Spiritual Teachings for Our Times
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About this ebook
In Spiritual Teachings for Our Times you will find truths from saviors, saints and sages that will be new to most people living in the West. They are based on experience rather than conjecture, and they expand our understanding of spiritual reality. They show us that in essence we are perfect, created in the image of God, and how to penetrate the veil that keeps us from experiencing the light and love within us. The teachings in this book will help you to love yourself and others, learning from your mistakes and forgiving your own and others’ errors in the past. You will find techniques that relax the nervous system, calm the mind and facilitate meditation, constructive ways of thinking that will help you find peace, joy and contentment within, and many suggestions for improving physical well-being.
Spiritual Teachings for Our Times begins by describing the nature of the Self—the immortal essence of the soul—and God. It then presents considerable information on the principles, practices and benefits of the sacred science of yoga, which the author wrote for a college course in yoga that he taught for many years. Next there are articles that explain some of the disciplines and meditation techniques of yoga, and first-hand accounts of how the yoga teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda and the postures of hatha yoga were introduced to a wider audience in Michigan in the 1960s.
Following this, you will find articles on intuition, the power of love, the origin of the ego, free will, the meaning of the Garden of Eden story, communicating with beings in spirit, prophecy, the return of Jesus and many other spiritual subjects, and evaluations of some current metaphysical teachings.
In addition to ancient teachings from the East, this book includes teachings about love, oneness, the ego and duality that have been given to us by Jesus in our time through those he has chosen to receive and publish his words. Although the teaching of oneness is found in the ancient scriptures of India, it will be new to most people living in the West. And while very few of his listeners would have understood oneness 2,000 years ago, human consciousness is now more developed, and today more people can grasp its meaning. Those who revere and worship Jesus will be amazed and blessed when they realize that, in addition to all that he has done for humanity, he is now giving us new truths and guidance as we enter an era of greater spiritual awareness in a world that is vastly different than it was when he lived on earth.
George Johnston
George Johnston graduated from Yale University, where he majored in philosophy hoping to find truth and deeper meaning in life. Then in 1962 he began to practice meditation and to read the spiritual writings of Paramahansa Yogananda. Through attunement with Yogananda, meditation and the teachings of yoga, which are rooted in experience of God and not based on speculation, he found what he was searching for. He began to teach the sacred science of yoga, lead meditations, and teach the postures of hatha yoga, which he has done for over fifty years. George and his wife, Mary Ann, lived in the Clear Light Community at Song of the Morning Retreat from 2001 until 2016, when they moved to Onekama, Michigan. In 2002, Jesus, accompanied by four other masters, appeared to Mary Ann in ethereal light and form and, while mentally conversing with her, informed her that she should write books about her experiences. For several years, they discussed a wide variety of topics, and in answering her questions, Jesus gave her much information for humanity. She has written three books that contain his guidance for individual, social and national well-being, as well as profound truths about God, the astral and causal realms, karma and reincarnation, heaven and salvation, oneness, and the divinity within the soul. George’s free ebook, Spiritual Teachings for Our Times, is based primarily on spiritual truths in Yogananda’s writings and those received from Jesus by Mary Ann and two other authors who have received messages from him. Many of these truths were taught thousands of years ago by Krishna and Hindu sages and some by Buddha. In early Christianity some were accepted, and some are also found in the writings of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, who described the union of the soul with God. By reading and contemplating Yogananda’s writings and Jesus’ new teachings, the true meaning of Jesus’ words in scripture and those of other saviors becomes apparent, and misconceptions that in the past have caused discord and even war between followers of different religions are dispelled. George hopes that all who follow different spiritual and religious paths will study Jesus’ new teachings, come to understand and accept them, and that the creeds and beliefs of various religions will eventually be modified to more accurately reflect reality and thus shine as individual facets of the one diamond of universal truth. As we enter an age of greater love and deeper understanding of spiritual truth, we are greatly blessed that new teachings from Jesus, the writings of Yogananda, and the divine presence of Babaji and other masters who are here on earth have been given to us to open our hearts and minds and guide us. Their inspiring words address our spiritual and material needs as individuals and nations in this modern world of rapid technological and social change.
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Spiritual Teachings for Our Times - George Johnston
SPIRITUAL TEACHINGS FOR OUR TIMES
By George O. Johnston
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Published by
George O. Johnston at Smashwords
© 2012-2018 by George O. Johnston
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This publication is a free ebook.
It may be reproduced or transmitted without written permission and may be shared with others free of charge.
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Revised by the author 2018
Table of Contents
Author’s Note
Article One The Self and God
Article Two A Course in Yoga
Article Three Yoga in Detroit in the Sixties
Article Four Finding God within—the Path of Yoga
Article Five Yogacharya’s Sayings and Way of Teaching
Article Six Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: Action (Kriya
) Yoga
Article Seven Meditation Techniques and Hatha Yoga Benefits
Article Eight Alternate Nostril and Bhramari Breathing
Article Nine Cultivating Intuition
Article Ten Happiness
Article Eleven Delusion, Ego, and Free Will
Article Twelve Pain and Suffering
Article Thirteen The Meaning of the Garden of Eden Story
Article Fourteen Channeling, Visitations, and New Teachings from Jesus
Article Fifteen Religion in Transition
Article Sixteen The Spiritual Return of Jesus
Article Seventeen Sin and Evil
Article Eighteen False Concepts in Conversations with God.
Article Nineteen Is A Course of Love Truth or Falsehood?
Article Twenty Is The Disappearance of the Universe a Valid Interpretation of ACIM?
George and Mary Ann Johnston, Website, Mary Ann’s three books
Author’s Note:
In this book you will find all of my articles on spiritual teachings, some of my poems, and reviews of metaphysical books. I am grateful for the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda and Jesus, which have profoundly shaped my life and beliefs. Jesus has communicated with devotees ever since his resurrection and in our time has given new teachings
to people who could receive and faithfully record them for the benefit of those who wish to read and contemplate them. These teachings of truth, hope and guidance for our times are priceless, and some of them are in this book. Please keep in mind that not all messages from the other side of the veil are true. Some are false and are intended to deceive. However, I have good reason to believe that the messages received by my wife, Mary Ann Johnston, Helen Schucman, Alexander Soltys Jones and a number of others are from Jesus and not some entity posing as Jesus. In our time, this great master is addressing misconceptions and false beliefs that have been held by the Church for about fifteen centuries and is introducing humanity to concepts that very few people would have understood when he walked the earth. And Yogananda also has corrected misconceptions, and misinterpretations of Jesus’ words, spoken in Aramaic, and has brought to the West ancient teachings from the East.
Article One
The Self and God
The Nirvana Sutra
Just before he passed on, the Buddha spoke to a multitude in a discourse called the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, or simply the Nirvana Sutra, in which he explained that his earlier teachings about non-Self and emptiness were preliminary teachings designed to free one from associating transient phenomena with Reality, which is permanent and eternal. In this sutra, he tells his students that they needed to come to the realization that the body and its experiences of ever-changing phenomena are not real, and he is now giving them the ultimate truth: the Self is Reality (tattva), the Self is permanent (nitya), the Self is virtue (guna), the Self is eternal (sasvata), the Self is stable (dhruva), the Self is peace (siva).
It is within us, but we are not aware of it.
Only by transcending thoughts and ordinary emotions, living a moral life, and meditating can the Self be seen. It is the realm of nirvana and shines within each person’s soul.
For further information on the Nirvana Sutra and the Self (Atman):
www.nirvanasutra.net
Know Thy Self
The advice Know thy Self
tells us what we should do if we want to know God. For, in knowing the higher Self, one knows God as the Infinite Love, Light, Peace, and Joy in whom all things are united as one. To realize the infinite Self is to experience God’s omnipresence in the universe. The Self already is consciously united with God, and when one becomes enlightened and realizes the Self, one experiences God. By living the truths taught by those who know the Self, one becomes more aware of the Self, and the illusion of separation from God gradually disappears. In time, one experiences the infinite bliss and omnipresence of the Self and God.
What is the Self that seekers seek to know? One might say it is neither the physical body, the astral body of energies, feelings and thought, nor the causal body, which is of and beyond thought as we know it, because these vehicles are usually abandoned as one becomes more and more enlightened. Yet, the Self is one with everything—and that includes its bodies, as well as all of creation. The Self is the soul, in the highest sense of the word soul.
It is infinite, and lives forever in the eternal present beyond time. Still, it is one with everything existing in time and space, and is, therefore, omnipresent. The Self cannot be adequately described in human language because words can only hint at its glory. Nevertheless, enlightened masters have spoken of or written about the Self—using terms such as unconditional love,
the light of God
and divine bliss
—knowing that some people would understand what they meant. In fact, to the extent that we comprehend our oneness with everything, and the divine peace, love, light and joy within us, we do understand the Self.
What keeps us from knowing the Self in the fullness of its glory? The mortal self, or ego. Ego
is a term that represents the mental processes that make us think we are separate from God. It is the ego that judges, compares, and keeps us in a state of fear, entranced with illusions of duality. It causes us to think we are a body and to be attached to possessions. It causes us to be angry when others do not agree with us. The ego has been with us for a very long time, but it does not exist forever. It can be removed from one’s mind by spiritual practices, such as meditating on God, serving others unselfishly, contemplating the teachings of enlightened masters, and loving others unconditionally.
As one becomes less and less influenced by ego-consciousness, one becomes more and more filled with love and light. Wisdom increases, fear decreases, and one indulges less in defensive mental mechanisms, such as projecting one’s own faults on others. By binding us to illusions, the ego keeps us ignorant of spiritual reality, but it cannot withstand the power of truth. By constant effort to live in truth and love and by following the inner, intuitive guidance of Spirit, its influence over us is weakened and eventually we are freed from its grip. The ego is the last thing to go before one is able to fully realize the Self. After it is gone, it is seen as an illusion, but until it is finally overcome, it keeps us from seeing everything as one, unified in God.
Enlightened masters, while on earth, experience the Self in ecstatic trances or in the nirvikalpa samadhi state. This is the state of consciousness of one who has advanced beyond the need to be immobile and in a trance in order to realize the Self as blissful, omnipresent consciousness, one with all that is. The teachings about the Self presented in this book are based on what enlightened beings have said about it. Keep in mind that we are made in the image and likeness
of God, and the attributes of the Self are attributes of God.
The Self is divine love—unconditional, pure, and holy. In its ultimate grandeur and glory, this love is incomprehensible to the ordinary human being, for it is the power that runs the universe. But many of us know something about it because it is what we, in essence, are, and we glimpse its nature when our ego defenses are down and our hearts open up. Divine love is felt in the sacred heart, or heart chakra, a non-physical, spiritual center located in the dorsal spine. Through deep meditation, holiness and purity, one can enter the silent sanctuary of the sacred heart. There, in the pristine Garden of Eden
of Spirit consciousness, undisturbed by human desires and body consciousness, a seeker who perseveres will someday realize the infinite nature of the Self.
Divine love is given without any strings attached, from one’s very being. It is, by far, the greatest power we possess, although this truth seems strange to those who think of power only as a physical agency. Divine love creates things, changes situations, promotes harmony, engenders forgiveness, elevates consciousness, heals emotional wounds, energizes the body, resolves disputes, attracts people to each other, reveals God, and brings peace, contentment, better health, and joy into our lives.
The love that a soul expresses during its incarnation in a particular body attracts light to that soul. This light remains with the soul, energizes its body, and stays with the soul after the body dies. If one lives an unloving life, this light dims, but that soul can shine brightly again by living in love. The light of the soul heals, strengthens, and sustains the body. It is life force.
Each soul is unique, and its individuality may be experienced as the quality of divine love coming from a person. Just think: There are billions of human beings on earth alone, not to speak of the rest of the universe, and each soul is a unique expression of love, just as each of the countless snowflakes falling to earth from above is a unique expression of beauty! Those who are attuned to oneness experience God’s individual expressions of love and beauty, not in a dualistic way, as sharply contrasted with each other, but as unified in oneness, as part of the One. In Messages from Jesus by Mary Ann Johnston, Jesus says, The majority of mankind defines their selves as separate, instead of unified in reality in the eternal now. As individuals become more attuned to all as one, they will attract more and more individuals to this realization.
The ultimate experience of wholeness is oneness, or unity, with all that is. We can feel oneness with something—the sky, a rose, a friend—but, ultimately, wholeness means oneness with everything, with all that is. Such wholeness is the nature of God as the One. The Hindu scriptures speak of the One without a second. This is a way of speaking of God—such wholeness that nothing exists beyond it. In experiencing oneness with all that is, there is great peace and harmony. Everything is seen with eyes of love and in the light of the One. Even things we usually regard as evil or destructive are seen from this perspective. Good and evil are just opposites in the ongoing drama of duality, and opposites exist only in relation to each other. When the soul is liberated from the illusion of duality, opposites vanish. However, a liberated soul is able to participate in duality to awaken others.
God is infinite love, light and bliss—ever existing, creative and free—the uncaused cause of the universe. The Self is an individual expression of this love, light, bliss, immortality, creativity and freedom—an endowment that we become aware of when we awaken to our infinite wholeness. And, as part of God, the Self shares in God’s omnipresence and omniscience. Each of us is a magnificent creation of God, one with God and every other soul. However, under the influence of ego, we identify with our physical body and our role here on earth, suffer from the pains, fears and limitations of this world, and are oblivious of our blissful omnipresence and perfection. No wonder enlightened beings advise us to know the Self!
The Self