Images in this issue courtesy of Pixabay except as noted
Dear Friends and Supporters of “The Dawning Light”….
Before we get started on today’s story, I want to share that we are setting out on another daring life adventure by RE OPENING our STILL MOUNTAIN MEDITATION CENTER this Sunday, August 25th, 2024 with the launching of a new ongoing weekly on line and in person program that we call SUNDAY MORNING SATSANG.
This program’s purpose is to inspire, uplift and empower you through a weekly Dharma talk, meditation training and practice and a soulful Mantrasong kirtan led by Chinmayan in our beautiful meditation hall (or Zoom room) in fellowship with others who are walking their own spiritual paths.
Everything we are offering in this program is intended to help you up level your life…with simple spiritual practices that you will love and can immediately apply to your daily life.
There is more information at the end of this story…or Direct Message me for our information and registration package!
LIFE IS MEANT TO BE A DARING ADVENTURE
In Answer to the Calling Of Our Hearts
This story is my response to a question from a reader about my poem “In Search of My Heart and Soul’s Destiny”, which you can read here:
” I wonder what happened since as the poem is from 1986. Did that vision materialize?”
Yes, it has in unimaginably wonderful ways!
Consciously choosing to move out in pursuit of my destiny set off a cascade of dramatic changes and blessings which have continued to blossom and expand throughout my life ever since.
The lesson for me always is —-that when it's time to make great and positive changes, which are usually as scary as jumping out of an airplane, that I have to have enough faith in myself and the Divine to make the jump.
I must gather my courage to make the jump anyway because I feel the calling to do so…and, as long as I am acting in alignment with my inner guidance, these jumps have always led to a greater life and paradigm which is far better than anything I could have imagined…or planned.
I have learned that “playing it safe” and “staying within my comfort zone” and listening to friends or family who tell me I am crazy and “wake up and be real” is a formula for stagnation when the internal calling for change is clear and confirmed.
Life is a precious adventure of constant growth and change…and I have promised myself that when it gets to my last day on earth, that I will not suffer from regrets over not doing what I was called to do.
My teachers often said that if your dreams and goals and aspirations for your life do not scare you, then they are not big enough and that this precious life is a limited time opportunity to be used to the fullest and not wasted…
This does not mean jumping blindly or carelessly or with knee jerk stupidity.
I pray through to be sure of the calling and I take grounded, practical steps to carefully prepare for it…
and then when I launch, I am monitoring the process very mindfully and consciously, paying attention to every nuance and detail…
like a sailor taking his boat through a hurricane with all hatches battened, everything stowed and applying all my experience, knowledge and skill to make it through to the beautiful new world on the other side….
I believe every one of us was sent here to do great things which benefit ourselves, our beloveds and the world…
and that that call is on our hearts as we live our daily lives….
and one of the tragedies for humanity is that most of us are unaware of the calling or ignore it as a pointless dream or give up on fulfilling it…
That is why my being absolutely committed and determined is so important.
Otherwise, we will be stopped or sidetracked by the obstacles, challenges and problems which will inevitably arise as we seek to fulfill our purpose and the goals and steps that must be accomplished along the way.
Nothing great was ever accomplished without having to overcome tremendous obstacles and difficulties that arose in the process.
It is dealing with the obstacles and turning them into stepping stones on the path to fulfillment that transforms us into the great men and women we are meant and called to be.
I have seen repeatedly that victory comes to those who refuse to quit and who believe in their dream even when no one else does.
For myself though, answering the inner calling is my passion and greatest pleasure…and I will be living my life as the grand adventure and precious opportunity it really is until my very last breath for this is the source of my great Love and joy.
Here are a few of my favorite LIGHTNING BOLTS OF WISDOM QUOTES about the power of refusing to give in and give up on your dreams:
“Perseverance furthers…” —Lao Tzu
“Life is either a bold adventure…or nothing!” — Helen Keller
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” —Eleanor Roosevelt
“When the going gets tough, the tough get going!”
“I ‘d rather attempt to do something great and fail than attempt to do nothing and succeed.” —Robert Schuller
“Don’t quit just before the miracle you’ve been praying for happens!” —Chinmayan
STILL MOUNTAIN DHARMA CENTER
INNER RESOURCE INSTITUTE
Authentic Meditation Training and Practical Spirituality
ANNOUNCING the REOPENING of our STILL MOUNTAIN MEDITATION CENTER and LAUNCHING NEW PROGRAMS…
We are launching our “SUNDAY MORNING SATSANG”…
our first regular weekly program since Covid, on Sunday, August 25th, 2024 at 10:30 am to Noon PDT….
YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN US either online (Via Zoom)…
or in person at our Center located in a beautiful mountain valley near Willits, in rural Northern California for:
**A Dharma Talk by Chinmayan on “How to Cultivate Peace of Mind and Lasting Inner Joy”, with simple principles that you can immediately apply to transform your own life for better relationships and personal satisfaction…
**Introduction to Shamatha “Tranquility” Meditation with instruction and guided group practice…Even five minutes of daily practice of this simple meditation will give you lasting positive and pleasurable results!
**Mantrasong Kirtan session, led by Chinmayan, of singing and chanting the blissful heart opening Mantra of Love and Compassion
Please Direct Message us here for more information and to register!
Image courtesy of Pixabay
LEARN TO MEDITATE and DEVELOP YOUR OWN INNER SANCTUARY OF EVER GROWING AWARENESS, MINDFULNESS, PEACE and JOY!
Join with us in this very special course that will enthrall and inspire you while giving you absolutely everything you need to develop your own effective and soul satisfying personal meditation practice that you will love and want to do every day because of its blissful benefits….This course was created and is taught by Chinmayan, who was trained by some of the greatest meditation masters of our time…and who has taught authentic meditation and practical spiritual principles for forty years.
Our Sunday Satsang is offered every week, and is led by Chinmayan Yeshe Gyamtso (whose name means “Embodiment of Pure Consciousness”) who is a senior disciple of Kalu Rinpoche and the 16th Karmapa since 1972 and Mata Amritanandamayi, known around the world as “Amma”, since 1987…who has also trained with Dilgo Kyentse Rinpoche, Baker Roshi, Paramahansa Yogananda, Neem Karoli Baba and other great realized meditation masters…
The 16th Gyalwa Karmapa…
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE WITH US TODAY!
This is the WEEKDAY edition of THE DAWNING LIGHT # 1122
Our FREE version of our “Daily Journal of Transformational Writing”
SPIRITUAL SOUP KITCHEN Section # 195…Stories written by Chinmayan to nurture and nourish your heart, mind and spirit with simple things you can use to improve your life, relationships and happiness
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Thank you for joining us on this journey to greater love and life!
“Remember, dear ones, that every new morning is a new opportunity with nearly unlimited potential for you to make significant progress towards fulfilling the dreams on your heart…and remind yourself that quitting when its rough and challenging guarantees that you fail, but that victory will certainly be yours by refusing to give in and give up…and that all the great things that have ever been accomplished by anyone was done through facing and overcoming all the obstacles which arose during the doing of it.”
—Yeshe Gyamtso
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