1. “Trust in God and fear do not go together. When you trust in God you
know He gives you everything you need and takes away anything you don’t need.” If I could
have only one of his teachings, this one would be enough to sustain me through my entire life.
2. “Your first and foremost duty is to maintain your peace.” Every day things occur
to jar me out of my peace. By remembering this, I come back to center and give my attention to what is
really important. With peace we have everything and without we have nothing.
3. “You never get anything you don’t deserve, good or bad. Whatever comes to you is a
result of your past actions and its for your benefit and your education.” This jewel is so
powerful because it is saying that karma is not a punishment but it is for our benefit and education.
So, whatever happens is for my highest good. This helps me to maintain my peace and that leads into the
next jewel...
4. “Everyone is an agent of your karma. So do not cherish any ill feeling toward
anyone.” Instead of blaming others, I can recognize that they are messengers from God.
If they speak harshly or they do something unkind, we can recognize they are “agents” of
our karma. It is for our benefit.
5. “Truth is one, paths are many.” This helps me to have an open attitude toward
receiving the beauty and gifts of every path. Once you are grounded in one path, then you can enjoy the
beauty and fragrance of all the flowers in our spiritual bouquet. Integral Yoga
has “integration” at its root -- whatever spiritual path we choose, we have to integrate it and
make it our own. The best way to be established in peace is to go deeply into one practice.
6. “Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning is still holding a book. What does that say about
us?” This teaching makes me realize that there is no end to learning and I can always make
course corrections.
7. “It’s all His name, all His form, all His deed, all for good.” When things
don’t appear to be going the way my finite mind imagines they should, I throw up my hands and affirm
this teaching. It is a real key to maintaining one’s peace.
8. “When disturbed by negative thoughts, opposite [positive] ones should be thought
of.” This quote about pratipaksha bhavana is from Sri Gurudev’s
translation of the Yoga Sutras. It means that rather than wallowing in the darkness, bring in the
light. If I notice I am getting off track, immediately I implement this, replacing the negative thought or
mood with the opposite positive. If I feel out of sorts, the second I notice it, I can shift the energy in
a holy instant by bringing in gratitude, tuning into my mantra and bringing to mind Gurudev’s
teachings. Gratitude is one of the greatest energy shifters.
9. “Do your best and leave the rest.” I am a perfectionist, but there are times when
I have to let go. For example, I did everything possible to have my new book ready to present to my mother
in honor of her birthday. We both flew miles to be together at Yogaville for this occasion, and the printer
assured me the books would arrive on time. But, their equipment broke down and so they didn’t arrive
in time. At first I was very disappointed, but immediately, I took refuge in this teaching and found
comfort...
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