I have memories from my childhood of getting very excited and happy when my parents took me to the circus. I was happy when summer vacation from school finally arrived, and when we were served ice cream on Saturday afternoon. Sometimes I felt very unhappy—when things didn’t go the way I wanted them to. I assumed that the ups and downs of emotions were unavoidable and therefore, normal.
But in coming to Ananda I discovered that I could control my energy, that I didn’t have to continually ride a roller coaster of emotions and react to every circumstance of life.
In the book How to Be Happy All the Time, Paramhansa Yogananda writes:
“Life will bring you many ups and downs. If you let your feelings rise and fall with the waves of circumstances, you will never attain that inner calmness which is the foundation of spiritual progress. Be careful, therefore, not to react emotionally. Rise above likes and dislikes. A good rule to live by, and one that will take you sailing through many tests in life, is, under all circumstances, to remain even-minded and cheerful.”
The practice of daily meditation helped me create a foundation of calmness within myself.
Meditation also helped me learn to use my senses more wisely, to have better discrimination, and to listen to my inner guidance before making decisions.
At The Expanding Light we offer a variety of programs that can help one become more even-minded in the midst of life’s challenges. Here, you can learn how to meditate or, if you already meditate, you might consider becoming a meditation teacher to help others.
