The virtue of openness has been a key learning in my sadhana. I grew up with the Siddha Yoga teachings, but I wasn't very open to all I was being given until I was 24 years old. That was when I first decided to attend a Siddha Yoga satsang on my own. In that satsang, I made a decision to be open to receive the teachings that Gurumayi was giving me. And when I did, so much bliss and love washed over me.
After that, step-by-step, I opened myself to the Siddha Yoga teachings and practices in other ways—first by offering seva after the satsang, then by committing to offering seva on a regular basis before and after satsang, by attending Siddha Yoga retreats, by sharing my experiences with other devotees. After four years, I decided to apply to offer full-time seva as a staff member in the SYDA Foundation. I have been on staff for six years now. I am continuing to practice openness, and I am continuing to receive the blessings of this virtue day after day.
Thank you, Gurumayi.
a sevite in Shree Muktananda Ashram
Openness has been a mainstay of my sadhana ever since I heard Gurumayi's Message for 2001, "Approach the present with your heart's consent. Make it a blessed event."
It's miraculous how openness to the present moment creates ease and sweetness in any situation. Recently, before contacting a person about a misunderstanding we'd had, I reminded myself, "Be open to their viewpoint." Immediately my own stance softened and I accepted the validity of a different perspective.
Since adopting openness as a practice, I've developed a "resistance meter," a heightened awareness of when I'm closing down. Some signals are: shallower breathing, slight body tension, and my mind fortifying a position. That's when I say to myself, "Relax. God is all around you. Open up." And then I experience a beautiful expansion into the moment, just as it is.
For me, staying open has become a way of saying yes to life, to grace, and to God's presence as this world.
a devotee from New York, USA