Apr
5
Mar
29
Spiritual Exercise: Game of Chess
By Harold Klemp
You can do this exercise anytime—whether you are at work, in contemplation, or about to fall asleep.
Lightly place your attention upon a situation in your life, then put your viewpoint as Soul above the situation. Look down on everything going on below as if it were a chess game—even though it might be in your imagination. You can look at a situation anywhere in the world from this viewpoint.
As you are gazing upon it, change the situation by simply rearranging your place on the chessboard. It’s a successful device, and those who use it often make great changes around themselves.
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Excerpted from The Spiritual Exercises of ECK, where more than 130 spiritual exercises like this can be found. Learn more about spiritual exercises.
Mar
15
For Creative Inspiration
By Harold Klemp
“If man is to survive in the physical universe, then he must find time for creative activity in spiritual things. Until this comes about, within a group with time to do something besides subsist in the materialistic worlds, there is little opportunity for the spiritual sensitivity of man to develop.”
—Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad, Bk 1, pp. 183–84
Is there a goal or a project you would like to take the next step with? Picture this clearly in your Spiritual Eye.
With eyes open or shut, chant the word ghata for several minutes. It’s an ECK word for the act of opening the consciousness. After a minute or so of silence, return to chanting the word and going into silence, until you have repeated this pattern three times.
Inspiration may come during this exercise or during the day as the word draws new vibrations into your awareness.
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From Spiritual Exercises for the Shariyat, Book One, p. 134.
Mar
15
Why Are We Here?
By Harold Klemp
Q: In the grand scheme of things, why are we here? I believe I understand that we are here to attain Self-Realization, then later God-Realization on our journey home to God to truly be a Co-worker. Why this “journey” in the first place?
A: Why this journey home to God?
Do you know the parable of the prodigal son? A young man, born into all the advantages of a wealthy family, decided to leave home and see the world. Well, he wasted his money and ended up in a far land, among strangers, working as a swineherd. He would gladly have eaten what the pigs did.
One day it came to him: here he was living nearly like a beggar. Even his father’s hired servants fared better.
So the wastrel returned home.
“Father,” he said, “I’m a waste. I’m not worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your servants.” Read More
Mar
8
Choosing Love over Anger
By Harold Klemp
A woman worked with a person who seemed to take great pleasure in insulting her. Some people in this world form friendships by making fun of their friends. It’s a strange thing.
One day this woman went to a restaurant with her coworkers. The man began to insult the ECKist in a friendly way. She decided she couldn’t take any more. Normally she’s a quiet, soft-spoken person who hardly ever shows anger. But this time she flared up.
“If you couldn’t insult me,” she said to the man, “you wouldn’t be able to think of one thing to say.” The man was shocked. She got really angry and kept at him, talking louder and louder until people in the restaurant began looking around to see who was causing such a scene.
After the man and his wife had left, the ECKist stood with her husband and a friend out in the parking lot. “You were right to defend yourself,” the friend said. “If he can dish it out, he better be able to take it.”
“You’re a saint to have been able to put up with him all these years,” added the husband. Read More
Mar
4
A Dog’s Love Transcends Death
By Harold Klemp
A man had a very old dog, Zeke, who was his special friend. The veterinarian had bad news, though. The fourteen-and-a-half-year-old dog had cancer in his abdomen, but no pain.
He’d probably slip peacefully away, said the vet. But if Zeke developed a breathing problem, it would be time to let him go.
That sad day soon came. The man and his wife took Zeke to the vet and had him put to sleep. Zeke was in the man’s arms when he went, literally leaping from that tired old body like a prisoner set free from his cell.
On the drive home, the man’s Spiritual Eye opened. He saw Prajapati, the ECK Master who cares for the animals. Read More
Mar
1
Reunion with a Departed Loved One
By Harold Klemp
Five years had gone by since “Adele’s” sister had passed on, or translated. Adele often wondered, Does my sister still remember me? Why doesn’t she come, even in dreams?
Adele teaches art. She lives in a quiet suburb. One day one of her students looked out and saw a kitten nearby that had apparently been struck by a car. It looked as if it wouldn’t be able to live much longer. The student ran outside and tried to catch the little kitten but wasn’t able to. For the next week Adele worried about the kitten. She put out food and water because it would need some help in getting fed. But the kitten never showed up. Read More
Feb
23
What the Master Offers
By Harold Klemp
Q: You have spoken about being a holding tank for our karma, to the point where it makes you physically sick. Also, your wife, Joan, wrote about the unique value of the Master to the chela.
In a culture imbued with the tradition of messianism, it’s hard to imagine what may lie beyond the concept of a savior who needs to sacrifice himself to save mankind. What are some of the differences between the role of a savior and the way the Mahanta, the Living ECK Master helps people with their karma?
A: Faith and belief are based on feelings instead of reason. So it’s pointless to argue with someone of another religion about the validity of Eckankar over his beliefs.
This being so, it greatly simplifies the matter for us. We do not wish to convince anyone about anything. Read More
Feb
9
Soul Returns for Love
By Harold Klemp
Siamese cats can be very finicky and self-centered. But not Misha.
When Misha’s owner was sleeping in the morning, he lay very, very still. Most cats are different: as soon as they are awake and hungry, they start moving around, maybe licking your face. “Breakfast time. Let’s get up and go outside.” But not Misha.
Misha also had a habit of jumping into his owner’s arms, just wanting to be loved. And after he got hugged and loved, then it was time for breakfast. But loving always came first.
After a while, his owner began to notice there was a very close connection between the love that Misha gave and the behavior of a toy poodle she used to have named Lulu. Misha was acting a whole lot like Lulu. Read More
Feb
5