Spiritual Empowerment Series 2008
Strength: Gandhi and Mantra

March 2 ~ Guest Speaker

March 9 ~ “Gandhi & Soul Strength”

Gandhi”s concept of Satyagraha
Satya = truth; that which is Graha = firmness; planets SOUL STRENGTH

From Eknath Easwaran’s Gandhi the Man: The Story of His Transformation
“Satyagraha is, simply enough, a spiritual force ~a potent, viable source of energy that belongs to all individuals, though few are aware of it . . . the force which is born of truth and love or nonviolence.” MEDITATE TO GROW IN AWARENESS OF YOUR SATYAGRAHA

Gandhi Quotes

His most famous . . .
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Like Eckardt Tolle’s new book, “A New Earth” that we are studying on Oprah.com . . .
“In this age of wonders no one will say that a thing or an idea is worthless because it is new. To say it is impossible because it is difficult, is again not in consonance with the spirit of the age. Things undreamt of are daily being seen, the impossible is ever becoming possible. We are constantly being astonished these days at the amazing discoveries in the field of violence. But I maintain that far more undreamt of and seemingly impossible discoveries will be made in the field of nonviolence.”

A reminder of the importance of Practicing the Presence of the Divine . . .
“Call it by whatever name you like, that which gives one the greatest solace in the midst of the severest fire is God.”

It is up to each of us to contribute to the enlightenment of us all . . .
“If one man gains spiritually, the whole world gains with him…I have not the shadow of a doubt that any man or woman can achieve what I have if he or she would make the same effort and cultivate the same hope and faith.”

March 16 ~ “Into The Realm Of Peace”

White Eagle in The Way of the Sun
“Beloved Brethren, your religion teaches you to feel unhappy at this glorious time of year, and many are heavy with sorrow at the thought of the crucifixion of their Lord & Master . . . May we tell you that the crucifixion is not as you understand it. It is a symbol of the spiritual growth and evolution of man . . . the story of the liberation of spirit from the domination of the flesh and earthly matter . . . a time of sweet surrender to the light and beauty of spirit . . . The crucifixion is a symbol of the initiation in which the soul, having seen the glory of the Father, is able to demonstrate that glory in his actions on earth . . . bring the Christ Spirit into manifestation in daily life.”

“A New Earth” Eckhart Tolle & Oprah
Key Thoughts Stop labeling Look to inner energy, subtle meaning/connections/ let it be
“that is called an oak tree” rather than “it is an oak tree”
Release “mine” Honor things & their energy but don’t attach
Ego Awareness Ego always compares & is never satisfied
Egoic Mind Pattern Labels things, mine, you’re right & they’re wrong
Sense of self worth from things/others opinions
In the Present & In the Presence The PEACE that passes understanding

Your Calling Move from bondage/narrowness into liberation/possibilities
Enter into the consciousness of Peace (Jerusalem) wherever you are
Allow the Peace that passes understanding to enfold you
Peace Mantra Select One: “Peace, be still” “I AM” “Aum” “Shalom” “Namaste”

March 23 ~ “Gifts of Easter”

ECKHART TOLLE in A NEW EARTH
PRESENT “One things we do know: Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful to the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having in this moment.” LIFE AS HERE & NOW
PRESENCE “When forms around you die or death approaches, your sense of Beingness, of I Am, is freed from its entanglement with form: Spirit is released from its imprisonment in matter. You realize your essential identity as formless, as an all-pervasive Presence, of Being prior to all forms, all identifications. You realize your true identity as consciousness itself . . . not as I am this or I am that, but I Am.” EXACTLY AS YOU ARE/INNER SELF

Don Curtis in The Way of the Christ “We are all disciples whether we know it or not. The spiritual path eternally beckons to us. Those who follow the upward path make a conscious decision to follow the Christ Light ~ to aspire to Truth, to embody the good, and to express Divine ideas . . what the Master called ‘the Way, the Truth, & the Life’.”

THE PROCESS OF NEW LIFE Surrender, Enter the Mystery, Return Transformed

Day One: The WAY Non-resistance; release suffering/fear/expectations/attachments
Day Two: The TRUTH Time apart; Receiving; faith to simply be; allow awakening within
Day Three: The LIFE Active; integrating who you are NOW ~ Living the Presence

GIVE ‘UP’ (surrender) . . . LET IT BE (mystery) . . . BECOME CONSCIOUS & LIVE (transform)

PARMAHANSA YOGANANDA in The Second Coming of Christ: “By cooperation with Divine Will, man permits into his life the ready-and-willing inflow of God’s wisdom, power, love, joy . . . to abide in the freedom & joy of an inner heaven on earth.”

March 30 ~ “New Life and Mantra”

Eckhardt Tolle in A New Earth
“Can human beings lose the density of their conditioned mind structures and become like crystals or precious stones, so to speak, transparent to the light of consciousness? Can they defy the gravitational pull of materialism and materiality and rise above identification with form?”
“Only rare beings at the time, such as the Buddha or Jesus, saw the ultimate irrelevance of caste or social class, recognized it as identification with form & saw that such identification with the conditioned and the temporal obscured the light of the unconditioned and eternal that shines in each human being . . . Only though awareness can you see the totality of the situation or person, instead of adopting one limited perspective.”

Gandhi
“If we could erase the ‘I’s’ and ‘mine’s’ from religion, politics, economics, etc., we should soon be free and bring heaven upon earth.”

Mantram, Holy Name ~ A Powerful Transformational Tool to use daily

“A spiritual formula which seekers from all traditions have found can transform what is negative in the personality into what is positive: anger into compassion, ill will into good will, hatred into love. By calming the mind, it gradually integrates divided and opposing thoughts at a deeper and deeper level of consciousness.” (Gandhi, The Man)

Gandhi’s called his mantra “Rama, Rama, Rama” the “Staff of life”
St. Francis used “My God and My All”
Select one to use yourself today and begin to use it regularly.
You can use a name for God (ie. Divine Light) or a short phrase (ie. Peace, be still)

Remember: Meditation is not meant to be a cloistered virtue, but rather a dynamic discipline