December 25, 2022

Love Is Greater

Paula Whang-Ramos

“The Christmas story reminds us that the power of love is greater than all of our imperfections.
That power will prevail over all our difficulties and crown our vulnerabilities…
Be encouraged to trust and be open to what can occur through grace.”
~Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian, Path Of Wonder: A Meditator’s Guide to Advent, pg. 30.

Season’s greetings to you! Over the years, I have come to appreciate the Christmas story as one of great hope and divine potential available within us all, regardless of our faith tradition. I am particularly inspired by Mary, who to me, represents the tenacious divine power and presence that can overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges in all life, including our own.

Like a pregnant virgin, perhaps we are facing an unexpected role that seems impossible to fulfill. Or maybe we must complete a long, complicated task that is full of bumpy roads and unexpected challenges, like a 90-mile journey through the desert on the back of a donkey. Or, amidst the noisy mind, perhaps we seek a safe space to listen deeply into the birth of divine inspiration, like a young woman giving birth to Christ Consciousness in a dirty barn full of animals.

Stronger than our greatest challenge, fear or habit is Divine Love that loves all its expressions, including us, all the time, no matter what. When we loosen our grip on our stories of limitation, we can glimpse the divine grace that has always carried us through unexpected life changes, complicated tasks, and our innate yearning to know the True Self. If we stop and breathe into this holy moment, we can experience this unconditional love and force for good right now. During this holy time, may we all allow ourselves to listen beyond perceived limitations, and live into the fierce Divine Love that loves us all.

Join us at Blue Lotus Center onsite (Wednesday evenings only) and online (Tuesdays and Wednesdays). Experience a time of meditation and spiritual contemplation. Meditate, 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. Beginning and experienced participants from all traditions are welcome at all gatherings.

December 18, 2022

We Are Divine Lights

Paula Whang-Ramos

“Let the beauty of your heart be a transparent opening for the light of the divine to shine through.”
~Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian, Illumination, 12/17/2022

During this holy day season, Paramahansa Yogananda, a beloved Spiritual Teacher in our tradition, invites sincere seekers from all backgrounds to spiritualize our direct experience of the Christmas Story. Beyond the beautiful earthly description of the birth of Jesus the Christ, Yogananda metaphysically reveals Jesus the Christ as representing the inner Christ Consciousness that indwells us all. This innate divine wisdom is accessible within us when we birth our consciousness into a deeper way of listening, beyond the physical perceptions of the human ears.

The eternal Source that enlivens these bodies, minds, and stories can be directly experienced as the divine light of wholeness, peace, and love, reflected in our inner Christ Consciousness. From the inside out, we can shine this divine light in our lives, as a blessing to all life. Yes, it takes a bit of spiritual maturity to see and live this way. Thankfully, we have the philosophy and practices of Kriya Yoga as a path to help us spiritualize our consciousness and our lives. And, our indwelling Christ Consciousness is ready to support our awakening, right now and all year long!

On behalf of the BLC Board of Directors, the BLC Seva Volunteer team, and myself, we wish everyone from all traditions a blessed holy day season, and life filled with the light and consciousness of the Truth, freedom, and joy that we are.

Join us at Blue Lotus Center onsite (Wednesday evenings only) and online (Tuesdays and Wednesdays). Experience a time of meditation and spiritual contemplation. Meditate, 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. Beginning and experienced participants from all traditions are welcome at all gatherings.

December 11, 2022

Accept Paramahansa Yogananda's Gift

Paula Whang-Ramos

"Christ was born in the cradle of tenderness. Greater than the destructive force of hate is the compassionate power of love.
Whatever you say or do to others, let it be with love."

~Paramahansa Yogananda (1997), Journey To Self-Realization, p. 173

On December 23, 1934, Paramahansa Yogananda, a beloved Spiritual Teacher in our tradition, shared this inspiration at a Meditation for the Holy Days gathering. He offered this extended time in meditation as a remedy for the hustle and bustle of holiday stress he witnessed in our country - 88 years ago! Today, we have even more opportunity to be distracted by the increased consumerism mentality and activity and to lose sight of the inner peace, compassion, and unconditional divine love that is especially luminous during this time of year.

Join us this Wednesday at BLC for Meditation for the Holy Days, as we accept Yogananda's timeless gift to return and rest in the innate, unchanging wholeness and peace that indwells us all. Be restored in the silence, compassion, and divine love that blesses these holy days and our own hearts. Hear the Christmas story retold from a deeper metaphysical perspective that calls us to remember and live from our innate Christ Consciousness. Join us for all or part of this extended evening of meditation and inspiration. Beginning and experienced meditators from all traditions are welcome. Please see below for more information and Welcome Guidelines to join us onsite at BLC.

Join us at Blue Lotus Center onsite (Wednesday evenings only) and online (Tuesdays and Wednesdays). Experience a time of meditation and spiritual contemplation. Meditate, 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. Beginning and experienced participants from all traditions are welcome at all gatherings.

December 4, 2022

Enter This Sacred Time

Paula Whang-Ramos

“To authentically celebrate the return of light, we must first be open to the darkness –
willing to enter into the mystery of sacred time and embrace the possibility of leaving the old behind to create life anew.”
~Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian, 2022, Path Of Wonder: A Meditator’s Guide to Advent, pg. 24

These shorter days and longer nights call us indoors. On a spiritual level, these holy days similarly call us to return within. In meditation, we can befriend inner darkness as a sacred space in which we sit in silence and listen to the still small voice within. And we inwardly inquire, “As I approach the end of 2022, what mental, verbal, and behavioral habits no longer serve my highest good? How can I let go of them to make space for divine possibility to be born in my life?

As we enter into the holiday frenzy, can we also consciously enter into the Holy Day season? Let’s take time to deeply contemplate what it is time to let go of. Let’s take one step towards releasing it and realizing the freedom that can only be experienced from this release.

In compassion and patience, can we let go of a little fear, judgment, anger, past experiences, codependence, or whatever holds us back right now? Join me in consciously entering into these Holy Days by affirming the inner power, presence, and wisdom that allows us to say “Yes, during this Holy Season, I intentionally release that which does not serve my highest good to make space for the peace, love, and wholeness I took birth to remember – in this lifetime!”

Join us at Blue Lotus Center onsite (Wednesday evenings only) and online (Tuesdays and Wednesdays). 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. Beginning and experienced participants from all traditions are welcome at all gatherings.

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

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