Even though you are an individual, your Essence is Divine. You are Consciousness-Itself. Consciousness is described by many terms: your capital-S Self, awareness, the Ever-Existent Supreme Reality and bliss. You are so much more than you think you are!
You have a deeper dimension, which you can explore and know. It is the goal of yoga to give you this experience. Then you realize this expansive Reality within yourself. This Ultimate Reality is within everyone and everything that exists, including you and me. Yoga calls this your own Self.
Consciousness, your deeper dimension inside, is always present. Your own Self never changes, and you can always find it within. You just may not know this completely — yet! I have had experiences of that vastness inside myself. Perhaps you have as well.
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Many years ago, I used sail in the tropical oceans. The wind in my hair, the ocean’s fragrance, and the soft breezes were enticing. But the best part was when the sailboat was headed downwind. The wind behind the boat filled the sails, and they opened wide. I would climb up and sit in the sail. Leaning back, I dangled my feet, while sun drenched my body. The feeling I had was of complete freedom, ease and peace.
These experiences give you a glimpse of the deeper dimensions of your own being. When you truly know your capital-S Self, you will live in that pure state of awareness. You will have unbounded freedom. You can access this freedom, bliss and your own Divine Essence through meditation. Pain and fear keep you away from your Self. Meditation frees you from those blockages. It will open you to inner happiness, joy and peace. When you look inside through meditation, you quiet your mind. You gain the freedom of knowing your Self more and more. You recognize who you really are and always have been. Meditation will give you your Self, Consciousness-Itself, completely free!
By Gayle Perry, interviewed by Marlene (Matrikaa) Gast
“When I was in 8th grade, I got my first pair of glasses and could see what I hadn’t even known was there before. Similarly, Svaroopa® Yoga Therapy has given me new glasses for looking inward. I can see into my mind and heart as well as my body. I see what I didn’t know I was missing,” recounts Gayle Perry.
Gayle started private sessions with Yogaratna Atmananda (Valerie Light Trautlein) last January. These in-person sessions have continued, even during the pandemic. Both client and therapist follow CDC guidelines, wearing masks and using hand sanitizer throughout sessions. Thus continuing her process, Gayle has experienced full-spectrum transformation.
She explains, “I’ve always put other people first. Ignoring my body, I just pushed through work and family issues. I’ve had back pain and muscle cramping since playing high school softball. Plus, since a car accident 25 years ago, I’ve had neck and shoulder tightness and pain. Neck vertebrae have been fused. I’ve seen a chiropractor twice weekly for several years. Relieving the “pain of the day,” those treatments kept me going from week to week, but just barely. I also tried physical therapy.
“In my generation, ‘no pain, no gain’ was the mindset. I knew my life was stressful, but I could keep it in check by just pushing through. Learning to ignore my body, I took advantage of my youth and athletic strength. I’d never realized that I had a racing mind. But in my first Svaroopa® Yoga class, December 2019, I couldn’t turn my mind off. It just kept going: ‘What about this work problem? Oh, I need to do this.’ As I lay there, I thought I was relaxed but couldn’t really tell. Yet afterward I felt improvement in my neck and back.
“So I realized I must focus on myself first, instead of others. I decided on self-care.”
A month later Gayle began private sessions. Atmananda taught her the Ujjayi breathing practice and gave her Embodyment® Yoga Therapy sessions. In a Spinal Walkup, Gayle recalls, Atmananda described feeling no difference between vertebrae bone and back muscles. They were that tight.
“Then I did a 10-day overlap healing process,” Gayle describes. “In the daily-session phase, I experienced radical improvement. We wrapped up the overlap healing in late March. I continued with yoga classes, then online because of the pandemic.”
However, stress mounted because of the pandemic and family issues. Major relapse (re-tightening) set in. Gayle couldn’t sit without excruciating pain. To take care of basic personal needs, she had to use a walker. So Gayle and Atmananda decided on a second overlap healing series to resolve the crippling hip and back pain. Gayle describes, “Starting at the beginning of May, it took 16 consecutive days to get to the point where I could maintain my opening long enough to move to the every-other-day phase of treatment.” Now, in mid-August, her final step-down phase is concluding.
She says, “Half-way through the overlap, I could tell I was softening as a deeper layer of tension unraveled. I would ask Atmananda about the theory behind certain therapeutic poses. She explained the tight muscles affected, including their location and how they pulled on other muscles and bones to cause my painful spasms.
“Then one day, I had gained a major understanding. Feeling much better and sitting comfortably, I got a call from a family member. After the call I couldn’t move. I hadn’t changed how I was sitting. So I grasped the connections among mind, heart and body. I added vichara (guided self-inquiry) to my healing journey. I did vichara sessions every morning. In the evening, I saw Atmananda in person for physical Svaroopa® Yoga Therapy. I got to a point of looking inward and delving deeper. I got to my own knowing, below the outer issues of life.” Gayle then also enrolled in Downingtown Yoga’s Meditation 101 course online.
“That combination of modalities brought everything together,” she says. “I am out of pain, and I have learned how to stay pain free. My daily practice includes three hours yoga. I do Ujjayi Pranayama, Gurudevi Nirmalananda’s free Japa Club phone calls twice daily, two sequences of Svaroopa® Yoga poses to release my spinal tension, meditation and listening to one of Gurudevi’s free recorded discourses online.
“I no longer stay up late watching TV, crafting or cleaning. Now I make a point of being in bed by 10 pm. I am getting the rest I need. On days when my mind still races, I can get to the place of calm more easily.
“I see the importance of quieting the mind. I recognize the dynamic of the mind and emotions playing in core issues. Aware of my body, I can focus on softening shoulders, neck, back and legs. I’m learning to know when my body has had enough before it’s too much. Now I know I come first. Whatever needs to be done will wait until after I’ve rested. “I don’t exactly know how Svaroopa® Yoga Therapy works. But I believe in it, because I believe what I see.”
Lynn (Gurupremananda) Cattafi, SVA Board President
Look around you. Everything is in a state of transformation. While others see chaos and uncertainty, as a yogi, you can see the Divine in all of it.
Look inside. You are also in a state of transformation. You are growing and changing in ways that you would never have expected. Your inner state is deepening so beautifully. You are handling changes and challenges with more and more ease. Your Svaroopa® yoga practices produce this result because of the Grace that flows through them. Yoga gives you the tools to recognize the depths of who you really are. You are Consciousness-Itself.
Describing transformation, Gurudevi Nirmalananda says, “You take on a new form. You have a new sense of self, more true to your own capital-S Self.” She continues, “Your ability to manage your own spiritual blossoming comes from the cosmic intelligence arising from its inner source. Your ability to go with the flow in your life, as well as with the changes in your Ashram, comes from the ever-expanding depths of your own being.”
In response to the pandemic, your Ashram has transformed the “Grace Delivery System”. Gurudevi and the other swamis have worked tirelessly to bring Ashram programs to all who must “stay at home.” They bring power and depth to every interaction with you. Whether online or onsite, what they deliver fuels your own transformation directly.
I’ve availed myself of these many Ashram offerings. Joining the Meditation Club gave me consistent daily practice. The Vichara Club has powered me through mental and emotional sludge. I zoom in for the free Japa Club “online meetings.” Twice daily, they reset my state. I have taken several weekend retreats online. These deep encounters with Divine teachings restored me and sanctified my home. And I conclude each week with our online Swami Sunday, basking in Gurudevi’s teachings and darshan. I am so grateful for these offerings. Quite literally, they reach me wherever I am, both on the inside and outside. I am grateful for my own tangible transformation.
As the Ashram Board President, I know the costs associated with providing the vast array of Svaroopa® Sciences services, onsite again as well as online. As I am transformed by them, I experience an inner upwelling of gratitude. It compels me to give back with financial support. September 2020 marks the 11th birthday of Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram. So I’m celebrating this milestone birthday as well as expressing great gratitude! I hope you will join me in honoring the source of your transformation and give as generously as you are able.
Today is the last day of Svaroopa® Vidya Ashram’s eleventh year. Tomorrow we begin year twelve, an auspicious time according to yoga and its sister science of jyotish (Vedic astrology). Both are sciences that help you understand yourself as well as maximize what you do with what you’ve got.
As an Ashram, our work is totally dedicated to Grace, the revelatory power of God. Revealing the Divine within you is yoga’s specialty, made even more tangible in a Shaktipat tradition. Once you’ve received this inner awakening, your own Divinity shines brighter and brighter. It’s an organic process, similar to how seeds sprout from the earth and grow toward the sky. Your initiation planted the seed of your own enlightenment; that inner power is uplifting you every day.
When you cooperate with this mystical process, it’s easier and goes faster. That’s why your Ashram offers continued studies, supporting your spiritual growth. Technically, that growth is assured once you receive Shaktipat, but your understanding of it develops over time. It can be hard enough to understand life, much less to understand your own cosmic and mystical nature. Learning more about the tradition and its texts is so valuable.
The twelve-year cycle is based on the astronomical position of the planet Jupiter, named “Guru” in Sanskrit. Returning to its home base magnifies the blessings a Guru provides: spiritual development, growth in knowledge and insight, success in relationships and worldly activities, the spirit of generosity and service. Jupiter also gives you the desire for liberation and the longing to know God.
Your own birthday means you’ve made a one-year trip around the sun, riding on planet Earth. Jupiter takes twelve years for the trip. When it returns to its starting point, its Grace-giving power is increased. We will all benefit from this for the whole next year, including the Ashram, everyone who participates in its activities and all who contribute to its work in the world.
When I founded the Ashram, I was bringing twenty years of teaching experience into a new “incarnation.” Having founded and led Master Yoga Foundation, also a not-for-profit organization, I brought a well-developed curriculum in yoga poses and Teacher Training. But an Ashram is focused on your enlightenment, not just your health and happiness. That new focus brought a new curriculum, welcomed with great relief by many Svaroopis though a bit challenging for others. I was always careful to pace the changes carefully, out of love and respect for the yogis still in transition.
And then we were graced with five new swamis! Clearly our spiritual focus was enhanced by their deep transformation as well as their dedication to work on your behalf. The pandemic brought another surprise, not only difficulties but also many opportunities. Making so many programs available on Zoom has been a great boon, a way to reach and serve you more frequently, more affordably and more efficiently.
I continue to be delighted to serve you in so many beautiful and powerful ways. And I know it is made possible by our faculty, our sevites and staff, our Board of Directors and our many donors. Thank you for making this work work!
While you’ve gotten used to the pandemic lifestyle, your mind still asks about the future. You can look at the latest statistics, find out about the vaccines being tested and learn about different types of masks. But there’s still no way to know how long this will go on. For now, you’re stuck. Some say we could have a vaccine in a few months. Others say we’re in this for two years or more. How do you handle yourself in an unpredictable world?
Living in the future clearly doesn’t work well. It never did. I like to think of the pandemic as a wonderfully orchestrated lesson on how to live in the here and now. Simplifying your life is easy when you cannot go anywhere and have to cook more. So many yogic principles are now proving their value, not only to you but to everyone.
This feels to me like an unprecedented sacred space. Each of us is living in our own sweet sanctuary, poking our heads out a little, crawling back in for days on end. I feel an eerie and delicious resonance with fuzzy almost-memories of lifetimes past, being a yogi in a cave or a nun in a cell. Time stretches into timelessness, making it hard to track the days, weeks and months. It’s even hard to remember what “normal” was like. Wasn’t it a bit speedy, even crazy?
I’m loving modern technology while I live in this time warp. From the blender that makes smoothies to the internet that keeps me connected, I relax into this amazing yet ephemeral support. Then I watch it disappear when the power goes out. What now? All that’s left is to delight in being cut off, settling into the stillness, even sweating through the humid night. Yes, it reminds me of my childhood and of India, both at the same time.
What a precious time this is. With the many challenges it brings, it’s still something to be treasured. One day you’ll say, “I remember the pandemic…” What stories will you tell? Maybe you’ll talk about having done more yoga than ever before. Maybe you’ll describe how your meditations deepened, simply because you had fewer distractions and more time. Maybe you’ll describe the inner strength and deeper sense of purpose that blossomed forth. Or maybe you’ll name the movies that you watched multiple times. Life is what you make of it. You get to choose what you will focus on, what you will accomplish — or not. It’s called free will, a Divine quality that is part of your human toolkit. Instead of wondering when you can go back to what you used to do, you could invest yourself in what you’re doing now. Or you could change it to something that would be more meaningful or fulfilling for you. For myself, I always say, “Do more yoga.”
I couldn’t conceive of it when I first heard Gurudevi Nirmalananda say, “Bliss is your birthright!” I knew the kind of joy and happiness that comes and goes. But what was the bliss she referred to?
In a beautiful poem, the 8th century yogic sage Shankaracharya wrote, “chidananda rupah,” my nature is the bliss of Pure Consciousness. In saying “My nature is bliss,” Shankaracharya affirms that bliss is a natural state, a birthright. We think we need to hunt for it. We search for it in everything and everywhere we go. Yet it’s inherent to the human being. Each of us has the blissful capacity of awareness and knowingness.
This bliss of Pure Consciousness is found on the inside. You turn inward to find what yoga calls the capital-S Self. It is so close, a breath away, just behind the mind’s thoughts and activities. Your own Self is the Self that you were when you were a child. You are that same Self now. Through meditation you can experience this again and again. Meditation quiets your mind, so you experience your own Self and its qualities of bliss, awareness and knowingness. Nothing to do, nowhere to go, no one else to be. This is your natural state of being. It is truly bliss-full.
Through meditation, I now know the bliss that arises from within. I access it daily; it’s no longer blocked from my view. Bliss is eternal. It need not fluctuate with the external circumstances of life’s inevitable ups and downs. Bliss is always there, in you too. You can reliably open into it. This is the promise of Svaroopa® Vidya Meditation, taught by Gurudevi Nirmalananda, my Guru. Through this practice, you experience your own Self and its ever-arising qualities of bliss, peace, quietude, compassion, love and more. Meditation transforms your mind so that you can experience your Self while still engaging in the world. You learn to bring your bliss with you into your life. While in this state, you remain centered. You are the calm eye of the storm even while turbulent times swirl around you. You are joyful, even experiencing bliss through bittersweet events. The light of the Self shines through you in all that you do, and into your relationships.
When I prepared Noochy Baked Tofu for breakfast along with Couscous and Pineapple Chutney, I was surprised at the ease and delicious tastes. The highlight was the Noochy Tofu, but the Pineapple Chutney was not far behind. Savory and salty, the tofu benefits from nutritional yeast (a special ingredient from my old hippie days). The chutney is sour, sweet, hot and pungent with walnuts added right before serving for the bitter taste and crunch. The couscous cooked with some ghee gave a balance to the distinct flavors of both other dishes.
I like that this tofu recipe gives me such a simple and flavorful way to make tofu. For years, I have worked with tofu a lot, trying to make it pleasing to those who experience it as bland and boring. I have tried pressing the water from the tofu overnight so itcan absorb more flavor from whatever I cook it in. I have fried, sautéed and baked it in many different marinades. Yet this simple recipe with four ingredients does it all. It also eliminates the work of dealing with messy marinades and standing at the stove watching that the tofu doesn’t stick to the pan. You just pop it in the oven and bake it.
The tofu recipe’s author, Isa Chandra Moskowitz (theppk.com) has written many vegan cookbooks. She and says she ate this tofu through high school because it was so easy. I followed her recipe as it was written, which is not usually how I cook. But this one works, so I have no secret tips. Enjoy!
Noochy Baked Tofu with Couscous and Pineapple Chutney
Serves: 2-4 people
Protein: 21 grams (entrée + sides)
Six Tastes:
Sweet = tofu, couscous, pineapple
Salty = tamari/soy sauce
Sour = pineapple, vinegar
Astringent = tofu, vinegar
Bitter = walnuts
Pungent = onion, ginger
Ingredients & Instructions
FOR THE TOFU:
14-ounce package extra-firm tofu, drained and chopped into medium chunks
FOR THE TOFU: Preheat the oven to 350⁰ F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Place the tofu on the baking sheet and drizzle with the oil and tamari. Sprinkle with the salt and several dashes of black pepper. Use your hands to flip and coat. Sprinkle with the nutritional yeast and flip again to coat.
Assemble tofu in a single layer. Bake for 20 minutes, until crisp and lightly browned. Use a spatula to flip and bake for 10 more minutes.
While hot, serve on a bed of cooked couscous. Tofu may be served cold and refrigerated up to 3 days.
FOR THE PINEAPPLE CHUTNEY:
In a heavy saucepan, combine the onion, honey, vinegar, pineapple, curry powder, ginger, salt and red pepper flakes and mix well.
Put the pan on the stovetop and cook over high heat until the mixture comes to a full rolling boil, stirring frequently.
Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally so the food doesn’t burn, until the pineapple is tender and mixture is thickened, about 20-30 minutes.
Take the pan off the heat and allow the chutney to cool slightly. While still warm, add the walnuts, stir well and serve immediately, as a side dish with the meal. Chutney may be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
Life didn’t have a clear destination, not that I could identify. It’s very clear to me when I travel. I get off the airplane or out of the car or train after several hours, and I’m in a whole new place. Waking up the next morning is different than the day before. I’ve arrived. The things I will do are different, things that are specific to this new place I’ve come to.
That didn’t happen for me after I graduated from school and had the big wedding. I got the big job, was promoted several times and broke the glass ceiling for women in the firm. Even though I did everything right, I never felt like I’d arrived. Life didn’t really change. All the things I did continued to be quite mundane, not fulfilling really.
No wonder I kept looking. I called myself a seeker, but I didn’t know what I was seeking. Yoga classes helped. At least they lowered my stress level, stress that was basically a feeling of being underwhelmed by life. Isn’t there something more?
I was willing to work hard in order to get whatever I would get. I knew how to apply myself to reaching a goal but I couldn’t find a destination worth arriving at. Until I got Shaktipat. It was a breakthrough moment, a pivot point that changed my life for the better. While nothing changed on the outside, it opened the door to a new level of fulfillment on the inside. It showed me the goal and gave me a way to get there.
Baba Muktananda giving Shaktipat
“Know Thyself” had guided my quest before. I felt the power of the saying echoing from the ancient Greeks, but even my graduate work in psychology didn’t help me attain it. Shaktipat gave me a way to do it. More importantly, the experience redefined “Self” for me. Beyond theory, I had a tangible, undeniable, in-lightening inner experience of my own Self, defined by yoga as “your inherent Divinity.”
Even more valuable, this inner experience repeated itself every morning in my meditation, for Shaktipat had awakened the inner power that fueled my spiritual quest. Each day, I was pulled deeper and deeper within. I could feel the profound progress. I could see the changes in my mind, heart and life. I was no longer a seeker. I became a finder. I found my own Self. That changed everything. Now I serve others by giving them the same jump start. The fire of yoga, awakened within, climbs your spine, clears your mind and opens your heart. This mystical force is both Divine and human, for it shines the light on the reality of your own multidimensionality. Once you’ve received Maha-Shaktipat Diksha, you’ll never be the same. Thank God! You’ll be more you, expanding into your fullness and blossoming into your greatness. That’s the destination. That’s what yoga is all about.
By Andrea (Arya) Perry, interviewed by Lori (Priya) Kenney
“This CD has inspired and motivated me to do more japa, more meditation, and even more chanting. I am grateful for it. Thank you Gurudevi!” says Andrea (Arya) Perry.
When I invited Arya to review Gurudevi Swami Nirmalananda’s CD Meditation Deep & Easy, she proclaimed, “I believe my life purpose, my dharma, is to live established in Self. I use this CD as a tool to support me on this quest.”
Meditation Deep & Easy includes three tracks. The first two are Gurudevi singing the mantra, then speaking the mantra out loud (japa). On the third track, Gurudevi guides you in using the mantra for your entry into meditation. The CD makes it easy for you to find your way inward to Self, the focus and purpose of Svaroopa® Vidya Meditation. Many yogis in the Svaroopa® Vidya community use this CD as meditation preparation. Gurudevi’s guidance into meditation illuminates their pathway into Self.
Arya describes, “I wanted the experience of doing japa with Gurudevi. In contrast to repeating the mantra alone, hearing Gurudevi’s voice doing japa or chanting the mantra gives me a ‘connection booster’ to Self. It immerses me in the flow of Grace. It makes connection to and establishment in Self easier, faster and stronger.”
“I am just ending 18 months that were both trying and challenging. Until her death in May, I shared caregiving responsibilities for my beloved mother-in-law of 49 years with my husband and his two siblings. During this time, my husband underwent two hip replacement surgeries. Stress and tensions were high, sending my mind and emotions way out of control. During these periods, I was grateful for all the yogic tools that I had available to bring me back to Self. I also appreciate these experiences. I am grateful for them because I could see them as opportunities for growth and development.”
“In the final months of this period,” describes Arya, “the CD was one of these tools. It motivated and supported my doing japa during the 40-mile drives to my mother-in-law’s house. I’ve always been self-conscious about singing. My small-s self says, ‘Am I doing it right?’ For this reason, chanting has never been my forte. Despite this, one evening on my 40-mile drive, I found myself chanting along with the CD with all my heart and soul. I found bliss and joy.”
“I have a saying that Consciousness provides me with what I need, when I need it, as I need it, even when I don’t even know I need it. This request to do this interview drew my awareness back to the CD. I hadn’t thought of using it since May, when my caregiving responsibilities ended. In the middle of the night, just prior to the interview, my mind was raging out of control. I could not reign it in to go to sleep despite Ayurvedic practices, Ujjayi Pranayama and japa. My mind and body obstinately resisted asana and meditation. Because the CD had been freshly planted in my mind by the interview request, the thought to use it as a solution came to mind. Consequently, listening to Gurudevi chanting and doing japa effectively deactivated my mind. Grounded in Self, I drifted off to sleep.”
Arya continues, “Living at a distance limits how often I can physically visit the Ashram and be in Gurudevi’s presence. The CD provides me with the Ashram experience. I can be in Gurudevi’s presence long distance. And it’s portable. I can have it anytime, day or night and anywhere, in my living room, my car, my bedroom or elsewhere.”
By Loretta Forsythe, interviewed by Lissa Yogyananda Fountain
“I can see how Grace has guided me my whole life to find Svaroopa® yoga, and to have Gurudevi as my Guru,” shares Loretta Forsythe. About ten years ago, Loretta found a Svaroopa® yoga teacher near her home in the Poconos. After her first class, she felt she was in “new body” with “a deeper inner connection.” Soon thereafter, she retired, took Svaroopa® Yoga Teacher Training, and offered classes herself for about six years. But life had another plan.
“When I moved to Delaware last year,” describes Loretta, “I decided to hold off on teaching and concentrate on my health and healing. Through my yoga and meditation practices as well as vichara sessions, I realized I had a lot of ‘stuff’ to work through. I prayed to Shiva: ‘Do Your work and guide me through this.’ I wanted to be healed and become Self-Realized. Throughout this ongoing purification process, I feel Gurudevi’s teachings supporting me. I am in a deeper place than I have ever been.”
Despite health challenges, Loretta has continued all the Svaroopa® Sciences practices at Rehoboth Beach Yoga. She attends satsangs, takes classes and has started Overlap Healing Embodyment® sessions. She also looks to Ayurveda and Vichara for healing.
“But,” says Loretta, “it is in Gurudevi’s online Meditation Club that I have experienced the greatest breakthroughs.” When the Meditation Club was announced, Loretta enthusiastically joined. She recalls, “Before the Meditation Club, I meditated daily. But it was difficult to stay in it. My mind would say, ‘Ok, how many minutes do we have left? Aren’t we done yet?’ My physical pain was distracting as well. And although I got a lot of kriyas (spontaneous movements that clear energy blockages), they would take me OUT of meditation.
“I had always wanted to get up earlier for my meditations, so the 6:30 a.m. start time forces me!” Loretta describes a profound shift in her meditations now: “Meditating with Gurudevi, the other swamis and 50 or more other yogis, powers my meditation. I feel Guru’s Grace and Shakti really come through. I also joined Gurudevi’s online Japa Club. Right after each twice daily phone call, I slip into an easy 20-to-30-minute meditation!
“I was still having kriyas from the beginning to the end of my meditations. One day I made the decision that when the kriyas started, I’d accept them and not allow them to pull me out. It was the Self speaking through my mind: ‘Now is the time to go deeper.’ I felt myself going into more of the Self — an inner expansion. Now when I am in meditation, I’m aware of something bigger than what I thought I was.”
Loretta’s discovery of Self is ongoing, filled with moments of radical awareness. “During the last meditation of the recent Chant & Meditation Retreat weekend,” she recounts, “I was keeping the mantra going, even while my mind was all over the place. Then in a split second, everything went quiet, except for the mantra. I took a step back and wondered, ‘Where’s my thinking mind? My mind is saying mantra, so who’s the one watching my mind do this? This must be the Self.’ It wasn’t an ecstatic moment, but more like a knowing that had always been there. ‘Wow,’ I thought, ‘I’m telling my mind to say mantra. I can tell my mind what to think. AND I don’t have to be thinking all the time!’”
Gurudevi’s Guru, Baba Muktananda, is famous for saying “My mind wouldn’t dare think a thought without my permission.” Loretta sees that being in this state of quiet mind is her way to Self-Realization. She says, “Throughout the day, when the chitter chatter says, ‘Come to me,’ that’s my mind controlling me. Now I recognize that I don’t have to listen. I can control my mind, because I am more than my mind. I am the Self. So I tell my mind, we’re going to repeat mantra.”
Gurudevi’s readings from sacred texts before the Meditation Club and the Japa Club have given Loretta a deeper understanding of the importance of always repeating mantra. She adds, “It is both humbling and auspicious to be involved so deeply with Gurudevi. I feel so blessed.”
SVA Blog 