In Yoke

Romans 8:25-30 (ESV) - But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. My devotional life really does dynamically move into deep contemplation as I read and reread the words of Richard Rohr* , one of my favorite authors. “The contemplative or non-dual mind, which for me is the essential self, is a tree of life , and brings about continual fruitfulness for the soul. Rohr reminds me of this in the discussion of how we usually make judgments based on our binary, or “either/or” false self/or/ego”. “A binary system of either/or choices is good and necessary in the lofty worlds of logic, mechanics, math and science…and in the everyday worlds of getting from po...

As pure water poured into pure water becomes the very same, so does the Self of the illumined man or woman verily become one with the Godhead.  ~Katha Upanishad Easwaran notes that for some reason, it is very difficult for us to accept our divine nature. “This has always puzzled me. We pay money for books about how destructive we are. We stand in line to see movies that emphasize our capacity for making trouble.” Then, when Jesus comes to tell us that the kingdom of heaven is within us, we say, "There must be some mistake." It is to convince us that our real Self is always pure and eternal that men and women of God keep arising among us. More than anything, we need to hear their good news that the source of all joy and security is right within. In the Hindu scriptures there is a precise term for our real nature: the Atman. All it means is "the Self" - not the little self, the changing personality with which most of us identify, but the higher Self, our re...

“One of the great statements called mahavakyas in Sanskrit that has reverberated down the centuries for thousands of years is tat tvam asi . There is a precision about this formula, as I call it, which is not philosophy nor is it metaphysics. “ Tat literally means ‘That’ – the infinite, immortal, immutable spirit that is at the core of human consciousness. It’s called by a precise scientific name, atman , the Self , which is closer to me than this body, which, as the Sufis say, is nearer to me than my jugular vein, which is dearer to me than my very life. Tat is the supreme reality from which words turn back frightened, which thoughts cannot reach. “The second word is tvam , ‘you.’ It is addressed to everyone without exception. “And the third word, asi , means ‘ you are .’ Whether you believe it or not, it does not matter. Whether you accept it or not, it does not matter. That is what you are.” ~ Eknath Easwaran This truth as expressed in Sanskrit, which is much more specific ...