Spiritual Growth

A  spiritual path is a way of thinking, behaving, living, and insightful examination of higher realities that allows a person's innate qualities to naturally emerge.

Staying  steadfast in spiritual practice is a matter of consistently saying "yes" to the thoughts, words, and actions that most fully express our innate wholeness.  It is  the journey from identifying ourselves as a separate  body-mind-personality self to experiencing our essential Self as an  expression of Infinite Consciousness-Existence.

Regularly  meditating to a level of superconsciousness that allows the innate  purity of our essence of being to illumine our mind and consciousness  results in the following benefits:

1.  Physical benefits: Stress reduction; relief from stress-related  symptoms; slowing of biological aging processes; enhanced immune  function; refinement of brain centers through which spiritual qualities  can be more easily processed. 

2.  Psychological benefits: Increased ability to focus, concentrate, and think more rationally; increased ability to let go of distracting thoughts; increased peace of mind; respite from relentless mind-chatter;  weakening of addictive tendencies, harmful habits, and troublesome  subconscious conditionings.

3.  Spiritual benefits: Experience of wholeness; increased compassion; clearing of outmoded thought patterns; increased intuition, insight, and  creativity; increased ability to view events and circumstances with dispassionate objectivity; enlightenment (identification as Self instead of self).

Paramhansa Yogananda: "I want to know sir - when shall I find God?"

Sri Yukteswar: "You have already found Him."

Paramhansa Yogananda: "O no, sir, I don't think so!"

Sri  Yukteswar: My guru was smiling. "I am sure you aren't expecting a venerable Personage, adorning a throne in some antiseptic corner of the  cosmos! I see, however, that you are imagining that the possession of  miraculous powers is knowledge of God. One might have the whole  universe, and find the Lord elusive still! Spiritual advancement is not  measured by one's outward powers, but only by the depth of his bliss in  meditation.

Ever-new Joy is God. He is inexhaustible; as you  continue your meditations during the years, He will beguile you with an  infinite ingenuity. Devotees like yourself who have found the way to God never dream of exchanging Him for any other happiness; He is seductive beyond thought of competition.

 
How quickly we weary of earthly  pleasures! Desire for material things is endless; man is never satisfied completely, and pursues one goal after another. The 'something else' he  seeks is the Lord, who alone can grant lasting joy.

Outward longings drive us from the Eden  within; they offer false pleasures which only impersonate  soul-happiness. The lost paradise is quickly gained through divine  meditation. 

As God is unanticipatory Ever-Newness, we never tire of Him.  Can we be surfeited with bliss, delightfully varied throughout  eternity?.... meditation  furnishes a twofold proof of God. Ever-new joy is evidence of His  existence, convincing to our very atoms. Also, in meditation one finds  His instant guidance, His adequate response to every difficulty."(Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramhansa Yogananda,1946, pp.148-149.)

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"Let your innate urge to be Self- and God-realized inspire your thoughts and actions and direct your path in life." 

(Roy Eugene Davis) 

THE FRUITS OF SPIRITUAL GROWTH ARE ENERGIZING AND VITALIZING AND INCLUDE A MORE LOVING AND COMPASSIONATE HEART.

"SPIRITUAL":  Of or relating to ultimate Reality, its units (souls), and the enduring essence (true nature) of things.

A direct disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda is my guru (teacher), Roy Eugene Davis.  I have been meditating with Roy  and participating in Center for Spiritual Awareness programs since  1988. He and his ministry have had a powerful influence on my spiritual  life, and I have a great deal of love and respect for him. 

On March 28, 2019, I received the following message:

"Dear Friends,

It is with a heavy heart that we inform you of the passing of our dear teacher, mentor, and spiritual friend, Roy Eugene Davis at 6:00 pm on Wednesday, March 27th.  ...  He passed quietly, without suffering.  ...  

He is a great light. He has given us all of the tools we need to progress, and the encouragement, inspiration, and motivation to succeed. He is no longer limited to an aging physical form; we can tune into his consciousness, always." 

Roy's passing was unexpected and, since then, I have experienced periods of both sorrow and joy. I feel extremely blessed that I was able to be with him for thirty-one years but miss his physical presence in my life. I know he will forever be in my heart and I will continue to endeavor to live my life according to the principles he taught and lived.

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