Step 12 Wisdom: How To Be A Channel Of Light

How do you move past simply maintaining your recovery and start building a deeply fulfilling, joyful life?

In this final session, we break down the practical application of Step 12: "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we try to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs." The core objective here is integration—taking the principles of recovery and yoga off the mat and into every single aspect of your daily life and helping others do the same when opportunities arise through service (Seva).

Transcript

So today our focus is the 12th step in yoga and the 12 steps, And the principle is living with joy. So I'm going to read the step as it appears in the 12 steps, And then we'll talk about this and yoga. So the 12 step reads, Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, We tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, We tried to carry this message. And to practice these principles. In all our affairs. So the idea here with the 12-step, And there are many 12-step programs, Is that it's a program of service, That we go through the principles, Practicing them, Living them. And we then share what we've learned. So service is very, Very central to both the 12-step practice and also to yoga. And I thought I'd read a little bit from the manual of Yoga and the 12 Steps. Some of the wording is nice here. So from our manual, Living Yoga and the 12 Steps, Suggested for doing this is service. Both yoga and the 12 steps emphasize the power and importance of seva. And encourage us to make it the focus of our life. Yogananda said, The channel is blessed by that which flows through it, Meaning that when we serve as an instrument of the divine, We are blessed in the process. Helping others in this way has a spirit of humility. By consciously opening ourselves to guidance and inspiration, We become a conduit for wisdom, Grace, And energy to flow through us. So this is a beautiful way to look at How do we share? What is Seva? What does it look like? I've had the privilege of serving in many different ways and communities. So I got sober when I was young. I was 20 and I'm 58 now. So it's been a long time. And it was, So service has been a huge part of my life from the 12 steps and then also spiritual communities that I was part of. I was part of a Catholic community. And. . . Had the joy of doing a lot of service in that. At one time I thought I might become a nun. And so I took a year to live in spiritual community and serve and discern where God was calling me. What was my path? What was my spiritual path? And what I found is that it wasn't the outer form that was most important. It was the inner commitment to live for God. And I learned that in that year. It was a beautiful year of service. And that being said, It was also a challenging year. So the truth of service is it can be challenging. Part of what we do in Yoga and the 12 Steps is we look at yoga philosophy. And we line that philosophy up with each of the spiritual principles. Earlier in going through the steps, We looked at Tapasya. And Tapasya is this commitment to stay steadfast on our path when we see that there's a higher purpose to what we're doing. So when there's difficulty, We still move forward with a commitment to the higher meaning of what we're doing. That Swami Kriyananda talked about, Tapasya. And there's a relevancy here with Seva because we may not always feel like doing it. And then the question becomes, How do we work with that? How do we navigate feeling like it or not feeling like it? And how is it true that service is a path to joy? With Yogananda, Part of why I wanted to read his quote about the channel is blessed by that which flows through it, Is that it's been my experience, The more that we practice seva and service, The more we discover the truth of that. We get ourselves out of the way, And that's what service offers us, Is an opportunity to focus on someone or something else, And to put our energy toward that. In Ananda Yoga, What we're looking at is this idea of serving God, And that's really the practice of Seva, Is to see that when I'm serving another, I'm serving their highest self. It's my way of serving God to say, I'm helping this person as a channel for the divine energy. There is a passage from the Christian Bible where Jesus talks about to anything that you've done to the least of these, You've done to me. So if you've clothed the naked and fed the hungry and housed the homeless, That any of those acts were acts for God, Right? And there's many stories in yoga as well about those who were tuned in to this understanding. There's a beautiful story of the Gopis with Krishna, And they would feed him cheese every day. That was a sacred offering of theirs, That they would feed Lord Krishna. And they would, They needed passage across the, I think most of the time they could travel the river, I don't remember this, But one time they couldn't. And I believe it was Beasa, I'm not sure about this, But they asked for his help. They were, You know, We need to get across the river, We have this cheese for Krishna. He said, What cheese, What cheese? And then he ate most of the cheese, Which was horrifying for us. Because this was sacred, They were giving it to their Lord. What is he doing? And he just ate until he couldn't eat anymore. And then he commanded the river. He said, Again, I won't remember exactly how he said it, But in essence, If I've not eaten any of this, Let the waters part, Right? And they did. And so, The gopis, Okay, Well, They run across the riverbed, And they bring cheese to Krishna, Who'd been napping, And he awakens and says, Oh, No more cheese, No more cheese, Because Bihasa had eaten the cheese on behalf of Krishna, And Krishna had filled up with that offering. So, The sweetness of that understanding that when we're serving, And what's very, Very helpful about that is it broadens our experience of service, And it helps us to be non-attached to what it looks like when we serve. That can be one of the challenges of service. Oh, Well, I'm going to help with something. Let me help with this, Right? Maybe it's a project, And you think, Oh, I'll help with that. And then the project doesn't seem to go well. So did I not, Does that mean that the situation didn't go well, It would. . . What we would look at is the spirit with which we dedicated ourselves to the project. And if in the serving, Our consciousness is expanded, And we feel closer to the divine. And I always return to the eight aspects of God. Asha recently gave a beautiful series on this. So if you want to know more, That's something you can look online and find. She talked about each one of these aspects that Yogananda said we can literally touch and know God in eight specific ways. And so when we're practicing seva, Right now we're looking at joy, And this is one of the ways that Yogananda said, God is joy. So when we're touching, Experiencing joy, We are touching and experiencing God. So by being able to say, I give to you my service, And whatever the outcome, It's yours, Lord. It's yours. It's not mine to control. We can't control it. So there's a term in yoga called Nishkam Karma, Which is selfless service, And it's service without the attachment to the fruit of service, Which is especially helpful when things don't seem to go well. But it's also a practice, Even when they go beautifully well, Right? We're still not attached to that. And we can be pleased. We can be pleased that it went well and that others appreciated it. It seemed to have benefit. That's a lovely thing. You're just appreciating. I'm God in that, Right? And if it doesn't go well, You're offering that to God to say, Well, I did my best, Right? I'm very reminded, And I was thinking of different aspects of seva and service. And some years ago, One of my dear friends here, Kamala Devi, Had the experience. She was doing one of the, Speaking of Krishna, She was doing a Krishna altar. Some of you may have heard this story before, And Kamala Devi, I hope it's okay that I'm sharing it. It was such a beautiful example to me to posse and selfless service. She had put I'm going to guess many hours. I don't know that she told me, But she put a lot of time into creating a beautiful altar for Sunday, For Sunday service. And there was a Friday Krishna kirtan, And she also wanted to have it beautiful for the kirtan. So that was her plan, Right? And so she finished on Friday, They had the kirtan Friday night, And she went back in on Saturday just to, You know, I don't know, Add some new candles or something. And as it turned out, The altar had been profoundly changed, Which if you've ever done anything like that, I've done a little bit, It's a very big deal because things are just so devotionally put in place. Around in a big way changes everything. It's not a simple fix is what I'm trying to say. So she went in on a Saturday morning with the thought of a simple, Oh I'll just put fresh candles in. And it was this, Oh my gosh, Okay, Basically you have to redo the altar, Right? You have to redo it. And she had her moment of coming to terms with that and said, Okay, Surrendered. Okay, Well, I have to do it. We need it for tomorrow. They needed it for Sunday. And so she spent hours redoing the altar. And by the end of the day, She noticed that her experience of bliss was palpable, Right? It just suddenly occurred to her that she had been given an extra day with Divine Mother. And she really got it. She got the message of, Oh, Divine Mother, You just wanted to spend more time with me. That's what this was. And that is a beautiful reflection of what Seva looks like. It's true. That's what's happening. The more that we offer ourselves to the experience, The more joy flows through us. And we begin to realize, What else would I like to be doing? What else is there to do? And so part of the practice, Is that experience gets expanded further and further. So that every moment is a moment in which we're offering our life to the divine. That's the essence of this step, Living with joy and service, That every moment I'm saying to God, This is your life, God. And I want to be here for you. I want to offer my day to you, This class to you, Whatever it is. And the more we do that, The more we feel God responding with these divine qualities. So it seems like, And this is the paradox of renunciation, It seems like we're giving up. It seems like we're giving up. We're gaining. So we are letting go, For sure. And a lot of times, What we're letting go of is our way of doing things. So this absolutely shows up with Seva. And sometimes, I feel like in that story of my dear friend, And I've had this many times, Where the universe is challenging me to say, Could you do that again? Like, That was lovely. Could you do that again? Today. Yes, I could do that again. I will do that again. That willingness, Devi tells a beautiful story about this. She was the end of her week. And she was very tired and had been looking forward to, After dinner, Sitting down with Joe Tisch and watching a movie together. And to just have a quiet evening at home, Resting, Homemade soup. It was a little bit stormy out, So it was just kind of feeling like, Oh, This is the perfect end to a very, Very busy week. She was home. She was finishing the soup. And just already feeling so much appreciation of this opportunity to rest. She was feeling quite tired and she got the phone ring and she answered it. A dear friend in the community, This is up at the village, Ananda village, Had a cold, Was very sick with a cold and was not able to get out and get food for themselves. And so they called asking if there was any way that she could bring them some food to eat. And Devi said, Yes, I can. I'm making soup right now. I'm just finishing the soup. So I'll pack some up for you and I'll bring that over. And the friend was so relieved and so appreciative. And so they hung up and Devi packed up the soup and got, Maybe had to get dressed again, I'm not sure, But certainly bundled up to go out into the rain. Went out, Got in the car, Started driving to her friends and suddenly was overcome with this, Joy and profound gratitude that this practice of seva had become so much a part of her life. That she could respond instantaneously with yes. That without hesitation, Her plans could change, Right? Just in a moment, They could change, And she could willingly and joyfully be attentive to her friend. And she started crying with gratitude to God for the change in herself. Because she just knew that was a gift, That her consciousness, It was a reflection of a change in her consciousness, That she could so quickly be serviceful. And be experiencing then the joy of tending to a friend, That her friend would know she could reach out to her and feel okay about that. These stories, They're so profound, They're so meaningful. It's been very true in my life as well that The more I find that I'm able to see, And it's like God's smiling behind these opportunities and just waiting for me to discover God. Like, Did you notice that I was here? Did you see that it was me who was offering this to you? What looked like work? It looked like a challenge. That year that I took to discern religious life and what was the right path for me, I went to a workshop before I chose an organization to be with, A beautiful workshop on service, And so what it looks like. And there was a young man who was talking about the life of a missionary and just saying, So, You know, And he was so beautiful in his realness, Right? So he said, You know, We enter into this highest ideals and it's beautiful and we don't want to lose them, Right? So we're doing this because we're motivated by our love for God and we're wanting to go out and to share that love, Right? And he said, And life happens. So you're on your way to the soup kitchen and you run out of gas or there's a problem with the car. And he just described like all these things that can happen. And he said, These things happen. He's like, They happen to me. And the question is, How do you stay connected to joy? When those things happen. Because the mind, The conscious mind, And in yoga teaching the ego, It gets frustrated. It has a plan. It feels like, Well, This is service, And this is what it's going to look like. And I'm saying yes to this, But I didn't say yes to all these other things. I didn't say yes to all the inconvenience that appeared on the way to doing this service. But sometimes that's the service. Sometimes that. I'm thinking of a friend of mine years ago who told me about he was driving. And we'd been talking, I guess I'd been talking about service and the value of it. He was driving and he saw the car stopped and a group of people pulled over. I guess he was reminded of a conversation I'd had with him. He said he could hear me inside of him, So he thought, I better stop and help these people. So he stopped and he helped them. And again, This was yoga in the 12 steps. So the 12 step part for me is, I must have been talking about that. Anyway, He helped them. And it turns out they were on their way to a 12 step meeting. And they had a flat tire. And so he was able to stop and change the tire and help them. And they were so appreciative. And he got it, Right? He thought, The coincidence of that, That I would be stopping, That these people would be on their way to a 12-step meeting. They were so appreciative of him and his help. And he felt better, Right? He felt the joy of it. He felt the joy of serving. So part of what we also do is listen for people And this is step 12. So we've been practicing all of these attunement, Surrender, All the aspects of the spiritual principles. We've been building a spiritual life. And one of the things that we bring to Seva and a life of service is discernment. A dear friend of mine told me that one of the important things that we learn at Ananda, One of the most important things we learn, One of the first things we learn is how to say yes, Right? He said, And then the advanced lesson. Is how to say no. So you learn how to say yes, You need that. And then you also need to learn how to say no. Is it yours to do? Is it being asked of you? And I would say something Swami Kriyananda talks, And this is in support of leadership, He talks about the importance of considering your own needs when you're making decisions. And again, This is important because there might be something that is a value to do, And you can see that. You can see it's of value. And then to ask yourself, But can I do it? And what I mean by that is. . . Are you able to say yes to that and maintain and really genuinely practice seva, So uplifted consciousness? And attunement to God as you're practicing that. Sometimes the answer is you need rest. Sometimes the answer is your plate is too full. Sometimes the answer is no. Whatever the reason might be. And actually, It's a. . . It's a great moment of spiritual maturity because One of the tricky things, Because the ego likes to look good. So the ego loves to look good because it sees its security outside of itself. And Master said that our ego is our soul identified with the body and the personality in the material realm. So our ego, It's awakening, Right? It's discovering our true nature. We're already free, But it doesn't remember that. So we can get trapped into looking good. Like, Oh, It would look good Is it good to say yes? Is it authentic? Can you really say yes? You don't want to lose joy in the process of it. If you're not able to maintain joy, Then some discernment is needed. Maybe you need support from others. Maybe you need to play chanting. Maybe I need to take a break in something. But I don't want to be doing it begrudgingly, Because that's not Seva, And it won't expand my consciousness. And the energy I'm putting into what I'm doing for others. Swami tells a story of, I think he was in England, And he was on a panel speaking about spiritual topics. And it just so happened that a minister went before him, Who, As Swami described, Was basically pounding the pulpit and saying, Serve the poor, Serve the poor, You must be doing good works. But his whole message was just so negative, I guess dour, You know, It was kind of this guilt, Guilty message of you must serve. And so Swamiji was just sitting there listening And then it was his turn to get up. And his message was, It's very good to do those things as long as you can do them with joy. So yes, Serve the poor, Feed the hungry, Do these things. These are very good things to do in a spirit of joy. What you want to be doing is sharing joy because that's God. God is joy. So everything that you do, Make sure that you do it in that spirit. Even if what you're doing is tending a garden, No one sees, Right? Maybe your service is behind the scenes. No one knows that you're doing it. I think some of the most profound service can be prayer. We have a prayer ministry here and you can have your own, Right? You could write to Ananda to find out being part of it. You can have your own prayer ministry where, You know, Who is it that's in need? And could you take some time each day to put their name on, If you have an altar on your altar, Light a candle for them and send them energy, Send them healing thoughts, Send them divine light. It's a beautiful way to practice service. Service is not what we do, It's how we do it. That's what defines something as Seva, Is being a channel for the divine, And being inviting God in, Right? And sharing, Right? So we're carrying the message and that's a phrase in the 12 steps. A principle in the 12 steps, A very important principle when we're working with others is the receptivity of those we're serving. So there's a guideline of attraction rather than promotion. And this is very important, Especially if your service is sharing teachings. So if you're wanting to carry the message of yoga or the 12 steps, Whatever inspiration you have, Part of the practice is being very attentive to someone else's receptivity to that. Are they interested? And part of when you're living your life and you're living in the joy of it, That in and of itself tends to be very attractive. And so people tend to want to know, Well, What are you doing and how are you doing it? And then you can share from there your practices. Last summer, I was gardening with someone and just, I didn't know them, Right? It was a Sava project, And so they were gardening, We happened to be gardening near each other, Getting to know each other. And she, Somehow, I was talking about teaching and my co-teacher, Yudhistera, Was at True North. If you don't know about True North, It's a wonderful place where they do healing with, It's vegan and fasting. It's beautiful. Anyway, She knew about it. She was very, Very excited. So she's a chef. She was telling me all kinds of lovely things. Then I was just enjoying listening to her. And others heard us and wanted to know more. And someone said to, What are you talking about? We feel all your great energy. And so I said to her, Do you want to explain? And she said, Oh, It's this way of eating where you have no oil, No salt, And what was it? Sugar, Right? Like there were all these people, There's this little group looking at us and the person who asked goes, Forget it. It was so funny. It was like, And the poor person looked at me like, Now what? And I just thought, Well, Now we say no more. They're not interested. They love the energy, But that wasn't going to be something beyond that that was meaningful for them. And it's an important thing just to be attentive to in your service. Are people asking for what you're offering? Is there an opening to it? It might seem obvious, But it's been my experience that it isn't. So we tune in, We listen, We ask for opportunities to share. That's a way to practice. So in this week, As you go forward, If you're not sure and you'd like to do a little bit more of Seva, Or maybe this week you're needing to say no, I invite you to discern. How's Seva happening in your life? Where are you with this principle of service? And how might you serve in a way that the experience lends to joy, Expands, Your life in a joyful way, And you become a joyful presence wherever you go and whatever you're doing. That's the essence of the teaching. That's the essence of the practice. So I wish you a joyful week, A wonderful practice of seva, And as always, It's lovely to be with you today.