My Reading Notes:

• Vasistha continues, “Not by merely and verbally denying such a notion of existence is it obliterated: on the contrary, such denial itself becomes a further distraction.” To deny the existence of a problem simply enforces it. To say, “I’m working hard to gain liberation and perfect peace,” generates the notion, that you do not have liberation or peace. You are affirming that which you do not want to experience without your knowing. You are liberation and peace. To say, “I am making my self well through this practice, because there was something fundamentally wrong with me before,” has the same effect. There is nothing wrong with you. You have just been affirming your current state through your actions, thoughts and words. Now it is time to affirm that which you do want to experience.
• There may be points through out the day when you are unhappy or uncomfortable with the present circumstance. That’s natural until you learn to be content all the time. What is the best way to deal with moments like that? First, admit that you feel the way you do. Then if you find your self thinking that something in the future would change it, stop. More than likely, you would just feel better temporarily, and then once that is cleared up, something else would come up and you would think that there must be something else. It’s an endless cycle. So just stop it now. Next, you will probably look for something or someone in the past to blame your unpleasant state on.  Stop that too. Don’t blame, just feel what you feel. It will quit eventually.       Stay in reality, and the relative reality may be that you feel uncomfortable. Leave the past and future alone. Does this idea make sense? No, of course not. Your mind would like it to though, wouldn’t it? Stay vigilant and continue the practice. You will eventually have the direct experience, that how you feel is not dependant on the past or the future, and that you can always find a reason to feel how you do. Forget about reasons. Focus on choice. Choose what you want to feel and feel it. Don’t wait for the next moment. Be with what is, and once you are comfortable with that, then choose what is. You are learning to develop control over your states of consciousness, a key skill for any Self-realized person.
• Imagine a person exercising on a treadmill every day. The thoughts that go through the mind as this person slugs through another hour of heart pumping footwork, usually goes something like this, “My dad died of a heart attack. My doctor says I have high cholesterol. I don’t want to die!” All the while, with each step, they are really affirming the fear they want to avoid.
• First meditate and feel the divine Presence; then do your work saturated with the consciousness of God. If you do this you will never become tired. If you work for your Divine Beloved, your life will be filled with love and strength.   -Paramahansa Yogananda
• Mahavatar Babaji said, “Few know that the kingdom of heaven extends fully to this physical world.” Yogananda said, “Banish the idea that spiritual and material realities are separate.” I would like to encourage you to do the same. When it is time to meditate, pray, be with your spiritual teacher, or read inspirational literature do so. When it is time to work in the world, meet people, wash your car, tell someone to get out of your way, or buy someone pizza, do so. Know that no matter what you are doing, you are in your right place in the divine drama, and don’t be too attached to the outcome. Hold your vision and your intention and move forward, then let the seeds of grace sprout and grow on their own time.
• These are all direct examples of denying the truth of a situation. The real truth is that you are attached to circumstances that don’t support you, and you don’t have the motivation to make a change. This is understandable. 99% of the planet lives like this. So it’s not really a problem, unless you truly do want to be happy, tranquil and spiritually aware.  Sounds a little harsh, yet it is the way it works.
• “I’ve made some choices, that one way or the other led me to experience these negative circumstances.  Maybe I know what those choices are and maybe I don’t. And if I don’t, I’m just going to say ‘it must be a past life karma’. But whatever the reason, I’m done with it. I am going to do my utmost best to avoid thoughts, feelings, people and places that rekindle my desire to put myself in a difficult situation. “If I screw up every now and again, fine. I’m still not going to blame the other person. I’m going to reassess what I could have done differently, and do it. “If there is nothing I can do, I’m going to be thankful that at least I was here to bear the brunt of this situation so someone else didn’t Then I’m going to give it up to God, so no one else has to hear about or deal with it.”
• “Unity consciousness does not send flashes of its being into this false variety. The Unity is always there, the reality. Yet the waves of our concept of variety washes over it, and so we only see the Unity, when the waves recede.
• This is one reason why it is important to avoid talking about your realizations with other seekers. It is none of their business and usually when we talk about spiritual experiences, it is only to validate the reality of what we have realized. Your realizations cannot be validated by projecting them into the lives of others. Your realizations are deeply personal.
• Throughout this 12-year process of discipleship, I came to an even greater realization about the guru. The guru is not limited to a single individual. Although, if our mind feels that is necessary, that will be our experience. The guru is in every breath and in every moment if we are consciously able to be aware of it. The guru can express through the voice of a child, through a passage in a book, through an uncomfortable experience, through a moment of silence or in any other manner necessary to quicken our inner work. This was a most liberating yet painful realization to have.