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1. Welcome to Issue #135 (April 16, 2004) of MIND CHATTER
Mind Chatter is published once a month, on or about the 16th of each month.
Please send Mind Chatter to a friend, and please send us your questions, comments, and suggestions.
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2. If you would like to unsubscribe, you can manage your account via the links at the beginning and end of the newsletter. (But please don't. We like you and we want you to stay.)
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3. In This Issue
* MindQuotes (scroll to #5)
* Can You Apply What You Believe?
by Bill Harris, Director
* Glowing Testimonial of the Month (scroll to #8)
* BOOK REVIEW (scroll to #9)
Autobiography of a Yogi
by Paramahansa Yogananda
* Important Announcements (scroll to #10)
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4. MIND CHATTER contains articles about:
*How you create your life--and how you can stop unconsciously creating experiences and outcomes you do not want, and instead begin to create exactly what you do want
*Personal and spiritual growth in general
*Meditation (high and low-tech)
*Recovery from emotional trauma
*Pretty much any other subject I get excited about and want to write about. After all, it's my company and my newsletter, and I can do whatever I want with it. So there.
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5. Mind Quotes
A strong person and a waterfall always channel their own path.
- unknown
The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.
- Ann Landers
I'd rather be right than President.
- Henry Clay
We get to make a living; we give to make a life.
- Winston Churchill
When it comes to giving, some people stop at nothing.
- unknown
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6. Something important for everyone who wants a close, loving, conscious relationship...
In January I invited you to participate in a relationship tele-seminar by internationally known relationship experts Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks--at absolutely no charge. The response was (literally) overwhelming.
Over 7,000 people signed up! People were disappointedly turned away when the call became full, and though we scrambled to add more telephone lines, some people could not listen to the seminar that night.
So everyone could hear what turned out to be an amazing seminar, we repeated it (twice) the next evening, and twice on the following Saturday.
If you didn't hear this free relationship seminar, I've arranged for it to be repeated again. Here, then, is the original announcement. At the bottom, click on the link to register for the free teleseminar...
To thank you for being a member of the Centerpointe family, I've arranged for you to participate--at no charge--in a fantastic telephone seminar with internationally known relationship experts Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks.
This telephone seminar does not cost anything .
Gay and Kathlyn and I have become very good friends over the last year, and because their new book, Lasting Love (Rodale Publishers), is hitting the bookstores this month, I convinced Gay to do a free tele-seminar for Mind Chatter
subscribers about the new information they've discovered about how to create close, loving relationships that really work. (Yes, it is possible.)
You get first crack at hearing this new material before they appear on all the major talk shows in the coming months. And, of course, in this seminar, they'll go into much more detail than they ever could on any talk show.
Two kinds of people will greatly benefit from this free seminar:
1) Those who want to make their current relationship into a GREAT relationship...
2) Those who aren't in a relationship right now--or even those who may have "given up" on relationships--but really would like to to find Mr. or Ms. Right and create a relationship that really does have all the love, intimacy, and
companionship you've always wanted.
This is NOT the same old "Men are from Mars" stuff. This is practical, cutting edge information that the Hendricks have successfully taught to thousands of singles and couples who wanted to stop the merry-go-round of conflict, fighting,
and lack of closeness, and create relationships the way you really want them to be.
Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks have appeared on Oprah twice, they've been on Good Morning America, Larry King, and many other television and radio programs, and they've published many best-selling books, including the classic, Conscious
Loving.
Gay and Kathlyn are super teachers, and in this seminar they will explain some key concepts that really will make a huge difference in your current relationship (even if you're the only one in the relationship who uses them).
As you probably know by now, I'm not interested in fluff. What I teach is real rubber-meets-the-road practical information that really works and really creates fundamental positive change.
Gay and Kathlyn teach in the same way I do--their stuff isn't just a lot of "feel-good" material, but rather real-life, kitchen-tested principles and techniques that really will make a difference in your life. And, the way they teach is a
lot of fun, too, so I know you'll enjoy yourself.
Again, this seminar is 100% "no charge" to you, so there's no reason to not participate if you're even remotely interested in creating a close, loving relationship.
Here's how to participate:
1. Go to
http://www.therelationshipsolution.com/teleseminar
2. Type in your name and email address.
3. Click "submit."
You'll then receive the telephone number to call, along with the passcode to key in once you're connected to the call, by email.
Then, all you have to do is call in about 2 minutes before the seminar and enjoy listening to two of the world's top relationship experts in a private, no-cost seminar I've arrange for them to teach, especially for you.
The phone bridge they're using does limit the number of people who can participate, so please register right away to avoid missing this free relationship seminar.
Here's the link again to sign up:
http://www.therelationshipsolution.com/teleseminar
Remember, this great seminar by Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks doesn't cost you anything--it's my gift to you. Enjoy! And please feel free to send the link to all your friends.
**
The following is only for those who want to learn how to create exactly what they want in life:
I assume that's you...
Unless you're new to Mind Chatter, you know that close to a year ago I started a series of teleconference lessons--three courses, of 12 calls each--collectively called The Life Principles Integration Process. Now over 2000 people are
participating in these courses, and people in these courses are experiencing huge positive changes.
These courses are now available in a very easy to use on-line form.
Here's the idea: You are creating your internal and external reality, though you're probably doing it, for the most part, unconsciously and automatically. This means that part of the time you will get what you want, and part of the time
you won't, but it's not always clear why that happens.
If, however, you can learn to operate the creative part of you consciously and intentionally, you really can create whatever you want.
No one is more amazed than I am that after years of struggle, I figured out how to do this for myself. Not only that, I can teach you how you can do it, too. In fact, I GUARANTEE that I can teach you how to do it, if you're willing to
learn.
This is NOT the same old stuff you've read about in all those books about "manifesting your dreams" and so on and so forth. I promise that if you take these courses, you will have a huge "ah-ha" about your life and how to create what you
want, both inside and out.
You can take the courses on your computer, either by listening via audio-streaming, or by downloading the calls to listen to later or to burn them onto a CD. As in the live calls, I am making myself personally available, by email, to
answer any questions you have about anything during the course.
And, you do not need to already be a participant in The Holosync Solution to take these courses, by the way.
And, I've made these course really inexpensive. If I had to teach this in person, in a seminar or retreat, it would cost a few thousand dollars. Instead, it's a small fraction of that--and I've created a free preview lesson, so you can
find out what it's about with no risk.
Here are a few emails I've received from people in the course:
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!! The first lesson was worth the price of this course, and more. I have heard and read similar material before, but somehow you manage to present it so that it gets through in a
powerful way. I simply can't tell you how grateful I am to you-and you're plenty funny!
--Jean M.
*
Wow, you are not kidding when you say you really want to help. I knew that already though. Thank you so much. You, your program, and your teachings have changed my life completely-much needed.
--Lee
*
You really know your stuff! Razor sharp.
--Andrew
*
Wow! I'm impressed by all the time and energy you are putting into this course. Thank you!
--Ellen
*
I absolutely love your impeccable program. You've summed up just about everything that I've heard from many other tapes and books, but they did not hand you the formula for the answers the way in which you did. I feel that there are many
thousands of beings who are truly grateful for all that you have gone through to bring about such change for so many. May we all find the joy and blessings that you have come to live. Bright Blessings,
--Janet G.
*
So please go listen to the FREE preview lesson, which is available now for you to listen to online. This free lesson contains some great stuff, so please go listen to it.
For more information about the course and to actually listen to a FREE preview lesson, click here:
http://www.centerpointe.com/life/preview
I'd love to get an email from you in a few weeks telling me how much YOU have benefited!
Be well.
Bill
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7. Feature Article
Can You Apply What You Believe?
by Bill Harris, Director
One of the things I've noticed in my 20+ years in teaching personal growth trainings, and providing personal growth programs to people all over the world, is that many people have already heard of many of the ideas I teach when they come
to Centerpointe for help.
Unfortunately, in almost every case they haven't figured out how to actually apply these principles to their life. If they had figured out how to apply them, they probably wouldn't be coming to us for help.
Ideas that people have trouble applying include "let whatever happens be okay"..."you create your own reality"..."any meaning a person, place or thing has for you, you gave it that meaning (i.e., 'nothing is good or bad but thinking makes
it so')"...and quite a few others. These ideas are almost cliches in personal growth, and most people you ask will tell you they believe them, but almost no one really follows them.
I often speak to groups about these principles. I get nodding heads and almost always total agreement that these principles represent the truth of how life works. Then, within five minutes of concluding my talk, I see someone NOT letting
something be okay, or someone insisting in one way or another that something outside of them is creating the way they feel, or I see someone failing to see how they are placing a meaning on something (and taking that meaning as true) that
the person, place, or situation does not intrinsically have.
Why does this happen? How can someone be in total agreement with a certain idea or principle, yet instantly forget the principle when it's time to apply it?
I could answer this question in several ways: The person is not conscious. The person does not feel safe applying the principle. The person understands the principle intellectually but not experientially. The person cannot "chunk down" the
theory to apply it to a real-world, practical situation.
Let's look at each of these and see if we can better understand why we might "understand" something but not be able to apply it.
You'll notice, first of all, that the three examples I gave (and I could have given several more) all involve asking someone to see themselves and the world in a different way, and there is a specific reason for doing so: if they change
their perspective, they will suffer less. This makes the fact that people know about and agree with these ideas, yet fail to apply them, even more tragic. By failing to do so, they create suffering for themselves--suffering that is very
much avoidable.
Let's look at chunking first. Chunking up is the ability to see connections between different things, and in doing so to group them into related categories. Cars become means of transportation, which becomes ways of moving, which becomes
ways of existing. We see isolated instance of something, and we notice they are related, so we group them. We create a generalization. The above principles are generalizations, based on observing many people's behavior and the resulting
consequences. People have observed real situations in the human condition, they've noticed certain relationships these situations share, and based on these similarities, they have created certain generalizations. They've noticed that when
people suffer, for instance, there is always something they are not letting be okay, and that when people let whatever happens be okay, they suffer less.
Some people have trouble seeing these relationships. In other words, they have trouble chunking up. They have trouble learning generalized lessons from the events of their life, and because of this they keep making the same mistakes over
and over. They might, however, learn from someone else's ability to create generalizations, even if they have trouble making them for themselves (oh, how I wish my daughter could benefit from the general principles I've made about
life--but that's another topic we won't get into).
Other people have trouble chunking down. Chunking down, at least as it applies to what I'm talking about here, is the ability to take a theory, a principle, a generalization, and apply it to a new and specific situation. To give a
ridiculous example, it would be as if you saw a car you had never seen before, and because you had never seen this specific car, you couldn't tell that it was a car. Few people would make this mistake, because you've seen many cars, and
you know that when you see something with doors on each side, four wheels, a windshield, fenders and bumpers, and a steering wheel, it's a car, even if you haven't seen that particular car before. But people do have trouble chunking down
ion other less obvious situations, and that's one of the things that is happening when someone agrees with a certain life principle, but can't see the situations where they are not following it.
Here's an example. You agree that it is best to let whatever happens be okay, that once something is the way it is, and cannot be changed, to resist it just creates more suffering. As I talk about this principle, you nod and smile. Then,
however, your get upset five minutes later because you forgot your money at home and now, to have lunch, you'll have to drive to the ATM. Somehow, you failed to see that letting this particular situation be okay is a perfect example of
exactly what I was talking about, and that by becoming upset about something that has already happened you are adding additional, unnecessary suffering to the other consequences (in this case, having to drive to the ATM to get some
money).
I've seen this happen hundreds of times. People get the principles on a theoretical level, but can't apply them to a real situation--or don't even see the situation at all. They cannot see that getting upset in this situation is a
real-life, rubber-meets-the-road example of NOT letting whatever happens be okay.
Sometimes, a person doesn't feel safe enough in the world to apply the principle. They agree with the principle, but when it comes time to apply it, their feeling of being unsafe is stronger than their desire to apply the principle. They
realize that something they did not want has happened, and it creates fear in them (often followed by anger or sadness). These feelings are attempts to cope with being over their threshold for what they can handle. They are attempts to
feel safe in what they think is an unsafe situation. Instead of seeing the situation, seeing how it relates to the general principle--and then saying "Hmmm. I'm not letting what has happened here be okay. Maybe if I did, I would avoid some
suffering"--they allow the unsafe feeling to take over, and they react with their favorite coping mechanism in an attempt to deal with being over their threshold.
All of these are really examples of not being consciously aware of what is going on (do you see how I had to chunk up to arrive at that conclusion?). Not seeing that a specific incident is an example of a general principle comes from a
lack of conscious awareness. Not feeling safe comes from a lack of conscious awareness (on a very high level, a conscious awareness that there really is no way you can be unsafe, because you are everything, and on a less lofty level that
you really are somehow safer if you resist what is happening). Not being able to chunk up or down comes from a lack of conscious awareness of the full spectrum of ideas on a certain subject and how they are related. It all, ultimately
comes from a lack of conscious awareness.
Here, then, is the ideal: You ARE consciously aware of how you are creating your reality. You see the internal processing that happens between the experiences you have, on one hand, and the internal states and external behaviors and
results that happen, on the other. Because you are aware of this internal processing, you know exactly what you are doing to create the feelings (and other states) you're experiencing, as well as what you're doing to attract the people and
situations you're experiencing, and to create whatever behaviors you're exhibiting. You KNOW you are creating your reality. You KNOW what happens isn't coming from outside of you. When you become consciously aware of this, moment by
moment, it becomes very difficult to create outcomes and feelings you don't want.
Second, when something happens--when you have a certain experience--you instantly see how it is an instance of one or more of the basic life principles. You know this because you EXPERIENTIALLY know that these principles describe the way
the universe works. It isn't a theory for you, it's your experience. You are unable to act as if you are unsafe without instantly noticing that you are doing so and instantly knowing that it isn't true that you are unsafe. You are also
able to see when you aren't allowing what is happening to be okay. In all situations, you are instantly able to see what is happening, what life principle it may be an example of, what the consequences of each possible response will be,
and which is the best response.
When you live this way, you naturally know just what to do, and you naturally create happiness and inner peace for yourself.
So how do you get to the point where you can do this?
First, I'll tell you what I've been telling people for years: there definitely is a price to pay to get to this point, and there is no way to get there other than to pay this price. Reconcile yourself to this. There is no other way. There
is no magic, no shortcut. You pay the price to change, or you stay the same.
Creating the change is, however, well worth the effort, because once you have this kind of conscious awareness, you can do, be, and have anything you want. You realize, right in your bones, that you really are safe, the universe is doing
exactly what it is supposed to be doing, and in each moment you know just what to do. Because of this, you RELAX. You become peaceful. You become happy.
So what is the price? A big part of the price (and one of the most difficult things for most people to do) is to let go of your old way of seeing yourself and your place in the world. You cannot get to this place I'm describing and also
hang on to the old you. You have to trust that you will be safe (in fact, safer) if you let go of the old way of seeing yourself. People hang on to the old "me" because they falsely believe that doing so keeps them safe. In every case,
however, it is hanging on to the old way that keeps them from being safe.
In a more how-to sense, the price involves a lot of meditating and learning to be the witness. As you know, I think you're going to get much faster results, with much less frustration and effort, if you use Holosync to meditate. Holosync
accelerates the meditation process by at least fifteen times, in my experience. It also makes it much more easy to practice watching--being the witness--because it sweeps away those things your mind does to get in the way of being able to
watch how you create your reality.
Finally, if you take apart the internal mechanism you use to create your reality, piece by piece--exactly what we do in the Life Principles Integration Process online courses--the whole process happens even faster and more easily. This is
why I've put Holosync and the LPIP together. Holosync creates dramatic increases in conscious awareness, and the LPIP gives you a framework for understanding and using your conscious awareness and applying it to how you create your
reality.
Besides meditating with Holosync and taking these online courses (and I do strongly urge you to get involved in the online courses--they are fabulous, and they are very inexpensive), here's another thing you can do: write down some of the
basic principles you've learned in your spiritual work. If you need some ideas, see my articles in past issues of Mind Chatter about my Nine Principles for Conscious Living. Take one principle at a time, and practice noticing all the daily
situation where that principle applies (all nine of them will apply to something at least once every minute, all day long, so you should have plenty to consider). In other words, practice chunking each principle down to specific situation,
and them applying that principle, in the moment, to that situation.
Don't worry if you aren't good at doing this at first. Don't worry if it is confusing or difficult at first. If you practice, you will get better. You wouldn't expect to play Beethoven Piano Sonatas when you first start playing the piano,
and you shouldn't expect to be good at what I'm teaching you when you first try it. Be willing to pay the price of practicing, and you will get better. Every person you've ever seen who is good at something practiced until they were good
at it, and was willing to go through the necessary learning curve. If you're willing to pay the price of practicing, you'll get the result, too. If you're not willing to pay the price, then just relax and stay the same and be content with
your life staying the same.
Conscious awareness exists in the moment by moment, day by day, little situations. Expanded awareness is not about altered states, and even in the few situation where altered states are involved, what good is it if you can't apply it to
everyday situations where you keep creating suffering for yourself?
So keep meditating, and keep watching how you create your reality. Pay the price to become more consciously aware. If you do, your work will bear fruit, I promise, and you will be able to create whatever you want in life.
Be well.
Bill Harris, Director
[If you found this article helpful, please send a copy of this issue to a friend!]
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8. Glowing Testimonials and Letters
[This first one is about the first of the Life Principles Integration Process online courses, The Internal Map of Reality Expander, and an exercise we do in that course that eliminates the root cause of bad feels, negative decisions,
etc.-Ed.]
Hi Bill,
Just thought I'd say that I always considered the day I rang to get the demo CD a 'changing day' (in Dr Phil's vernacular). But, wow, this course is absolutely blowing me away even more. It is the most amazing experience. I wish everyone
would do it.
The cost of the course is worth it for the timeline exercise alone. Having had a less than sheltered childhood, I have always been ruled by fear. I have spent years working on it and had to to the point where, while not fully dealt with, I
figured I had it under control - I realise now I was kidding myself, of course. There were some
problems.
I started a new job with a boss that gets an edge to her voice really easily. This
would set up a strong fear reaction (long story why) and I would get defensive. I
would react and that would set off a cycle. I love this job and this pattern was
threatening it.
I did the timeline exercise repeatedly this weekend to clear different fear and defensiveness issues. It worked brilliantly. The boss went off on one of her tirades yesterday that would have previously turned me to jello. I watched, rather
amazed,
as I failed to react. She calmed down and apologised and said it wasn't my fault etc. she just goes off the handle occasionally - basically, a VERY different outcome. So it looks like I can stay in the job I absolutely love.
A multitude of thanks.
Karen
**
Dear Bill and Centerpointe,
My name is Matt W. and I just had to write to you and say thank you for everything you are doing for me,my family and everyone else who has the priveledge to use Holosync. I am 22 years old and am a personal trainer and a full time
student at Arizona State University. My story is like most but I wanted to give you another testimonial to how wonderful and life-changing this program really is.
Like you Bill, I also had tried every personal growth tool on the market and the reason was that I had gotten into the wrong choice of drugs and alcohol and saw my life and relationships going down the drain with me. I ended up having a
couple of horrible experiences with the drugs and ended up getting kicked out of my mother's house because of my poor choices. This was only about 2 and 1/2 years ago so it seems like only yesterday. Just before this time I was the
defensive captain of my college football team and on a roll. I had always been successful in school and now I can't even keep a minimum wage job. So now I am in a haze for about 6 months, have no idea who I am and lost the respect of my
friends and family. Right as I am having thoughts of "Should I even Continue", I meet my future fiance and find the Lord in the span of a week. I moved in with her and left that lifestyle for good and it was a challenge to say the least.
She had just gotten out of a bad marriage and has a 6 year old son, how am I supposed to take care of a child, let alone myself!
At this point, I am trying every personal growth tool and some of them were wonderful but I always felt there was something missing. I went to seminars and did a Course in miracles, I even joined a Men's ministry group but I just wasn't
happy with who I was as a person, father and future husband. My fiance always believed in me but I always felt that I was emotionally holding back, I was constantly depressed and lived in constant fear of the unknown.
So I was reading the 11th element and came across the Centerpointe website. I went to it and read your information and testimonials and I was fascinated but also a little skeptical because it promised so much of what I was looking for. I
had just started meditating and never really felt like I was doing it right or even much of anything.
I sent away for the demo and was pleased with the way it made me feel. I told my fiance that I was going to get the program and she was like"Okay Dear", secretly thinking that this was just another waste of money on personal growth. I
received Awakening Prologue about a month ago and was blown away with it. I felt so good afterward and it is like a burden has been lifted from me.
Not only am I more aware and focused but every aspect of my life has improved. Fear used to hold me back from what I wanted but in the past month I hae started my own personal training business and my grades have improved from a 3.0 to a
3.9 GPA with only a month left in the semester. I am also more patient with my family and use the "witness" where before I would just be a punk about things that did not matter. I started Kenpo Karate and am getting ready to be
commissioned with my ministry class in May.
Best of all, I feel one with everyone and treat every interaction as a gift from God, people constantly ask how I am so happy and I don't remember ever being this content and focused, and it has only been a month into the program!!! Bill,
your support and caring make you and your company role models for everyone and even though I have never met you or your staff, I feel like I know you as friends and am apart of a team who is making the world a better place. I plan on
becoming part of the inner circle and attending a retreat when I have the time and finances. I've also convinced my fiance to do the program, she can't believe the results either and I have about 10 people who are interested and want what
I have.
Bill, thank you for giving me my life back. You are a role model to me and I hope one day I can make the type of difference you and Centerpointe are. I will talk to you later.
Sincerely,
Matt W.
**
Bill
Where do I start? I could write a book. Or I could say thank you. What can I say that everyone else hasn't already said? It's not the words that explain it anyway. Its the feelings, the sense of something wonderful is going to
happen, the sense of awe and beauty of life. Does the word Nameste explain it? Probably better than the word thank you.
I started two months ago and I've been careful to not share this with many people because I wanted to experience this totally and privately. I wanted this for me and not the opinions of others. My husband soon joined me. A couple of weeks
ago he said he's amazed. Amazed. Friends are noticing something and saying they are seeing a stronger me and that my voice sounds good. Now I want to know how to share this with the world.
Since I started I've received all the cool emails and the CD's of a retreat and the phone in of the Hendricks and your awesome sound CD and the other mind stim one... I read and listen to all intently, as if my life depends on it. And I
think it does. Not in making my life longer(which I believe it will) but the quality of life. To experience it for all the right reasons
for all the many ways. I wish with all my heart I could have purchased your offer to support your new sound technology. I will never stop doing holosync. I know this. I pray you never get bored or tired of doing and giving the help you
do.
Soon all my friends and family will know of Centerpointe and I truly want to tell the world.
My heartfelt gratitude
Anna M.
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9. BOOK REVIEW
by Marc Gilson
Autobiography of a Yogi
By Paramahansa Yogananda (copyright 1946, 1974, 1998, Self Realization Fellowship)
If you would like to read more about or order this book
click here
In the fall of 1945, Paramahansa Yogananda put down his pen after many months of writing and said, "All done; it is finished. This book will change the lives of millions. It will be my messenger when I am gone."
When "Autobiography of a Yogi" was published in 1946, no one but Yogananda himself seemed confident that anyone in the west would appreciate it, let alone bother to read it. Yet as with so many other aspects of Yogananda's life,
uncertainty was nothing but an opportunity for the strength of his faith to be tested and proved. His faith in the success of the book has been borne out long after his passing in 1952. The book has sold millions worldwide, has remained
on
best-seller lists for over 50 years, and has been translated into 18 languages. It is considered by many to be one of the most influential books ever written.
Since Yogananda's birth in 1893, he has become known as one of the preeminent spiritual figures of our time. And for many spiritual seekers, Yogananda's "Autobiography" has become not merely a classic piece of literature, but also a
kind of sacred scripture in its own right.
"Autobiography" is a landmark book. It stands as one of the first major exposures of Indian life and spirituality to the west. It demystified many of the aspects of Indian life and spiritual philosophy. Many critics today credit the book
for igniting the current interest in Yoga in the west. And Yogananda himself, more than any one person, has embodied the virtues of the Yogic path for this and future generations.
While the ideas and concepts of Yoga are still somewhat foreign to many westerners, Yoganada seems imbued with a gift of communicating these ideas in a way that speaks directly to the heart. Even readers who are skeptical or
uncomfortable with ideas like Yogis, "levitating saints," and other aspects of spirituality outside the Judeo-Christian tradition will find that Yoganandas message engages the reader regardless of their respective spiritual heritage.
One
need not see Yogananda as a proselytizer of any specific set of beliefs, but rather as a voice for change and hope; something near and dear to the hearts of Centerpointe Participants.
Many readers may not be aware that Yogananda actually wrote over a dozen books. But it is "Autobiography" that has distinguished him as a true emissary of spiritual wisdom. As he predicted in 1945, "Autobiography" has been his messenger,
as well as his legacy.
The book itself is essentially a chronicle of his life, from his boyhood in Northeastern India, through the adventures of his youth in Calcutta and as student and apprentice to his beloved teacher Sri Yukteswar, and eventually to America
as Yoga's greatest ambassador to the west. "Autobiography" reflects not only the specifics of Indian beliefs, but also manages to explain the underlying connections between these and western beliefs. To some degree, Yogananda achieves a
kind of marriage between east and west, and shows that beneath the cultural differences run currents of common universal truths.
Through the early stages of the book the reader is treated to numerous enchanting and amusing stories of the young Mukunda (before being given the name Paramahansa Yogananda), many of which are suggestive of his future emergence as a
spiritual adept. His visits to several of the fascinating gurus and sages in India are captivating to say the least. He frequently witnesses the effects of the advanced
ascetic life practiced by spiritual masters in several delightful and amazing stories.
Mukunda is in most respects a normal Indian youth. He has a distant but caring father, kind-hearted mother, an over-bearing older brother, and a sister who he enjoys bantering with. But beyond the normalcy of his home life, Mukunda's
deepest desires are to serve God. Throughout the book, his faith in God is challenged through both outer events and inner struggles. And while at times almost recklessly faithful, his faith is upheld and answered time and again by the
powers of the spiritual laws he explains throughout the book. The concepts of devotion, faith, hope, and diligence are clearly threaded through the book, and take on very tangible forms as Yogananda tells of his life.
Although initially his family is not entirely supportive of his insistent drive toward the ascetic life, young Mukunda is unwavering in his faith. He eventually wins the approval of his family through various miraculous events which compel
them to acknowledge his obvious destiny.
When Mukunda meets his guru, Sri Yukteswar, in Banares, his life is changed forever, and the next major phase of his life begins. Through his study and devotion to Sri Yukteswar, Mukunda becomes Paramahansa Yogananda, and learns
countless lessons regarding Yogic philosophy, and life (and death). Yogananda's relationship with his guru, and specifically the depth of his devotion to Yukteswar, may be the only aspect of the book to challenge the understanding of
some westerners. But through the account in "Autobiography" we learn a great deal about the intensity and uniqueness of the guru/student dynamic.
Yogananda's arrival in America as an emissary of Yoga, Sri Yukteswar and perhaps more importantly, of love and compassion, is a fascinating account of mixing cultures and beliefs. His establishment of the Self Realization Fellowship in
1920 and his work in America constitute the final stages of his life and thecompletion of his earthly mission.
The book itself is much more than the history of one man. Through its pages, the reader finds a well-presented explanation of Yoga as well as considerable insight into the spiritual truths of Indian philosophy. This information is
often
presented within the context of various anecdotal stories from Yogananda's life and thus take on a highly enjoyable "down-to-earth" flavor few other such books
manage. Yogananda's humor keep him within reach of a broad reading audience, while his concise and penetrating intellect reveal him to be a sophisticated thinker capable of challenging advanced spiritual explorers.
For me personally, the most striking aspect of "Autobiography of a Yogi" is the engaging genuineness of the presentation. This book is so absorbing, it's a
little like stepping into quicksand; once you start into it there's no going back. Page by page the reader is drawn into an incredible, and yet surprisingly comfortable style of expression. Yogananda makes himself not only known but
felt
through the pages of the book. And the feeling is that of being in the presence of a true master; one intimately in-touch with both human needs and frailties, as well as with magnificent knowledge and dazzling spiritual understanding. As
his life unfolded through my reading of the book, I had the distinct impression of somehow finding myself merging into the story of this amazing person. Indeed, many readers of "Autobiography" have commented on how they feel much more of a
kind of participant in the story than an objective reader of the words; as though through the mere reading of the book, the life of the reader blends with the truths expressed by Yogananda over 50 years ago. I have the sense that Yogananda
wrote the book with that specific intention.
It's extremely rare that such depth of insight into both the human condition and human potential is presented with wit, warmth, and clarity. I can only echo one of the many kudos heaped upon this book:
"fragments of wisdom so deep that one feels spellbound, permanently moved." -
Haagsche Post, Holland
And as one reviewer from the India Journal rightly noted of "Autobiography of a
Yogi':
"it is a book that opens the windows of the mind and spirit."
"Autobiography of a Yogi" is a beautiful, life-changing work. If you have not read this book, make a point of picking up a copy soon. If you have read it, read it again. I finished my third reading of it only recently, and have found each
time to be as fresh and newly inspirational as the first time.
If you would like to read more about or order this book
click here
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10. Announcements
As you read this, I am at the Spring Centerpointe Retreat at Glen Ivy Hot Springs, in Corona, California, helping 50 people makes some tremendous positive changes in their lives. But don't worry that you missed this reteat, because we'll
be having another retreat at the end of September on the gorgeous Oregon coast, and that one is only about 30% full.
If you have a big issue you'd like to resolve, if you're in a transition period in your life and you just can't seem to complete it, or if you just want to takes things to a higher level--one where you understand more completely how you're
creating your life--please, do yourself a favor and come to our next retreat at Inn at Spanish Head, Sept 27th.
I promise that you'll have an incredible experience you'll never forget.
I tell people they'll receive six months of growth in just 5 days at these retreats, but they keep improving every time, and people now tell me they're received much more than that.
And, this time, I'll be sharing some new information I've never shared at any retreat.
This is your chance to make a big change, and to work with me personally.
So click on this link for more information, and then sign up. If you sign up now, you save $100.00!
http://www.centerpointe.com/retreats
And, I guarantee results!
If, at the end of the retreat, you don't think it was 'as advertised' -- and more -- we'll refund your money!
You do not need to be a program participant to attend (though most people who attend are). (And if you're not a program participant, why the heck aren't you? Quit procrastinating and join.)
Click here for more information
Or, call us between 9:30 and 5:00 Pacific time, M-F, at 1-800-945-2741 or 503-672-7117.
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