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From the May
2002 Daily Meditator
Sri Yukteswar
says we can't even put one foot in front of the other on the spiritual
path without "the awakening of the natural love of the heart."
How do you open your heart? How do you love God more and more? How
do you overcome feelings of dryness, or "I really don't feel
anything right now," or resistance to meditation? Here are
a few tried and true ways to develop devotion:
1) Yogananda
says: "Chanting is half the battle!" It's the #1 way to
develop devotion! Chant as much as possible. With a group. Alone.
Silently. Aloud. Any time you can remember to do it! A chant is
like an affirmation or a prayer set to music, and is often even
more powerful than an affirmation because it bypasses the brain
and goes straight to the heart. Even if you feel you have no musical
ability at all, chant anyway! Go to Kirtans (group chanting sessions).
Learn to play an instrument like the harmonium, guitar, electric
keyboard, or whatever and play and sing the chants. It's a perfect
way to lead yourself or others into a deeper meditation.
2) Practice
the presence of God. Take a walking meditation. Walk slowly and
deliberately and feel God in everything around you. Feel God walking,
breathing, and thinking through you, present in every cell. Walking
in nature is wonderful for this! Gradually extend this feeling to
every activity of every day.
3) Love the
God within others. Forget and forgive their personality quirks and
disorders - go beyond that and perceive their soul, which is ever
perfect and pure in every way. You don't need to love their actions
or how they are behaving, but you can love their pure essence. This
is the beginning stage of divine unconditional love for all! Pray
for people all the time. Learn how to do healing prayers and do
them regularly. If you feel you simply can't love somebody or forgive
him, ask God to do it for you.
4) Feel yourself
to be a part of everything and everyone. This is the truth - all
is one! Yogananda says: "It's not 'love thy neighbor as thyself.'
Rather it's 'love thy neighbor for he is thyself!'" Extend
your love beyond just loving people to loving all creatures, all
creation.
5) Selfless
service. Never go to work again. "X" out the word "work"
from your vocabulary and your consciousness and substitute the word
"service." Service is purifying and uplifting and opens
the heart perfectly and naturally. You forget the little self in
offering your energy to others or to a cause greater than yourself.
This is a great way to develop love and devotion.
6) Transmute
emotions into devotion. Good or bad, emotions are just energy. And
energy can always be re-directed. When you perceive the stirring
of emotion in your heart (at the heart chakra) offer it up the spine
from the heart to the spiritual eye at the point between the eyebrows.
Keep the energy firmly fixed there for a while and then offer it
all to God.
7) Live in joy,
not sorrow. It's your choice. Choose to love in a divine, unconditional
unselfish way as much as possible. Meditation with love and devotion
cannot fail, in the long run, to bring you bliss everlasting and
final union with God, who is love. Master says: "Kriya Yoga
and devotion - together, they work like mathematics; they cannot
fail!"
8) Meditate
on this statement by a great saint: "If you knew how much God
loves you, you would die for joy." Then take that love and
offer it to everyone you meet. Pray this simple prayer as often
as you can remember to do so: "Divine Mother, awaken your love
within me, and then let me awaken that love in all!"
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