Before my Guru came to me, I was a slave to uncontrolled impulses and irrational emotions, leading to self-destruction and inner pain. Despite being blessed with so many gifts, I didn’t know how to live in harmony with myself and the world. I felt alienated, frustrated, and anxious within my own skin. Yogananda’s Self-realization techniques taught me how to calm my restlessness and take control of my mind and emotions. Finally, I am learning how to live in health, peace, and love for all. He has shown me how to discover for myself — through direct experience — the ever-blissful Spirit uniting all of us. 

Still, the world sinks its claws into me through many forms of distraction, restlessness, and indulgence. I have come far, but for me to achieve deeper mastery over my body and mind, I need separation from the self-indulgence and conspicuous consumption of our society. Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi is what initially drew me to the teachings. The pure authenticity and authority of his words struck me like none ever before. So I turn again to those pages for the path that I seek.

But this time I will follow in his footsteps and journey to the many locations in India that touched his life in so many fascinating and illuminating ways. From his book I have charted a course through his childhood, then to where he lived in ashrams with his Guru, Swami Sri Yukteswar, and to the idyllic plains where he founded his “How to Live” school that has provided an innovative model for education for so many decades. I will travel to cities of miracles and enlightenment, like Varanasi where his Paramaguru Lahiri Mahasaya resided, and to Rishikesh and to the wilderness of Mahavatar Babaji’s cave where wondrous events occurred, and to many other points of interest that will astound and inspire. Through it all I will deepen my practice and devotion, creating the inner fortitude I need to transcend our materialistic age and evolve to a higher level of consciousness, in whatever small increments that may occur.

I invite you, my dearest friends, to share in this journey. Follow my blog to read of my daily adventures and seeking. Feel free to write to me anytime. I would welcome such communication. May you be blessed always with the desire to know your true Self.