Remain in connection with all situations

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

At first, the individual seeks completion in their personal happiness, and will make choices based on this. Like a child that has not understood the situation to any depth or degree, when faced with a negative situation, they will attempt to shield themselves from it, hoping to avoid its impact.



By generating action based on a reaction to a negative condition, by attempting to shield them from it, the individual guarantees the experience of the negative event to its fullest degree. Having cut themselves off from it, they will remain uninformed of its true nature.



As the individual matures, they come to understand that judging events is completely subjective; unless you are very wise, you're going to be wrong about the true nature of an event when it occurs. Time and again you come to see that things that seem negative in the beginning end up being the greatest blessings, and vice versa. So you learn not to react to events that appear to be negative; you remain in connection with all situations. Being present with them and feeling them, you learn from the information they provide, and in so doing, you are uplifted by them.

The Breath

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

One of the primary training instruments of yoga is absurdly simple—the breath.



The life-force, the prana that animates us is carried on the breath, and this life-force emerges directly out of the fabric of Ishvara, infinite consciousness, and arises inside the breath of every living thing. Infinite truth arising within us, as us, with every breath.



Twenty-one thousand breaths every day—if every breath is conscious, you can unleash unimaginable spiritual force within yourself. That is the training. To consciously draw the awakening principle into yourself with every breath, to feel it capture the form of your very being, infusing the dynamic of truth into every cell. The gravity that arises from this tells you that you have found the thread of the truth within your self.

The energy of Ishvara is an all-pervasive ocean of consciousness

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

The concept of Ishvara addresses the idea of infinite truth and the dynamic of creation;the formless and that which has form;arising simultaneously. The energy of Ishvara is an all-pervasive ocean of consciousness out of which countless forms emerge.



We ourselves emerge as an expression of Ishvara. We arise as the indescribable, infinite truth and the formation of individual being at one and the same time. We arise as a vessel of truth, from truth, as truth.



That infinite truth unfolds through us as us brings to light a very essential principle: truth must take a form, must arise inside a vehicle, in order to express itself and operate as truth.

The struggle we face in becoming fully awakened human beings

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

On the spiritual path, the time will come when life's possibilities and opportunities have reached a wider breadth than you can comfortably deal with. The anguish of a being that has begun to cultivate an inner life is well known. It is much more comfortable to go through life happily shallow and blissfully ignorant, because the instant you try to examine and deal with what's going on inside, you run into paradox after paradox, and no single solution covers the entire situation.



This dynamic is largely based on the complexity of the human form. Part of the struggle we face in becoming fully awakened human beings lies in our capacity to master our form. The more that is awakened within us, the wider the span of possibilities becomes, and the more responsibility we have for mastering our full range of capabilities as human beings.

God is already present within you.....

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

The essence of the path is relaxation of body, relaxation of mind, relaxation of heart. God is already present within. Truly, we are the drop being pervaded by the ocean.



The dynamic of awakening is not restricted by a specific philosophy or system of belief; it is like a force of nature. This is something one comes to understand only as the inner mystery begins to reveal itself layer by layer, going through one level after another, each more subtle than the previous.



As you relax deeper and deeper, as the stillness of heart and mind and spirit sinks farther and farther into your system, you will become aware of a force drawing you within. Starting as the smallest of threads, it will become a torrent. You must attune yourself to this presence and let it pull you in; it will take you to a place deep within yourself. In this way, everything happens.

The Space Between the Breath

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

What is the essence of a deep, slow breath? Self-acceptance. The acceptance of one’s situation, the acceptance of one’s condition. In the space between one’s breath one finds profound stillness. Any one of these points becomes a gateway, an aperture into the infinite Self.

The Descent of Grace

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

There is a fellowship among those who seek the truth—those seeking the truth, and those that have sought the truth and come to the completion of human destiny, completed their cycle as human beings and thus gone on. When a person begins to hunger for the truth of things, there is an immediate psychic contact with the fellowship of the thus gone—spiritual masters, gurus, yogis, gods, goddesses—all having seen through the surface of things and struck through to the heart of the matter.



As you turn away from the external phantasmagoria of the dream, a resonance with this fellowship emerges out of your very being. And within this fellowship something utterly profound occurs—the descent of grace. We use the word grace because it is a gift. It is not something you’ve earned, it is undeserved favor. And this gift of grace is made available to you within yourself, as a part of your being. The essence of this gift kindles the spiritual force of awakening within you, changing you at the deepest level of being, at the deepest level of spirit.