Happy New Year

I thought that I would share with my readers a small bit of what has inspired me to follow the path that I am on. Here are a couple of excerpts from this lecture link, Healing the Handicaps, by Yogi Bhajan, my teacher.

On communication with nature and I would expand that to animals …

near Tired Dog Ranch, Westfir, Oregon

“In every church, in every synagogue, in every temple, people tell you what to say. They are the registered voice. They give you a visa between you and God. But question is, if you want to learn how to talk to God, you must learn how to talk to His creation. If you do not know how to talk to a redwood tree (it would look like insanity to you, but that’s a fact) After all, life must talk to life.

Is redwood tree not alive? Doesn’t it grow at its own rate? Doesn’t it have its own identity, own shape? Do you know how to talk to the ocean? Do you know how to talk to winds? You think all this is a lunatic, that’s what you think. No! You are lunatic because you have never learned to talk to the entire atmosphere which God created around you. If you do not know my entire house, how can you walk into my bedroom? You’ve got to meet the man outside. You’ve got to meet and sit in the waiting room. You have no relationship. And anyone who has no total relationship with the entire earth, cannot claim to be happy.”

On religion and being in the world …

“You do your prayers for mental cleanliness, spiritual advancement — nothing else. People ask me, “What is a religion?” I say, “It is a very, very most powerful selfish trip. It has nothing to do with God, I can assure you that.” No, no, no, don’t misunderstand me, it is true! What? God is bothering you? God is everywhere, you are nowhere, what is the problem? I mean to say, we have no problem. To feel spiritual is to feel your own spirit. It doesn’t matter which religion you belong to or which person you belong to. After all, you have to complete your day. And there’s no B12 injection all the time you can keep in left arm and right arm, you can make your day as it’s your day. Your day not only has to be your day, but your day has to be everybody’s best day whom you meet that day. That is called “one day.” If your day is your day, you goofed. It doesn’t make any sense because that day you made barely your day. But if that day you met fifty people and the fifty people have not made their day then you have lost fifty opportunities, fifty chances… and that is the sacredness in life that you go, you feel, you touch and somebody’s day is made.

Then what happens? One day you make one person’s day, next day you make ten people’s day and 3rd day you make 100 people’s day. In the end of the month you’ve made 10,000 people’s day. Then you have 10,000 psycho magnetic energies focusing at you. “Oh, he is a good man.” It’s a mantra. It’s a constant vibration. Now bad cannot come near you. Power is in the remembrance. “Remember God, meditate on God.” Whatever they call it, that doesn’t mean anything.

Power is in remembrance. Your child is somewhere in the university, your power is in the remembrance as a mother, as a father, as a boyfriend or girlfriend. That is the power. It is psycho magnetic communication. That’s the only power man understands or has, even without knowing what he has got.”

My lovely daughter, off to learn film photography, just like I did many years ago.

This past year has been personally challenging at times, yet filled with insights as well. In 2009 I would prefer more insights and less challenge. But I’ll take whatever comes. I guess it’s hard to have one without the other. I know that it will be filled with many new and interesting choices to be made, wonder and beauty.

I wish all of you a Happy, Joyful and Prosperous New Year!