Dec. 2010–Jan. 2011 43 Years of Continuous Publication TRUTH JOURNAL for individual and global spiritual enlightenment Directly Acknowledge, Affirm, and Demonstrate the Truth – page 5 A Center for Spiritual Awareness Publication In 6 Languages PARAMAHANSA YOGANANDA As I Knew Him Experiences, Observations, and Reflections of a Direct Disciple of the Author of Autobiography of a Yogi Hardcover 160 pages 16 pages of b/w & color photos $12.00 Selected Readings From the Book 2 Audio CDS 2 hours:30 minutes $10.00 Use the order form on page 30 or online at www.csa-davis.org Spanish: Read or download free at www.csa-davis.org In Europe. Italian: marcovalerio.com German: www.kriya-yoga.de In India. English and Hindi editions: www.atfullcircle.com Tamil: [email protected] Front cover photo: The library dome building at CSA Headquarters. Directly Acknowledge, Affirm, and Demonstrate the Truth 5 Answers to Questions About the Spiritual Path 11 Conscious Food Preparation 16 Discovering the Sacred in Everyday Life 17 Weekly Guidelines to Inspired Living 18 Transcendent Realizations 20 Observations, Reflections & Discoveries 22 News and Highlights 25 Meditation Retreat Schedules at CSA Headquarters 29 CSA-Asheville, North Carolina, Meditation Center Meditation Sundays 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Thursdays 7:00 p.m. Midweek classes and special programs to be announced. In the North Louisiana Office Park 370 North Louisiana Avenue, Suites D-3 & 4 Ryan Kurczak, Minister 828-423-6636 [email protected] Michael Getch, Associate 828-490-1136 [email protected] Published bimonthly: February, April, June, August, October, December Subscription in the U. S. $10.00 Other countries $15.00 airmailed Copyright © 2010 by Center for Spiritual Awareness P. O. Box 7 Lakemont, Georgia 30552-0001 Phone 706-782-4723 Fax 706-782-4560 e-mail [email protected] Web Site www.csa-davis.org Offices and Retreat Center on 151 CSA Lane off Lake Rabun Road 3 The devotee who is established in [Self] knowledge, whose highest aim is liberation of consciousness, with senses, mind, and intellect controlled, from whom cravings, fear, and anger have departed, is forever free. – Bhagavad Gita 5:28 STUDIES IN TRUTH LESSON Conscious Living & Effective Spiritual Practice — by Roy Eugene Davis — Roy Eugene Davis writes a 16-page Studies in Truth Lesson for Center for Spiritual Awareness members six times a year. In alternate months the Lesson is published in this magazine for our members and growing global family of readers. Directly Acknowledge, Affirm, and Demonstrate the Truth directly In an immediate, forthright, decisive way. acknowledge To recognize and admit the existence, reality, or truth of something. affirm To firmly declare the truth. demonstrate To prove or make evident, experiment with, apply in practical ways, or reveal or illustrate by behaviors or actions. truth Conformity to fact or actuality. Having knowledge of what is true is useful. To affirm the truth and demonstrate it by our actions is transformative. For many people who are interested in spirituality, there is a wide gap or difference between what they know and what they do. To try to use metaphysical knowledge to somewhat improve an ordi- nary (unexceptional) egocentric human condition may produce a small degree of improvement, but will not nurture authentic spiritual growth that illumines one’s mind and consciousness. To have soul-satisfying changes in mental states, states of consciousness, circumstances, and experiences, what is needed is a radical (going to the source) endeavor to discover that which is of permanent value and which supports and maintains transi- tory, objective realities. Sincere truth seekers must be: • Emotionally mature enough to be willing and able to assume personal responsibility for what they do and for the effects of their actions. 5 • Firmly dedicated: willing and able to concentrate on matters which are essential for them to be successful in their quest while disregarding all nonessential matters. To be dedicated is to consecrate or “set apart” one’s thoughts and actions for a special purpose. To think and behave in ordinary, habitual ways is to experience a continuation of existing conditions. To think and behave only in constructive, purposeful ways is to allow ideal, beneficial changes to occur. Pray (fervently aspire from the depths of your being): Lead me from the unreal [the superficial and impermanent] to the real [that which endures]. Lead me from the darkness of ignorance of the truth to the light of absolute [pure] knowledge. Lead me from the false notion of death to the liberating realization of immortality. – Adapted from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (800 – 500 B.C.E.) You are a Spiritual Being in a Spiritual Universe To define yourself in terms of human limitations is a desecration of the image of God you are. – Paramahansa Yogananda (1893 – 1952) You are a spiritual being eternally one with ultimate Reality. The universe is spiritual because it is produced and maintained by cosmic forces emanated from the expressive field of ultimate Reality which operate in accord with natural laws of cause and effect. A natural law is a principle considered to be consistent between or among phenomena in all instances in which specific conditions are met. When we know these laws of cause and ef- fect and cooperate with them, the spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, and environmental components of our lives can be har- moniously integrated. It is then easier to live effectively with- out the limitations and problems that are commonly experienced by people whose mental states and states of consciousness are blurred and fragmented. During interludes of quiet introspection, you can intuitively 6 know and actually experience that you are not your physical body or your mind. You can be a detached observer of physical and mental states and objective circumstances which are con- stantly changing while you do not change. Demonstrate that you know you are a spiritual being living in a spiritual universe by always being Self-aware, thinking ra- tionally, and acting wisely. When thoughts or feelings of lack or limitation emerge, immediately change your point of view. Acknowledge and affirm the truth, “I am a spiritual being in a spiritual universe!” There is One Essence; That Essence is Your Essence essence The indispensable property or properties that characterize or identify something. The inherent, unchanging nature of things or a class of things. I absorbed my attention within and realized my true Self. – Kabir (1440 – 1518) The essence of ultimate Reality is individualized as the Self of you. The word Self is used to designate what you really are as an immortal, spiritual being. A Self or soul is individualized or produced (not created) by the blending of the consciousness of ultimate Reality and its emanated vibration (Om). That is why the essence of ultimate Reality is your essence and why what is true of it is true of you. As a unit of pure consciousness, you have within you all of the qualities and innate knowledge of the transcendent field of pure consciousness. Souls which are not aware of their essence are either overly identified with objective (outer) or subjective (mental and emotional) conditions, or their intellectual and in- tuitive powers are not yet sufficiently developed to enable them to discern the truth about themselves. In the course of time, the intellectual and intuitive powers of all souls are eventually im- proved, their innate divine qualities are unveiled, and know- ledge of their true nature is spontaneously Self-revealed. 7 There is One Life; That Life is Your Life Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see [realize] God. – The Gospel of Matthew 5:8 An omnipresent, intelligence-empowered, animating force con- tinuously enlivens the fine, subtle, and gross aspects of Nature and impels the trends and processes of evolution. To a person whose views are materialistic, the universe and its processes may be presumed to be random (without a specific pattern or organized modes of action). To a person whose heart (essence) is purified and whose intellectual and intuitive powers are highly developed, the universe and its processes are viewed as orderly effects of an impersonal impulse to manifest that emerged from within the expressive field of ultimate Reality. Three attributes of the expressive field of ultimate Reality regulate the processes of cosmic manifestation and of Nature: 1) a power of attraction; 2) a transformative influence; 3) inertia. Pervading the universe, they influence the processes of evolu- tion, physical and mental states, and states of consciousness. For a person whose spiritual awakening is almost complete, illumination of consciousness that makes them impervious to the influences of the attributes of Nature is the final stage of awakening. There is One Mind; That Mind is Your Mind And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. – Genesis 1:26 The writers who composed the Old Testament tried to imagine what the ultimate Reality (God) might have been “thinking” when it produced the universe. Ultimate Reality does not have to think to produce universes because its inclination is to mani- fest them by emanating its power as a cosmic vibration (Om) from which space, time, and cosmic forces are produced. The word man (used to designate a human being regardless of gender) is derived from manas, the Sanskrit word for mind, which enables thinking. Mental impressions (memories) of our 8 perceptions enable us to be conscious of our personal history and to reason, plan, and imagine. Impressions of cosmic events are in the subconscious level of cosmic mind. Cosmic mind is responsive to your mental states, desires, and intentions because your mind is a part of it. As you become more cosmic conscious you will discover that cosmic mind is re- ally your larger mind.