Learning to direct the energy of the heart is probably our most important challenge spiritually. If we want to awaken to our true state of unity with the Divine, we must learn to control our feelings and to channel them in a positive direction.

When we reach outward from our egos to a broader reality, our consciousness and self-identity expand. The more expansive our consciousness, the happier we feel, and the more self-fulfilled. We offend against our own deepest nature when we divorce ourselves from that reality.

Looking back, I can see where the downhill slide started – in the mind! I had embraced the thought-form so prevalent during the years I was growing up: that the retirement phase of life is the beginning of the end, and that it was “all downhill” from there.

This story fittingly illustrates how people love to exaggerate. People love to believe the impossible and to exaggerate upon it, for it satisfies their hunger for weird, mysterious happenings.

Remember, when your love for God becomes a constant, silent yearning of your heart, all other things will melt away like morning mist before the rising sun. The greatest way to cling to God is to cling first to love.

In this book, Swami Kriyananda takes the lessons learned from a life spent in careful observation of himself and others, and extracts from them guidelines that can transform the life of anyone who will practice them faithfully and with an open heart.

Live more and more in that center where God dwells. Radiate this to others, and their lives, and your own, will be changed.

I came to realize that the God I believed in was a Jewish God, and that my entire self-identity was wrapped around that concept. Each step of the way was like shedding a layer of myself.

The “peace and harmony” prayer is extremely potent. Its simplicity and clear focus direct the mind toward attunement with God and give us a practical way to draw God’s grace in important aspects of our life. I also believe there’s a special blessing in the prayer.

Worry-consciousness not only creates problems where none really exist, but actually interferes with one’s efforts to resolve problems where they do exist.

Those who undertake the spiritual life with serious intent come face to face with the principles of supportive leadership—in their own work, in their relations with friends and family, and ultimately in their own inner life.

I believe we’re on the eve of difficult times but if you have the right kind of magnetism, even if there’s a depression, it won’t be a predicament for you. Success in every aspect of life depends on the power of your magnetism to attract it. By developing “success magnetism,” you will find victory in all situations even in the midst of widespread difficulties.

The more energy and will power you put into changing a particular karma, the sooner that karma will dissipate and the sooner the good karma you’re now creating will start to bear fruit.

My Guru guided me into medicine and he has been with me ever since. In my practice I ask for guidance all the time. As long as I remember to ask for help, it comes, and miracles happen.

Tyagini Maitreyi, a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, received the inner guidance to attempt to practice the presence of God moment by moment. After several weeks of her dedicated efforts, God, whom Maitreyi considers her higher Self, began to speak to her; she in turn recorded His words.

My six-year test showed me that all the money in creation is contained entirely within Divine Mother’s purse. Abundance, I realized, comes by opening ourselves to its only source, in God, through our love and service to Him.

Most of the stress and pain associated with change is the result of wishing that things were other than they are. Learn to accept life and much of the anxiety associated with change will disappear.

One of the main challenges facing teens and young adults today is resisting the message that happiness can be found outside of oneself—in money, material possessions, fame, popularity, or other worldly achievements. There is so much suffering because of that idea.

All delusions endanger one’s peace of mind, strengthen the ego, and deepen one’s sense of isolation from others and from any sense of support from the universe. Worst of all, they cause us to seek fulfillment in means that always prove to be, in the end, mere shadows.

What is the spirit of gardening? It is the more expansive and inspiring approach to life gained through your contact with flowers, trees, and shrubs, through caring for the soil, and through bringing beauty into your surroundings.

Remember that your difficulties did not come to crush you, but to strengthen your determination to use your limitless divine powers to succeed. God wants you to conquer the difficult tests of life and to come back to His home of wisdom.

A great sense of relaxation comes as we realize that relationships are given to us primarily to help us learn and grow, especially in our ability to accept and to love. Relationships lived in this manner hold the promise of deep fulfillment.

One of the great blessings of meditation is that I am less reactive emotionally and can now view situations more objectively. Gradually I am learning that it’s possible to remain centered and act with kindness even in harsh or chaotic circumstances.

Rather than be resentful of what appears to be more than my fair share of injuries and illnesses, I choose to be thankful for what I have learned and for the blessing of being able to help others reach for optimal health—physically, mentally and spiritually.

It is a mistake to think that you will ever find the perfect mate. Life, outwardly, cannot be other than a compromise between the ideal and reality.

Courtesy is a healing balm; it can soothe troubled hearts, and win cooperation even from the hostile.

As devotees, the pitfall is to decide that we have only so much energy—and no more. Just when I think I’ve done everything I can do, Divine Mother often says, “But there’s so much more you can do,” and then shows me that’s true.

How do you react when a test comes? You won’t be worthy of God if you try to run away from your difficulties. To succeed on the spiritual path you need that level of courage that allows you to think, “No matter how long this test lasts, it will pass in time so why worry about it?”

Often the most successful people are those who have had the most to overcome because they’ve had to put out a great deal of energy to transcend their challenges.

When I came onto the spiritual path my life became consciously God-centered. There was a feeling of restfulness and calm as I let go of anxiety about myself.