Dear Friends, I hope you are having a blessing-filled week! This is your friendly reminder we meet every Sunday for meditation and preparatory practices, including Energization Exercises. We welcome all levels of experience and guide you in our techniques, as taught by Paramhansa Yogananda. Speaking of which, those who are interested in learning or revitalizing their Energization Exercises might be … Read More

Dear Friends, We all know that water is essential to all life — indeed, a metaphor for life itself. Yogananda often compared the Creator to an ocean, and we, the waves that rise and fall upon its surface. As each incarnation “wave” rises, it imagines itself as a separate entity soaring up to the sky, only to sink back and … Read More

Dear Friends, Two weekends ago, a couple of us went to Houston to help out with a workshop on Aum given by Ananda Dallas. We had a joyful time, flowing in a creative endeavor of teaching, learning, and playing in the sound vibration of AUM. The AUM is in us and all around us, the vibration of the Creator’s consciousness … Read More

Dear Ones, How is your summer going? I hope all stress and worries are melting away in the warm sunshine and washed away with a joyful splash! There has been little response to the callout for interest in meditation classes, so for now, nothing is scheduled. I hope that you all are finding what you need through ananda.org and/or the … Read More

Dear Friends, If you’ve been around Ananda for a while, you probably know that the annual weeklong event called Spiritual Renewal Week is happening right now at Ananda Village in the California Sierra foothills. Hundreds have gathered in person at Ananda Village and hundreds more are attending virtually, as I am doing. We meditate together in the morning (I like … Read More

Dear Friends, Our 15-year-old son was on one side of the plexiglass barrier. We were on the other side, having just passed through US Customs, and were ready to make our way towards the airport gate. Although the sign had read that 12 years and older could use the automated fast-track, in fact, only 18 years and older were being … Read More

Great Souls, My family and I have just returned from a trip to Slovenia, where the splendor of nature takes many forms. Traveling with a guide, we took daily hikes in alpine mountains, leafy green foothills, rolling vineyard country, and seaside retreats. Divested of commercial bombardment and electronic overwhelm in public spaces, the country was idyllic, relaxed, grounded. Water in … Read More

Dear Friends, Love energy is flooding the planet with the arrival of the solar-flare-induced aurorae borealis and australis of the past weekend. At the physical level, massive amounts of charged particles collided with our atmosphere to shower us with sheets of brilliant colors. Those with spiritual sight also report an influx of energies, accompanying the solar blasts, giving us Divine … Read More

Dear Great Souls, Yogananda spoke of God as Our Divine Mother, a mother we can never be parted from, who is, in fact, the vibration of the One Creative Intelligence manifesting the physical realm, including us. As Jesus took the image of God from a wrathful judge to a loving father, so did Yogananda take the analogy further (because collective … Read More

Dear Friends, Tough Love. It seems like a contradiction. When I think of tough, I tend to think resistant, hard to chew, hurtful, flinty, stubborn, unyielding. How is this like love? Love is embracing, protective, forgiving, like a mother’s love. Lately, I’m tuning into a new definition of tough, one that maybe looks more like the kind of love that … Read More