Last Message of 2024

Three months ago, I stood here saying to myself that this was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.

Now, looking at the destruction from the hurricane, I’m overwhelmed with all sorts of emotions. “Where has the beauty gone??”

Where once the dams stood, holding the waters of two serene lakes, are now gaping cavities with wild edges and rocks threatening to fall down onto the running river beneath them.

The sidewalk has disappeared. The pavement from the parking lot has been ripped apart and dispersed. All fences have been washed away, and the once perfectly curved sides of the lakes are rugged and jagged.

I sigh a long, heavy sigh.

“Wait a minute,” I think. 

Was it the concrete-lined bodies of water, occupied by hurried joggers, that made this place so beautiful? Or the green benches, small garbage cans, and dog-bag dispensers that are all no longer here? Certainly not!

I look out at the sun glistening on the water, and see the birds singing, and the sleeping geese on the shore. A wind of peace drifts through the trees.

What made this place so beautiful before is actually… still here.

I walk on the mud and sand where water once was and leave a row of footsteps behind me. I feel the sand shift and sink beneath my feet, and quickly realise that if I stay still for too long, I will sink deeper.

Immediately I feel the symbolism in everything. How quickly everything can change. How important it is not to hold onto anything, and to always continue to take the next steps in life, without dwelling too long.

I was hit with a profound knowing, once again, that birth and destruction are so closely mingled. Death and resurrection, light and dark, new and old, are all so intertwined. 

Life will go on with our permission or not. How open will we be to accept it?

I am filled with gratitude for all of this year’s teachings and lessons. Many intense things have happened that I have not expected, but I feel the grand purpose behind living through all of this. It is like my heart is being peeled back layer by layer, and someday only the purest, sweetest core will be left exposed.

May this next year for all of you be one of great spiritual significance. May the things that you have collected and learned in your precious lives so far be like guiding teachers for what your life has ahead. 

And one more thing; and I forgot where I heard this, but it went something like this: 

If God (or whatever you believe created our reality) can handle the complexities of the universe, from spinning galaxies to orchestrating the cosmos,

Don't you think that he keeps in his heart the details of your life and well-being too?

♥️

I wish you all the most beautiful start to the new year and I love you all so much,

Love, Ananda

Changes are in the Air

Once a butterfly has emerged from its cocoon, it is not going to crawl back into it.

Once the sprout has left the seed, it will never again be so small.

Once you leave an old state of mind; a state of mind that has restricted you, held you back, limited you from spreading your wings, there is no going back.

You can trick yourself into thinking that you can, but once you try it, you’ll feel discomfort in all areas of your life. Despite the same outward circumstances, you’ll realize that your soul is the one that has changed. 

In order to enter into a new state, we have to die to our old state; to our old self.

We must release all that we have thought of ourselves to be. In the end, all that we believe we are, is just that: a belief. It is nothing permanent or everlasting. Both our souls and our human bodies are constantly changing.

Not just us, but the whole earth and UNIVERSE has never before been in this exact point in space and time, and it will never return to the exact point again.

What do we do with this information? How does it feel to know that everything is so fleeting?

The initial reaction might be a sense of uneasiness or even fear.

But there’s another option: we can see it as a gift instead of a burden. That’s what I am learning.

Change is the only constant thing in this universe. And since it is our reality, don’t you think it is our duty to embrace it?

We are given the choice to choose who we are every single second. Nothing and nobody is telling you what to do. You have complete choice of will.

The best and most graceful way to go through whatever changes lie before you, is to completely accept that they are happening for the best reason possible. It may be scary and unknown, but how many times in your life have you lived through a similar circumstance? 

Isn’t it during these big unknown times of your life that the most beautiful miracles happen?

Let’s move into December with an attitude of gratitude for the ever changing flow of life. May we always flow along this Life-River with ease, grace, and utmost love.

Questions inspired by this for the month of December :

1. When I sense a change in myself coming, what do I do? How do I react? Is my state of being open and curious, or is it scared and shut down?

2. What other times in my life have I gone through a time of intense change?

3. What have I learned from these turbulent experiences about myself? Did my life become better or worse after these times?

I love you all, 

Ananda

What can you learn from a man named Dean?

I have been in the US for the last two months, spending most of that time with my father. Even though there are many inspiring things to tell about what I’ve learned so far, I have decided to dedicate this month’s message to a man named Dean.

Dean lives in the same community as my dad, and he is not like anybody else I’ve ever met before.

About 30 years ago, he told me, he got hit by a car, which resulted in the damage of more than half of his brain.

Ever since this accident, Dean has lots of trouble remembering things. It seems like stories of any kind somehow remain most in his memory, but all else (like names, places, facts, or even what he did 5 minutes ago) is hard for him to pinpoint.

He spends his days walking around the community, going door to door, spending time with different neighbors and doing little jobs for them (like raking leaves, trimming bushes, mowing lawns… but doesn’t take anything in return. He won’t even accept a ride back to his home. This is because, as he explains, he lives a philosophy of “giving,” and not “taking.”

My dad told me that he has seen Dean on a couple occasions just exit a room while someone was talking mid-sentence about other people negatively, or while a person talked too much without purpose to their words.

We had a communal party here some weeks ago, and to be honest, the person I was most interested in talking with.. was Dean!

He didn’t speak so much, but instead added little hilarious comments to what other people were saying, which somehow fit each moment perfectly. Sometimes he would spontaneously start laughing really loud, or make a noise out of nowhere.

He noticed tiny details that others looked over, like a little ant crawling on the railing, or a light reflecting in the glass window, or the tiny hole in my sock that I didn't notice before.

I realized at this party while looking around how “controlled” everyone else was. Controlling their posture, their tone of voice, the specific words they were using, and probably thinking, “how do I look right now; how do I sound?” and modifying that constantly. 

Looking back at Dean, I saw a man completely in his body, taking in every moment, enjoying the atmosphere, allowing himself to be completely who he was and how he was feeling in each moment.

I realized that it is not the things that people say that make a conversation “good”, or a party “fun.” It’s about the energy of the words from the people involved. It’s about their intentions, and the amount of positive emotion behind the words being spoken by each individual.

Questions for this month inspired by Dean:

• What is important to you when you converse with your fellow human beings and loved ones? What topics light up your spirit? How often do you feel like you share these things?

• Do I feel like I am comfortable enough in my surroundings to be my true self? 

• What parts of myself do I feel like I need to control? Do I really need to control them?

I wish you all a beautiful month of November,

Ananda