53 Anjaneyasanas

I arise before dawn to sit and meditate in the darkness...

My Master's words for the day fill my senses:

"The Searcher of Hearts wants only your sincere love.
Someone may offer Him his whole wealth and He doesn't want it;
and another cries out to Him, 'O Lord, I love You!'
And into that devotee's heart He comes running.

Don't see God with any ulterior motive,
but pray to Him with devotion -
unconditional, one-pointed, steady devotion.
When your love for Him is as great
as your attachment to your mortal body,
He will come to you."

I reflect on the sacred lessons that came to me a year ago and launched me on my Kriya Yoga practice - forever linking my meditation to my birthday, for on that day, God gave me the key to His heart...

I remember a dearly beloved grandmother who left the earth plane on this day, 8 years ago...

I offer 53 anjaneyasanas in a modified series of salutations, since my body is not up for more than that...This is the pose that for me most exemplifies devotion, and it is the signature pose in the Anusara Yoga logo...There was a time I went into this pose very deeply, but not so today, except for a few at the end...

I offer and do each round slowly, not so much focusing on each individual year in my life as I have done in the past, but more as a reflection on my practice and abiding in the present moment...

I finish and surrender the concluding year and the coming one - asking not that my wishes be granted but that the Divine's will be done...

I meet a dear intuitive friend for brunch, who reminds me that the rain falling on this day is a sign of good fortune as well as cleansing...She shares pertinent insights as she always does and gives me a gift of a CD entitled "She Carries Me..." The cover has a lone boat floating on a river and I will write later about this for it is symbolic on so many levels...

I go to the river in my boots when the rain stops...There are almost no leaves anywhere but a few manage to fall on me...

I step into the river and chant my Reiki meditations and mantras and release all that does not serve. I release the year that has ended and the one which is to come repeating over and over again, "Thy will be done..."

I release burdens and karma I have carried for others and ask Jesus and Yogananda to transmute them so that others may be free as well...I bend down and baptize myself with the water and make the sign of the cross...

I receive a series of astrological charts that contain a wealth of insights for me to ponder - sent by another intuitive friend...

(more later)