Union with the Cosmic Beloved is the most enjoyable experience possible. It is dream after dream, joy after joy; a thousand million divine romances in one, ever thrilling your heart.

Through the proper use of will power, anyone can overcome restlessness and achieve major progress in meditation.

ParamahnsaYogananda called this Nine-Day Cleansing Diet “a method for rejuvenating the body cells and awakening the latent powers of the mind and the inner forces of the soul.”

We tend to think, “Gosh, there’s so much in life that’s unpredictable.” But we know of many devotees who have been in life-threatening situations and have felt only calmness.

Today many people are fearful for the future. How can we stay open and expansive in this time of uncertainty and turmoil? How do we remember that God is always supporting and guiding us?

My son’s illness was a dramatic example of how adversity can remind us to call on God. I’ve come to see how valuable the difficult times are, and how we can embrace adversity as an impetus to remember to practice God’s presence.

Master seldom praised me for my labor. But he sometimes praised me for my devotion. He was more anxious that develop and perfect ourselves in this quality rather than tremendous outward labor, but in forgetfulness of God.

Often, during meditation, nearby odors such as car exhaust, cooking, cigarette smoke, or even upholstery can be distracting to the mind, and may awaken mental associations that have nothing in common with the mood of inner upliftment.

When I was five-years-old, I was in my backyard and looking intently upward into a thick fog when all of a sudden, bursting through a gap in the fog, came a flock of pearl-white snow geese. Seeing the snow geese thrilled me deeply, and ever since I’ve wanted to immerse myself in nature.

Feeling is a response that’s awakened in us as we focus our awareness on something: a person, an event, a circumstance. It’s a way of gaining understanding, and it’s very different from the way the intellect understands. Feeling understands via relationship and, in its higher expressions, from the inside; it is centered in the heart.

There is much more to be “seen” than what our physical eyes can perceive. Visible light, which includes all the colors of the rainbow, occupies only a very small section of the electromagnetic spectrum.

The kinds of questions we ask God determine the kind of answers we receive. If we have a clear idea of the experience we’re seeking, we’ll have a greater chance of having that experience.

Bill knows that to meet the challenges of Parkinson’s, he needs to raise his physical, mental, and spiritual energy. He believes that miracles do happen and that a recovery from Parkinson’s is a very real possibility. He says, “The key is not to lose hope.”

There are many theories as to why we dream, but rarely does any scholar or scientist dare give a definitive opinion. Paramhansa Yogananda, however, did dare to say: “I know exactly why and how we dream.”

In order to look for “the best,” you must make comparisons, judging one thing superior and all others inferior. People who say, “Only my religion is the best,” create dreadful divisions in the world.

Our family experienced several episodes of extreme financial difficulty before we found the right balance between living simply and attracting the money we needed.

Navi kriya is a good technique to practice before meditation. Focus on the third chakra has a special virtue. It stimulates the consciousness of self-control.

Frank Laubach was a Christian mystic who believed that practicing the presence of God would do more good for humanity than political and diplomatic schemes devoid of God.

If you can concentrate more deeply, your meditations will be more fulfilling and their depth and length will automatically begin to increase.

I believed in Yogananda’s path, but was frightened to do the one thing he seemed to suggest above all others—meditate—for fear it would make my situation worse.