It is with great faith and anticipation of all good things that together we step across the threshold of a New Year filled with promise and fulfillment. Through the standards of numerology, 2016 is a (number) nine year signifying completion and the culmination of all that you have put forth in the last eight years. It takes us above and beyond the small-minded, self-centered “I” into the all-encompassing, Universal “I”. For this very reason, it is time to step up into your ability to engage life to its fullest, anchored on a strong practice based on love, prayer and daily meditation.

This year, the focus of our Param Yoga community is to make a concerted effort to truly understand who you are through constant self-inquiry and introspection. This soul searching study, when done with sincere enthusiasm and focus, will reveal to you a depth and breadth of living that is incredibly rewarding. Paramahamsa Prajnanananda encourages all of us to use this inquiry as the foundation for all other spiritual practices that we engage in daily to assist us into recognizing eternal love, peace and great joy.

Through the last five years we, as a community, have studied and implemented the essence of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra to bring yoga to life on all levels. In response to many of you wanting to learn more, we are very excited to offer an in-depth video study with Prajnananadaji every Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM at the studio led by Yogacharya Richard Peterson. This will be an ongoing class offered on a donation basis (recommended donation $7 per week). You are encouraged to join us as often as possible. Reservations are not required.

It is my sincere hope that this year will be filled with Grace for you and yours. It is my joy to be sharing the path with you!

All Love, all the time,

“As sincere seekers of Truth, we should be like a burning lamp and live in light and help others by showing light, thereby kindling the flame of knowledge and love in others.” – Paramahamsa Prajnananada

With the End of 2015 quickly approaching, we are faced with the hustle and bustle of the holidays followed by the inevitable New Year’s resolutions consciously chosen to hasten a happier, healthier life in some way. Tradition, ritual, family, hopes, dreams and wishes are all important to the sanctity of hearth, home and the world at large. However, one must not lose touch with the true purpose of all of the expended energy in these acts of kindness; responsibility and obligation to whom, and for what ultimate goal? Many of us are swept away by the current of society that has set the flow into motion long before our arrival on the earth. It reminds me of the hundredth monkey scenario, which creates the phenomenon of like behavior that soon becomes common among all.

While this month, this season, these holidays offer profound opportunities for love, communion, fellowship and generosity of Spirit, it also invisibly dislodges feelings of aloneness, lack, debt, indulgent behavior, isolation and complete disregard for the true meaning of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanza. In truth, each one of these celebrations is drenched in Spiritual beliefs, traditions throughout the world, Love and hopefulness for continued blessings from above.

All wonderful, indeed, but one should not need to be prodded by dates on the calendar to be reminded of Spirit. Remember this: as yogis, we embrace the daily responsibility to stay awake in the beauty, majesty and Presence of Divinity in every breath. We know that our thinking, our behavior and our choices affect the whole in a dynamic way that often goes unseen, and yet still carries profound loving energy to assist in creating balance in all living things, including the planet, now.

While it’s wonderful to draw together to celebrate, to share feasts, gifts and time, remember that you’re living in the light of Love with integrity and generosity. Being awake and available in service at all times outweighs any manmade holiday.

So when and if you are considering a New Year’s resolution or two, be sure to recognize the importance of cultivating your relationship with God, Divinity, Source, Spirit, or however you relate to that which created life, as the foundation, the platform from which everything else in your life flows. Celebrate each day that you wake here with enthusiasm, vigor and determination to live a life drenched in Love…today, every day.

Know that you are loved and honored in my heart. Best wishes to you and yours for a blessed and beautiful a holiday season. I look forward to sharing the path and seeing you on the mat!

All Love, all the time,

“The mind is a good servant but a bad master. Have mastery over your mind and direct it to the right path so that it will always be in contact with the indwelling spirit”. – Paramahamsa Prajnanananda

Our studio blessing ceremony in September 2010.

With a grateful heart, I bow to you, our Param Yoga community! It’s been five years now since we opened the doors to our humble sangha and together we have stretched and grown in every way. Thank you for being such a precious part of our community and may you continue to thrive on your yoga journey.

Together, let us anchor the month of November in gratitude as we recognize our great fortune to be experiencing this beautiful life. We embrace the good with the bad, knowing that it is through trials and tribulations that our greatest expansion takes place. We stand strong in our resolve to do our very best each day and let go, refusing to drag the past along with us. Ever turning inward, where our true wisdom, strength and peace reside, we fortify our evolutionary vision through our faithfulness to God and Gurus.

Celebrate your life and everyone in it through the spirit of continuous thanksgiving for this humble posture, which summons continuous grace and presence. Blessed and grateful for you.

All Love,

“Spiritual experience is not a degree or a diploma. When words and the world disappear, you experience the play of Consciousness everywhere.” — Paramahamsa Prajnanananda

At 4 AM I woke with a start to a voice in my head saying, “Don’t go back to sleep.” I popped out of bed after only three hours of sleep, feeling surprisingly invigorated, to prepare for morning meditation at the Kriya Institute Mother Center in Homestead, Florida. Having arrived for a six-day retreat at the ashram with zero expectations, an open heart, devotion and anticipation of the unknown, I could never have imagined the tremendous experience awaiting me. From the moment I stepped upon the holy ground of the ashram I experienced a continuous flow of love, goodness, kindness and profound spiritual confirmation.

The grounds themselves are breathtakingly beautiful, permeated with tropical plants, many of which Paramahamsa Hariharananda brought from India many years ago to propagate here. Stepping onto the land is like stepping through a doorway into otherworldliness engulfed with a treasure trove of lush beauty saturated with a distinct feeling of holiness and serenity. This sense of holiness permeates everything from the grounds to the modest structures, the space within the structures, the presence of the monks, the wildlife, delicious food and my fellow devotees. Convinced that you have landed in an altered reality, Paramahamsa Prajnanananda appears out of nowhere and instantly takes one’s breath away…and there it is—an instant of ecstatic knowing that you are in the presence of a God man. There’s no mistaking it. His massive aura permeates everyone in his midst with unmistakable, unconditional love, tenderness, large-heartedness and joy—pure satchitananda in our midst, personified.

Throughout the six days, we were all given every opportunity to lay our heads on the lap of God consciousness and exercise our ability to go within and discover who we are. In the process we were guided, taught, led, loved, encouraged and purified by fire that left us all more whole than ever to continue striving ever upward in Love.

That beautiful voice I heard has become a constant mantra, a reminder: “Don’t go back to sleep”—don’t risk losing consciousness again at the risk of missing rising through awareness into the bliss state myself. My resolve and intention is to stay awake, no matter what. It’s available to us all…if we would just wake up!

Considering the majesty and Grace of spending six days with a realized master, I have been left with my heart ablaze with his clear and simple message for each and every one of us: that is, Love God in every breath.

With blessings and love to you from God and Gurus,

“Love is the key. Waste no time, live your time with God; the time will not be wasted.” — Paramahamsa Prajnanananda

Greetings!

It’s time to take a hard, close look at where you are in your life right now, as September is a powerful month for bringing all things into completion. Contemplate all areas of your life and make a concerted effort to zero in on excess, waste, procrastination, disorganization and unrest. Center yourself and be determined to redouble your efforts toward your personal Spiritual practice to guarantee progress as 2015 moves into completion. Put all the rooms of your consciousness in order and move forward freely without clutter in your environment, your relationships, your body, mind and Spirit. You will then set yourself on the course to right action that will assist you on the path.

As you will see in the body of this month’s Newsletter, September is National Yoga Month and includes the United Nations International Day of Peace and and a harvest moon. In our Sangha, we are hosting The Yoga of Song performing Healing the Wounded Day: A September 11th Chant Concert, Ayurveda with Cherise, and—by popular demand—the repeat showing of the Uganda Slideshow with Kerry Morris.

Most importantly, we continue to offer you daily yoga practice, Kriya Yoga Meditation and regular Reiki events. We know how difficult it is to get back into the hustle and bustle of September, but remember to put first things first. If you are feeling happy, healthy, wise and connected to the All and All, your life will flow flawlessly into daily bliss. Ahhhhhhooooommm.

In Service,

“With everything that has happened to you, you can feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.” — Wayne Dyer

Dear Ones,

As you begin to understand the nature of life, it becomes more evident that learning to have no attachment in the prakritti (material) world is an important discipline that will reap deep rewards for you in the areas of peace, contentment, non-suffering and clarity. Through the emancipation of one’s person, there is a vast knowing that there is nothing in this world to yearn for as you have attained the one inexhaustible treasure in the realm of the Divine.

Through the warm weeks of August may you deliberately turn up the heat on your daily practice by recognizing that it is the way into the greatest, most precious wealth you can possibly imagine.

See you at the Sangha.

In Service,

Remain calm, serene, always in command of yourself. You will then
find out how easy it is to get along. – Paramahansa Yogananda

Happy Summertime to you and yours. May the days and weeks ahead be grounded in your yoga practice to assure ongoing wellness in body, mind and Spirit. Doing so will assure your ability to embrace your highest good with wisdom and enthusiasm each day and insure fewer interruptions to your personal, perpetual peace and Well-Being. Remember – it never matters where you go or whom you are with. You, the real you, is eternally present to create in a positive manner always, in all ways, now and forever.

Join us often at Param Yoga to enhance your resolve to live authentically. Our schedule has just the right amount of summer activities to keep you engaged in stretching yourself deeper into your personal practice. I look forward to sharing time and space with you.

In Service,

“If you don’t invite God as a summer guest, he will not come in the winter of your life” -Lahiri Mahasaya

Our community is honored to have Swami Atmavidyananda Giri and Yogacharya Richard Peterson grace our studio the weekend of May 8th to offer Kriya Initiation.

Kriya Yoga is a golden opportunity to reach higher states of consciousness and change your life, by developing the body, mind, intellect, and awareness of the soul. It is a quick and easy path. Kriya Yoga techniques are passed down from master to disciple, master to aspirant, teacher to student.
— Kriya International

This is your opportunity to take your practice to the next level. Paramahamsa Hariharinanda said, “Realization of cosmic consciousness is the goal of life.” Kriya Yoga will make this goal a reality for you. You can read more about our Kriya Initiation here.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the women in our community who have been blessed to share the rearing of souls as they gain roots and wings. You are awesome and we salute you!

Please be sure to join us for all of the wonderful events we are presenting this month for your benefit and continue to give us your feedback so that we may continue to expand in the most positive way. As you make your way into this extraordinary month of May, make your well-being your priority, because everything you do impacts all of us and we need you to be as awesome as possible.

Blessings to you and yours,

Greetings!

Easter always seems to show up at the most appropriate time to remind us that renewal is a constant in this world of ours. Life self-perpetuates through endless perfection. In The Luminous Gospel, Mary Magdalene noted that, when Jesus was asked if matter would survive or not, the Savior answered: “All of nature with its forms and creatures exist together and are interwoven with each other. They will be resolved back, however, to their own proper origin, for the compositions of matter return to the original roots of their nature.” It is through this eternal truth that we may find solace and courage to move forward in our lives, knowing that who we are and what we are contributing to the world counts on some very deep level, for there is no end to us.

We are the epitome of infinite possibilities inspired and buoyed by the essential essence of Love. Love is the fuel that perpetuates life. It is your heart. You are your heart. Open your heart. Lead your life from the heart. All else will take care of itself through the foundation of Love.

All Love,

For you must realize that earth unfolds its properties and powers in union with Heaven aloft above us, and there is one Heart, one Being, one Will, one God, all in all.  — Jacob Boehme

Greetings and Salutations!

It is always refreshing to enter into February knowing that focus is drawn toward the subject of Love. Perhaps the time has come for us to become more adept at anchoring our hearts and minds on love perpetually, never needing a reminder from the outside world. It is my heartfelt belief that we—all of us—have been created through the essence of pure love, that we shall return to love and that love is, in so many words, all there is. Why not celebrate it every day, in every living thing, in every moment? If we all agreed to do this, everything on the planet would instantly change, for there cannot be negativity where love resides.

Being a child of the sixties, I grew up believing that “all you need is love, love, love is all you need.” (The Beatles) That ideal was not easy to personally realize until I finally came to understand that love is not something that comes to you from the outside. Rather, love is something that, when you discover its ever-Presence within your own heart, everything changes, permanently. You become free, empowered, clear, courageous, joyous and filled with deep peace and calm. You begin to open your heart and allow everything to flow through you with non-attachment, respect and wonder. You begin to live more and more honestly in the present moment without dragging the past along with you, nor do you spend precious energy on false pretense of the unknown future. You let go of false expectations of what others should or should not do to secure your happiness in the world and discover that your happiness depends only upon you, no one else. You truly become one with all that is and anchor your life in your center. Life is sweet and gets sweeter every day.

Just go into love. Not wishing it would come to you from someone else, but discovering the ever-Presence that is your birthright through the Divine essence that resides in the center of your exquisite, magnificent heart.

Happy February to you and yours,

To see the universal and all pervading Spirit of Truth face to face, one must be able to love the meanest of all creation as oneself. —Mahatma Gandhi