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December 2016 Newsletter

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The Expanding Light Retreat, Northern California

Dear *|FNAME|*

Blessings to you and your loved ones in this holiday season.

The great ones have come to show us the way. At The Expanding Light we share the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda, particularly as informed by Ananda's founder, Swami Kriyananda. Their message, and that of saints and sages of many religions, is that God is Love.

Swamiji wrote "... the essence of that Consciousness which produced us all is not only Intelligence, but Love; a sympathetic identity with all that exists." That's a great phrase – "a sympathetic identity with all that exists."

The Christmas season can help us connect with God as Love if we turn in that direction. May it be so for you. The world constantly runs its show to bedazzle and distract us. Sometimes with drama, other times tragedy, occasionally with comedy. Don't let any of them keep you from your greatest opportunity – to connect with Universal Consciousness as Love.

May your Christmas season be filled with Love and Joy.

Nayaswami Nityananda
And all the Staff at The Expanding Light Retreat

Watch 'The Spark' a new video celebrating the 70^th Anniversary of the publication of the Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda.

Beloved around the world by those interested in yoga and spirituality, Autobiography of a Yogi is a first–hand account of the life experiences of the spiritual master, Paramhansa Yogananda. The Spark, a documentary short film, follows the story of Yogananda and his Autobiography from Yogananda's arrival in the United States in 1920 to his lasting legacy– the many millions of people today who practice yoga and meditation in their search for Self–realization.

Watch The Spark!

A Pilgrimage to the India of Yogananda

October 23 - November 13, 2017

In the footsteps of the Autobiography of a Yogi

For thousands of years pilgrims have known that reverently visiting places made holy by saints, and feeling the sacred presence that still permeates those sites, opens one's heart and mind as nothing else can. Our Ananda Travels' pilgrimage will change and deepen you in ways you never would have thought possible. The memories of these experiences will last a lifetime, making God's presence an ever-deeper reality for you.

""The benefit of pilgrimage to holy places is not because of their rich history, but for the fact that divine blessings can be experienced when visiting them. Their very soil is impregnated with a higher consciousness."

— Swami Kriyananda

Book Now

INSPIRATION FROM SWAMI KRIYANANDA

...although God seeks communion with us in our souls above all, He also seeks to guide and inspire us through natural phenomena. The rain, Paramhansa Yogananda said, is a message to us of Divine Compassion; the flowers whisper to us of God's love and joy; the tenderness of Mother Nature reminds us of the consciousness in which She wants us always to live.

From The Hindu Way of Awakening: Its Revelation, Its Symbols by Swami Kriyananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers

A Christmas of Inner Awakening

Dec 22 – 26, 2016

New Year Renewal: Relax, Recharge, Refocus
Dec 29 – Jan 2, 2017

Inner Renewal Week
Jan 29 – Feb 5, 2017

INSPIRATION FROM YOGANANDA

Since, without Thy power to love, we cannot truly love anything, may we love Thee first and above everything else. May the heavenly kingdom of Bliss, where Thou dwellest, manifest itself with all its divine qualities on earth, and may all lands be freed from limitations, imperfections, and miseries. Let Thy kingdom within us manifest itself without.

from Whispers from Eternity by Paramhansa Yogananda, edited by Swami Kriyananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers