January 2019

Meditation & Yoga Center:

CSE south county meditation center

January 27, 2019

Try A Little Tenderness

Paula Whang-Ramos

"The journey of spiritual awakening includes times of forgetting the truth of our being as well as times of remembering."
~Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian, The Jewel of Abundance, pg. 73

We want to do a good job in our endeavors, right? We want to "get it right" the first time, so we don't have to do "it" over again and again. We may even consider it "failing" if we have to take a "do-over" and repeat a process. This expectation of perfection can be a form of self-harm, especially when we are undertaking a new practice or skill.

In spiritual practice, compassion and not expectation is a much more useful perspective. In fact, it takes time and repeated opportunities to remember, return and reclaim the inner terrain of our indwelling peace, love and wholeness. We are so accustomed to seeking these qualities outside ourselves, that we forget our inner integrity and essential wisdom. In spiritual practice, we stop using moments of forgetfulness as a harsh judgement about an unrealistic expectation that serves no useful function.

Instead, we learn to greet moments of forgetfulness as a compassionate opportunity to practice remembering and returning to the essential Wholeness that indwells us all. The simple act of consciously turning our attention and awareness within, is in itself an important foundational spiritual practice, as we learn to make space in our hearts for our own inner arrival.

Join us at Blue Lotus Center. Wake up, grow up and show up with us. 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. Individuals from all and no traditions are welcome at all gatherings. All are welcome.

Blue Lotus Meditation & Yoga Center welcomes sincere seekers from all backgrounds.

January 20, 2019

Living In Harmony With The Infinite

Paula Whang-Ramos

By contemplating spiritual law, our awareness is clarified. We begin to wake up and discover

how to live in harmony with divine order - how to cooperate with the Infinite."
~Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian, The Jewel of Abundance, pg. 154

In addition to time-tested meditation practices, ancient Yogic teachings offer spiritual principles to help us live our daily lives in harmony with the peace cultivated during our sitting practice. These principles for ethical living support our emotional, psychological, behavioral, physical and spiritual well-being and attunement into the divine wisdom, power and peace that indwells us all.

Yoga offers 10 very practical principles that can help us wake up, grow up and show up as the peace filled, loving, wise, joyful beings that we yearn to be in this lifetime. The first set of spiritual principles are 5 restraints to help us interact with others in a way that is in integrity with the highest good of all. These include: Nonharming; Truthfulness; Non-stealing; Right Use of Vital Force; and Non-attachment to the outcome of our thoughts, words, and actions. When we interact with others in alignment with these spiritual principles, then our innate peace, joy and love overflows from within us, and into our relations with others. The second set of spiritual principles are 5 observances to deepen our inner harmony with the Divine Wholeness that indwells us all. These higher Self-care practices include: Purity, Contentment, Self-Discipline, Self-Inquiry, and Self-Surrender.

Join us this Thursday for Living Peace where we will begin our annual journey into each of these spiritual principles, their practices and their promises to support our spiritual awakening in this lifetime. Each month we will explore, study and live one of these ancient yogic spiritual principles in the uplifting, supportive BLC spiritual community. All are welcome.

Join us at Blue Lotus Center. Wake up, grow up and show up with us. 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. Individuals from all and no traditions are welcome at all gatherings. All are welcome.

Blue Lotus Meditation & Yoga Center welcomes sincere seekers from all backgrounds.

January 13, 2019

Wake Up, Grow Up, and Show Up

Paula Whang-Ramos

"The conditions in our life right now are exactly what we need to help us wake up, grow up, and show up - to learn how to live with higher purpose

and to develop skillful means. Our learning curve is our vehicle for awakening. As we engage, we grow and awaken."
~Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian, The Jewel of Abundance, pg. 13.

The new year presents abundant opportunities for personal growth and transformation. In the energy of this new beginning we may say, "This will be the year that I awaken spiritually and meditate daily...This will be the year that I am more loving or peaceful or courageous...This will be the year that I take better care of the body." And then the procrastinating, judging mind jumps in and says, "But first, I have to find the right spiritual teacher or the perfect meditation cushion or a happier romance or the newest diet app, before I am ready to pursue these goals." And, once again, we delay our opportunity for freedom based on the limitations of the mind.

Let this be the year that we stop living according to mental habits that distort our true vision and prevent our ability to see that we have everything we need, right here and right now, to live in the peace and freedom of our essential wholeness. Let this be the year that self-compassion overrules the tyranny of the judging mind so we can make space for our humanity as we learn to remember our divinity. Let this be the year that we wake up, grow up and show up as the unique expressions of Wholeness that we all are.

Join us at Blue Lotus Center. Wake up, grow up and show up with us. 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. Individuals from all and no traditions are welcome at all gatherings. All are welcome.

Blue Lotus Meditation & Yoga Center welcomes sincere seekers from all backgrounds.

January 6, 2019

A Life of Blessings with Meditation

Paula Whang-Ramos

"Radiant health, delight in life, abundant energy, discerning mind, compassionate heart, loving relationships,

meaningful work - all are symptomatic of a prosperous life overflowing with vital force.

Being in the flow of life's abundant blessings begins with our own energetic flow."
~ Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian, The Jewel of Abundance

Wouldn't it be fabulous to begin 2019 in the flow of life's blessings? Imagine a life of radiance, delight, abundance, discernment, compassion, love and meaning. Even amidst daily challenges and unexpected change, we can learn to source our inner guidance and courage from these life blessings available within us all.

Our daily meditation practice is essential in redirecting our vital force back within, where these uplifting life qualities dwell. Without a daily meditation practice, we can allow our vital force to mindlessly flow outward, as the mind chases after every thought, interaction, or circumstance, and we forget our inner connection to our life blessings. Conversely, our daily lives can be inspired and energized by the uplifting vital force cultivated during our daily meditation. As we learn to live from the inside out, the inner realization of life blessings is manifested in our daily lives. Start the new year with a new commitment to your daily meditation practice. Meditate with us at Blue Lotus Center this Wednesday as we introduce our new, more comfortable meditation chairs. We saved a chair just for you!

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. Individuals from all and no traditions are welcome at all gatherings. All are welcome.

Blue Lotus Meditation & Yoga Center welcomes sincere seekers from all backgrounds.

Blue Lotus