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September 27, 2020

An Inspired Spiritual Life

Paula Whang-Ramos

"There should be complete harmony between the inner spirit and the outer life.
The qualities of soul must inspire and perfect all aspects of self-expression.
That is the secret of spiritual life."
~ Lahiri Mahasaya (Sept. 30, 1828 - Sept. 26, 1895)

Lahiri Mahasaya, a beloved spiritual teacher in this tradition of Kriya Yoga, reminds us that when we are busy with our daily activities and responsibilities, it can be easy to think of our spiritual life as separate from the rest of our lives. In this way, we mentally turn away from divine inspiration, intuition, and insight that we need to cultivate peace, joy, and clarity in our daily lives. Instead, we are at risk of allowing our lives to become a series of reactions to our next life challenge or change.

Lahiri offers a way to get off of the roller coaster of reactive, stressful living. He reminds us that the deepest purpose, meaning, and value of our lives is revealed when we stop, look, listen, and follow the still small voice within to guide our daily choices. When we learn to live from the inside out, then we can live a life guided by divine wisdom and inner harmony with our highest good.

This Wednesday afternoon, Yogacharya O'Brian will offer a special time of meditation and inspiration to honor Lahiri Mahasaya. Lahiri is referred to as "the father of Kriya Yoga" because he offered Kriya Yoga to individuals from all economic, religious, and cultural backgrounds. Lahiri's courage to obtain the blessing from his spiritual teacher, Babaji, to freely share Kriya Yoga with all sincere seekers, is the reason why these ancient teachings are available to all of us today. Join us this Wednesday for the opportunity to be with Yogacharya O'Brian and offer our gratitude to this beloved teacher who made these teachings available to us all.

Study, meditate, and grow with others devoted to thriving in peace, love, and wholeness. Make this the year that we affirm and skillfully live in peace - in our minds, our hearts, our families, our community, and our world. Blue Lotus Meditation & Yoga Center welcomes sincere seekers from all backgrounds.

September 20, 2020

Footprints Of Peace

Paula Whang-Ramos

"If you are here today, his life has touched your life."
~ Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian 09/19/2020

Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the arrival of Paramahansa Yogananda to the USA. Yogananda was one of the first Yogis to share yoga and meditation with this country. Yogananda freely offered his life in service to the liberation of us all from our stories of limitation and the tyranny of our minds. He left a huge footprint of peace, love, and wisdom in the consciousness of our country and in the world.

In the Yoga lineage of CSE and BLC, Yogananda is the Guru, spiritual teacher, of Yogacharya O'Brian's teacher, Mr. Roy Eugene Davis. All of the teachings offered at BLC are based on those set forth by Yogananda, as transmitted through Mr. Davis and Yogacharya O'Brian. If you have ever received an inspiration, a meditative practice, or moment of peace from a service offered by BLC then you have been touched by the positively enduring effect of Paramahansa Yogananda.

As I hold Yogananda in my heart, I hear his life invite us to contemplate the footprint that we are called to make with our lives. Like our country today, Yogananda lived and served during a time of pandemic illness, political unrest, racial discrimination, war, natural disasters, and economic upheaval. Yet, he did not choose to let those temporary conditions limit or confuse his divine call to share a path of freedom for us all. Amidst such serious unrest, how was Yogananda able to leave such a positively transformative and liberating footprint in the fabric of our country and the world? What can his life teach us, so we can listen and live into the positive footprint that we were born to offer into the hearts of those we love, know, and serve?

CSE and BLC offers us many sources of Yogananda inspiration to guide our path.

During the next month, participate in several CSE special services honoring the centennial celebration of Paramahansa Yogananda's arrival to the USA.
Yogacharya O'Brian invites us to join her and dive deeply into writings about Yogananda that offer clarity and inspiration to guide our own path. Yogacharya's reading list includes: Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda, Paramahansa Yogananda As I Knew Him by Roy Eugene Davis, The Life of Yogananda by Philip Goldberg, Only Love by Daya Mata.
Join us this Thursday for BLC's Living In Freedom group, where we will meditate and explore The Yoga Sutras - the foundational text on yoga and meditation, from which Yogananda taught.

September 13, 2020

Opening To Higher Guidance

Paula Whang-Ramos

"Sometimes we hold on so tight to what we want, or think is right, that we cannot see the divine possibilities before us.
Only when we are completely willing--to stay or to go, to have or not have, to discover something entirely new--
only then does higher guidance make itself known to us."
~ Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian, Living for the Sake of the Soul, pg.110

Yoga teachings say that which may initially bring us pleasure, can ultimately cause pain. And, that which is initially uncomfortable, may ultimately bring us peace. Well, here we are, approaching 6 months of sheltering in place as we continue to face the ever-changing effects of nature, while doing our best to manage ongoing daily life circumstances. At this point, our reactive impatient minds may believe that temporary pleasure is worth the cost of a little inner peace. The difficulty with this short-sighted choice is that it actually costs more than our precious peace. These choices also increase the risk of suffering and harm to ourselves and to life around us as well.

Alternatively, yoga is a deep and wide path of spiritually conscious living for individuals from all backgrounds and temperaments. Yoga offers universal practices and teachings that help us learn to recognize and to stop reacting in ways that ultimately promote suffering. Instead, yoga practices help us effectively redirect our attention and awareness into the Source of fulfillment, abundance, joy, and wholeness that we all seek now.

Instead of an unfulfilled life spent chasing the ever-changing desires of the mind, a life in yoga is guided by the inner calling of conscious choices that serve the enduring highest good of ourselves and life. And, there is no shelter, fire, smoke, or household duty that can cloud or contain the compassion, clarity, and fulfillment experienced when we live from that divine power and presence that indwells us all.

If you are called to learn more about the yoga path of spiritually conscious living, then join us for meditation and Yoga Sutras study here. Newcomers and experienced students of the Yoga Sutras and meditation are welcome.

Study, meditate, and grow with others devoted to thriving in peace, love, and wholeness. Make this the year that we affirm and skillfully live in peace - in our minds, our hearts, our families, our community, and our world. Blue Lotus Meditation & Yoga Center welcomes sincere seekers from all backgrounds.

September 6, 2020

Following Soul Wisdom

Paula Whang-Ramos

"Feeling overwhelmed and experiencing life as a burden with too much to do is not caused by work.
At the root of this difficulty is a break from living in harmony with our deepest values.
We are inwardly sustained by following our soul’s wisdom."
~ Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian

Does it sometimes feel like the main purpose of life is trying to keep up with endless earth life changes? When we are busy living life, then our thoughts, words and actions can become consumed with trying to do all that we believe is expected of us. We further overextend ourselves in the erred thinking we will find inner peace after we "power through" just one more task. The thing is, behind that task is just one more task for us to power through before we feel we deserve a break. This mode of living is a recipe, and not a remedy, for stress and overwhelm. From this view, we can begin to perceive our lives as a burden instead of a divine gift.

Yoga offers a different way of living. Simply put, yoga philosophy reminds us that we will not find inner peace and harmony outside of ourselves. When we are looking 180 degrees in the wrong direction, we increase our own confusion and thwart our efforts to obtain the inner harmony and strength that we seek. It's like looking down at the ground when we are trying to see a rainbow. We can become distracted by many interesting things in the dirt, but until we look up, we will not see the light.

During this time of great change and unrest, if we are seeking inner clarity, peace, and harmony, then we need to look within ourselves, where these soul qualities abide. The daily practice of meditation, and the study and practice of yoga (returning to our essential soul wisdom) can help us live from our inner integrity and wholeness that is so needed now. Join us for meditation and the study of Yoga and experience this divine light for your Self.

Study, meditate, and grow with others devoted to thriving in peace, love, and wholeness. Make this the year that we affirm and skillfully live in peace - in our minds, our hearts, our families, our community, and our world. Blue Lotus Meditation & Yoga Center welcomes sincere seekers from all backgrounds.

Blue Lotus

Inspirational Messages

“If anything disturbs your peace, practice having faith that divine grace is already actively at work restoring wholeness and well-being.

Then make any necessary adjustments in harmony with that insight.”
Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian, Spiritual Director, Center for Spiritual Enlightenment