What do you do when there’s nothing left to seek? There’s nowhere to go, nothing to gain, for it is all already found within, oh, Shiva. Instead of looking for something to get, something to fill me, I am already full. So, I look for what I… 

—  Gurudevi Nirmalananda

From Gurudevi’s full discourse “Sanctification“

By Gurudevi Nirmalananda

At the beach, I revel in watching the waves rolling onto the shore. Each has its own personality. One wave is taller but another is wider.

One wave washes farther up the shore. Another gets swallowed up by one coming from behind. Yet they are all made of the same ocean water. They are all the same while they are all different.

Like this, Shiva is being everything in the universe. Every individual and every single thing is different from the others, yet all are made of Shiva. Shiva is having a glorious time being multifaceted, like a bride wearing three different wedding gowns at her wedding events. We love the play of the differences!

While Shiva is having a good time being you, you might not be enjoying it quite so much. Your focus on differences creates a “pushmi-pullyu” effect. Simply look at a serving platter full of cupcakes. You can get caught up in which of them will be most to your liking. But if someone beats you to it, you might have a few words to say or maybe a plan for payback. Unfortunately, things can escalate, even get out of control quickly.

Yoga says, “Look within. Find your own essence — see the One Divine Reality hidden in all.” Then you delight in the superficial differences. Your experience is like turning the wheel on a kaleidoscope, getting ever changing colors tumbling in the unchanging ray of light. And you get to eat your cupcake.

One way to work on your inner deepening is based on a sophisticated understanding of how energy becomes matter, including the physical matter of your own body.

You delve into your own experiences, exploring the cosmic process in reverse. You expand your awareness in a meticulously step-by-step process.

Sharire samhara kalanam. — Shiva Sutras 3.4

Dissolve the tattvas, each into the preceding, to realize the highest tattva, Shiva.

An easy example is vision. While you are seeing an object right now, perhaps words on a page, this is because you have the ability to see. This capacity of seeing is more subtle than any single object upon which you gaze. In this awareness, you have now expanded inward, dissolving from a single visual into your capacity for seeing. Each of these levels is a tattva (principle of Consciousness).

Delving into your ability to see, you realize that it is merely one type of perception, utilizing only one specific sensory capacity. Perception itself is greater than any single sensory pathway. Exploring into perception itself, you encounter…

Your own Self is always manifest, always present, always accessible, always easy to find.  You just have to look in the right direction — inward.  But your mind is constructed to look the other way.  Your mind is a concentrated form of Consciousness with…

—  Gurudevi Nirmalananda

From Gurudevi’s full discourse “Jiva Becomes Shiva“

To discover who you are is the purpose of meditation.  It is an inner exploration that takes you deeper and deeper within.  But at the end of your meditation, your peripheral vision is wider.  Your focus didn’t shut you down. It opened you up.  Your capacity for caring, compassion…

—  Gurudevi Nirmalananda

From Gurudevi’s full discourse “Peripheral Vision“

I wanted something that my parents didn’t want. I wanted something that my school teachers never talked about. I wanted something that wasn’t described in church. Joseph Campbell rescued me from my self-doubt. In a series of television interviews titled “The Power of Myth”, he explained that everyone longs for something greater, but only a few…

— Gurudevi Nirmalananda

From Gurudevi’s full discourse “A New Normal“

You are invited to a FREE informal online discussion about our Meditation Club.

Gurudevi Nirmalananda, along with Swami Shrutananda, will explain how it works and give you a taste of it.

Our Meditation Club meets online daily — 365 days in the year (Leap Year, it’s 366!).  While this introductory program is free, Meditation Club is by subscription, with a three-month minimum. 

In this free program, ask your questions and see if our Meditation Club will give you what you’re looking for.  

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When you meditate with a master, you dive deeper within — easily. The specialty of Gurudevi’s tradition is to open you up to the deeper dimensionality of your own being. She was taught by a master, who was taught by a master . . . back through the generations.

Sign up for this free introduction to gather valuable information. It can help you decide whether it  feels right for you.  

By JoAnn (Chaya) Gibson

In early June, my adult son was diagnosed with aggressive metastatic cancer.  The prognosis for recovery is extremely poor. The shock of it felt overwhelming and unreal.  

He had gone to the emergency room with stomach pain. Something simple, I thought, maybe an ulcer.  He is 62 years old, engaged to be married and looking forward to retirement.  

I expected to spend my remaining years with him as part of my family and life.  As the reality of his diagnosis sank in, I experienced the first waves of grief.  

These waves came with a kind of fury. They reminded me of being a child at the seashore.  A wave would pick me up, spin me around and pull me under. Then it spit me out on the shore.  

Now, however, I am not pulled under. I have a buoyancy that comes from the practice of exploring Beingness.

In my yoga class, during the Guided Awareness in Shavasana, I feel my toes.  Feeling all ten toes, I know that I have toes. Feeling openings from poses lets me know I am more than my body and personality.  

When I meditate, I connect to an energy that supports me through the day. I am supported while I go through this grief.

When I’m in a program with my Guru, Swami Nirmalananda, I feel a presence, peace and a power.  Her gift of Shaktipat gave me the experiential knowing of my Self.  

When we chant, the problems of the world sink into the background. Then I am in the now. By staying based in Beingness, my heart can stay open. I can go on this journey with my son without fear.  

As a therapist, I worked with people coping with present trauma or recovering from past trauma. We would explore together whether there was a “gift” in the event.  Did the pain provide an experience that changed how they lived their life? Was there a lesson that needed to be learned?  Was the pain a doorway into a new way of being in life ? 

Now I say yes when answering this question for myself. As the waves of grief continue, I am aware that I am more based in my heart’s energy.  

Music affects me more deeply. I feel more connected to people, plants and animals.  I am aware of feeling more empathy and compassion for my fellow travelers on Earth’s plane.  

My heart feels broken, yet also more open.  I am grateful for my Guru and the Svaroopa^® Vidya spiritual path. 

Your mind is so powerful. It creates whatever you choose. If you choose to repeat the litany of your pains, you can do this. If you choose to repeat the litany of your pleasures, you can do this. Yet, yoga recommends neither. You see, both of these litanies are still about…

— Gurudevi Nirmalananda

From Gurudevi’s full discourse “Your Mind’s Greatness“