Inspirational Messages

May 29, 2022

A Quiet Place

Paula Whang-Ramos

“Whatever sorrow there is, whatever sickness there is, whatever hatred there is, whatever unrest there is, Spirit is stronger.”
~Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian 12/21/2019

Just when we think we are on the road to recovery, unimaginable circumstances occur that take our breath away. Grief, sadness, even anger, can overwhelm us and we don’t know how to respond. We want to live in the highest way, but in light of present circumstances, we don’t know how.

Harmlessness is the foundational precept of Yoga. It is often described as not harming humans and other life forms. And the practice of harmlessness also applies to the ways in which we care for ourselves, especially during times like these.

It takes spiritual courage to harmlessly hold ourselves in a deeper Wholeness whose Presence may feel obscured, as we experience difficult emotions and process unimaginable events. In harmlessness, let's give ourselves the patience, kindness, and compassion that we would offer to another. Let your heart break open into the timeless Wholeness that is more powerful than the most incredible circumstance we face.

So, if you are having a difficult time processing current events, then please find a quiet place to sit, get yourself a warm cup of tea, a box of tissue, and maybe your journal. We all need and deserve time to grieve so we can heal. I am getting my cup of tea and tissues right now. Will you join me?

Join us at Blue Lotus Center. Experience a time of meditation and spiritual contemplation. Study, meditate and grow with others devoted to thriving in peace, love, and wisdom. Contribute to the realization of peace in our minds, our hearts, our families, our community, and our world. Blue Lotus Meditation & Yoga Center welcomes sincere seekers from all backgrounds.

May 22, 2022

Stop And Witness The Divine Flow

Paula Whang-Ramos

"Each day the door to spiritual fulfillment opens to us. Life continually presents us with opportunities to be awake, to love, and to serve."
~ Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian

As we venture out into our communities again, we can find ourselves in the busy flow of daily life as we try to keep up with current safety precautions, increased road traffic, and being in groups of people. While it can be a joy to experience this freedom, we can get caught in the fast-paced flow of life. When we do, it is too easy to overlook divine reminders of blessing, Wholeness, and spiritual fulfillment that are best experienced during interludes of stillness and silence.

For me, the threshold of divine fulfillment is revealed when I STOP moving and simply witness the glory of Life expressing Itself. I can share in the joy of my neighbor, the squirrel, as she plays in my backyard planters. I am inspired by the power of Life that carries me on a bike ride through my beautiful town. I can rest in the peace of my old cat napping in the sun. I can hear divine inner guidance when I simply sit in silence.

When we intentionally stop and take a moment to open into the Divine Wholeness that flows within and around us, then we can directly experience the deeper fulfillment of grace, love, and joy that is always present. Try it for yourself. Stop, take a breath, and notice how Life celebrates through you right now.

Join us at Blue Lotus Center. Experience a time of meditation and spiritual contemplation. Study, meditate and grow with others devoted to thriving in peace, love, and wisdom. Contribute to the realization of peace in our minds, our hearts, our families, our community, and our world. Blue Lotus Meditation & Yoga Center welcomes sincere seekers from all backgrounds.

May 15, 2022

Spacious Freedom in Divine Grace

Paula Whang-Ramos

"Our vision is a space for grace. To invite a greater experience of grace, we must enlarge our vision."
~Yogacharya Ellen Grace OBrian, CSE Daily Inspiration 4/28/2022

"I don't know." Three little words the ego really dislikes saying. The ego's illusion is that if we sound like we know it all, then we do. And, if we sound like we don't know, then we are unintelligent, or worse. When we live by the ego's desire to appear smart, then we risk living an unfulfilling life wrongly guided by our misperceptions and harsh self-judgments. From this view, we miss incredible opportunities to live in the divine possibility of "don't know".

Beyond the mind's fear of the unknown is a divine wisdom full of infinite possibilities. What is called for is not the acquisition of more information. What is needed is inner revelation. Silence, patience, and meditation are useful companions to expand our inner vision so we can see how Wholeness holds us amidst the most challenging moments in our lives, right now. From this broader, deeper view, we can learn to see divine options, resources, and opportunities to help us consciously accept or navigate through times of great uncertainty, like now.

In my experience, it takes an intentional tenacity to look and listen into a Truth that lives beneath the ego's fear. But don't take my word for it. Next time you find yourself in the place of "I don't know", sit in silence, patience, and meditation. Look and listen within and let yourself be amazed at the grace already present in your life right now.

May 8, 2022

The Gift Of Divine Presence

Paula Whang-Ramos

"Spiritual maturity rests on understanding that our experiences of joy or sorrow are of our own making."
Yogacharya Ellen Grace OBrian, CSE Daily Inspiration 11/20/2016

In my younger days, I would attribute my emotional well-being to external circumstances and other people. If events and people behaved as I wanted, then I was happy. If they did not, then I was unhappy. I relinquished my personal well-being to the hands of another, who could be completely unaware of this power over me. This reactive way of living was like riding a roller coaster with its unpredictable twists and uncontrollable turns.

In a yogic life, we step off the emotional roller coaster of our own making. We stop spending time casting victims and villains in our life story. In yoga, we learn to remember and to live from the divine Presence that indwells us all. We realize we have a much greater role in ITS divine love story filled with the potential for peace, love, and wisdom for all. We learn to use our thoughts, words, and actions to serve this higher good.

During times of great challenge and loss, we can rest, grieve and heal in the grace of Wholeness whose eternal presence remains within and around us. We only need to turn towards IT within our own hearts. There within, IT waits to hold, guide, and bless our remembrance that we are always held in the power, presence, and wisdom of Divine Wholeness. Even when we forget, thankfully IT remembers.

May 1, 2022

Divine Perfection

Paula Whang-Ramos

"When we begin to live a conscious life, surrendered to our Higher Power,

perfection is the natural expression of grace-filled living. We live perfectly in God, mistakes and all."
~Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian, CSE Daily Inspiration, 04/24/2022

Perfection. It is a tricky word, isn't it? When we live from the mind's view of perfection, we may evaluate ourselves, our relationships, our work, and our interactions, by judging, comparing and contrasting our performance with others, certain standards, or our own criteria. If we meet or exceed our standards, then we may judge our performance as perfect. If we fail to meet our standards, then we may judge ourselves as imperfect, flawed, broken. From this view of mental perfection, we risk harming ourselves as we follow self-created standards that may not even represent the integrity of our highest good.

In contrast, divine perfection is not sourced from the mind. It is sourced from the Source of life, whose grace freely flows within and around us all. When we stop judging and start living in divine grace, we can experience the eternal creative power, presence, and wisdom inherent in our lives and all of life right now.

We can realize that even perceived mistakes are opportunities to remember the higher Wholeness within us all. This remembrance can inspire us to live into It, even during the most challenging life circumstances. In this way, all life experiences are divine opportunities to return and live a more spiritually conscious life filled with the peace, love, and wisdom that are available to us all in this lifetime.

Meditate with us at CSE and at Blue Lotus Center. Study and grow with others devoted to thriving in peace, love, and wisdom. Contribute to the realization of peace in our minds, our hearts, our families, our community, and our world. Blue Lotus Meditation & Yoga Center welcomes sincere seekers from all backgrounds.

Meditation & Yoga Center:

CSE south county meditation center

Blue Lotus

“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