Old Mission–Powerful Medicine

Yogacharya David

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Picture: Cataldo Mission

During our pilgrimage to Nature’s Cathedrals I received this email from Rebecca B., “Old Mission State Park in Cataldo, Idaho: Dearest David, This hallowed old Jesuit Church built in 1850, is a priceless discovery, serving Native American tribes originally called ‘shee-chjo-umish,’ who welcomed the ‘Blackrobes’ (their name for the Jesuit priests) into their lives. The vibration in this church is so EXTREMELY powerful! The most spiritually-charged church I have ever entered in my whole life…It is the humble sanctity of its vibration that still speaks to me, even today.”

Needless to say, with a description like this, we felt drawn to visit this church on our way back from Yellowstone. This church that is now a state park keeps regular hours and the time, as we drove over the Rocky Mountains, seemed to be dwindling. However, we crossed over into Pacific Time Zone and reprieve came as we gained an hour. We arrived with little under an hour to take in the site, so we skipped the museum and went straight to the wooden church built on a hilltop.

As I ascended the thick wooden stairs I suddenly felt a spiritual magnetism envelope me. Walking through the doors and the feeling only increased. The inside was the product of simplicity, only a single row of a type of pew not usually seen, the fourteen stations of the cross in picture frames surrounded the room, the altar being rustically beautiful, with sacred paintings on each end. This venerable wooden structure that has lasted over 160 years smelled like my grandmother’s basement, but the spiritual mood was intoxicating.

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Picture: Alter of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Sacratissimi Cordis Iesu in Latin)

I took some pictures and then joined Carla on the first, and only, seats facing the sacred heart Christ. Spontaneously my soul silently cried, “Oh my Lord, Oh my Lord,” again and again. I was nothing, He is everything. “Oh, my Lord.” After some time an inner question came from the all-pervasive Christ-Consciousness, “What do you pray for?” The thought flashed for my health, but I discarded that instantly, “Oh my Lord, I pray for this world. You are all-powerful, You are everywhere present, awaken Yourself in all humanity. You are the Great Awakener, You are the eternal Light, You are the great Awakener, awaken Yourself in all humanity.” And so on went my prayer out of the depths of my soul.

So many subtly powerful experiences came in this powerfully charged house of God as my sense of being merged into His Presence, mingling with Him, yet some deep part of me continued to pray to Him—I being nothing, He being everything. Mystic Union being the only apt description. He bids me write this to you, so too must He reveal to you the depth and breadth of this moment in which time is suspended. Gradually awareness began to creep back—somewhere, I had a body, it was in this building. Just then the custodian came in through the back and started to close up.

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We pronamed to the sacred heart, took our leave. As I dropped a donation into the box at the back of the church the man asked, “Did you enjoy it?” It felt it was God Himself who was asking the question, I could only nod my ascent. He said, “Good.” As with Rebecca, the grace of the Old Mission stays with me still, and as I write this I am wrapped in the powerful experience I had there.

Note: The Coeur d’Alene tribe asked for priests to come to them after hearing they were powerful medicine men in black robes. The church was constructed by the natives, and the structure is made with wattle and daub method, no nails were used at all on this long lasting wood structure. Cut down tin cans fabricated the candle holders, painted newspaper sent to the priest made for wallpaper, the blue colored wood was stained using pressed huckleberries, and the statues were carved using only a knife. Antonio Ravalli, an Italian Jesuit, designed the mission building. Obviously, there have been tremendous souls surcharging this church. A description of a gathering of old natives emphasized their great devotion. Here is an example of the union of two cultures which served to spiritually surcharge this mission building and carries with it the Christ’s great Presence.

Picture: Priest’s alcove off to the side of the altar

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Sacred Yellowstone

Yogacharya David

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Picture: Pool at Grand Prismatic Spring

The earth is more alive where geysers and hot boiling water are present. Because of the geyser basins and thermal areas, Yellowstone is considered to have a lot of medicine and be a powerful spiritual place.

Eastern Shoshone Cultural Center

We have found this Shoshone saying to be true. We have visited many of Yellowstone’s most famous and not so well known places, and even though there have been countless visitors standing with us, it seemed there is a quietness that belies the number of people. As we waited for the Old Faithful Geyser to erupt, hundreds, perhaps thousands lined the semi-circle walkway in hushed expectation (we could only imagine how many more people would have been here only a month ago at the height of the season).

And again, we were at the Grand Prismatic Spring as tour buses arrived with international guests in abundance from Salt Lake City, and even though there were many who are shoot and shoe tourists (barely stop to take a quick picture or selfie and then off they go!), both Carla and I felt a quiet sacredness about the place. There is a way of inwardly listening to the vibrational consciousness of a place by being quiet and receptive. Too much concern with schedules, other people around you, and other distractions and you will miss what a place has to say to you.

We stand in awe at the dramatic colors that are vividly displayed in this most unusual setting. From minerals that erupt from the earth to the micro-organisms (extremophiles) that love hot pools, the colors are dazzling. These geysers and pools are what make Yellowstone unique geology in the world.

However, it is also a wonderful place to see wildlife up close. Bison are a delightful surprise. We did not expect to have much connection with these very large mammals who spend eleven hours a day eating. They really are magnificent, as they make their way down lush river valleys they are not only imposing, they also have a real presence. We grew greatly fond of them; now designated as the National Mammal of America. God fulfilled our wish to see moose, as she strolled down the river munching on the greens presenting themselves to her. And on our way back from the magnificent Grand Tetons a large bull moose ran out of the trees next to the road in dusk’s faint light, his quick reflexes and mine prevented a very problematic collision. Then he calmly continued on his way across the road—we loved seeing him from close quarters. The elk are also much admired. A female (a wapiti) made her way through some woods to come near me, Carla said she was coming to get my darshan—I thought I was there to get hers. Then the enormous bull of the herd followed through the thicket and I made a wise retreat, as he was apparently jealous of his prerogatives!

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Picture: Moose munching her way down the riverbank

Each day has been a Ram-adventure and He has guided us perfectly. Time and again we arrived just as something wonderful was occurring. He made sure we had a place to stay when there seemed to be none. It is not advisable to go without reservations to this first and foremost national park, but our invisible booking agent saw to everything perfectly.

Now hie on to our return through the Rocky Mountains. I am working on the pictures I took and will plan to put them up on the internet. The weather has been perfect fall days, even very warm the last couple of days. The painted colors of autumn are splendid, golds of the aspen and reds of the maple making for a ridiculously vibrant palate of color. The colors are so over the top it seems to give a glimpse into the vivacious astral worlds. This journey has certainly fulfilled the purpose in seeking out Nature’s Cathedrals, and taking what the oncologist said was the best medicine for me, being in nature’s wonders.

Picture: Rams in human form at the Grand Prismatic Springs; some are of the shoot & shoe/shoo tourist variety

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Be Ye Perfect

Yogacharya David

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Picture: Yellowstone Bison with steaming pools and geysers behind

We have been exploring a world of wonder here at Yellowstone. From placid Bison grazing down valleys to Elk-bucks trumpeting their call to square off in battle, a Silver Wolf making his way through the woods, a Large Grey Owl pouncing on his prey just feet away, to a Trumpeter Swan gliding on river’s wake and viewing from a seven-thousand-foot altitude an amazing blanket of stars and the river of the Milky Way seemingly without end—and that does not count geysers and hot springs that make up three quarters of the world’s supply, all within a few hours’ drive.

Nature reminds us that creation operates beautifully through lawful action, but it is also brutally destructive. There was a fire here in 1988 that destroyed over a million acres of forest. On the one hand the destruction was enormous, but the after-effect has also been tremendously creative. Lodge Pole Pines burst open their seeds–that only happens inthe heat of fire. The fire burned in a patchwork pattern that made reseeding happen at accelerated rates. The earth was fed with the ashes of the fire’s destruction and became fertility itself. The benefits of the fire have been remarkable; also remarkable is the estimate that fewer than 300 animals perished in the enormous and out of control blaze.

From a human standpoint, the workings of nature can make one feel small. From a Divine perspective, it makes God extremely great. Man is definitely part of all that is, however all that is, is a marvel and more than the mind can contain. To be in awe, to be in continual awe and wonder is to be close to God.

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Picture: colorful hot springs at West Thumb

There are many encounters with the sacred that carries with it the assurance, “Be not afraid.” Words are so difficult to encapsulate any spiritual experience, but when in the Divine Presence there is oftentime the feeling that one will be overwhelmed, that it is all too much. That is the case of the human ego trying to wrap its arms around God rather than simply surrendering to Him; to be not afraid. We want to understand God, to know God, and really we want to control God—that is what the human ego does in order to make itself not feel overly small or insignificant. God-experience teaches us that the human intellect is puny, but that the Spirit within is great; so great that it can reach out to the Infinite. This reaching out can only be done through total and complete surrender, an absolute trust that lowers all defenses and barriers.

While the mind may wish to stand without reserve before the throne of the Infinite, in reality it is actually very difficult because of years, lifetimes, of creating those very defenses. We would like to think we are in control. Obviously there are forces far greater than we can possibly calculate. We think we can determine what is good and what is bad—out of control fires that burn down forests are thought to be bad. Yet the good that has come about from the enormous fire here is undeniable. On a galactical scale suns burn up or go supernova, they also shoot out unbelievable flares across vast space, and all of these things cause great damage, yet in the total calculation of what makes for growth these events may very well contain the seeds of new life elsewhere—can we ever really know the total good and the bad of it?

Surrounded by natural and spiritual forces that make one shrink into insignificance we are quite often reminded that man is small. If the human intellect is too puny to know these things, then what are we to do? The answer: we are to be good stewards of what we do know. Still greater, in our humility we surrender to the supreme Consciousness, the Creator of all that is, and through that surrender do as He wills for us; oftentimes not knowing all the ways in which our thoughts, words and actions will affect this world, but knowing deep within that it is fulfilling virtue. We only know that when we act according to the highest light in any particular situation He may find us fit instruments to do ultimate good. You know this because you feel Him working through you, thinking through you, acting through you in perfect purity and without a trace of self.

In this hand-in-glove relationship you are at peace, you experience bliss, you know beyond all possibility of doubt that He is a real and the true power working through every cell of your being. That is all you need know, and that fact fills you up and makes you complete. As I write these words I feel His power and bliss flowing through me, and my own intellect has no idea from one moment to the next as to where He is going and what He is doing next—and it is all perfect. All the wonders in this magnificent world cannot match even a moment of perfection you have in Spirit. But even as you discover your union in Him, Spirit reveals its perfection and in that experience the world is also known to be perfect.

The Lord commanded you to be perfect, and it is only when you merge into the fabric of God’s Being that you can be perfect—Perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. Nature is here to remind you of your insignificance, God is here to remind you of your greater nature, to know your oneness with Him.

Picture: Great Grey Owl-World’s largest owl

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Reflections on this Equinox Day

Yogacharya David

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Picture: Our first trail taken in Yellowstone we were greeted by this large bald eagle–the first of many wonders on our first safari-drive.

On this Autumnal Equinox I am put into a reflective mood. It was a year ago that we set out on a pilgrimage around North America to discover Nature’s Cathedrals as well as historical sites; any and all places, persons and situations that God arranged for us. I definitely felt that change was in the air, that the way I serve God was going to be different. I did not know all the ways in which this would occur, only that it would not be the same.  Flash-forward one year and it has been quite a time!

One of the great mysteries and wonders in my life in God has been the different states He has expressed Himself as in this form since the first eruption of the kundalini force forty years ago. The questions can come, is it physical, astral or causal activity, or all three? For instance, tremendous heat and powerful forces in this body are a daily occurrences. At times it can be felt hot on the skin, my face is flush, and at other times there are absolutely no physical symptoms at all.

I had weakness of body the end of the summer before leaving for pilgrimage a year ago, nothing new there as God moving through this form with tremendous power can withdraw all physical energy, leaving only enough to keep the body functioning on the most basic level.

Once, for several months during the bombing and invasion of Iraq God had me in such an intense experience that I could not move from one room to another. When Carla came into the room I was in she said it smelled of burning flesh. This experience God was giving me was connected to events happening halfway around the world, the suffering in this body was tremendous. God’s mysterious ways of working through this vehicle!

However, a year ago it became clear that the weakness I had at the time was physical rather than spiritual. When there was no abatement of the weakness I consulted allopathic doctors; the first time in many years that I was to encounter these creatures. It took time and hit and miss diagnosis, but finally the cause was found, tumors growing on the small intestines that was causing internal bleeding; the weakness was from anemia. The doctor said the anemia was such that he was surprised that I could walk into the hospital. Thus the pilgrimage took an unexpected turn.

Two major operations later and I am currently tumor free and feel in the pink of health. Doctors fully expect recurrence of tumors, but I know that God alone is in complete charge. I do not feel any fear about this; I am fully surrendered to His will. One of the changes that occurs in surrendering one’s life to God is that fear abates and trust ensues. What does God want for this form? He knows my own preference is to serve Him in a healthy body, however, I also know that He works through various ways in order to achieve His purpose. I do all that I can to achieve perfect health; and indeed in all other ways I have been in perfect health which has greatly aided my recovery.

This morning, His power took me up completely in His blissful, all-powerful Being; this after a couple of long travel days. And now we are poised at the West Entrance of Yellowstone National Park, which we plan to explore and find His natural wonders on parade. Yellowstone, a vast caldera where superheated magma boils underground water making for roiling colorful paint pots and shooting geysers, is a unique place in the world. Also Mother Nature finds expression here in bears, the ungainly looking moose, buffalo (now the official National Mammal), and other wonders to which we plan to have darshan.

September has always been a time of change for me, and this year is no different. This continuation of the pilgrimage, earlier going to Glacier, and now the Black Hills and Yellowstone is just one item of change. Where else will God take me? Not knowing is part of the great adventure. There was a time when God was giving me spontaneous miraculous powers, to know things in advance and manifest what came to mind, but conscious of Krishna’s warning that a yogi has nothing to do with such powers I told Him to take these things away, I only wanted Him. Truth be told, I love having things unfold and not knowing in advance (true there are times He tells me what will happen beforehand, but it is not the usual), for I trust Him with all my heart and I have no need but what He chooses to give me at any particular moment.

An interesting sidelight, He has prompted me to purchase some beautiful things, a home that is magnificent, a motorhome that we love, and He has given us so many other things besides. It is not without irony or humor that having given everything up, from the time of entering into Cloud Mountain for a year of silence and solitude, that He has given me so much. Donations support the spiritual work, but after some legacies came to us, and tithing the first ten percent to God, He has directed us to receive these wondrous things.

But here is the thing that God recently told me, that the home we have and all the other things He has arranged for have been my form of Lahiri Mahasaya’s castle. I have felt a deep satisfaction in experiencing the quality/vibration of these things. I truly feel that if He took them away today I would not skip a beat. I would only be interested in all the ways He would manifest what is needed daily–as He does today and every day.

The way He takes care of us is truly so loving. Yesterday we arrived at the West Entrance, beforehand we could find no place in the park to make a reservation for a campsite; all were full! When we arrived we found a campsite and started to back in when a park ranger informed us that a party had reserved the site but neglected to put up their sign. Then she asked if we wanted a site with an electrical hookup, I said that would be preferable and she rushed over in her golf cart to secure the only such site in the park! Ram looking after us so lovingly.

I know that many have found hope in the beauty  by what has been created in my life. Also, it is affirming that there is a balance in the spiritual life, that realization does not demand taking up residence in a cave, but can be incorporated into modern living. When God prompted me to marry Carla I needed to test that new direction in life until I was thoroughly satisfied, down to the cellular level, that this was His will. My last big question mark was connected with Master, who held out the high value in living a monk’s life. I inwardly petitioned him to confirm this inner prompting to marry, willing to give up the idea if it did not conform with his direction. In a very profound experience he told me, unambiguously, that it was his will that I marry. That his mission required him to live a monk’s life, but he wanted all to know that the spirit of Lahiri Mahasaya’s life is upheld–so that all should know that being married and living a householder’s life is not a bar to the highest realization.

So this life God has given me is that demonstration, and to be in this world but not of the world is something that is in reach and can be achieved. That we live in this world knowing that whatever we have been given to be stewards over in this life will most certainly be left behind–we leave naked even as we came into life, only taking our self-created consciousness with us. A freed consciousness is forever free! A bound consciousness through attachment will continue his or her journey until, at long last, it reaches the same ultimate freedom.

These are my reflections on this Fall Equinox day. Perhaps for you as well it is a time of new beginnings. I deeply pray that as you begin anew, as in truth we do each and every moment of every day, you establish yourself in the freedom that is unshakable, that is with you no matter your circumstance in life–true, spiritual freedom, now and always.

From Wall Drug to Mt. Rushmore

Yogacharya David

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Picture: Impressive Mt. Rushmore

As part of our tour to Nature’s Cathedrals we have had a few “tourist stops” along the way. One is a most peculiar destination. Anyone who has traveled on the highways of South Dakota has surely seen at least dozens of the many thousands of billboards measuring the miles to a tourist attraction called Wall Drug.

I drove through South Dakota many years ago on business and remembered seeing the signs and could not imagine what would warrant such publicity. However I drove right on past not bothering to find out, but the wondering-thought has been in my mind for these many years. God has a way of fulfilling even our smallest wish, if you could even call this a wish!

Coming out of the Black Hills and the Badlands National Park our road took us straight to Wall, and of course we just had to stop in to answer that long-ago question that had stubbornly lodged itself in my mind (we have to be very careful what we allow into our minds!). Well the story of how this drugstore in Wall became so famous that there are advertisements as farflung as Paris, France and Australia is really quite amazing.

Our story begins with Ted and Dorothy Hustead. Ted graduated and worked as a druggist for a few years before striking out on his own. He took a small legacy and bought a drugstore in the town of Wall. In deciding to settle in Wall Ted’s first priority was to live in a place where there was a Catholic Church so he and his wife could attend Mass every morning. The priest, doctor and banker all assured the Hustead’s that Wall “was a good place with good people.”

The year was 1931, Wall was a town of only 326 people and his cousin ruefully told them the town was in the middle of nowhere and everyone was flat broke. Even Ted’s father-in-law told him that Wall is just about as Godforsaken as you can get. In the end, though, everyone felt that it was God’s will for them to move there. Then the testing began. Business was bad and didn’t improve. Dorothy said she was sure their abilities could be used in Wall; Ted said he would give it five years for the business to work.

They weren’t starving and they made good friends, but whole days went by when Ted was staring out from the store’s front door. Flashforward, with just months to go in their five year plan the business had not grown and they were much discouraged. They had two children to consider and the future looked bleak.

One hot summer afternoon Ted was busy swatting flies with a rolled up newspaper and looking out on a street with no traffic. Taking a rest with her baby Dorothy got up with an idea. Route 16A passed the town by with traffic that had no reason to stop. Dorothy had a flash, put a sign out for free ice water in the sweltering heat, remember this was before cars had air conditioning. They put the sign out on the highway and the cars and people didn’t stop coming, and of course they would pick up a few items at the drugstore while getting free cold water and and nickel coffee.

Very soon they had eight young women employees selling ice cream cones and sundry. Today they have over a million visitors a year, and twenty thousand customers on any particular scorching summer’s day visit this town of 600; and yes they still offer free ice water. In the end, God did put their abilities to use and rewarded some good people when they endured until inspiration hit.

As Carla and I toured through an unending maze of rooms at Wall Drug, with every glitzy trinket of every description imaginable, we found a gem of a chapel built into the heart of this sprawling business enterprise. Entering in Carla and I immediately felt lifted up in this quiet respite. It is wonderful to see the goodness of everyday people and a priority on spiritual values–even when they have become successful beyond imagination.

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Picture: Sweet chapel amidst the glitz

Another stop on our pilgrimage took us to Mt. Rushmore. This iconic sculpture made a surprising impression on both Carla and me. We both had grown up seeing pictures of these four American presidents impressively carved out of a granite cliff. The many difficulties overcome in creating this work of art is worth many stories in itself. But here I will content myself with the effect we experienced on the day we were there.

The sculpted faces, 90% created with dynamite, are truly remarkable; particularly fine is George Washington’s. However, it is the eyes, whose effect comes from various depths of boring into the granite that bring these faces alive. Pictures really don’t convey the magnetic draw as when you are there in person. Washington and Lincoln have always stood out first to me for their strength of character, Jefferson for his genius, and Teddy Roosevelt for his boldness and being a driving force behind the creation of National Parks.

America has played a pivotal role in the formation of Democracies around the world, but more than that, the creation of republics that that have balance of power constitutions and the rule of law that both supersedes and protects every individual. However imperfect these Democracies may be, they are lightyears ahead of every other form of government in recent recorded history.

The creation and preservation of this greatest of experiments, democracy is worthy of note in the unfolding pageantry of history”s march from the dark ages into more and more enlightened times. Those better times may seem far off on any particular day, but its march is sure and will one day fulfill this long-awaited prophecy.

May your own travels in life toward enlightenment be rapid and every obstacle be overcome in the face of your enduring persistence and God’s grace.

 

Badlands Are Not So Bad

Yogacharya David

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Picture: Middle hill turns black as cloud passes overhead

We have discovered the natural beauty of the Black Hills in South Dakota. The Badlands in the Black Hills were so named by the French trappers who were the early European explorers of the area and found the it without water, sun baked in the summer, and very cold in the winter.

Wandering through these hills we found nothing bad in them, but we do have the luxury of water, modern conveyance, and we are here in temperate September. Lessons abound in nature that relate to our spiritual journey, and with a listening mind we can come away much the richer.

The Black Hills received their name due to the fact that the white colored landscape turns black when the clouds pass overhead, making a stark contrast of white and black colored hills. This reminds us that Spirit, being the sun, and the white hills being the purity of creation can appear black when the clouds of ignorance, maya, pass between the pure sun and creation below. In truth creation has always been pure, only the clouds/maya make it appear dark and black. Remove the veil of maya and all of Spirit and creation are once again seen in their innate purity.

Another desert lesson comes from a beautiful flowering plant that is growing out of an impossible sunbaked clay ground. How can it be that such a glorious plant exist in such harsh conditions above and below? The take-away lesson: beauty can grow in the most terrible conditions. In fact, the reason this plant stands out is that its situation is so forbidding.

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We stand atop pinnacle and all around are ravines and rugged landscape where wind and water have sculpted dramatic pointed peaks and sharp drop offs. The feeling here is purity itself. One of the lessons in going to Nature’s Cathedrals is that there is a difference between the visual beauty of a place and its spiritual ambiance.

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Picture: Great feeling of purity in the  Black Hills

There are places where I have seen a magnificent view, then in some little out of the way spot I suddenly feel God’s Presence. It reminds me of some of the great man-made Cathedrals; the main sanctuary may  be beautiful and is the center of attention, but then I find a little chapel off to the side and I am lifted up in Spirit. The power of that Presence and that unanticipated location are intimately connected. Lesson: be always attentive to God’s Presence, you can never guess when or where it will take you up.

As always, as I merge into Spirit in these holy places I also feel my connection with all creation; with you my friends. There is something endemic about Spirit that naturally shares itself with all; whether that be residing in Spirit, through service, or by posting these words–God shares. And in that spirit, my heart goes out to you as we continue to seek out Nature’s Cathedrals.

Happy Journeys Powered by Aum

Yogacharya David

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We are on our way to see some of Nature’s Cathedrals, driving long hours and enjoying seeing new scenery along the way. Driving is something most all of us do: while commuting to work, running errands, taking trips or doing it for a living.

Our modern way of living means that many of us spend hours a day behind the wheel. Now, for some driving comes naturally, while others feel anxious. Is there something our spiritual practice can add to our comfort and efficiency while driving for both the natural and the nervous?

The answer is yes, and breathing is the first place to start. The importance of breath was discovered by yogis thousands of years ago, and whether it was shared knowledge or it was something found independently ancient Judaism also recognized the essential nature of the breath–often referring to it as “the wind” in the scriptures.

Breath is king, and when the air we breathe and the life-force are properly understood it controls the body, mind, spirit connection. When driving it is essential to breathe to the stomach, making the diaphragm work up and down–the stomach cavity rising and falling with each breath. In your mind’s eye see the life-energy around  your neck and shoulders “breathing” with you, expanding and contracting with each breath. This will relax your body: shoulders and neck relaxed, jaw and arms releasing tension–keeping you relaxed and alert. It is amazing how much energy we burn up with tension in the muscles because the mind and breath are tightened.

Along with breathing use keep your attention at the ajna and mentally repeat Hong-Sau or Ram Nam. As long as you are comfortable with driving and keeping a part of your mind on God through mantra it will attune body, mind and spirit into one, homogeneous being. I very rarely listen to the radio, music or even talk when driving. I am very entertained hours-long by God. Mile by mile goes by as I feel the Aum/Amen power at the back of my head and vehicle, and experience His thoughts flowing through my mind. I do not have bumper stickers, but if I did it would read, “Powered by Aum!”

Master’s twenty point recharging exercise is wonderful for relaxing and recharging your body on long trips. Simply tensing and releasing each muscle group and feeling the life-energy flowing is both soothing and awakening to your whole body while driving long stretches of straight road.

Also using the palms of your hands can help sooth and re-energize your eyes. If comfortable for you to do, rub your hands together to charge them with life-energy (otherwise just put your palm to the eye). Then, using one hand at a time, hold it up to your eye and cover it with the palm of your hand. This will feel warm to your eye and will rest and recharge that eye; hold it for as long is comfortable. Then raise the other palm to the eye. This is wonderful when you are driving at night and the lights of oncoming cars tire your eyes.      

These yoga practices are pragmatically useful for driving, taking the stress out of  it for you, re-energizing your body when fatigued, and attuning your entire self with God. Truly, driving can be a wonderful meditation. You will need to experiment to see what you are comfortable doing, but any or all of these methods will greatly benefit you during the time you spend behind the wheel. Blessings to you and happy journeys.  

 

The Inward Mind

Yogacharya David

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Picture: Indrawn Mood at Anandashram

Learning to draw your attention to the inner mind is a most wonderful and beneficial practice. It is only when we can turn within that we may contact God. At first it is difficult because the mind is unruly and is not used to being quiet, but with practice you will learn the wonders that are residing right inside of you.

It is the early morning hours today, and I am drawn to sit in a half lotus posture. I am sitting straight, a few micro-adjustments in the spine and neck occurs along with a few pops and cracks. Spontaneously the ajna, the point between the eyebrows acts as a magnet drawing to it my attention and life-energy. My body is set, my mind turned within.

An intense blissful feeling comes into my spine. It is not specific to the spine only, but radiates out through all the body cells. The voice of God, resounding as the holy Aum/Amen, is heard through the inner ear, bringing a feeling of pressure at the back of my head. Just as the blissful feeling is not distinct to my spine only, so does the Aum/Amen expand out and out. This is a quality of spirit, it can be specific to a location and it is also part of all-space; it can be as tiny as an atom or bigger than the universe–and it can be so simultaneously.

Then the light of God lights itself in the ajna. Initially I see it as a bright star, then it illuminates the cranial cavity in a luminescent glow. Again, it defies being in a defined space, rather as the attention expands so does the light. Awareness and light, awareness and sound, awareness and bliss merge and all are one–as awareness grows, so does the light, sound and feeling of bliss, and those qualities of God-consciousness focuses or expands my awareness in whatever way it wills; and in all of this I am surrendered to what experience He chooses for me.  

This experience is vastly superior to all sensory stimulations. It feels like home, and it makes a home of wherever I find myself. The intelligence and wisdom of God plays through my mind. All consciousness is instantly accessible. The thought that Lahiri Mahasaya’s mahasamadhi and birthday are coming up at the end of this month flows through my awareness and with it a feeling of warmth and love sweeps over me.

Then I feel the master’s mind transfer a thought into my own, I should make a diary note of my inner experiences today and make it a post. I submit to his request knowing that he will express what he wants through my receptivity. Lahiri Baba wants us to know that even with the great gift of Kriya and all the writings about the spiritual journey, the inner conscious contact with the supreme Being is simplicity itself. We should practice faithfully, but not become overly focused on all the complexity of techniques and teachings–only go directly to the Source.

With this thought a blissful surge goes up my spine and I have a tremendous feeling of pervasive peace. God is here, God is now. You only need to keep with your practice, remain receptive and the yeast of the God-seed within you will find the right conditions to grow, flower, bear fruit and ripen into full God-experience. It is not far away or in some distant time, but within easy range of your inward mind.

Something Beautiful for God

Yogacharya David

07 July '78 MH & Mother Teresa a

Picture: Mother Hamilton and Mother Teresa–1977

Today Mother of Teresa of Calcutta officially becomes “Saint Teresa” of Calcutta. The Catholic Church has a formal process of canonizing an individual as a saint, it incorporates at least two verified miracles after their death when he or she has been prayed for intercession. The real hallmark of a saint, we feel, is that they have led a life surrendered to God; that a saint knows God.

One of the interesting things about Mother Teresa was her inner life with God that was known only to a very few during her lifetime. After receiving a tremendous experience in God that set her out on her mission to serve the poorest of the poor, Mother Teresa did not experience God’s Presence. Not only did she live alongside the poor in Calcutta, she also lived a life of spiritual impoverishment. In this way she was meant to serve the poorest of the poor through her example of living simply, and struggling spiritually while in total surrender to God.

Who could look at her life with an honest view and not find absolute surrender to her Lord in what she accomplished. I have read her  critics, but found no real basis for doubting her sincerity and holiness. Even as she lived, Mother Teresa was a saint. Anyone who takes on a greater mission in life will have oppositional forces to deal with; that will be a certainty. And it is not that we should simply accept easily someone’s sincerity and lack of hypocrisy, however we should not lack faith that there are those, even those in the international spotlight, who can rise up to sainthood.

Saint Teresa of Calcutta stands as a world-wide symbol today of service to God in the poor; service and surrender to God’s will. Mother Hamilton, in a Christmas talk in 1980, spoke of Saint Teresa after meeting her in Calcutta, and this is what she said:

“The real meaning of Christmas is giving, to give to the poor, to give to the needy, to serve the Christ in every man even as Mother Teresa does in Calcutta, India. She is a world-famous Christian saint and, certainly, she shouldn’t have to wait until after she has died to be canonized because she is a saint now. I have but to close my eyes, and I see this woman’s face before me–not beautiful in the human sense, in the ordinary physical sense at all–her face is lined with wrinkles, her features aren’t too good. But she has a light blazing in her eyes and a light on her skin such as I have never seen before. It is beautiful. And she takes the lepers, she goes out and picks up the sick and the dying off the streets, and she takes them home to her hospital. And she washes them with her own hands and makes them clean, and she puts clean garments on them, and she teaches these people about the Christ. And each one that comes before her is her Christ in human form. Now, this woman is a great, great Christian, believe me she is great. She really serves. She is completely without thought of herself. She thinks only of God through Christ and of serving him in every waking moment of her life. She gets very, very little sleep. She works ceaselessly. She uses everything that is given to her in order that she may serve her Christ, and her name has spread all over the earth. Still, when she was given the Nobel Prize and they asked her if she had any comments to make about it, she said that all the honor that had been paid to her was nothing more nor less than crucifixion. She had to take time out to come and appear before a world audience to accept an honor which she gave only to Christ, and so she felt that that was crucifixion. That is true humility, isn’t it? And if each of us could be humble in that sense, if each of us each moment of the day, not just at the Christmas season, but beginning this moment would look for people to serve, to serve Christ in them, even until you die serving Christ, what more glorious end could you have?

And I will close with a quote from Saint Teresa taken from a book about her entitled, “Something Beautiful for God:”

“That’s the spirit of our society, that total surrender, loving trust and cheerfulness. We must be able to radiate the joy of Christ, express it in our actions. If our actions are just useful actions that give no joy to people, our poor people would never be able to rise up to the call which we want them to hear, the call to come closer to God.”

 

 

 

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