Soaring Beyond the Heavens

I love this soul-stirring quote by Paramahansa Yogananda, author of the spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi.

Reading it not only calms me, it sets my spirit soaring! Yogananda was a master at painting beautiful word pictures that were also imbued with spiritual inspiration and joy, joy, joy!

Paramahansa Yogananda

In the airplane of your visualization, glide over the

Philip Goldberg Explains “Spiritual But Not Religious”

Phil Goldberg

This brilliant commentary on the growing numbers of people who describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious” was written for Huffington Post by Philip Goldberg, author of American Veda, which explores how India’s spiritual wisdom seeped into America’s cultural bloodstream.

SPIRITUAL BUT NOT RELIGIOUS:
MISUNDERSTOOD AND HERE TO STAY

A great deal has been written about that ever-expanding group of Americans who check “none” when asked about their religious affiliations. The segment of nones who call themselves “spiritual but not religious” (SBNR) now constitute at least 20 percent of the population, and 30 percent of those under 30 years of age. I have interviewed hundreds of this important cohort for my books, and I find that the media commentary about them is riddled by misconceptions.

One problem concerns why people disconnect from the religious tradition of their birth. The most prevalent explanation is the one favored by scholars Robert Putnam and David Campbell, authors of American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us. They attribute disaffiliation mainly to the perceived link between religion and conservative politics—a turnoff to liberal-minded youth in particular.

I don’t buy it. There is no doubt that the judgmental moralizing of right-wing preachers has alienated a great many Christians, but that doesn’t explain SBNR. Believers who disdain fundamentalism have plenty of left-leaning denominations and apolitical congregations to turn to. I see it as more of a spiritual issue than a political one. The “S” in SBNR means something. In varying degrees, SBNRs are serious about their spiritual development, and they wish to pursue it wherever it leads them. The search itself is

Turn Off Your Phones!

in church today, the minister offered a nice analogy. He said that if you ask a friend to call you but you’re always on the phone with others, your friend won’t be able to reach you.

So it is with God. If your five “sense telephones” are ceaselessly relaying information and perceptions about

As If We Had Known Him for Years

Sri Mrinalini Mata and Sri Daya Mata in India in 1961 (Fall 2014 issue of Self-Realization magazine)

In the Fall 2014 issue of Self-Realization magazine, Sri Mrinalini Mata, who is currently president of Self-Realization Fellowship, wrote of meeting Indian saint Sitaramdas Omkarnath in Puri, India in 1961. Here is how she describes the moment when she and then-SRF-president Sri Daya Mata met Omkarnath:

He greeted us so warmly, as if we had known him for years and were seeing him again after a long time of separation.

When I read this sentence, it jumped off the page and into my heart. I thought, Wouldn’t it be

I Felt I Belonged to the World

Businessman and philanthropist Bill Austin

Businessman and philanthropist Bill Austin said something very profound when I interviewed him for a story in Twin Cities Business. He told me:

As a young man, I felt I belonged to the world, but I didn’t know what that meant.

Austin, who was a teenager when he experienced that epiphany, grew to embody that statement. Today, in his early seventies, he leads overseas missions for teams from his company, Starkey Hearing, ten months out of the year to provide free

Everyone Is Seeking God

Whether they know it or not, everyone is seeking God. As Paramahansa Yogananda explained in a December 9, 1945 talk at the Self-Realization Fellowship Hollywood Temple:

God is ever trying to draw His children back to their inherent perfection. That is why you will see even in evil people there is a search for God, though it may not be pronounced as such. Can you find an evil person who wants to derive misery from his actions? No. He thinks his

World Premiere of the “Through God’s Eyes” Video Trailer!

I am pleased to present the brand-new video trailer for Through God’s Eyes: Finding Peace and Purpose in a Troubled World.

As I mention in the video, I’d be happy to send you a free c

The Secret to a Balanced Life

In a talk at the Self-Realization Fellowship World Convocation entitled Bringing Our Lives Into Balance, Brother Achalananda blended faith and logic to articulate a compelling prescription for finding balance in our daily lives:

The more complex our lives become, the more we need to realize that there is only one reliable point of balance—and that is

The Beauty of Simplicity

This is not my room, but I could be quite happy if it was

I love living simply. I have no car, no phone (I use Skype on my laptop) and no possessions of any value other than my laptop. I’ve learned that whatever you own that you cannot bear to part with, owns you. Every item you own is a hungry beast demanding some portion of your time, attention and psychic energy.

Have nothing in your houses which you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.
William Morris

I don’t want anything or any things to distract me from living the life I want to live. I don’t want one hour of one day to go by without learning something, deepening a relationship, doing satisfying work or just enjoying a good laugh.

That’s why I greatly appreciated this article in the March 1994 issue of Guideposts magazine that highlights the simple lifestyles of three extraordinary people.

THE JOY OF DOING WITHOUT
by Elizabeth Sherrill

Forty days without chocolate…. When I was a high school student, this constituted my view of Lent. Why it was good to go without something for seven weeks I didn’t know; it was what my friends did, so I did too. But as time passed, I began encountering people who voluntarily gave something up, not merely as a Lenten custom, but because of what lay behind this tradition. One of those people was Margaret Henrichsen.

A Methodist minister, Margaret was a modern-day

A Day in the Spiritual Life

Staying centered, balanced and attuned to divine will is an ongoing quest that demands daily discipline. Enlightenment is not a cumulative goal; it is as fragile as a snowflake because one careless act can melt it away.

As far as the Buddha Nature is concerned, there is no difference between sinner and sage . . . One enlightened thought and one is a Buddha, one foolish thought and one is again an ordinary person.
Hui Neng

With the hope that it may inspire you and give you some ideas on how you can better practice the presence of God, here is what my daily spiritual practice looks like:

FIRST THING IN THE MORNING

HERE’S WHAT I DO: I start each morning by practicing the presence as soon as I wake up. Lying in bed, I recite:

I encase Divine Mother in my bosom.
I am radiant health, I em eternal youth, I am inexhaustible energy.

HERE’S WHY I DO IT: The first affirmation, which helps me instantly connect to Divine Source, is from the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, author of the spiritual classic Autobiography of a Yogi.

Please note that I use the word “God” throughout for the sake of consistency and convenience, fully recognizing that there are probably as many interpretations of God as there are people reading this post. Many people view God as the source of all existence, many others as existence itself. Whether you view God as a being, a universal intelligence, a force, or any other type of form or formless entity, I trust that you will substitute the name, term, or reference for “God” that you are most comfortable with each time you come across the word.

I phrase the next affirmations as I do because a powerful way to begin an affirmation is with the words, “I

The Perfect Joy of Surrender

This well-known story from The Little Flowers of St. Francis often elicits the reaction, “Whoa. Harsh!” Indeed, at first blush this narrative may seem counterintuitive and even nonsensical. But after some thought, profound insights often emerge.

St. Francis may be focused on Christ in this story, but I take a broader view that transcends any particular religious path or figure. I see it as an extreme but powerful lesson in the value of surrender. In the peace and beauty of unconditional surrender, suffering ceases to be suffering and instead becomes a gateway to transcendence.

Surrender is like an onion; you can keep peeling away layer after layer even when you think you have reached your goal. It is only when everything has been taken from you—materially, physically, mentally, emotionally—that you truly find out the depth of your surrender to God. If, as in St. Francis’ story, when there is nothing left for you to surrender except your final breath, yet you are able to hold on to the ever-new joy of Divine communion and genuinely express gratitude for whatever God is giving you (or taking away), then will you truly know the ultimate power and purity of surrender.

THE PERFECT JOY OF ST. FRANCIS

“The Stigmata of St. Francis.” a painting by Italian artist Giotto di Bondone, painted around 1295-1300 and housed in the Musée du Louvre in Paris.

One winter day St. Francis was coming to St. Mary of the Angels from Perugia with Brother Leo, and the bitter cold made them suffer keenly. St. Francis called to Brother Leo, who was walking a bit ahead of him, and he said: “Brother Leo, even if the Friars Minor in every country give a great example of holiness and integrity and good edification, nevertheless write down and note carefully that perfect joy is not in that.”

And when he had walked on a bit, St. Francis called him again, saying: “Brother Leo, even if a Friar Minor gives sight to the blind, heals the paralyzed, drives out devils, gives hearing back to

Praise Brings Peace

Calmly and joyously welcoming whatever life brings to you requires a major shift in understanding, perception, and attitude.

He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.
Lao Tzu

Try this exercise: Think of the most difficult situation you have ever had to contend with. From the depths of your being, thank God for

Love Yourself As You Love Your Friends

Anita Moorjani

Anita Moorjani‘s account of her near-death experience (NDE) is one of the most profound stories I have ever encountered—not just because of her astonishing experience beyond this world but because her body healed itself of her end-stage cancer (Hodgkin’s Lymphoma) within days of her return to this life. Click here to watch a forty-six-minute video interview with Anita in which she shares the story of her NDE.

I just finished reading Anita’s book, Dying to Be Me. Here are two paragraphs from page 172 that, unfortunately, a lot of people can relate to. If you have not been kind to yourself, I hope you take Anita’s words to heart. Remember, you can’t cherish anyone else in a healthy way unless

The Beautiful Terror of Uncertainty

Anita Moorjani

Anita Moorjani‘s account of her near-death experience (NDE) is one of the most profound stories I have ever encountered—not just because of her astonishing experience beyond this world but because her body healed itself of her end-stage cancer (Hodgkin’s Lymphoma) within days of her return to this life. Click here to watch a forty-six-minute video interview with Anita in which she shares the story of her NDE.

I’m currently reading and enjoying Anita’s book, Dying to Be Me. Here are two paragraphs from page 137 that contain a whole lotta wisdom.

Since my NDE, I’ve learned that strongly held ideologies actually work against me. Needing to operate out of concrete beliefs limits my experiences because it keeps me within the realm of only what I know—and my knowledge is limited. And if I restrict myself to

Dr. Robert Fisch: Kissing the Cold, Hard Marble

Dr. Robert Fisch

I was blessed with a wonderful father and did my best to be the best father I could be as well. So I was especially moved by Holocaust survivor Dr. Robert Fisch‘s tribute to his father in his remarkable book, Fisch Stories: Reflections on Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. Here are three excerpts that capture the quiet heroism of the father and the loving devotion of the son.

My father enjoyed everything life could offer: music, food, theater, playing dominoes, and so forth. He and my mother had a shop that sold poultry and game. He was an exceptionally good person, and he helped so many needy people, mostly children in orphanages. In 1944, when he was 53 years old, Hungarian Nazis took him to a Hungarian concentration camp near the German border. A survivor told me that on the way he gave his food away, saying “I

The Courage of Dr. Robert Fisch

Dr. Robert O. Fisch

I was privileged to interview Dr. Robert Fisch about his experiences as a Holocaust survivor. Click here to read his incredible story.

After World War II ended, and after he escaped communist Hungary in 1956, Dr. Fisch consciously chose to live with love and joy as his dearest friends instead of succumbing to hate and bitterness.

Dr. Fisch’s positive approach to life is reflected in his astonishing bravery. Here is an excerpt from his remarkable book, Fisch Stories: Reflections on Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

In my first years of medical school at the University of Budapest, the different political parties pressured students to join. I established the Fisch Party and edited the Fisch Journal, both designed to ridicule the Communists. One spring, at a May Day demonstration, the Communists produced a poster with a cartoon of President Truman with a snake around his neck. When they asked me to carry it, I refused.

“His soldiers liberated me,” I told them. They put the poster on