Our Favorite Contemplations - PDF Free Download

Life is God experiencing Him Self. This is the Source of all Pure Knowledge revealed in Silence, lived in Love. Relax in the arms of God. When we say that we give our life to God, Or that we keep our minds on God, It means remembering God as all people, All things and all circumstances of life. All of This is God. Giving your life to God, and keeping your mind on God, is to remember Him as All. If you give Me your mind, I will give you My heart. God s Will is all there is. So, what is God s Will for you? Look around you that s it. Just where you are right now. 2

No matter what we see, there is only a Loving Being Guiding all the circumstances of our lives. Love is the form that Silence takes in Life. One of the most inspiring truths in our Mystical tradition is that God is Living His Life through us, in us, and as us. As this becomes our inner reality there is only the deep sense that we are being held in the Arms of God. Faith is going beyond human knowing to the heart of Divine Love where there is only goodness and all things working according to a magnificent plan that only He can express. The perfect mystical prayer is to stand without desire before God in the Silence, and what will God do? He will take possession of us and isn t that the purpose of spiritual life? St. John of the Cross Love is the force that brings all things to Wholeness. Commitment is the container we pour our lives into. 3

Actually, none of us has any personal problems. We have only our own personal forms of the human problem, which is ultimately the problem of the separated self. All world teachers tell us that the cure of this sense of separation is the simple three-fold spiritual practice of: Using a Name of the Divine to immerse our awareness in the Omnipresent Silence. Contemplating the words of the Saints. Practicing the Presence of God by remembering: I AM Pure Spirit witnessing all of this as God. If God said, Rumi, pay homage to everything that has helped you enter My arms, there would be not one experience of my life, not one feeling, one thought, nor any act, I would not bow to. From Rumi, Pay Homage Remember, the mind cannot understand or control that which transcends it The Eternal Soul. 4

Nothing ever happens to us. Everything happens for us. Some Saints tell us that all that is necessary to realize God is FAITH and PATIENCE. FAITH is knowing that everything happens according to the Divine Plan. PATIENCE is the courage to endure and allow His Plan to be. The mind was made for science and philosophy, but not for the Mystery, the experience and understanding of the Ocean. The Mystery the Knowledge of God cannot be unlocked by pure reason or empirical observation. In the Heart of the Divine Presence, The mind finds its rightful place As the Soul dwells in Eternal Love. 5

The ego is not a thing or a part of us. It is a sense of separation from the Source. It is healed not by force but by Union. It is no more a subject of spirituality than disease would be a subject of health. Silence Speaks For I know the plans that I have for you. Plans for peace and not for calamity To give you a future and a hope. When you call upon me I will hear you. When you search for me you will find me, If you seek me with all of your heart! Jeremiah 29:11 Heaven on earth is not a utopia, But a state of seeing God in all things Because Consciousness is the only thing really Happening. Man never desires anything so earnestly as God desires to bring a man to Himself, that he may know Him. All things are designed for this knowing to occur. 6

Accepting our imperfections is an act of sacrifice and the process of sanctification in and of itself, and when we no longer dwell on self-imperfections, we are free to dwell on God! Man never desires anything so earnestly As God desires to bring a man to Himself, that he may know Him. All things are designed for this knowing to occur. The Sufis tell us that we are all born with a wounded heart. They tell us not to be too quick to heal that wound in the heart, because it is through the wound in the heart that God can enter and take possession of us once again! The Sun hears the fields talking about effort and the Sun smiles and whispers to me, Why don t the fields just rest, for I AM willing to do everything to help them grow? Rest, my dears, in prayer with Me. 7

Whatever is in your mind, forget it. Whatever is in your hand, give it. Whatever your fate, face it. Nothing short of the direct experience of God will ever complete our humanity or satisfy our needs for wholeness, fulfillment and joy. The Kingdom of Heaven is within. I was a Hidden Treasure. I longed to be known, So I created the World. The Sufi Path of Love Nothing is so like God as Silence. It s a lie any talk of God that does not comfort you. 8

Thou art Mine and I am thine: I am thine and thou art Mine, For I have chosen thee from all Eternity. Everything is grace because everything is God s gift. Whatever be the character of life or its unexpected events, to the heart that loves God, all is well. St. Theresa of Lisieux Perfect love for God presupposes perfect confidence in God s Will in everything. Faith is the mortal eyes seeing the Divine Hand in the play of life. Human initiative and Divine Intervention Emanate from the same source. 9

When Truth has taken hold of the heart, She empties it of all but Herself. Having burned down the forest of ignorance with the conviction I am Pure Consciousness, disregard all grief and be happy. Freedom is what you do with what s been done to you. How we respond to what happens to us is more important than what happens to us. One sincere person in meditation and prayer does more for the world than all the world leaders, humanitarians and politicians combined. Paramahansa Yogananda The human heart has a Beloved, it s first and only Love, and He is the object of its desire. We are seeking Him in all our seeking even when we betray Him, substituting for Him the myriad beauties of creation which He has set on our path to point us to Him, and kindle our desire for Him. 10

The Mystic is absent from himself and present with God. A Mystic is a day that needs no sun, a night that needs no moon or star, and a non-being that needs no being. A Mystic is self-reliant. The perfect Mystic is not an ecstatic devotee lost in contemplation of Oneness, not a saintly recluse shunning all commerce with mankind. But the true saint goes in and out amongst the people, and eats and sleeps with them, and buys and sells in the market, and marries and takes part in social intercourse, and never forgets God for a single moment. Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His Will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6 God is Love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. 1 John 4:16-17 11

SILENCE Silence vibrating is Creation. Silence flowing is Love. Silence shared is Friendship. Silence seen is Infinity. Silence heard is the Name of God. Silence expressed is Beauty. Silence maintained is Strength. Silence omitted is Suffering. Silence experienced is Peace. Silence recorded is Sacred Scripture. Silence given is Grace. Silence received is Joy. Silence perceived is Wisdom. Silence stabilized is Realization. Silence alone IS. Silence Speaks 12

Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28-29 Agape Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself, Love possesses not nor would it be possessed, For Love is sufficient unto Love. The Prophet The Prophet Preach the Gospel at all times; And when necessary, Use words. use words. St. Francis of Assisi You are pure, calm Spirit. It is time you remember who you are: The Blessed Soul, a reflection of Spirit. Paramahansa Yogananda 13

Just as a fire is covered by smoke And a mirror is obscured by dust Wisdom is hidden by selfish desire. The Bhagavad Gita So long as you think you have the least difference from God, fear will seize you, but when you have known that you are He, that there is no difference, entirely no difference, that you are He, all of Him, and the whole of Him, all fear ceases. Swami Vivekananda Better than knowledge is meditation. But better still is surrender of attachment to results, because there follows immediate peace. The Bhagavad Gita Meet the transient world with neither grasping nor fear; Trust the unfolding of life, and you will attain true serenity. The Bhagavad Gita Many are the names of God and infinite the forms that lead us to know Him. In whatsoever name or form you desire to call Him, in that very form and name you will see Him. Ramakrishna 14

When you realize how perfect everything is, You will tilt your head and laugh at the sky. The Buddha In prayer, come empty, do nothing. St. John of the Cross It is for us to make the effort. The result is always in God s hands. Mahatma Gandhi Meditation is not an escape from life, But preparation for really being in life. Thich Nhat Hanh God sees only Himself. Let things happen as they will. Our good lies only in meditating on Him. Shirdi Sai Baba 15

Everything on earth is of mixed character, like a mingling of sand and sugar. Be like the wise ant that seizes only the sugar, and leaves the sand untouched. Babaji, in Autobiography of a Yogi Loving God first means entering His vastness and becoming One with It. No longer do I have to think I am this little, limited human identity that s just who I AM witnessing. To be the Soul seems the most solid ground of all, the stable ground that allows what we really are to fly and flow everywhere, into everything. Anne Pelletier GOD The Noun ALL OF US The Adjectives (An adjective is a word that describes a noun. We are describing God!) Silence Speaks The Prayer of the Mystic: May God steal from me all that steals me from Him. Our who is not Jesus s who. We have the same what but the expression of the Principle of Love, must be different. Embrace it. Then you become empty of expectations for your self. The attention is off the self and all there is left is Him. Silence Speaks 16

The Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God s people should, how wide, how high, and how deep His Love is. Ephesians 3:17-18 Without Silence, we cannot hear anything. Paula O Brien Yeshua said: Blessed are you when they hate you and persecute you. There is a place where you are not persecuted that they will never find. The Gospel of Thomas Words are not always necessary in prayer. Continue doing what you think best, but with the understanding that He impels all effort. The success of failure of your effort is His. Do not attribute to yourself what is not yours. All is HIS. Because you attribute success to your efforts and failure to HIS indifference, you are tossed between pleasure and pain. 17

When everything is His, why should you be disappointed by failure or elated by success? Anasuya Devi Meditation without seeming results Is not a loss but a great gain. It teaches unselfish, unconditional love. St. Theresa of Avila As all the mental activities Like remembering, forgetting, desiring, hating, attracting, discarding, etc., Are modifications of the mind, they cannot be one s true state. Simple, changeless being is one s true nature. Ramana Maharshi Yeshua said: I will give you that which no eye has seen, No ear has heard, No hand has touched, And no human heart has conceived. The Gospel of Thomas 18

The desires of man are never satisfied, Because the heart of man is made for God. Thus says St. Augustine: Thou hast made us for Thee, O Lord, And our heart is restless until it rests in Thee. Thus, nothing less than God can satisfy the human heart. St. Thomas Aquinas Once you reach your destination and know your real nature, your existence becomes a blessing to all. You may not know, nor will the world know, yet the help radiates. There are people in the world who do more good than all the statesmen and philanthropists put together. They radiate light and peace with no intention or knowledge. When others tell them about the miracles they worked, they are also wonderstruck. Yet, taking nothing as their own, they are neither proud, nor do they crave for reputation. They are just unable to desire anything for themselves, not even the joy of helping others. Knowing that God is good, they are at peace. Nisargadatta It is in the nature of love to express itself, to affirm itself, to overcome difficulties. Once you have understood that the world is love in action, you will look at it quite differently. But first your attitude towards suffering must change. Suffering is primarily a call for attention, which itself is a movement of love. More than happiness, love wants growth, the widening and deepening of consciousness and being. Nisargatta 19

Sitting in meditation helps the consciousness to blossom. It causes deeper understanding and spontaneous change in behavior. These changes are brought about in the consciousness itself, not in the pseudo-personality. Forced changes are at the level of the mind. Mental and intellectual changes are totally unnatural and different from the ones that take place in the birth principle. These take place naturally, automatically, by themselves, due to meditation. Nisargatta Understand that it is not the individual which has consciousness; It is the consciousness which assumes innumerable forms. 20

I will never leave you or forsake you. Hebrews 13:5 You have not chosen me, I have chosen you. Go and bear fruit that will last. John 15:16 From the Sai Satcharita of Sai Baba of Shirdi One acts according to one s Nature and in keeping With God s Will. This is the essence of it all. What music it produces is no concern of the flute or the harmonium. The effort comes entirely from the Performer. Why then should I become miserable? 21

Dispel ignorance by Knowledge. However, the highest purpose of human existence Is to go beyond knowledge and ignorance And merge in the Pure Self. He alone is a great soul, who moves in the world, realizing that every living being, a saint or a sinner, is God Himself. The world may go topsy-turvy, but we should not falter. Sticking to our ground firmly, we should calmly watch the sport of this world. O God whatever object the eye falls upon Is but a form assumed by Yourself. How can I have an existence of individual identity apart from Him? For, my individual consciousness is but a tiny particle of His Consciousness, which fills the Universe. So that to surrender my ego at God s feet is my most complete service to Him. 22

I am nearest to all, and dwell in everybody s heart. I travel everywhere and am the Lord and Master of all. I fill this entire creation of beings, both animate and inanimate, and yet remain. All this is the Divine Scheme, in which I am the principal Manager of the strings. I am the Mother of this Universe and all the beings therein I alone provoke all the senses He who turns his attention to Me an have no difficulties, whatsoever. But he who forgets Me will be ruthlessly whipped by Maya. This visible world is My own manifestation, be it a worm or an ant, a pauper or a king. Nothing is independent of His Will. Nothing should frighten or grieve you. Let not your heart be disturbed. Do not fear sickness, nor any other sickness or anguish. Am I not here who is your Mother? Are you not under my protection? Am I not your health? Are you not happily within my fold? What else do you wish? Do not grieve nor be disturbed by anything. Our Lady of Guadalupe 23

When you love you should not say, God is in my heart, but rather, I am in the heart of God. Kahlil Gabran Inner Prayer of the Mystic I am a child of God allowing Divine Love and Intelligence to move and express in and through me. I know that the purpose of my life is to realize my true identity in God. All other values and endeavors are secondary distractions; comfortable, charming and sweet, but nonetheless traps of illusion which ultimately lead to more and more suffering. I embrace my life as a rare and special gift, an opportunity to practice spiritual teachings and break free from the strong ties of delusion and the pull of the material world through greater and greater levels of perspective. I know that everything that happened had to happen in just that way. There is a Divine Plan and everything is unfolding exactly as it should, nothing could have been done differently. Looking back, doubting and second guessing are poison to my understanding and peace of mind. I know that everything passes. Pleasure is the experience between two pains. I do my best. The results are up to God. God is living His life through me. The Divine takes care of His devotees everything is on plan. Silence Speaks 24

THREE GREAT STAND-ALONE PRINCIPLES: Commitment is the container that you pour your life into. Surrender has to do with acceptance of outcomes, While not letting go of the process. Spirituality is about identity, Not an action or an outer demeanor. Silence Speaks THE SERENITY PRAYER God grant me the serenity to accept the things that I cannot change The courage to change the things that I can, And the wisdom to know the difference. Surrender is letting go of the things that we have no control over. What do we have control over? Nothing! However, we do have great influence over our intention and process, The rest is up to a much bigger plan. Surrender draws Grace. Silence Speaks 25

Faith is knowing that everything comes to us from God to bring us back to Him. There is a Divine Plan that the human mind cannot fathom. The mind cannot understand That which transcends it. Anandamayi Ma Silence Speaks Nothing happens that is not an expression of God s Grace, verily, all is His Grace. Anchored in patience, enduring everything, abide by His Name and live joyously. In whatever circumstances you may be placed, reflect thus: It is all right, this was necessary for me; it is His way of drawing me close to His feet, and try to remain content. By Him alone should your heart be possessed. Lord, Thou hast been pleased to come to me in the form of sickness (or situation, etc). Grant me the strength to bear it, gird me with patience and give me the understanding that it is Thou who are dwelling with me in this guise. My heart knows you now, My Lord, And everything worldly has lost it s meaning. 26

Emotions and thoughts are not a measure of our inner state, nor are they from our inner state they are modulations of consciousness on the sea of existence to be witnessed but not claimed as one s very own. Give and give and give until there is nothing left but Him. Silence Speaks For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for You will remain. Isaiah 54:10 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater that the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God! 1 John 4:4-5 I have called you by name, You are Mine. Isaiah 43:1 27

Christ is engineering everything in our life so that we may meet Him. Silence Speaks Think not that I came to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword (discrimination). Matthew 10:34 No eye has seen nor has ear heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him. 1 Cor. 2:9 Trustful Surrender to the Divine Providence Surrender at its basis is doing what you need to do to get any result that has goodness, but when the effort is complete, do not be attached to the results. Prayer has no need to feeling in order to be of value. It consists solely in the movement of the will towards God, and by its nature this movement has nothing to do with feeling. Everyone in your life, every circumstance of your life, Each one of your thoughts, words, deeds, and actions Has come to you from God. Silence Speaks 28

The desire for God is God within us Desiring Himself. See nothing, look at nothing but your goal, ever shining before you. The things that happen to us do not matter; what we become through them does. Each day, accept everything as coming to you from God. At night, give everything back into His hands. Change no circumstances of my life. Change me. Sri Gyanamata The Ocean of Spirit has become the little bubble of my Soul. Whether floating in birth, or disappearing in death, in the ocean of cosmic awareness the bubble of my life cannot die. I am indestructible consciousness, protected in the bosom of Spirit s immortality. Paramahansa Yogananda Values determine our path in life, arrange our reality and dictate our potential. What is predominantly on your mind is a reflection of what is in your heart and where your heart is, is the direction your life follows. Anasuya Devi 29

Love is the power of evolution That completes the process of creation By bringing all things to their highest fulfillment In Union with the One. Life is always beautiful when you ve given it to God. Anne Pelletier My God, here I am. All Yours. Lord, make me according to your heart. Bro. Lawrence of the Resurrection 30

Giving our life to God Means Taking it As it comes. 31