Practicing Gratitude
It’s easy to be grateful when things are going well, but when we’re struggling, it can be hard to access even the possibility of gratitude. At those times it may be hard to see anything to be grateful for. When…
Yoga and Living in the World
An ongoing theme that has come up regularly during yoga retreats over the years: How can I do all these practices I learned at the retreat when I go back to my regular life, usually called “the real world ”?…
Turning Inward
Each season (of nature, of life) brings its own beauty. Later this month marks the official beginning of winter, although we’ve been moving toward winter for several weeks. In this part of the world, the days have become shorter and…
Tolerance, Compassion and Contentment
About forty years ago, I wrote a letter to Babaji complaining about someone in my life (my husband), and asked what I should do. In his response, he told me to practice tolerance, compassion and contentment. I sort of understood,…
Honouring the Teacher
At this time of year, with Canadian thanksgiving in October and American thanksgiving in November, the theme of thankfulness is in the air. The recent change in Babaji’s health (see Baba Hari Dass updates on SSCY’s website) is an additional…
Living in Community
As mentioned in this month’s Centre update, the subject of community is in the air. In the many years since Dharma Sara Satsang Society began forming as a community, we have learned a lot about what makes a community work…
It’s not what’s happening, it’s how you respond
Babaji has written, “Accepting the present is happiness.” Although we may understand this on some level, some of the time, very often we want things to be different from how they are right now. If it’s unpleasant, we want it…
Regular Sadhana (Spiritual Practice)
Over the course of many years Babaji has often responded to students’ anxious questions with the recommendation to do regular sadhana, later shortened on his chalkboard to RS. Sadhana, or spiritual practice, comes in many forms. Many people have a…
Inspiration and Gratitude
Having just returned from Mount Madonna Center - the Salt Spring Centre’s big sister centre - to celebrate Babaji’s 90th birthday and to connect with many, many brothers and sisters in our satsang family, I am struck by the precious…
Developing Positive Qualities
Shakespeare said, “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.” We may understand this as an intellectual concept, but it’s not how we usually live our lives. We have some very strong preferences (in itself not…