I was born on March 24, 1957 in Providence, Rhode Island, on a Sunday, at 2:40 p.m. My mother says that my birth was extremely easy, with little pain, and that I was “completely grown up,” even as a child. In my youth (pre-teens), I was not prone to easy laughter or the common jokes that circulated among human beings. I lived in a world all by myself, thinking, feeling and being led innocently toward a life of relentless spiritual evolution. It would be many years before my spiritual sadhana, or spiritual practices, would reveal the memory of my oneness with the divine.
My parents did not hesitate to inform me that my destiny was to attend “college,” a word they spoke with joy and enthusiasm, emotions that stood out starkly in my young attention, since those emotions were so deeply absent in almost every other part of my childhood.
Spiritual Master / Avatar David Spero in Northern CA.
David Spero – Sat-Chit-Ananda
David Spero – Politics and Enlightenment
Excerpt from a talk by Spiritual Master/Avatar David Spero, whose teachings are inclusive of many spiritual approaches: Advaita Vedanta, Kundalini Shakti, devotion, meditation, Divine Mother
Special Note:The transformational nature of this one hour video’s deep inner revelations of Ramana Maharshi teachings necessitates that viewers should focus attention and digest on the messages, free from distractions of the mundane worldly chores. Hence, view this video during solitary time of mental ease and reflective contemplation. – Namaste
Abide As the Self is a transforming video that takes you on an inner journey into the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and the path of Self-knowledge. Comprehensive film footage of Ramana comes alive, with emphasis on the teachings of Self-Inquiry and its practical application. A special collection of rare photographs enhances Ramana’s presence and captures the compassion and grace of one of the most respected sages of our time.
The inspired narration by Ram Dass provides an overview of Ramana’s teachings. Also included are interviews with H.W.L. Poonja, Douglas Harding, Allan W. Anderson, and others. In Abide As the Self, you will experience how the profound teachings of Ramana Maharshi can be easily applied in our daily life.
This is a deeply inspiring video in which the sage Ramana speaks directly to your heart. “Abide As the Self skillfully interweaves old and new still photographs, excerpts from Ramana’s writings, interviews with longtime devotees, narration by Ram Dass, and, not least, rare and precious footage of Ramana from 1935 to 1949. Highly recommended.” – Yoga Journal
“The presence of the great Indian sage Ramana Maharshi, his clear approach to Self-Realization, and the teachings of Self-Inquiry are beautifully presented. Interviews and exceptional film footage of Ramana Maharshi make this video an inspiring and transforming experience.” New Renaissance Bookshop
“The video concludes with the encouraging words of Ram Dass, who tells us that Maharshi’s message is not Indian but universal: the peace that illuminates the heart and mind is always present. Anyone curious about this aspect of Eastern spirituality will find this informative and interesting video worthwhile and surprisingly accessible to general viewers. Recommended.” ~ Video Librarian
“Bhagavan was always silent, that is everyone’s true nature . . . In this quietness the mind will automatically return to its source and there will be a tremendous fountain of peace. All doubts are cleared and one remains quiet, in the heart.” ~ H.W.L. Poonja
John Laurence minister, modern mystic, and direct disciple of the great spiritual master and world teacher, Paramhansa Yogananda (author of the bestselling classic, Autobiography of a Yogi) presents, in this volume of talks, an outline of the inner path with practical spiritual teachings. Laurence’s speaking style is refreshingly straightforward and lively as he highlights timeless truths via fascinating stories from the lives of saints from East and West. Laurence’s message of how to grow spiritually is universal and non-denominational, and his compelling discussions of life after death are centered in the foundation of Laurence’s own psychic abilities and high spiritual state.
Rev. John Laurence
John Laurence: Seventy Years of Discipleship
by Nicole DeAvilla Whiting
On January 17,2003, as this article was being prepared for publication, John Laurence peacefully passed away at age 95. John always referred to his impending death as “a time of joyous graduation.”
Seventy years ago, John Laurence was walking down 16th Street in Washington, D.C. when he saw a brown-skinned man in a black coat and hat, with his hair tucked down into his collar. John thought — “That’s Swami Yogananda!”
A “chance” meeting
John had heard of Yogananda through Amelita Galli-Curci, a disciple of Yogananda and well-known opera singer. John knew that Yogananda had a center in Washington, D.C., so John didn’t approach Yogananda on the street but went to the center and waited until Yogananda came in. John introduced himself and asked Yogananda for his autograph. Yogananda wrote:
With unceasing blessings. There is no East nor West nor North nor South, but pervaded by my one Father whose children we all races are. —Swami Yogananda. November 2, 1933.
The framed autograph hangs in John’s tiny studio apartment in San Diego along with a photo of Yogananda. Recalling his first meeting with Yogananda, John said: “He wrote this standing up. He had his cane on his arm and he wrote this whole message. I still have the little book that I paid 35 cents for.”
An ecumenical path
Shortly before meeting Yogananda, John had left a Franciscan monastery without taking final vows in order to support his mother after his father’s untimely death. Inspired and forever changed by his first meeting with Yogananda, John became a disciple of Yogananda and a life-long student of his teachings.
Not long after meeting Yogananda, John moved to San Francisco and met Kamala Silva, Yogananda’s personal secretary. With Yogananda’s blessings, John assisted Kamala during the 1930s, ’40s, and early ’50s as she laid the groundwork for a thriving Yogananda center in San Francisco’s East Bay.
Yogananda also encouraged John’s predisposition towards a non-denominational, ecumenical path—independent of organized religion. John later founded his own church in San Francisco, the “Metaphysical Design for Living Church,” which he dedicated to Yogananda.
Unknown to John, in 1951 Kamala attended one of his lectures in San Francisco during which he discussed Yogananda’s life and major work, Autobiography of a Yogi. Kamala wrote down what John said and shared her notes with Yogananda when she next saw him in Los Angeles. Kamala told John, “tears came to Yogananda’s eyes and he went right over to his desk and tore a big sheet of paper and wrote a letter.” Yogananda’s letter to John reads:
Dear Mr. Laurence — dear me,
I so rejoiced to read your soulful review of my “Autobiography of a Yogi.” Sounds like you usher others back to God, through the example of your good life.
Words are futile to describe how I feel towards you and your divine activities.
Keep on becoming daily a bigger beacon of Divine Light through the practice of SRF teachings in daily life.
With all of my love and blessings for all you are doing, ever yours, very sincerely,
Paramhansa Yogananda
Yogananda’s gratitude and compassion
In January, 1952, two months before Yogananda’s passing, John wrote a poem and enclosed it in the birthday card he sent to Yogananda. Yogananda was so pleased with the poem that he asked that it be read aloud at his birthday banquet. Yogananda later wrote John, telling him how deeply touched he was by the poem.
John’s enthusiasm for his guru led him on one occasion to behave somewhat insensitively. After one of Yogananda’s public lectures in San Francisco, John went back stage, grabbed hold of Yogananda’s hand, and gave him so forceful a handshake that Yogananda winced. Nearly everyone else greeted Yogananda with a pronam, an Indian form of greeting done with folded palms and without physical contact.
Years later, while sitting in the San Diego church where Yogananda had often lectured, John recalled that inappropriate “handshake” and began to weep. John said he then looked down at his hands and could hardly believe his eyes: “I saw Yogananda’s hand in mine! Right there. He had been gone from this earth for I don’t know how many years! He was saying, ‘It’s OK, don’t worry.’”
An ongoing ministry
A lot has happened in John’s life since that first meeting with Yogananda 70 years ago. John has led a colorful life as an opera singer, radio personality, lecturer, minister, counselor and teacher.
I first met John about ten years ago when he was living in San Francisco. Mutual friends of ours were being married at the Marina Yoga and Health Center, which I then owned. John officiated at the wedding, using the ceremony written by Swami Kriyananda. I stood next to him and turned pages as he read. John was a youthful 85 at the time.
Soon after, I began attending the Wednesday evening healing prayer services that John co-led at Trinity Episcopal Church. John used Yogananda’s healing prayer techniques and inspired us with stories of miracles by Yogananda and other saints. The sign “Expect a Miracle” was always on the altar.
John never accepted money for these sessions and refused to take credit for the healing miracles that occurred. He never let us forget that “God was the healer.”
At the end of the healing prayer sessions John would bless each of us by placing his index finger on our spiritual eye. Whenever I received his blessing, I felt a powerful transmission of spiritual energy. The more time I spent with John, the more I felt my attunement to Yogananda deepening. Because of his humility and devotion, John was a powerful channel for Yogananda.
John’s idea of retirement is not typical. He continues to counsel and inspire people through healing prayers, phone conversations and during visits. At age 95, despite some health concerns, John remains amazingly robust, intellectually sharp, and witty. His daily practice of Kriya Yoga, his devotion to God and guru, and his ongoing service to others keeps his magnetism strong.
John looks forward to his 70th anniversary of his first meeting with Yogananda in November of 2003 like a child anticipating a birthday. John always speaks of his beloved guru with deep devotion, saying: “He was a great soul. We will not see his like again.”
A longtime Yogananda disciple, Nicole DeAvilla-Whiting lives in Marin County, CA with her husband and two children. She teaches Ananda Yoga in Marin and at The Expanding Light guest retreat at Ananda Village.
New: For Nicole DeAvilla-Whiting’s Article John Laurence: Seventy Years of Discipleship please click here
James: Any feeling is an attribute. You are that because of which the feeling is known. You do not feel anything. When the mind is predominately sattvic awareness as attention flowing through the subtle body causes the feeling of love in the mind. It is a pure attribute. It belongs to the mind, not to the self.
Thomas: This was my point with Bliss. Isn’t bliss a feeling? Would not make this an attribute. What is the difference with bliss and love or compassion as the Buddhists put it.
James: The bliss word is one of the biggest all time problems in the spiritual world. The word, ananda, which has been translated as bliss actually is actually ananta, which means without limits or without and end and refers to you, awareness. But because people are so emotionally unfulfilled they imagine that if they realize who they are they will be walking around feeling good all day long. What bliss actually means is a ‘sense’ of authenticity, wholeness and peace that emanates from the understanding I am whole and complete and emanates out as good feelings.
Thomas: As far as I know through my practice of Buddhism, what Buddha meant was the sense of a “personal self.” He described it somewhere like the rafters of a house being removed. Removing the wrong identification with the person. In his case being Siddhārtha Gautama, his biography, memories, thoughts, feelings, emotions, habits. conditioning, samskaras, vasnas, karma and so on. This is what he meant by emptiness. The sense of the person no longer being there. The new sense of who you are is Brahman, awareness according to Vedanta or emptiness according to Buddha, but they are almost identical. How much of a departure was this really from the vedas?
James: Yes, I think that is what he meant, no separate self or personal self. I am of course very familiar with the Mundaka quote. It is one of my favorites. The Buddha quote is much welcomed. I get asked about this all the time and since I don’t know anything about Buddhism I cannot speak with any authority. This makes it clear that emptiness is not empty. Buddhists do not appreciate it, but the Vedantins have a clever saying, “Buddhism is just a chip off the tooth of the Vedas.”
How the Brahmins describe Brahman:
In the highest golden sheath is Brahman, stainless, without parts; Pure is it, the light of lights. This is what the knowers of the Self know. The sun shines not there, nor the moon and stars, these lightnings shine not, where then could this fire be? His shining illumines all this world. Brahman, verily, is this Deathless. Mundaka Upanishad
How the Buddha describes Emptiness:
Where water, earth, heat and wind find no footing, there no stars gleam, no sun is made visible, there shines no moon, there the darkness is not found; When the sage, the brahmin, himself in wisdom knows this place he is freed from the form and formless realms, from happiness and suffering. The Udana
For more articles / videos on James Swartz View Here
In this unique and exhilarating book, standup philosopher Tim Freke shows you how to be spiritually awake in the perpetual now, while also passionately engaging with the adventure of life.
Tim shares his own amazing journey to the ecstasy of oneness and the bliss of big love, inviting you to explore the “real world” of meaning, miracles, and magic.
He offers astonishing insights and powerful wake-up techniques, clarifies common misunderstandings about what it is to be “spiritual,” and presents an extraordinary new understanding of death and immortality.
Full of warmth, laughter, tears, vitality, and style, this book is a breathtaking tour de force that will help you appreciate the mystery of the moment and enjoy the time of your life.
Tim has an honours degree in philosophy and is an internationally respected authority on world spirituality. He is the author of over thirty books that have established his reputation as a scholar and free-thinker. He became well known for his groundbreaking work on Christian Gnosticism with his close friend Peter Gandy, including The Jesus Mysteries, which was a top 10 best-seller in the UK and USA, and a ‘Book of the Year’ in the UK Daily Telegraph.
Some of his books which appear on this blog are: The Gospel of the Second ComingView Here
The Mystery Experience: A Revolutionary Approach to Spiritual AwakeningView Here
Tim Freke How Long Is Now?
Interview with Tim Freke the standup philosopher, author of How Long Is Now?
About the book: This fantastic book-with-CD provides Sonia’s best guide to finding your aim in life and letting go of your ego. Our greatest purpose in life is to free ourselves of the limiting patterns of ego and soul that keep us chained to painful, disempowered lives. Once we have done this we can fully realize the authentic and holy Spirits we are. This journey can feel overwhelming – even impossible – unless we gain access to the three sacred blessings of Spirit, made available to us from God. Without them we fail.
These sacred blessings are God’s grace, inner guidance and personal gifts. Grace lifts us beyond our own ability, inner guidance leads the way, and personal gifts are both the inner and outer resources given to us to succeed at every step. It is up to us to ask for these sacred blessings, and we must do so now more than ever before. This inspiring book will show you how. Through the use of daily lessons, specific prayers, personal intentions and powerful mantras, you will be showered with these blessings every day of your life.
EXCERPT
As Divine Beings we are on a continuing transformational journey from limited human consciousness to limitless Divine Spiritual consciousness, and we have two distinct aspects of self that are in the process of merging: our soul and our Divine Spirit.
Our soul is not the same thing as our Spirit, although for many people, myself included, this has been, at times, an unclear and confusing distinction, because both are aspects of our nonphysical being and are therefore difficult to separate.
Having been asked the difference between Spirit and soul over the years by my clients and students, and having wondered myself, I have set my heart and mind to finding this answer for decades. Now, after years of prayer, meditation, contemplation, discussion, wonder, and intuition, I have finally arrived at a more grounded and defined distinction between the two that, at least for me, feels true. Our soul self reflects the sum total of our conscious experiences throughout each lifetime, and we carry this totality of consciousness from one lifetime to the next. Throughout our human journey, our soul seeks to find its way back home, back to Source.
The soul contains all our feelings, involvements, learning, love, confusion, and understanding from our first moment of separation from Source to the present, where we yearn for the moment of reunion. That is why the soul seeks. It is on a mission to get back home, back to Source, and it draws from all of its experiences as it works to achieve wholeness.
Our Spirit, on the other hand, is the timeless divine spark of holiness within, the eternal flame of light that has never been separated from Source. An extension of the One Spirit, our Spirit oversees the soul on its journey home. While the soul is the “self” that experiences life, the Spirit is the witness overseeing the “experiencing” part of you that is learning.
Energetically, the vibration of soul and Spirit are quite different. The soul vibration feels energetically dense, contracted, concentrated, and sticky (for lack of a better term). The soul energy feels at times cloudy, heavy, and attached, while at other times yearning, restless, intense, and compelled, even shadowy like the moon. The soul is complex because it is comprised of so many experiences: positive, beautiful, and transcendent, as well as horrific, traumatic, and painful. It reflects and expresses these complexities through our ego as it seeks the light, and draws from the patterns of the past for guidance and support on its quest. Sometimes this is good. Other times this holds back the soul.
When ruled solely by the soul/ego, we repeat old, outworn patterns of behavior, become clouded by our perceptions, lack clear boundaries, get distracted and confused by others, live sentimentally in the past, allow our ego’s fears to outshine love, and lose our true identity. We absorb the negativity and needs of others, and lose a strong connection to our authentic Self in present time. We become easily depressed and angered, and feel victimized. Our eyes are dull, our emotions are heavy, our energy is depleted, and we become passive and overwhelmed.
Our Spirit, on the other hand, feels energetically light, buoyant, without edges or limits, like a clear, bright eternal ray; a vibrant, always-present sun. There is no past to one’s Spirit. There is no story or experience to carry. There is no darkness to illuminate. There is no timeline to follow, no urgency to seek, no restlessness to overcome. There is only peace, only light. The Spirit within is our God-self being itself. In Spirit there is no “dark night,” as with the soul. There is only perfect and ceaseless illuminating light.
When the Spirit within us rules, we have a clear and strong sense of who we are, and we know our boundaries and express them clearly, as well as respect the boundaries of others. We can easily deflect negativity, stand in the waves of strong emotion without losing ourselves, remain grounded and calm under pressure, see the humor in all things, and easily laugh at ourselves and at life’s absurdities. We have a bright sparkle in our eyes, an easy smile on our lips, and a bounce in our walk. We live in the moment; are fully aware of our co-creative power; and have energy, enthusiasm, confidence, and love to give, receive, and share.
Our conscious human quest is to merge our soul with our authentic Spirit, to lead our soul home. And the best way to do this is to strengthen the attention and focus we place on our Spirit over that of the soul.
As human beings fascinated with our own history, dramas, false perceptions, and pains, our attention has sadly drifted away from our Divine Timeless Spirit as guide. We have instead become ensconced in using soul perception as our guide. While we are here to grow our soul and learning takes place within the soul, we will not find the light of Spirit and return to Source by strictly following the path of the soul. The way home is the other way around. When we connect to the light of Spirit within and let its brilliant light lead, our soul finds its way back to Source much more quickly.
In keeping our attention and focus on our Spirit, we reeducate the intellect, and guide the soul to fully surrender and follow the light rather than fight and struggle in the darkness. This sounds difficult, because we are used to learning through the lens of the soul, and through that lens, everything feels challenging. I am grateful that with our Spirit in charge, all becomes clear, just like turning on a light in a dark room.
The following excerpt is taken from the book, Grace, Guidance and Gifts, by Sonia Choquette. It is published by Hay House (July 2012) and available at all bookstores and online retailers.
Published by Hay House
Sonia Choquette is a world-renowned author, storyteller, vibrational healer, and six sensory spiritual teacher in international demand for her guidance, wisdom, and capacity to heal the soul. Her books have sold over a million copies world wide including her New York Times bestseller The Answer Is Simple… She is most recognized for her ability to instantly change vibration, lift depression, and connect others to their intuition. She helps people understand their souls’ plan and purpose and leads them to a successful, meaningful and peaceful lives.
Dedicated to liberating people all over the world from the severe limitations, that comes from perceiving the world with only five senses when we in fact have six senses, and opening others up to the joys, healing and personal empowerment of six-sensory living.
A gifted and often hilarious teacher and speaker, Sonia is straight to the point in showing people exactly how to immediately transform their life experience from fear to joy, activate their intuition, awaken their spirit, and live as the empowered beings they are naturally designed to be.
Educated at the University of Denver, and the Sorbonne, Paris in addition to holding a doctorate in Metaphysics from the American Institute of Holistic Theology, and a member of the Transformational Leadership Council, Sonia has been featured on ABC,NBC,CNN as well as New Woman Magazine, USA Today as well as The Chicago Tribune and The London Times. Sonia Choquette on Activating Your Spirit
Revolutionary psychic and sixth-sensory trainer Sonia Choquette, PhD, shares ways to activate your Spirit and open your heart to a life of infinite potential. Here, Sonia is speaking at an A.R.E. headquarters conference in Virginia Beach, Va. (see EdgarCayce.org/conferences).
Listen to this radio talk interview between John Troy and V Ganesan who is the great grand nephew of the Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. V. Ganesan, shares stories about the life and teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.
V. Ganesan grew up till the age of fourteen in the presence of his great uncle, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. After the mahanirvana of Bhagavan in 1950, Ganesan went on to get a Master’s Degree in Philosophy. After to return to Arunachala, where he was able to absorb reminiscences of Bhagavan that had never been recorded before. In addition to this, his close contacts with saints, sages and seers like Yogi Ramsuratkumar, Nisargadatta Maharaj and J. Krishnamurti, helped him to deepen and widen his understanding of the essence of Bhagavan’s Teachings.
HAPPINESS IS GOOD. BLISS IS BETTER. We have a higher standard of living and more ways to instantaneously fulfill every desire than ever before. Then why are we unhappy? Because happiness isn’t what we really want. Happiness alone is fleeting and not deeply transformative.
Bliss is a spiritual state where happiness, profound meaning, and enduring truth converge. With bliss comes an unshakable joy, a practical wisdom, and a lasting solution to our personal and planetary sufferings. Based on a successful seminar taught by Sean Meshorer, a leading spiritual teacher and New Thought minister, The Bliss Experiment contains dozens of stories of real people learning from everyday situations, backed by more than five hundred scientific studies. This is the one essential book that distills and unifies seemingly competing practices, philosophies, religions, and psychologies.
Meshorer includes exercises that have worked time and again for people from all walks of life—including him. Meshorer suffers with severe chronic pain and is able to live his life to the fullest through the practices he shares here. Bliss helps with stress, anxiety, and depression. It makes people more successful, better able to see and seize opportunities, and build or improve relationships. Give these ideas and practices twenty-eight days of dedicated attention and you will see results. You only need a moment of bliss to benefit the rest of your life. The text includes links to bonus videos of Sean Meshorer expanding on the book’s themes and demonstrating the exercises.
Happiness Is Good, Bliss Is Better
Video trailer for the book, The Bliss Experiment: 28 Days to Personal Transformation by Sean Meshorer.
This week marks the 60th anniversary of the death of one of the 20th century’s most important spiritual figures. On March 7, 1952, Paramahansa Yogananda passed away in Los Angeles from an acute coronary occlusion, just after speaking at a banquet in honor of the Indian ambassador. In his last speech he said, “Somewhere between the two great civilizations of efficient America and spiritual India lies the answer for a model world civilization.” He worked tirelessly to achieve that dream, ever since 1920, when he arrived in America, and to the extent that an East-West synthesis has been realized, he deserves as much credit for it as anyone.
Yogananda is best known for his groundbreaking memoir, “Autobiography of a Yogi.” It has sold well over four million copies since its publication in 1947, and I suspect it has been read by two or three times that many, because it is the sort of book people lend to their friends. This was especially true in the 1960s and ’70s, when Baby Boomer seekers were thirsty for Eastern wisdom and couldn’t afford the five bucks to buy the AY, as it has come to be known. (I know the hardcover cost five dollars then because I still have my copy, and I hope this essay will repay the karma of not returning it to whoever loaned it to me.) Based on my research for my own book, American Veda, the AY prompted more Americans to explore Indian spirituality than any other text.
An iconic memoir would be legacy enough for any spiritual leader, but Yogananda’s contribution far exceeded that book. The first major Indian teacher to settle in America, he was rightly called by the Los Angeles Times “the 20th century’s first superstar guru.” After arriving in Boston to lecture on “The Science of Religion,” he toured the country addressing huge audiences. In 1924, he made L.A. (which he dubbed “the Benares of America”) his permanent home and the headquarters of his Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF). Anyone who has visited the organization’s Southern California facilities knows why I say that the founder had the best real estate karma of any other guru.
I often cite Yogananda as a leading example of the qualities that virtually all successful Eastern spiritual teachers possessed. Because he spoke eloquent English and was well schooled in Western ways before leaving India, he could communicate to rational Americans ideas that must have seemed exotic and strange in the pre-World War II era. His reverence for Jesus made him non-threatening to Christians, even though his yogic interpretation of Jesus’s teachings was unconventional to say the least. At the same time, his logic and pragmatism made his ideas acceptable to secular audiences as well. He skillfully tread the fine line between maintaining the integrity of his tradition (Hinduism in general and Kriya Yoga in particular) while also adapting the language, format and delivery systems to modern America. It didn’t take him long, for instance, to offer Sunday services — complete with pews and organ music in some locations — because that’s the day Americans get spiritual. He also distributed some of his teachings by mail order, a somewhat newfangled technology in the 1920s.
Yogananda arrived the year Warren G. Harding was elected, and he died during Harry S. Truman’s last year in office. His legacy is still going strong. SRF, along with some smaller breakaway organizations (the largest is Ananda Sangha), are represented in virtually every major city. Of all the gurus who came here, only Swami Vivekananda, founder of the Vedanta Society, and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, founder of the Transcendental Meditation movement, can match his impact.
His success can be attributed to several factors, in addition to his seminal autobiography: his long tenure in this country, his personal charisma, his results-driven package of offerings, and his appeal to both secular and religious students. Everyone who meditates, goes to yoga classes or has, in any way, benefited from India’s great spiritual heritage, owes a debt of gratitude to Yogananda. It is only fitting that he is interred in the resting place of so many American celebrities, Forest Lawn Memorial Park, five miles from the hilltop sanctuary that he made his home.
Philip Goldberg is a spiritual counselor, public speaker, and author or coauthor of numerous books. His latest publication is American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles to Yoga and Meditation, How Indian Spirituality Changed the West. His websites are http://www.AmericanVeda.com and http://www.PhilipGoldberg.com
I was born on March 24, 1957 in Providence, Rhode Island, on a Sunday, at 2:40 p.m. My mother says that my birth was extremely easy, with little pain, and that I was “completely grown up,” even as a child. In my youth (pre-teens), I was not prone to easy laughter or the common jokes that circulated among human beings. I lived in a world all by myself, thinking, feeling and being led innocently toward a life of relentless spiritual evolution. It would be many years before my spiritual sadhana, or spiritual practices, would reveal the memory of my oneness with the divine.
John Laurence minister, modern mystic, and direct disciple of the great spiritual master and world teacher, Paramhansa Yogananda (author of the bestselling classic, Autobiography of a Yogi) presents, in this volume of talks, an outline of the inner path with practical spiritual teachings. Laurence’s speaking style is refreshingly straightforward and lively as he highlights timeless truths via fascinating stories from the lives of saints from East and West. Laurence’s message of how to grow spiritually is universal and non-denominational, and his compelling discussions of life after death are centered in the foundation of Laurence’s own psychic abilities and high spiritual state.
A longtime Yogananda disciple, Nicole DeAvilla-Whiting lives in Marin County, CA with her husband and two children. She teaches Ananda Yoga in Marin and at The Expanding Light guest retreat at Ananda Village.
In this unique and exhilarating book, standup philosopher Tim Freke shows you how to be spiritually awake in the perpetual now, while also passionately engaging with the adventure of life. 
Sonia Choquette is a world-renowned author, storyteller, vibrational healer, and six sensory spiritual teacher in international demand for her guidance, wisdom, and capacity to heal the soul. Her books have sold over a million copies world wide including her New York Times bestseller The Answer Is Simple… She is most recognized for her ability to instantly change vibration, lift depression, and connect others to their intuition. She helps people understand their souls’ plan and purpose and leads them to a successful, meaningful and peaceful lives.
John Troy, Wizard ( 
HAPPINESS IS GOOD. BLISS IS BETTER. We have a higher standard of living and more ways to instantaneously fulfill every desire than ever before. Then why are we unhappy? Because happiness isn’t what we really want. Happiness alone is fleeting and not deeply transformative.
