before a retreat in Venezuala

On the other end, we have the leaders of the meditation groups where we send nearby students so that they can have 1-on-1 training. We also offer retreats where people get to know us and can meet other people on the same spiritual path.

In Spain we are seeing an incredible increase in students, and new leaders are coming forth, like Pedro Rapp, who came to a retreat in Segovia in 2005. With other Ananda members in Spain he has trained 2 new Kriyabans in his area and has helped train several disciples of Paramhansa Yogananda.

Having an Ananda community nearby whose teachers can travel – like Ananda Italy – and having a handful of dedicated leaders interested in spreading these teachings, the number of students interested in Kriya Yoga sky rockets.

A challenge is to take this model to Latino America, where there is no community nearby, and where students have a hard time getting visas to come to America. Still, the Spanish ministry has given Kriya Initiation in Cuba, Venezuela, and now Mexico, whose future looks very good. In Mexico, recently, another Ananda member and myself were invited to give discipleship training to 80 new devotees (below) who are now on their way to taking Kriya Initiation.

“Now I love to meditate!”

These are some of the things that we are hearing from our students:

“Thank you, for all your help. I have tried so many different techniques to learn to meditate and not until now have I seen any progress. I feel deep peace and perceive a deep breakthrough in my search.”
– Alvaro, Mexico

“I just started this path and already saw important changes in myself; I have more tolerance, I feel calmer and more patient. Even my friends and family can tell the difference. My goal is to contact God through my gurus with Ananda’s help. Thank you so much for everything.”
– Francisco, Ecuador

“I’m really enjoying the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. I found them exceptional and full of practical and spiritual wisdom.”
– Rafael, Spain

“I have finished the second part of the lessons and I have a strong desire to continue and to prepare for Kriya Yoga.”
– Maria, Argentina

“The Energization Exercises are excellent!! Thank you. Now I love to meditate!”
– Olga, Mexico

Paramhansa Yogananda says, in an article written in 1923: “The week should be allotted to work, amusement, and spiritual culture—five days for money making, one day for rest and amusement, and one day for introspection and inner realization.”

There probably isn’t too much question about working: most of us don’t have much choice about it. Rest and amusement are often too easy for us to seek out. The third area is where we may lack experience and definition: introspection and inner realization.

Ah, sweet seclusion! If you’ve never tried it—well, you must and the sooner the better!

Most likely, you’ll find it so enjoyable that you’ll soon be trying to take a day of seclusion more often, perhaps even one day a week, once a month, or even longer seclusions once or twice a year. Here are some suggestions that might help you to have a better time of your seclusion.

Try to find a place, even if it’s just a room, where you can be completely alone all day. Your own home may be fine, but householders often have problems secluding at home. Try to get the rest of the family to leave or to at least agree to give you as much privacy as possible for the day. Better yet, get out of your familiar environment, where there may be a strong temptation to get back into old routines, habits, or thought patterns. Go somewhere away from home.

Ananda’s Meditation Retreat or The Expanding Light Retreat both a part of Ananda Village near Nevada City, California, certainly are two of the best places to consider.

Don’t eat a heavy meal the night before a seclusion day; this will help your next morning’s meditation immensely. Try to meditate deeply the night before, then go to sleep affirming: “Tomorrow is my day to be alone with God!”

Get up early! Sleeping late will make you sluggish all day—and, besides, you’ll miss the coming of the dawn, the loveliest and often quietest time of the day.

Energize—outside if at all possible. Go slowly and stay very conscious of how you are doing the exercises. Do some yoga postures. Take time to do them carefully, gracefully, meditatively, in the Ananda Yoga way. If you are not used to doing yoga on your own, use a guided Ananda Yoga routine on an audio or video tape. Be adventurous and pick out some postures from the Ananda Course in Self Realization (14 Steps) or Ananda Yoga for Higher Awareness, that you rarely or never practice and give them a try too. Here is your chance to really enjoy them; you’ve probably been too rushed to do them correctly—if at all—during your busy work week.

Now for a long, deep meditation with no time barriers whatever. How glorious to know you can meditate for as long as you can sustain the energy. Do the techniques longer than usual, with your mind deeply absorbed in what you are doing. Do more kriyas and/or higher kriyas than usual, too. End with healing prayers—sending healing vibrations to individuals, to the world, and to yourself, too. Try bridging the gap between meditation and the rest of your day by practicing an affirmation, reading one of Yogananda’s prayers or poem, listening to some of Swami Kriyananda’s inspiring music, going for a walking meditation in the beauties of nature, or having a little ceremony or ritual of some sort for yourself.

A seclusion day is perfect for fasting and keeping complete silence, or breaking your silence only for prayers or chanting (even then, try chanting softly, staying very inward). If total fasting is too much for you (drink plenty of water, please!), you might try fresh fruit and vegetables only or fresh juices all day. Whatever you eat, eat lightly, gratefully, slowly and consciously! Don’t forget the other kinds of diets and fasts that Yogananda recommends his article, “The Divine Magnetic Diet:” the wisdom diet, the courage diet, and of course, a worry fast.

Most people find it much easier to fast if they keep silence at the same time. While keeping silence try to avoid even eye contact with anyone—no note writing either. Just SILENCE. You’ll find your energy begins to build as the time goes by. All the energy that gushes out of your mouth and eyes all day, every day, hoard it up and direct it towards God and toward longer, deeper meditations. It truly works! As Yogananda says: “Silence is the altar of spirit.” After several days of complete silence, you will probably find a greater sense of inner peace and joy within you that you have ever known.

Perhaps your seclusion time can be a time of internal and external cleansing as well. Take a mild herbal laxative one evening or an enema in the morning. Have a long soak in your bathtub, or at least have a good long scrub in the shower. Take a swim if the weather’s nice and you happen to know of a fairly private place to swim. Take a sun bath, too, consciously pulling in those healing rays (be careful of going too long with this—perhaps avoiding the more dangerous times in the middle of the day). Do some of Yogananda’s heliotropic methods of self-healing.

Today may be the day to do all those yoga exercises or techniques that you keep intending to do, but just don’t take the time for: the special mudras, bandhas, or pranayams. Other things to do: practice your chants, letting God flow through your voice. Take one chant and chant it for a long, long time. Learn a new chant. Learn one of Swami’s songs. Sing along with a tape like “Some of My Favorites” or any of the Ananda music and chanting tapes. Chant AUM at each chakra, using the appropriate musical notes. Make music, chanting, japa, and the power of vibration an important part of a seclusion.

Write in your journal. If you don’t have one, use this time of seclusion to start one. If you only keep a brief daily spiritual diary, have another journal for expanding journal writing—and write, write, write! You’ll be amazed at how many problems you can solve by listing them and then asking Divine Mother to help you list all kinds of solutions. Subject such as Why are my meditations so blah? or why don’t I get along with so-and-so? Have a sort of intensive planning session with yourself, on paper.

Write letters of spiritual encouragement; there are surely many folks you know who are in great need of such a letter. Write poetry, but try to make it introspective and God-centered. Draw or paint, but only with a focus on God.

And study! this should be a part of every seclusion. For example, take one of the lessons from Raja Yoga (14 Steps) and read it slowly, reflecting on every sentence. Take notes. Make outlines. Pretend you’re going to have a pop quiz tomorrow, or that you have to teach a class in whatever you’ve chosen to study. Or listen to one of Swami Kriyananda’s talk tapes or perhaps even transcribe it word for word, or at least make some good notes.

Read other inspirational works, lives of saints or biographies of other Godly persons. But please, not light or trashy novels today, no sci-fi, detective or romance novels. And no People Magazine or the San Francisco Chronicle. Remember that this is your time to grow closer to God, and there’s plenty of material of higher consciousness to read and study without falling into those other traps. And, of course, no movies, TV, radio, or non-spiritual music. The idea is to keep the consciousness high; avoid these distractions like the plague!

Do you like to run? Fine! But try to find a place where you won’t see anybody, at least anybody who might want to talk to you. Take a long walk (ditto about the places you go while walking). In fact, do a walking meditation.

At twilight have another nice, long sadhana—perhaps outside, if the weather will allow. Try a three hour meditation with breaks every hour for chanting or stretching. Go even longer if you feel you can, or work up to longer meditations as you are able to take longer times of seclusion. End your day with a prayer of thanksgiving for the joy that comes from spending a day alone with the Friend of Friends.

Certainly your time of seclusion will seem to end too soon, all the better to whet your appetite for the next time. Sweet, sweet seclusion! “Solitude is the price of greatness,” Yogananda said. Seek it out and God bless you as you do.

P. S. I wrote this little article on one of my seclusion days in 1980, not too long after I had first started taking regular seclusions. Now 22 years later, I am still just as enthusiastic about them, if not more so. I now know, without any shadow of a doubt, that times of seclusion are essential to one’s ability to persevere on a lifetime spiritual quest to final freedom in God.

One of the great joys of my work with Kriya Yogis is the frequent emails I receive from them, describing the positive effects of Kriya practice. These testimonials come from long-time Kriyabans, and from people who have been practicing Kriya less than a year.

Many times the practice of Kriya brings what I call ‘unintended consequences’ — all of them positive! A recent email from a new Kriyaban described how they had stopped eating meat, were eating half as much as they used to (good in their case, apparently!) – all of this even though they weren’t trying to make these particular changes in their life.

Because Kriya changes one deeply from the inside, the changes can and do manifest outwardly in many ways. In a sense, the Kriya Yogi changes himself from the inside out, rather than in the typical modern approach of changing one’s looks, clothing, or personality.

Here are some of the comments I’ve received from Kriya Yogis:

“My heartfelt thanks to you for giving me the Kriya Technique earlier in the year. It was the greatest gift I have ever received. Words cannot describe the taste of the daily ‘kriya nectar.’”

“I found intense joy, happiness and peace in my life. Kriya and devotion light up my life, and best of all I have daily guidance from the Masters. Since I started my daily practice I became a vegetarian and celibate and living a quiet life, looking at the external world as an expression of God, with compassion and love. I am very happy to be spiritually awakening.”

“My inner and outer life have changed in ways I never thought possible.”

“Kriya is truly a sacred art that has a profound and life changing effect on one’s thought pattern, and a feeling of great joy and bliss.”

How can the practice of Kriya cause so many positive changes? In his Autobiography of a Yogi, Yogananda promised:

“One-half minute of revolution of energy around the sensitive spinal cord of man effects subtle progress in his evolution; that half-minute of Kriya equals one year of natural spiritual unfoldment.”

Yogananda went even further in a discussion with Swami Kriyananda, which he recounts in his book The Essence of Self-Realization:

“I can take a few young men of the most restless sort, and let them practice Kriya for two hours every day in the way I tell them, and, without question, in four or five years I can make saints out of them.

“I won’t preach a single sermon to them. I will simply tell them to practice Kriya for two hours a day, and they will see the difference in their lives. That is a good challenge.

“Of course, they must practice in the way that I tell them. That won’t be easy. But it is surely worth the effort.”

People often make resolutions to change their lives - typically at the start of the new year. Often, these resolutions have little effect, perhaps a little lost weight or a few better habits. Imagine making just one change that will have benefits for every aspect of your life!

Yogananda did not say that his “young men of the most restless sort” would have to change this bad habit or that. He didn’t say that they would have go to church every Sunday. All they would need to do is “practice Kriya for two hours every day in the way I tell them,” and they would become saints in 4 or 5 years.

I can honestly say, based on my own 30-year experience of daily Kriya practice, and on my interactions with hundreds of other Kriya Yogis, that Kriya effectively changes people’s lives out of all proportion to the self-effort required.

If you are interested in learning Kriya Yoga, feel free to email me. If you already practice Kriya, consider dedicating 2008 to a deeper and more devoted practice of it. You may well be surprised at the many “unintended” positive consequences resulting from your deep, sincere practice.
–>

I wish you all a very happy New Year.

After reading Swami Kriyananda’s recent letters to us relating his bliss in the midst of his surgeries and chemotherapy I realize that the “happy” in our new year greetings is a powerful affirmation to feel inner joy despite any outward circumstances.


I am sharing a collection of photos from Ananda including our snow, and celebration of Yogananda’s birthday. The Western United States has been hit by a storm with high winds and we are experiencing the 3rd day of power outages.

Amazingly, The Expanding Light Retreat had electricity and hosted a lovely service in honor of our Guru.
This is a special day for those of us on this path. It is an opportunity to honor our Guru and to remember God’s love for us, be thankful for these teachings, Ananda, and Swami Kriyananda. The ceremony included a flower ceremony and the reading of an article by Swamiji entitled, Why I Love My Guru. It was a beautiful evening.

A lot has happened since I last blogged about World Brotherhood Day. We celebrated the Christmas holidays with a Living Wisdom School concert, and another musical evening featuring songs from the Christ Lives Oratorio. We honored the birth of Christ at Sunday Service and with a Christmas eve and morning service and meditation. Ananda also observed its traditional 8-hour meditation at The Expanding Light on December 22.

Many would say the holidays would be a bad time to lose a loved one. But, to leave this world during such a holy time seems a blessing. My father had been ill for sometime and passed away on Christmas eve morning. I drew great comfort from the sacredness of this season.

The Sunday Service before Christmas the choir sang the Christ Child’s Asleep (by Swami Kriyananda). The words from that song flowed through me and have stayed with me. Phrases of the song uplift me even now.

I was very involved helping my mother provide for my dad’s care. I have always been close to my dad and this past year and a half was a good time to just be with him and help him and love him. My husband, Dave and I were with my dad during his final moments. We were awed by the very still peace in his room. In my human heart there was a profound wordless comfort. And even though I wasn’t happy to lose my father I was glad for him that he now was free from any pain. In the minutes, hours and days after my father’s passing I felt my consciousness elevated by grace. I felt at peace and I knew I didn’t have to worry about my dad.

So the beginning of this year started off in a blur of change. But, as always, the new year is a good time to contemplate new beginnings and resolutions to improve various aspects of our lives. Dave Warner’s Sunday Service talk last week was so beautiful. He said that in these times when we are so busy—the thought of even adding good resolutions to our list can seem overwhelming and impossible to maintain.

Dave reminded us that doing something simple like adding japa (the repetition of God’s name) or repeating a favorite affirmation can raise our consciousness. That in itself will help us attract the perfect changes into our lives. By raising our consciousness we change from the inside out. Doing these simple things can help us to spiritualize our lives and deepen our meditations.

There have been moments in my life where I felt my consciousness was high. Durng those times, I have always been amazed that any hurts or griefs I may have been feeling were soothed and washed away. Japa, affirmation, meditation and willingness helps open the doorway to higher consciousness which brings right answers, direction, comfort, and peace.

The power of the Christmas season has an underlying devotion and joy. The hope and spirit of recommiting to high ideals during the New Year and the celebration of Yogananda’s birthday makes this time of year very special.

Last year, as a Christmas project, I created a “Samadhi Slideshow”. It is Master’s poem, Samadhi, set to music and photos. We also played it at Masters’s Birthday celebration last year. Many people have seen it, but maybe you haven’t. If you would like to watch it you can click here. Master said it is good to read about higher states of consciousness as another way to try to tune into higher realities.

I think of you often. May the Masters Bless you all with peace and joy.

PS. Please continue to pray for Swami Kriyananda. Pray that he feel God’s presence and grace and bliss always. Pray for his healing. See yourself as an instrument of light. And see yourself blessed by this light.

Here is an excerpt from a note that Lakshman (Swami’s secretary) wrote yesterday: I’ll mention first that Swamiji’ has been feeling much, much better—quite well, in fact—the past couple of days: “Swamiji’s blood work came back perfect!” It looks as if he (along with Miriam, Lila, and me) will be going to Assisi as planned this Friday, for four weeks. Miriam (who, amazingly enough, has had years of experience at this very thing) will administer his next two rounds of chemotherapy there. She and the folks in Assisi have lined up all the doctors and facilities needed, in case she needs to be in touch with them, and she’ll also have ready cellphone access to all the doctors back in India.  But no one’s anticipating any problems, which is why the oncologist is saying it’s fine for Swamiji to go. “It has to be this 24-hour prayer vigil!” Miriam wrote. “Everyone is so amazed at Swamiji’s progress.”

Lifestyles for Radiant Health:

Last October we offered an exciting new program at the Expanding Light, Ananda’s Yoga and Meditation Retreat. It was called Lifestyles for Radiant Health: Personalized Coaching for Optimal Wellness. Our goal was to reach people who wanted to make healthy lifestyle changes, but had not been able to do so on their own. We knew that with Yogananda’s teachings related to health and healthy living, we had a dynamic program to offer that could really help people to make desired changes in their lives.

And now that it’s the New Year, we’re hoping to assist a group of guests to clarify their New Year’s Resolutions related to healthy living, and most importantly help them to develop a personal plan that will empower them to succeed with their resolutions. How about you? Wouldn’t you enjoy participating in this fun, dynamic and life-changing program? This program will be offered again January 20-27, 2008. (if interested, call the Expanding Light 800-346-5350 or send an email to info@expandinglight.org Call or write soon to reserve a place in the program.) Previous participants raved about how much they enjoyed the program and how much they felt it helped them to believe that they could make the changes in their lives that they wanted to make.

The program starts with a self-evaluation of the participants’ current state of health of body, mind, emotions, and spirit. We also ask them to identify their priorities for where they want to make changes in their lives. One of the most significant things that our coaches do is to help the participants to set realistic goals and to map out short-term goals that will lead them to their long-term goals. For example, one person’s goal was to remember to take deep breaths every hour while at work. It’s a great goal, but how can we remember to do something like this? That’s the challenging part. So, we looked for ways to be reminded: a beeping watch, a programmed Blackberry, notes on the computer, keeping a log, etc. The key is to find ways that are fun and magnetic to help people remember their goals.

The participants met with their personal coaches almost daily to help them focus on their personalized plans for change. Much of this involved helping them set realistic goals, ones at which they could succeed, as well a practical strategies for helping them to successfully make their desired changes. We also went on 30 minute “power walks” every morning after sadhana (spiritual practices: Energization Exercises, Yoga Postures, Chanting and Meditation), during which they all mentally repeated personal affirmations on qualities that they were wanting to energize. These walks also incorporated time for quiet appreciation of the beauty of nature, and exercises to draw on the healing energies found in nature. The participants really loved this activity, as did the staff members who joined them on the walks! It gave us the experience of actually finding a way to bring some enjoyable exercise into our lives in a reasonably easy way—doing it first thing in the morning, and with group support.

The first two days of the program included powerful classes by Jyotish and Devi Novak, the Spiritual Directors of Ananda Village, and the popular class by Dr. Peter Van Houten, MD on “The Brain: Engineered for Transformation.” At the first class Jyotish presented a model of the Pyramid of Radiant Health, identifying the key areas to develop in our plan for Radiant Health. He also focused on how to activate the power of the mind for wellness. Devi’s class helped us to learn about and experience Energy and Magnetism for Well-Being. There were also classes on How to Meditate, Introspection, Journaling, Habit Changing, Creating a Healthy Lifestyle (including healthy eating), the Spiritual Dimensions of Wellness, and Quick and Easy Stress Reduction Techniques, and Vibratory Healing through Music. Each day there were guided practices of Energization Exercises, Yoga Postures, Chanting and Meditation, with a focus on how these techniques can help us achieve optimal wellness. In our next offering of this course we will also offer opportunities for participants to receive personalized yoga posture routines to take home with them.

In the follow up feedback we’ve received from the first group, many have told us that the practices of affirmations and positive thinking were very helpful when they returned to their everyday lives. These are powerful tools, and we practiced them together daily for a week, thus getting a good start in making them new habits. Also, since we combined the walks with affirmations, and since Ananda Yoga includes the use of affirmations with yoga postures, there were multiple opportunities for diving deeply into the practice of re-programming our minds with positive thoughts.

One of the most enjoyable activities of the Radiant Health Program was an Evening of Uplifting Fun spent in the home of two of the coaches. It was a great opportunity for group bonding and much laughter.

One unique and helpful aspect of this program is that following the program, participants receive regular inspiring emails, daily for the first 2 weeks, then periodically over the following 6 months. And many members of the group also formed a yahoo group in order to easily keep in communication with each other. It has been great to watch how the participants have continued their efforts at lifestyle change and how they have become a good support system for each other in these efforts. This first group is planning to return to the Expanding Light in April, 6 months after their program, for a reunion and a motivational boost and/or just to relax and recharge with their friends.

The staff is looking forward to sharing this dynamic program of Lifestyles for Radiant Health at the end of this month (January 20-27), and also May 11-18, August 31-September 7, and November 30-December 7, 2008. It’s a fabulous opportunity for anyone interested in improving their health, vitality, and mental and spiritual well-being. We invite you to join us for a week of fun, dynanic change and radiant health! Joy to you!

Mangala Loper-Powers

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