Let there be light!Sunburst is dedicated to personal and planetary awakening through spiritual practice, conscious living and sustainable Earth stewardship. May our publication offer you inspiration and community along the path of Self-realization.

March 2011

Seeds of Meditation

A small body

of determined spirits,

fired by

an unquenchable

faith in their mission,

can alter

the course of history.

–Gandhi

Imagination and WillNorman Paulsen

The greater the will, the greater the flow of energy.

– Paramahansa Yogananda

The whole creation is divine imagination made visible by thought, will and life. Each one of us is a designer, equipped by God with the gift of imagination. By using this gift, you can create seed images in the field of power around you. These images will take root and appear in time. This is the sowing and the reaping. Consider it an act of faith, that what you plant will grow.

Whatever you sow in thought, be it for good or for ill, becomes visible to you in the future. As you think and desire, and desire and think, the future is written and the past is erased. By concentration and willpower, you can set forth images impregnated with life force. These images will draw you in their direction like iron filings to a magnet, like a moth to the flame.

How do you know what images to put forth? By opening up your limited imagination to the unlimited creative will of the Divine. Divine intervention in your life creates inspiration. Inspiration excites imagination. Imagination seeds the future. The future becomes visible in time. Reach with your consciousness into the future. You can induce the power of Spirit to descend into you when your projections are for the benefit of all beings.

Begin by planting the seeds of illumination to arrive in your near future. This is your inheritance! You may be surrounded now by imperfections, mind-produced images that have arisen from non-virtuous actions. Do not be discouraged. These images can be shattered and transmuted in deep meditation.

To begin the practice of positive projection, you have to be patient and receptive. It is like an infant child—if nourished, it will grow. Meditation every morning and evening will water the seeds that you want to see grow. Through practice, you will generate the force to create and manifest images.

As you gain mastery of your own life,

You, the infinite soul, the son or daughter of God,Will have all the forces in creation behind you.

You can use this divine force to help, to heal, to console.You can put it all in your heart and experience ecstasy.

As long as you use this force for good, you will be happy.

Your word is Spirit in you. Spoken words are sounds occasioned by the vibration of thoughts; thoughts are vibra-tions sent forth by the ego or by the soul. Let every word you utter be potent with soul vibration. Your words are lifeless if you fail to impregnate them with spiritual force. Talkativeness, exaggeration, or falsehood make your words as ineffective as paper bullets shot from a toy gun. The speech or prayers of garrulous or inaccurate persons are unlikely to produce beneficial changes in the order of things. Let your words represent not only truth but also your definite understand-ing and realization. Speech without soul force is like husks without corn.

Words saturated with sincerity, conviction, faith and intuition are like highly explosive vibration bombs which, when set off, shatter the rocks of difficulty and create the change desired. Avoid speaking unpleasant words, even if true. Sincere words—affirmations repeated understandingly, feelingly, and willingly—are sure to move the omnipresent cosmic vibratory force to render aid in your difficulty. Appeal to that Power with infinite confidence, casting out all doubt; otherwise the arrow of your attention will be deflected from its mark.

After you have sown in the soil of Cosmic consciousness your vibratory prayer-seed, do not pluck it out frequently to see whether or not it has germinated. Give the divine forces a chance to work uninterruptedly.

As you utter prayers or affirmations, always believe that you are using your own but God-given powers to heal yourself or others. ask God’s aid; but realize that you yourself, as God’s beloved child, are employing the divine gifts of will, emotion, and reason to solve all difficult problems of life. A balance should be struck between the medieval idea of wholly depending on God and the modern way of sole reliance on the ego.

Declarations of Truth should be practiced willingly, feelingly, intelligently, and devotionally. One’s attention should not be allowed to lag. Straying attention must be brought back again and again like a truant child and patiently trained to perform its given task.

The Power of AffirmationParamahansa Yogananda, adapted from Scientific Healing Affirmations All affirmations, in order to reach the superconscious, must

be free from uncertainties and doubts. Attention and faith are lights that lead even imperfectly understood affirmations to the subconscious and superconscious minds.

Patience and attentive, intelligent repetition are wonder-workers. Affirmations for curing chronic mental or bodily afflictions should be repeated often, deeply and continuously (utterly ignoring unchanged or contrary con-ditions, if any), until they become part of one’s profound intuitional convictions. It is better to die, if death has to come, with the conviction of perfect health than the thought that a mental or physical ailment is incurable. Though death may be the necessary end of the body according to present human

knowledge, still its destined hour may be changed by the power of the soul.

Choose your affirmation and repeat all of it, first loudly, then softly and more

slowly, until your voice becomes a whisper. Then gradually affirm it mentally only, without moving the tongue or lips, until you feel you have attained deep, unbroken concentration—not unconsciousness, but a profound continuity of uninterrupted thoughts.

The five stages of chanting are: conscious loud chanting, whisper chanting, mental chanting, subconscious chant- ing, and superconscious chanting. Superconscious chanting results when deep

internal chanting vibrations are converted into realization and are established in the

conscious, subconscious and superconscious minds. Holding the attention uninterruptedly on the true

cosmic vibration (Aum or Amen), not on an imaginary sound, is superconscious chanting.

When you are passing from one stage of chanting to another, the attitude of the mind also will change and become deeper and more concentrated. The aim is to unite the chanter, the chant, and the process of chanting into one.

Thought is infinite. Every word represents an ideal conception of the Infinite because behind every word and thought there is a manifestation of the Infinite. Many waves of thought are dancing in the waves of consciousness, but behind that there is the great unceasing ocean of Truth. To the one who has opened their inner eyes, everything is One. In the inner sanctum of your heart there is one power, one joy, one peace—and that is God.

Sunburst TempleJohn McCaughey

Progress on the new Sunburst Temple is moving forward. The dimensions of the building are based on sacred geometric proportions [kudos to Craig Hanson]. The stained glass windows are an artistic rendering of the Cosmogonic Diagram. We chose an ultra-green heating system that uses practically no power. Recycled warm water circulates under the floor. This system is noiseless and very harmonious with quiet meditation.

Our general contractor [yours truly] is pushing hard for a May 15th grand opening. The weather resistant roof should allow us to move ahead as fast as our team can go. Because it is a temple and will be such a big part of our lives, we have been thoughtful about what materials are used and how we use them. This process has been slow, but is best in the long run.

Come by any time to see for yourself what is happening at Sunburst Sanctuary. Every Sunday many people gather for the 10:30 morning service. You may want to be part of Sunburst’s Spring Renewal (April 22-24), a special time at the Sanctuary.

Loving KindnessA Buddhist Meditation

The Loving Kindness meditation practice helps us to bring more harmony into our relationships with ourselves and others, so that we experience fewer conflicts and resolve existing difficulties while deepening our connections with people. It helps us to overcome anger, resentment, and hurt.

This practice helps us to be more empathetic and to be more considerate, kind, patient and forgiving. We can also learn to appreciate others more, concentrating more on their positive qualities and less on their faults.

With this meditation, we also cultivate loving kindness towards ourselves, so that we experience less internal conflict and learn to appreciate ourselves more.

To start, sit comfortably, quiet your mind, and say to yourself:

May I be free from fear.May I be free from suffering.May I be happy.May I be filled with loving-kindness.

Next, focus on someone you love and say the same prayer on that person’s behalf.

May you be free from fear.May you be free from suffering.May you be happy.May you be filled with loving kindness.

Then pray in the same way for a neu-tral person, someone you don’t know.

Then pray for someone you dislike. In doing so, you nourish the seeds of kind-ness and love in yourself and then let it radiate outward.

Finally, pray for the wellbeing of the whole world, finishing with:

May all people everywhere be happy, and filled with loving kindness.

PO Box 2008Buellton CA 93427

©2011 Sunburst Church of Self Realization • 805.736.6528 • www.SunburstOnline.org • ContactUs@SunburstOnline.org

If you don’t know where you are going, then how will you get there?

Visualize! Make pictures in your mind. See the destination. Imagine your arrival.

Dream in perfect detail. See yourself the way you want to be when you arrive.

See yourself arriving. Make yourself a road map and study it every day

until you know the way and the destination by heart. – Bryce Courtenay

A Purposeful Life Author and motivational speaker Shawn Anderson dedicated himself to empowering

a million people to lead a more passionate and purposeful existence. In an article called “The Outrageous Hour” he suggests brainstorming for positive projections:

Sunburst EventsCelebrate lifefri. – Sun., feb. 25 - 27 & Mar. 25 - 27fri. – Sun., May 27 - 29 & June 24 - 26Relax - Renew - RechargeEnjoy gentle yoga, meditation, inspira-tional sharing, nourishing meals, evening devotional jam session. Meals and some activities by donation; please call ahead.

Spring renewal *friday – Sunday, april 22 - 24Energize and renew body, mind and soul with guided meditations, gentle yoga, nourishing meals, music and fellowship.

KarMa yoga prograM *July 18 – July 31 & Sept. 2 -16Experience life at Sunburst. Participate in group meditations, daily service, and enriching classes in spiritual practice and conscious living.

awaKen the light within *thurSday, July 29 – Sunday, aug. 1Learn Sunburst Kriya MeditationDiscover the healing power of your own personal relationship with the Divine.

perSonal retreat ** Please call for more information and

suggested donations. Reserve early!

Meditation ServiCeS SundayS at 10:30 a.m.Please call regarding childcare.

I believe the great majority of us would love to know that our lives matter. “What positive difference am I making with my life?” It’s a good question to ask now… if only to avoid regrets later.

Dr. Anthony Campolo asked fifty people over the age of 95:

If you could live your life over again, what would you do differently?

The top three answers he received: 1. “I would reflect more.” 2. “I would risk more.” 3. “I would do more things that would live on after I am dead.” First…let’s cross our fingers and

hope we make it to 95. Second…let’s understand that the time to guard against future regrets is NOW.