Source Seminars

Entrainment into the Guru's vibration

Inshallah

Darkness October 2011

One thing I love about the Dark, it puts you face-to-face with yourself, both big and little AND one process is not more important than the other. Granted, experiencing the Larger Self is a lot more enjoyable...who wouldn't prefer ecstatic states of Consciousness if given the choice?  Yet the little self is the rascal who prevents us from enjoying these blissful realms as often as we might like.  The Dark strips away those fantasies of who we think we are...or at least pretend to be.  There is no foolin' anyone in the Dark.  We get to see the REAL, usually RAW, deal!

So that means, for me at least, the Dark can include sizable "burning": tears, hand-wringing, unavoidable confrontation with one's faults and failures.  This is most especially the case if it's been a while since doing the Dark..as it was this time.  I had "sizable" accumulated baggage to purge.  One of the most heart-wrenching aspects is realizing how I again fell back to sleep and forgot what's REALLY important.  That being, in a nutshell, GOD ALONE.

The stupidity of my sidetracks and the way my life seems to take on so many meaningless distractions is appalling.  I guess some of it could be viewed as humorous, but I would rather not laugh myself into yet another un-Self-realized embodiment.

Yes, the Dark can be both Agony and Ecstasy, yet even the Agony feels worthwhile and soul-cleansing.  Life is so simple here.  All the choices are clear and none are negative.  There is no desire to live in that crazy world out there with all it's mind-numbing, soul-stultifying, body-deteriorating tinsel and trash.  That is precisely why Himalayan yogis, locked away in their caves, choose to dream GOD instead.

As I was confronted with the ugliness of a damaged and multi-flawed ego, and the despair of not having changed as I had wished, I reflected on the years I had been praying for assistance with this difficult demolition.  I know God and Gurus love me.  They have undoubtedly heard my prayers and have surely lovingly responded.  WHAT'S THE PROBLEM???

Suddenly I realized that I had not been receptive to Their aid for plain lack of awareness or perhaps stupidity or stubbornness.  The assistance being provided was not getting through!     

The light bulb flashed on!!  I fervently prayed for receptivity to Their offerings.  Not long later, during meditation, I received direct intervention.  When something entrains to, or follows along with, another thing, it becomes like it.  The stronger vibration brings the lesser vibration up to it's higher level and experience.

My ego-construct is so vast, so unwieldy, no matter how hard I have tried, I have not been able to do the necessary to demolish it.

I was told to ABSORB myself, entrain to, the vibration of my Guru, for His infinitely more powerful vibration could, indeed, put my ego in it's proper servant-to-my-soul place.  By focusing wholeheartedly on my Guru, my vibration will entrain into His...and His amazing wisdom and love will be present to deal with whatever the issue is at hand. 

I have been doing this practice in the Dark and the results have been profound.  It is like having a Master living within you performing all actions moment-by-moment.  May this focus become second nature here in the Dark so I may bring it back with me into the crash and bang of the material world.  For decades I have stumbled along.  I now have the opportunity to turn my life over to Someone who really knows what They are doing.  I am endeavoring to keep His image at my Spiritual Eye and keep my attention at the Eye as much as possible, absorbed in His Holy Vibration.

Darkness begins

Good Sunday Morning!

I have been choosing to start publishing the Darkness blogs and the world has kept me pretty engaged.  That's just the world, isn't it?  So here we go...starting from the very beginning:  I do not intend to go into such detail regarding spiritual experiences ongoing...yet I am choosing to set the stage regarding just what Darkness can do.

Inshallah

I am beginning Darkness with a three day fast.  I drunk my fasting drink before my first meditation of Darkness following the long sleep with which Darkness begins.  That sleep is always special as we live in a very sleep-deprived society.  Being able to just sleep, and sleep as long as one desires without any consideration of time and "to-do's", is a great luxury indeed.

Imbibing thus, I felt sluggish and tapped out.  It would have been wiser to drink after meditation.  I still soldiered on with Hong Sau and at some point became aware that I was quite interiorized.  When I began the AUM technique I was immediately inundated with It's resounding tone and there were nuances within It that I don't remember hearing before.  I focused on myself being entrained into It's vibration and pulled deeper and deeper within.  I knew the Sacred Sound was permeating me and making subtle changes within my being.  It was transforming my vibration into something far better, far lighter.

I became quite devotional as I realized this Holy AUM was emanating directly from Source...and my ONE was drawing me back into Itself.  There was a sheet of White Light which AUM seemed to be manifesting as well.  All in all it was a singular experience, incredibly powerful and predominant.  Only other AUM experiences in prior Darknesses could approach It's magnificence.

I thought to myself, "This Darkness is certainly starting out with a Bang!"

Happy to be back

Good Sunday Morning!

I wrote lotsa blogs at Inshallah this Darkness and those will be fun getting out.  This Morning I just feel like checking in and telling you how much I love you!  It was a GREAT Darkness.  Right from the get-go!  Not that it didn't have it's "interesting" moments...that's just how life IS on the planet...even in the Dark, haha!

One of the coolest things was that I COMPLETELY forgot TIME.  Did it on purpose and sure glad I did too!  In spades, I guess, because when Den called me on Friday to say he was already in Temecula on his way to retrieve me, I actually thought it was around the preceding MONDAY!!  I was just STUNNED. Had I  been living 30 hour days or what?  When I heard the phone ringing I thought he was going to tell me something about a forest fire or something.  A couple hours earlier I had heard "outside" noise for pretty much the first time all Darkness.  ( I had heard a couple of truck-sounds earlier, but that was it.)

I heard helicopters flying around, over, and all about the sky directly over Inshallah.  On and on....  It was when I was meditating, so I was pretty withdrawn.  Still....why copters?  Fire was really the only thing I could come up with.  I wasn't TOO alarmed.  I just hoped Den was keeping on top of "Idyllwild news" and would tell somebody I was up there if it was going to get hot!  If not, well....I thought I could grab a big picture of Sri Yukteswar, sit in my meditation chair and go out in flames...Obviously the world didn't exactly have me in the palm of it's hand at that moment.

It's great to be back AND it sure was good to be there.  Yesterday was such a sublime re-entry.  We didn't get to bed til nearly 2AM Friday so just got down to Temple for our weekly service ( I LOVE cleaning my two bathrooms!), meet-up with Core IV locals, and a sweet lunch together.

THEN, we had our yearly Kriyaban Ceremony.  Tell me, is that perfect timing, or what?  Brother Bhumananda was at the top of his game and the Masters were permeating each of us with beaucoup blessings. Our Core IV row rocked....and we floated out of there to a sweet family dinner.

We then went to a small Kirtana concert in Encinitas...sitting right at her feet.  WOW.  That woman may be the best spiritual troubadour on the planet right now!!  We went because we use her music in our Source trainings...yet in person she is WAAAAY more impactful than even her wonderful recorded music.

After the first set her accompaniest passed around a box of Kleenex because he heard Den and I sniffling in the front row...her songs moving us to tears of Joy and God!!

I sat there at my spiritual eye absolutely enveloped in the embrace of my beloved Guru.  He was really happy I had brought Him along, haha.  He may have missed an incredible spiritual sound-feast if we weren't connected at the Eye!

Loving you SO MUCH! k

Darkness/Unselfishness

Good Morning,

This time I am not forgetting to "sign off" for a while.  We are having a IV event at Inshallah this weekend and then I am going into the Dark for a couple of weeks.  Obviously I will not be posting during that time ;-).  I do appreciate your kind thoughts and prayers. In fact, they are quite palpable when I am engaged in Darkness. Subtle feelings and perceptions come to the fore as the material world is enclosed in Darkness.

I am leaving you with a jewel from last night's Temple Service on Unselfishness.  Both Den and I felt this was the most important nugget we gained.  Our egos are normally very attached to how they show up in the world, both the good and the bad.  You may have noticed (I certainly have) that one's focus on one's flaws and shortcomings can be particularly disconcerting.  Since much of our perception is "all about ME" the faults too can be incredibly magnified.

When one practices unselfishness, the focus is shifted away from the little self and onto service and consideration of others.  Removing the energy and placing it thus, our own bad habits and weaknesses begin to fade from lack of attention!  We become better people as we are absorbed in caring for others.

I do choose to caution that we should not do this in a co-dependent way (so common in our society).  We are not avoiding ourselves or projecting our own problems externally or onto others.  We are coming from a selfless yet responsible place of true altruism.  With a bit of soul-searching, I am confident we each will know the difference!  Unselfishness does not produce "ego balm"; it produces saints!!

I look forward to re-engaging after a much desired spiritual re-set in Darkness.   Ah, Darkness.  It definitely has the key to getting me back to what REALLY matters: my Divine Romance with the ONE!

Loving you always, k

Flipping the Switch

Good Morning!

I awoke early again and I was really at the Crossroads between the two experiences of the subsequent two mornings.  I was not in the Current like yesterday yet I was not precisely in the grip of fear of Separation like the day before either.  It could have gone either way.

I quickly grabbed the reins away from habit and ego and let them know who's boss!  I resolved to fall back to sleep by the force of will....and perhaps for the first time in my life I was able to do so quickly.  Each time I awoke I did the same thing.  I noticed sometimes I was in the Current too...which was a nice change.

When I, for once, decided I had had enough sleep I noticed my thoughts were beginning to go random.  Why would I choose to waste that most precious just-out-of-Source time like that?  I immediately started doing my Affirmations and Prayers and guess what?  I immediately went into the Current!

This proves when we align ourselves with Divinity It can pull us right into Greater Connection with Divinity!  I KNOW the most powerful time to plant those precious Seed Thoughts of the Great Ones is right away upon awakening or just before drifting off to sleep at night.  Since I am a morning person and go to sleep so quickly and completely there would hardly be a chance to utter anything, I choose to do my statements in the AM.

I had the broadest of smiles as I did my Good Mornings and I Love Yous to the ONE and my Great Ones today.  I felt absolutely Victorious in the LIGHT.

I KNOW if I can do this, you can do this too!  Somehow we are all in this together and though sometimes I may make the first salvo it is often you who have the biggest artillery!

Wrest control away from any negative as soon as you begin to become Conscious.  I was going to say "in the morning" yet of course this statement would be true ANYTIME.  YOU decide where you choose your mind to wander, or not.  Personally, I believe filling it with the Thoughts, Prayers, Affirmations, Chants of the Great Ones is the surest way to start it on the Right Track in the morning, or anytime!  

If you find yourself (and your mind/body) anywhere other than where YOU choose to be, summon all that great power within you, and FLIP THE SWITCH!  Attach yourself to any ONE you feel is greater than yourself and hold on tight.  You will be protected, guided, and oh, so very greatly LOVED!

Loving you always, k  p.s.  For the first time EVER, when I did spell check upon completion of writing, it flashed NO MISPELLINGS FOUND.  This blog obviously wasn't "written" by me, haha.

Fasting

Good Morning!

I have been meaning to write on fasting for quite a long time...today's the day!

First, I choose to say that if and when you ever get bogged down, or "disconnected" spiritually, or just in a state of malaise, fasting will definitely spring you out of it.  When you cease ingesting food, the energy digestion takes, and all the workings of the body processes and organs that go along with it,  begins to interiorize.  Just as one does in Kriya, or to a lesser extent in regular meditation practice, your energy is pulled in and gathered in the spine.

How does this effect your perception?  You begin to feel more "other worldly" because you are simply less "material".  You are not focused on the actions related to feeding yourself...which is surely one of the most basic, materially-oriented, of our daily activities.  You become more sensitive and aware of yourself as a spiritual being.  This shows up sometimes in direct flows of energy spontaneously charging you; a heightened awareness of your spiritual eye and/or medulla regions; a state of inner calm and peace; spontaneous joy; an easier time Remembering. 

When you do sit to meditate it is generally much easier to get and stay Connected.  The strong beam of your energy is being turned from the outside to the inside and this really is a tangible thing.

The above effects are surely main motivators for the long periods of fasting which we have read about related to Jesus and other Great Ones of God.  If one chooses to shut-out the material world and feel more strongly the Inner Light and Graces, surely fasting is a great first step.

Of course, I am writing this today because of my fresh experience of yesterday's fast.  My awakening this morning in the Current was SO different than my awakening yesterday with the jolt and fear of Separateness.  The Affirmation repetition tumbled effortlessly through my mind the first hour of this day.  I felt in the very lap of the Divine.  Ah....fasting.  Such a gift!

Yogananda recommends fasting one day weekly or three consecutive days each month.  Not being able to choose, I do both, haha.  I will begin my Darkness Retreat next week with 3 days for October.

I have read that research at UCLA has confirmed the incredible health benefits of fasting.  They have found that ones doing either of the above routines live 25% longer.  I always chuckle when I say to Source participants, "That might not matter to you now, but it sure will the last 25% of your lifetime!"

Fasting allows one to really detox the accumulated negatives.  Without food clogging up the system, the body can get down to those stored and embedded toxins!  To facilitate this, it is wise to take a laxative the night before a fast, and each night of the fast as well.  I use Smooth Move tea and it does the trick nicely!  It is also important to drink plenty of water to keep flushing the system and moving along those unwelcome guests which have come to stay too long.

I usually take only tea and water on my one-day fasts.  I use Healthy Fasting tea and Detox Tea and then the nightcap of Smooth Move.  I endeavor to drink at least a couple of cups of the specialized during the day.  The Fasting Tea tends to curb the "appetite" as well.  Good enough!

On a three-day fast, I take the aforementioned teas the initial day, fresh-squeezed orange juice the 2nd day, and a combination of orange juice and fresh ground almonds the 3rd day.  The OJ/ground almond combo is recommended by Yogananda.  It definitely provides good energy and is delicious to boot!  I use about 17 almonds per 2 cup drink.

I could go more into the beneficial health effects of fasting...and you can find tons of info on that on the Internet yourself!

Hopefully what you did gain today is Spiritual Motivation to fast!  It feels SO GOOD to have an intense upleveling in your Spiritual Connection.  Fasting can give you that every week!  It also assists in creating some perspective about the role food and eating is occupying in your life.  You can't hide from that A-Ha when fasting. It's put right square in your face.  You will also notice you are more discriminate about what you put into your body after you have just cleaned it out.  ALWAYS a good thing!

HAPPY FASTING!

Loving you always, k

The Unexpendable...

Good Morning!

For whatever reason, good, sound sleep has been eluding me for several weeks.  I tried Melatonin last eve and it did get me 6 and a half hours before waking at 4:30AM.  Obviously, I also got to bed earlier than I have been.

Rising an hour later, I wandered to the computer for a short send and found the internet down.  Personally, i think my Gurus may have done that.  I got to watch myself adjust to no computer and instead complete my pre-sadhana exercises.

I have been noticing a level of stress even while meditating????  I believe it relates to the lack of sleep.  This morning, however, in the dome, I finally reached the state of peace I have come to expect from sadhana.  Thank God.

Our society breeds restlessness.  We are surrounded by doing, acting, achieving, completing.  My God....where IS peace?  My temple visits are no longer a "choice" they are ESSENTIAL.  No matter how little I have slept, I would rather be there with the environment and support of other meditators.  I may not be going as deep of late, yet I am still going....  The alternative is absolutely unpalatable. 

I ended up making 4 trips to downtown Encinitas yesterday: meditation/Sunday service, yoga, Master's Hermitage and gardens, and the Temple Gita Meditation.  Doing the footwork will eventually lead me to Destination Home.  Sometimes, like lately, it seems a far piece.  Yet...there is no other Way to go.

I spoke to a couple of very dear grads yesterday.  Both had been given HUGE wake-up calls as to the Purpose of their Life.  Death and Loss can do that.  I am trusting they have both heard The Call and are now ardently pursuing the ONE thing that gives everlasting Peace: The ONE.

At this moment I am experiencing the Peace of this morning's foray to the Dome.  I am savoring it.  I had taken it for granted....I choose not to do so again.

I CAN live my life without one external perk....it would not give ego much balm, yet it IS do-able.  What is not expendable is my inner experience of Connection.  Without that, life becomes drab and meaningless.  A real chore.

I have prayed more than once today to keep my God and my Gurus in my thoughts and in my Heart during my day's activities.  Knowing Them there, feeling Their Loving Presence, will assist me to Stay Connected.

If you are not, in this moment, experiencing your Divine Birthright of Peace and Joy, may I suggest you do the same?  If we each can Stay Connected, we will surely be conduits for other Dear Ones, and strangers (there are none) to do the same.

Loving you always, k