“The stream of spiritual transformation often flows underground, as we are being remade in the depths of our being. We may sense only darkness on the surface, aridity that challenges our faith. Consider that at such times we are being shaped by love and enlarged in trust.”
— Yogacharya Ellen Grace O’Brian
As part of my profession, I have the honor and blessing of working alongside beautiful families in our community. I am noticing in others and within my own home that many are experiencing what I am referring to as Covid fatigue. It expresses itself in a myriad of ways as we try to balance our need for health and wellbeing, connection, and right livelihood to provide for ourselves and those we love.
In Yoga philosophy, there is the Sanskrit term Maya that refers to the dance between ultimate reality and nature herself. Maya is often translated as the veil of illusion and references the manifest world as we experience it through our senses. In other words, we become so absorbed in the changing nature of life itself, that we mistake our very essence of being for that which occurs within and around us. The mental and emotional field can become so clouded that we no longer have access to the inherent peace and radiance of our very being.
The Guru’s in our lineage of Kriya Yoga often speak metaphorically of the expansive ocean of pure consciousness itself. Like waves on the ocean of Spirit, we are unique expressions of the sheer power and presence that brings all things into creation. In recent days, I have been captivated by the immense waves showing themselves on the central coast. The thunderous sound and magnitude of the waves that have crashed upon our shores, awoke something within me.
I am reminded that the very ground of our being is a reflection of the omnipresent force that supports and sustains all of life. This force within us has the power to bring all things into balance and harmony just as the tides shift along the shore. I invite you to tend to your daily practice, and intend to meditate super-consciously, above or beyond our ordinary waking state, to allow the veil of illusion to lift so we may directly experience the divine ocean of bliss.
Rev. Julie Hitchcock