“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

November 29, 2020

Shelter Within The Heart

Paula Whang-Ramos

“The world is an auspicious place for spiritual realization. No matter what your current circumstances,

consider that there is no other time or place that would be better support for enlightenment.

Take advantage of this time and this place.”
~Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian, CSE Daily Inspiration, 11/21/2020

I love this time of year. Amidst all the changes and challenges in 2020, this ancient holy season invites us into the flow of divine grace recognized in Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. In the universal energy of these holy days, we can choose to spiritualize our earthly consciousness into the divine presence, creative healing power and wisdom that enlivens the cosmos. We can choose to open our hearts into a deeper inner peace, love and wisdom that indwells every one of us. Right here, right now, in the blessings and messiness of life, we can choose to shelter within the Divine Wholeness that enlivens, heals and inspires us from the inside out.

Throughout the month of December, CSE and BLC will offer many opportunities for us to learn, experience and practice ancient, time tested methods of spiritual awakening into our essential wholeness. Meditate, pray, listen for divine wisdom in between the words of sacred texts, and be supported in the uplifting energy of spiritual community. Consciously step into this holy day season with us. Join us and take full advantage of this opportunity to shelter within the cave of our hearts, where our deepest healing and wholeness resides.

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.

November 22, 2020

Choose Gratitude

Paula Whang-Ramos

"Cultivate contentment and gratitude as your consistent state of mind.
This attitude keeps the mental field clear and allows us to stay open to further inspiration."

~Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian, The Jewel Of Abundance, p. 176

Some of us may be entering into Thanksgiving season wondering what we have to be thankful for. It is true, this year, we have all experienced loss and changes for which we were not prepared. We can choose to focus on changing earth life circumstances that appear to increasingly limit our daily life choices over these several months.

Alternatively, we can choose to be carried in the energy of this country's 399-year tradition dedicated to gratitude instead. In gratitude consciousness, we look and inwardly listen into deeper ways to realize and be thankful for precious life gifts that remain. Although we may not be able to visit face-to-face with loved ones this Thursday, their physical absence does not have to compromise our choice to joyfully celebrate our gratitude and love for them. Although we may not be able to indulge in traditional feasts, we can choose to realize that our ability to enjoy a different type of meal represents the divine abundance that infuses our lives right now.

When we let the mind sink into the heart, we can breathe into the love and abundance that remains ever present, regardless of earth life changes. We can open into the courage, hope, and divine possibility that exists in this present moment. For all that has been taken from us this year, let's remain inwardly focused on the Source of contentment within, and refuse to give it away to current circumstances. Let's step into the 399-year stream of gratitude and let it carry us into the love, abundance consciousness, clarity, and inspiration we all deserve and need now.

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.

November 15, 2020

Wisdom Inspired Leadership
Paula Whang-Ramos

"Peace in our homes, community, and world begins with a vision of it, faith in it, and the commitment to realize it by working for it.
Bring forth the light of peace by first experiencing it directly in meditation, and then transmit that divine peace to others."
~Yogacharya Ellen Grace O'Brian, 04/19/2015

In recent weeks, we may have been drawn to listen to many leaders in our country. Political leaders, medical experts, and judicial authorities all serve important roles in the flow of our society. We rely on them to provide a vision broad enough to serve all and a direction deep enough to address our country's challenges in a meaningful way. However, in our search for their "expert opinions" to guide us, we may lose sight of the most important leader in our lives - our own indwelling divine wisdom.

Our regard for our nation's leaders does not have to come at the exclusion of our innate divine wisdom. It is our indwelling divine wisdom that guides us to be the leaders of our own thoughts, words, and actions. Just as we hope and expect our nation's leaders to live and serve with the respect and integrity of the power they have been given, we too can use this time of great transformation to more deeply explore how we can also live and serve from the integrity of our essential wholeness.

In what areas of our lives are we living from the divine qualities that we want for ourselves, our families, and our country? Let's honor, nurture, and grow those aspects of our consciousness. In what areas of our lives is our integrity not reflected in our thoughts, words, and actions? Let's compassionately and consistently mature beyond those daily habitual mental and emotional reactions, so we can be the change we want to see in the world now. As we become spiritually conscious leaders in our own lives, our higher vision matures beyond meeting our own needs. Our thoughts, words and actions benefit more than just ourselves. And, without a majority vote, detailed scientific research, or complicated legal proceedings, we can become leaders of peace, love, and wisdom for the benefit of all beings - right here, right now.November 15, 2020

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.

November 8, 2020

Happy 6th Birthday, Blue Lotus Center!
Paula Whang-Ramos

"There should be centers of meditation all over the world, where devotees come together to commune with God. ...

and to try by meditation to feel His presence."
~Paramahansa Yogananda, Man's Eternal Quest, 1975, pg. 52.

On November 6, 2014, Yogacharya O'Brian blessed the Blue Lotus Meditation and Yoga Center into being. This blessing was more than the opening of a beautiful physical site. It was more than the welcoming of peace seekers from all backgrounds. It was more than the free offering of the most ancient teachings of Yoga and meditation in the history of the world. It was more than the birth of an inter-spiritual community of individuals called together in the Oneness that joins us, rather than perceived differences that appear to divide us.

To me, the most precious and powerful part of Yogacharya's blessing was the way it also included the eternal blessings of all of the Spiritual Teachers in this tradition who precede her - Mahavatar Babaji, Lahiri Mahasaya, Swami Sri Yukteswar, Paramahansa Yogananda, and Mr. Roy Eugene Davis. Today, BLC thrives on hundreds of years of their unwavering devotion and clear commitment to the Truth that all beings can experience and live from their essential peace, love, and wholeness in this lifetime. Blue Lotus Center serves today as a living expression of their commitment to our inner peace.

The BLC Board of Directors and Seva volunteer team are grateful for the privilege to continue the vision of these Teachers by freely offering these time-tested, practical teachings to sincere seekers from all backgrounds. For the past 6 years, BLC has grown into a spiritual community grounded in the Truth that we all deserve to live in the peace of our innate wholeness. In this auspicious time in our country's history, all of us at BLC look forward to realizing peace, wholeness, and wisdom for ourselves and all beings.

Join us this Wednesday for a special evening of meditation and inspiration, as we celebrate Blue Lotus Center's 6 years of service to the holy One in all. All 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.

November 1, 2020

Cultivating Inner Peace This Week
Paula Whang-Ramos

"The mind is purified by cultivating thoughts and feelings of friendship for others, compassion for those who are suffering,
happiness for the well-being that others enjoy, and dispassion regarding what is observed."
The Yoga Sutras 1.33

As we step out and into this historical week in our country, we may find ourselves interacting with others who have views very different from our own. How do we maintain and regain our inner peace while we interact with others? This verse from The Yoga Sutras, the oldest teachings on Yoga and meditation, offers very practical guidance to help us live from the integrity of our inner wholeness, to the best of our ability, during these interesting times.

This verse reminds us that we can calm our minds by sharing our love and friendship with those who are happy, our respect and kindness with those who are challenged, our joy with those who are thriving, and our even-mindedness with those whose thoughts, words and actions could trigger a negative reaction from us.

If we practiced our conscious choice to be more loving, friendly, respectful, kind, joyful and even-minded, imagine what our lives could be like as we step into this week? These inner qualities can strengthen us from the inside out, as we remember and draw from the divine power within us to choose how to consciously respond, instead of emotionally react, to current circumstances.

And what do we do when we forget and get upset? We share love, friendship, respect, kindness, joy, and even-mindedness with ourselves, as we gently escort ourselves to a quiet place to rest, remember and be restored in our essential Wholeness. And how do we experience our inner Wholeness and peace? We meditate, of course..

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.

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