AHYMSIN-Americas Newsletter Articles

  Exploring Silence: In or Out ... A Personal Reflection by Jenny May Living in a remote mountain location provides me with a space, beautifully conducive to Silence; natural trails that allow me to move my body freely, few neighbors and no hustle and bustle of the city. Blessed to live in this location, I have the opportunity to practice one to three days of Silence on my own a few times each year.   Most recently, during a three-day opportunity to practice alone, I found myself wondering, “What does it mean to be in Silence?”   I kept my twice daily hatha and meditation practice during these three days, and I also maintained my usual daily activities such as gardening, home and yard maintenance and writing. However, instead of engaging in phone calls or email conversations, I incorporated hour-long segments of subtle body practices, reading sacred texts, listening to Swami Veda lectures, and so on.   The days filled with sacred activity passed so ...

  Dharma: A Path with Heart ©2025 by Randall Krause In my early years as an aspirant in the Himalayan Yoga-Meditation Tradition, I was eager to discover and embody my dharma. Dharma is a Sanskrit word with various meanings, one of which is one's natural purpose, mission, vocation, or calling. That was what I sought. I wanted to find “my work,” which would enable me to access my hidden talents and gifts, and would, in turn, lead me on the path to Self-realization.   When we walk our dharma path, we touch something deeper within ourselves, tapping into our innate gifts to best serve the world and find greater fulfillment. Swami Rama said that our dharma brings us the experiences we need to grow on our meditative path. Each of us has a dharma, and it doesn't have to be grand or earthshaking; it can seem humble. Yet it's our natural mission, and everyone’s is unique. You've undoubtedly met or seen people living their dharma; they r...

   Non-Violence and Spiritual Strength by Swami Veda Bharati   Let spiritual experience become personal. The more you go into your personal spiritual questions, the more answers come. It’s not answers to questions. Simply, guidance comes.   The answer is silence of the mind – clearing your emotions – clearing your emotions so that they do not become obstacles in the way of your spiritual experience.   A lot of people have emotional experiences. They are spiritually inclined, so they think they are having a spiritual experience. I believe in utter purity. I don’t believe in all this flying off to astral travel, and out-of-body experiences, and dreaming this and dreaming that. A lot of people think of that as spirituality. And there are a lot of people who have written books on that basis, and they are very misleading.   My idea of spiritual experience is . . . total stillness . . . stillness of body, stillness of breath, ...