“Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors and gifts of my fellow human beings, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.”
ALBERT EINSTEIN
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When you accept that all manifestation flows from the subtle to the gross, individual thoughts can be viewed as embryos, and your attention as an incubator, employed in the process of creation. In reality, right NOW, in every moment, you and I are living in what Judeo-Christian-Islamic religions refer to as the “Seventh Day of Creation.”
In this “Seventh Day of Creation,” when you give attention to a thought, that subtle thought-embryo of potential energy is incubated. And when sufficient Love and nourishment (your attention) have been given, a tangible form of the thought-embryo is born into the material world. For example, the more you think a thought, the more likely you are to speak about that thought. Speech is a more substantial form of the original thought-embryo. And with sustained attention to that same thought-embryo, you’re likely to undertake some physical action that can successively create ever more complex relation-
ships––all of which are new-born forms of the original embryo called thought, the little thought that you nurtured with the power of your attention.
Let’s assume that a specific thought comes into your awareness. No one else is aware of this particular thought, just you. Others, of course, get their own thoughts that you’re not aware of. You received your specific thought in the present. At this point in space and time you are in a unique relationship with a particular constellation of relationships throughout the universe, and your mind-body-sense complex is the one perfectly qualified to take some action in response to this subtle thought-embryo now appearing in your awareness. So it has come to you.
If, in the present moment, your Conscience advises that the thought in your awareness is a shreya that will lead you for your highest good, give it your complete, one-pointed attention. Why? In effect, this
Super Conscious Wisdom reflected by the Conscience means that you have been chosen, from among the billions of people in the world, to incubate this particular thoughtembryo, this thought of Truth, kindness or empathy that the Supreme Intelligence is bringing forth from the subtle world for resolution. Your capacity to focus attention on that thought, in the present moment––now––is the mechanism for ushering the subtle thought-object into manifest form. This progression from the subtle thought to the more tangible forms of speech, action and consequence, is the process of creation. And by aligning every thought, word and action with the Conscience, you become an instrument of the Supreme Reality in the process of creation. It is through this process that your personal karma, the consequences of your previous actions, can be skillfully resolved.
But as we all know, not every thought leads to positive, life-affirming consequences. Therefore, each thought must be considered only a suggestion of what to give our attention to not an imperial command. Throughout the day, in every relationship on every field of action, we need to remain in the witnessing state, in order to hear the Conscience when it alerts us to the Truth that certain thoughts may be preyas, thoughts like fear, anger or greed, Ego or Sense gratifications
that conflict with our Inner Super Conscious Wisdom. Sustained attention to these preyas will manifest speech, actions and consequences that lead us to stress, fear, anger, depression and disease. So, in such cases, we are to sacrifice our attachment to preyas so that their contractive energies can be tranformed into positive and expansive healing energy, will power and creativity.
When a thought comes into your awareness, remain in the witnessing state. Simply view it as a suggestion of what to give your attention to. As your spiritual practice becomes more consistent, you will be increasingly free to consciously choose the shreya over the preya. Real freedom is having the ability to direct your attention to your thoughts with discrimination. In every circumstance, you can act consciously, creatively and lovingly, even when confronted with the seductive temptations of the comfortable, attractive and familiar.
Remember, thoughts, desires, emotions and concepts are forms of raw power coming to you through the grace of the Supreme Reality. What are you to do with that power? The answer to that question can determine whether you have the life of an unfulfilled, enslaved reactionary, or a joyful, rewarding life, lived free from worry and burnout.
By Ananda Mata
Editor’s note: In the following essay, reference is made to Exodus 12:13 in which God warns Moses of the coming 10th plague He will inflict on Egypt: The killing of every firstborn man, woman, child and animal. God then offers an exemption to the Israelites: Every household must sacrifice a lamb, and put the blood of that lamb on the doorway of the house. The Angel of Death, seeing this sign, will “pass over” that house, and all will be well.
As seekers of Truth, each of us has come into this world bound to a mind/body/sense complex that serves as both our vehicle for liberation and our greatest adversary. We must live and interact in the world of material objects, utilizing our mind and senses. However, if we allow our lives to be governed by the likes and dislikes of these servants, we are destined to suffer. When we stay centered in the witnessing state of the Higher Self, utilizing the Conscience (Buddhi) to determine what’s to be done and what’s not to be done, the mind will remain calm and we will find peace.
Recently my family went to Florida for April break and to spend some time with my in-laws for the Passover holiday. Knowing that the change in diet, environment, conversation and activity provided rich opportunity to employ my spiritual practice (sadhana), my intuition suggested that I deepen my practices leading up to the trip. Outwardly, and for others involved, past trips were rewarding and uneventful. However, my internal, private battles would habitually ensue as the personality held tightly to comments and actions it did not like. The mind replayed events, complete with color commentary, detailing all its judgments. It would internalize, personalize and memorialize trivial comments and events in a grand, egoorchestrated magnification. Although this was all happening privately in my own mind, it consumed a lot of energy (prana). It was exhausting, and depleted my immune system. In the past, it would sometimes take days to recover from such a trip. My plan was to give more time to my practices, both
leading up to the trip and while we were there, to see what would happen.
I diligently deepened my sadhana prior to our departure, and gave it more time than usual after our arrival. During the visit I noticed that an unexpected and unintended consequence had unfolded. The personality did still notice comments and actions that she felt were injurious, and not in alignment with Yoga’s highest principal of non-injury, nonharming known as ahimsa. However, she also recognized that those choices of action were not her own, and were of no consequence to her. She sacrificed the temptation to dwell on them, and she let them go. Her mind recognized that those karmic acts did not belong to her, and that repeating them mentally in judgment of another was an ego gratification that conflicted with her Inner Wisdom, known in Sanskrit as preya Consciously letting go of past habits, she did not cling to events nor energize them with her unskillful judgment; she quietly sacrificed them back. In all honesty, this observing and offering was neither planned nor intended. Rather, it was purely spontaneous. This alignment with the Higher Self not only yielded a healthy and pleasant state of mind, it also gave her clear vision to understand the deeper meaning of a portion of the Passover story because she had just lived it.
For years, as my husband and I celebrated Passover with our three children, this personality had grappled with the 10th plague, the death of the Egyptian firstborn. It was too scary to share a murderous God with the children, and she couldn’t make any sense of a divine genocide that seemingly did not discriminate. Because of this experience, I contemplated my sadhana that week, and
realized that the deep unshakeable calm that had manifested from sacrificing my internal judgments had created a personal Passover. The normal pain and internal suffering that came with giving my attention to earlier judgments had “passed over” me in response to my sincere internal sacrifice. Outward calm composure wasn’t enough; the Higher Self demanded everything. And suddenly, through that contemplation, the yogic interpretation of that 10th Egyptian plague written about in Exodus was undeniably clear. The “lamb” to be sacrificed is not an animal, it is one’s personal attachment to what my Inner Wisdom refers to as preya. That is everyone’s dharma. It is not enough to sacrifice attachments outwardly through glib pleasantries. It must first and foremost be sacrificed in the mind, leaving its holy mark on one’s heart the “doorway” to the soul. And with this sacrifice, any negative, painful consequences that might have resulted from serving the Ego over Inner Wisdom, will “pass over” the earnest seeker who has chosen the highest good and the divine consequence will be peace.
In the words of Swami Rama of the Himalayas, “Whatever is going to happen is going to happen, and whatever is not going to happen will not happen.” Each of us must experience this world of objects by utilizing the senses. However, rather than being led by the sway of sensory pleasures and the Ego’s likes and dislikes, we must yoke ourselves to the Perfection of the Higher Self. When we are thus aligned, centered as the witness, the mind slows down and the breath becomes calm. In that quiet stillness there is a deep abiding peace that is unshakeable, even in the midst of a seemingly great storm.
spoiler alert
I know How Your Story ends Your ego Bows And your Soul ascends.
Love never fails While love Never fails We often Do By failing to adjust Our sails
When a changing wind Blows through.
A life well lived
“Life, if well lived, Is long enough”
That’s the life I long to live
Measured in depth And not in length
When I have nothing left To give.
My take on life
Someone once asked me “What is your take on life, Please tell me how A man should live?”
Teary-eyed I replied, “My take on life Is to give.”
Do you smell that?
If you’re hearing (reading) These words For you They are meant So stay on The trail And follow The scent.
All the way to love
O, Inner Dweller, lead me
From the unreal to the real, From that which always changes To that which never does, Beyond the boundary Of think and feel
All the way To love.
A Living Link in the World’s Oldest Health and Wisdom Spiritual Tradition
Developed by Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev), and derived from his award-winning books The Heart and Science of Yoga and YOUR CONSCIENCE ®
Yoga Science & Philosophy–WEEK 1
Learn to expand your creative consciousness
How to use the mind for the best choices
Understanding pain as an agent for healing
Increasing energy, will power & creativity
Antidotes for worry, stress and depression
AMI Meditation®–W EEK 2
Systematic procedure for AMI Meditation®
Diminishing distractions with your Mantra
Learning the one-minute meditation
Building focus and fearlessness
Breathing Techniques–WEEK 3
Breath as Medicine
How breathing irregularities foster dis-ease
Three-part diaphragmatic breath
Yoga Psychology & Ayurveda–WEEK 4
Coordinate the Four Functions of the Mind to access the power and Inner Wisdom of Your Conscience
Use the power of NOW to build and heal relationships
Ayurvedic Medicine & Nutrition for your health
Easy-Gentle Yoga Exercises–WEEK 5
Yoga stretches to detox the lymph system and benefit your muscles, nerves, joints, glands & internal organs
Physiological benefits of yoga postures
Mind / Body Self-Care Plan–WEEK 6
The healing power of prayer
The practical benefits of contemplation
Creating a therapeutic self-care plan for yourself
Learning to budget your time
Integrating spirituality into daily life
FOUND ATION COURSE – Live on ZOOM & A MI Home Center
Endorsed by Dean Ornish MD, Bernie Siegel MD, Larry Dossey MD
Ram Lev is an American spiritual teacher, a direct disciple of medical pioneer Swami Rama of the Himalayas, and a living link to the world’s oldest health and wisdom spiritual tradition. A noted educator, philosopher and Yoga Scientist, Ram Lev is the founder of the American Meditation Institute, developer of The Foundation Course curriculum, and originator of National Conscience Month. He is the author of the awardwinning books, The Heart and Science of Yoga® and YOUR CONSCIENCE, and the Mind/Body/Spirit Journal, Transformation. A rare and gifted teacher, Ram Lev’s writings and classes are enlivened by his inspiring enthusiasm, vast experience, wisdom, humor and a clear, practical teaching style. Ram Lev has presented courses at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, numerous medical colleges, Kaiser Permanente, the Commonwealth Club of California, the U. S. Military Academy at West Point and The New York Times Yoga Forum with Dean Ornish MD.
You are invited to join Jenness Perlmutter & Leonard (Ram Lev)
FREE: Every Sunday 9:30 -11:00am ET GUIDED MEDITATION & SATSANG
AmericanMeditation.org/sunday
LIVE on ZOOM and at the AMI Home Center
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” – Henry David Thoreau
MAY 2025
MAY 7: BUDDHA’S BIRTH-DAY STUDY see p. 11
Wednesday, 6:30 -8:30 PM ET Live on ZOOM
MAY 18 - JUN 22: AMI MEDITATION® see p. 9 -10
Sun. Nights, 6:30 -8:30 PM ET (6 wks) Live on ZOOM
June 2025
JUN 9 - JUL 14: GITA/ YOGA PSYCHOLOGY see p. 12
Mon. Nights, 6:30 - 8:30 PM ET (6 wks) Live on ZOOM
July 2025
JUL 20 - AUG 24: AMI MEDITATION® see p. 9 -10
Sun. Nights, 6:30 -8:30 PM ET (6 wks) Live on ZOOM
JUL 21 - SEP 1: SACRED JOURNEY see p. 11
Mon. Nights, 6:30 - 8:30 PM ET (6 wks) Live on ZOOM
American Meditation Institute
Education for Enlightenment®
May-June, 2025 • Vol. XXVIII No. 4
PO Box 430, Averill Park, NY 12018
©2025 by Leonard Perlmutter (Ram Lev) and The American Meditation Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy, Inc. americanmeditation.org \ Tel. (518) 674-8714 ami@americanmeditation.org
AMI is a tax exempt, non-profit 501(c) 3 educational organization. Donations are fully tax deductible.
LEVEL II: The Compassionate Buddha, as one of the world’s most practical teachers, prescribes the practice of meditation as mind/body medicine. Without esoterica or metaphysics, without appeal to anything magical or superhuman, the Buddha encourages us to experiment with our minds by coordinating its four functions, so we can experience lasting health, happiness and security.
WEDNESDAY, 6:30 - 8:30PM ET, $95. MAY 7 LIVE ON ZOOM & AMI HOME CENTER
Living Purposefully and Dying Gracefully
Ram Lev (Leonard) and Jenness Perlmutter
The Supreme Reality is beyond name and form, beyond the senses, inexhaustible, without beginning, without end, beyond time, space, and causality–Eternal and Immutable. Those who realize the Supreme within are forever free from the jaws of death.
Get up! Wake up! Seek the guidance of an Illumined teacher and realize the answer To life’s most important questions: Who am I? Why am I here? What happens in death? How should I live now? Katha Upanishad
Level II: To understand the purpose of life, we must try to understand the relationship between life and death. The two are partners––each providing a context for the other. Death is not the end, but merely a pause in an eternal journey. When both birth and death are understood and accepted, we see how our human life fits into the eternal journey of the soul, the fear of death subsides and life can be lived more skillfully and joyfully. Based on the ancient Katha Upanishad, this course reveals how to organize your life in practical, commonsensical ways that lead to expansion and growth. Every AMI student is encouraged to attend!
Required text: Sacred Journey, by Swami Rama
MONDAYS, 6:30 - 8:30PM ET, $150. JUL 21 - SEP 1 including Insight Night (7 WKS) LIVE ON ZOOM & AMI HOME CENTER
Valerie Chakedis Ed.D. and Barbara Ruel
Prerequisite: AMI’s Foundation Course
Level II: In the AMI Meditation® Foundation Course, you learned that your thoughts are your most valuable asset. The Yoga Science Lab® will help you examine your thoughts and expand your ability to focus your attention. The techniques learned in seated AMI Meditation® are applied in every duty and responsibility throughout the day. This process is called Meditation-in-Action. As you experiment with the Truth reflected by your Conscience, you’ll develop decisionmaking skills that will enhance your confidence in all relationships. As you have already learned, to experience real freedom you must be centered in the present moment, know who you are, and follow your Inner Wisdom. The Yoga Science Lab® can help you achieve that freedom!
THURSDAYS, 6:30PM -8:30 PM ET, $75. (2 WKS) NOV 6 & 13 LIVE ON ZOOM
Ram Lev (Leonard) and Jenness Perlmutter
Level II: In continuous six week installments this course presents the profound teachings of the Bhagavad Gita as a handbook on the science of life and the art of living. If you are seeking a manual or guide for the supreme task of living a fulfilling and purposeful life in the world today, this ongoing study will provide you the practical wisdom, tools, meaning, courage and confidence you need. Each week Leonard and Jenness will teach you how to reduce stress and enhance your health and creative abilities, while offering you a fresh, positive perspective on all your personal and business relationships. This course provides the practical blueprint to resolve all of life’s challenges.
MONDAYS, 6:30 - 8:30 PM ET, $150. (6 WKS) JUN 9 - JUL 14, SEP 8 - OCT 13 LIVE ON ZOOM & AMI HOME CENTER
Take this 2-Minute
americanmeditation.org/fc/#quiz
with Ram
Lev
(Leonard Perlmutter)
see pages 9 and 10
“My wife Jenness and I have continually immersed ourselves in the study and practice of Yoga Science, Philosophy and Psychology since 1975. Over the years we have used our individual mind-body-sense complexes as laboratories to experiment with the principles we’ve learned––applying them to the full range of life’s relationships in a practical, commonsensical, discriminating manner. As a result of this personal experimentation we began to feel better: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Our health improved, our fears faded, our creative insights deepened and life became more beautiful and rewarding. This practice has given each of us an inspiring sense of purpose and the still-growing ability to make beneficial choices in every situation. Because it has worked so well for us, I invite you to join me for our next Foundation Course for Enlightenment. I promise, it will be the best gift you ever give yourself.”
Leonard Perlmutter (Ram
Lev)
