The Message that Gurumayi gives us on the first of the year in
Sweet Surprise is my anchor, my path, and my connection to the Guru for the rest of the year.
At our center, we love preparing for
Sweet Surprise. December is the month when we review our
sadhana of the past year. Yesterday in
satsang we shared what “perfectness of the heart” and “friendship of the mind” mean to us. We remembered and acknowledged the grace of the Guru.
This reflection, contemplation, and sharing process continues for a few more weeks. We love offering
seva to prepare the center and ready ourselves for
Sweet Surprise. Then we wait with loving hearts to receive Gurumayi’s words on the first of the year.
Cuttack, India
Over the past year as I have been practicing Gurumayi’s Message, I notice I am lighter, my edges are softened, I am more apt to be in love with life as it appears to me with all its tumultuous and beautiful fluctuations. I am willing to look more honestly at this life I have fashioned and do something about making it more lovely each day.
Recently I have been reading shares from my fellow
sadhakas, and I am delighted by their wisdom, yearning, and creative effort. It is fun and rewarding to experiment with some of their ideas for putting the Message into practice. It’s as if each share gives me a more expanded understanding, an exciting new entry point, and an intimate feeling of kinship with the
sangham and with our Guru’s benevolent grace.
Near the bottom of the shares I came upon my own share that I had written many months ago. It thrilled me to read my original experience, relive it, and find it heightened and enriched, blessed with so much abundant grace.
Washington, United States
Quietly and almost unnoticed, my understanding of Gurumayi’s Message for 2023 has deepened throughout the year and has become a tangible reality for me.
I have given up looking for fulfillment in the external world and instead prefer to immerse myself in the fullness of my heart. This decision makes my life very rich, wonderful, and worth living. I have also made friends with my mind. I honor my mind and give it the discipline it needs to be peaceful and happy.
Konolfingen, Switzerland
Gurumayi’s Message for 2023 has become a “mantra” for me. The moment I first heard it, it penetrated my heart. Since then, I have been repeating it every day without fail.
The four lines of the Message energize me. I have been contemplating and practicing every word, on my own and in the Sadhana Circle I am part of. The group wisdom opens up new perspectives and supports me in assimilating the essence of the Message in a natural, easeful way.
When I think, speak, or act now, Gurumayi’s words reverberate within me, guiding me. Practicing the Message in this way brings clarity to every aspect of my life.
Maharashtra, India
As I prepared to begin my meditation practice this morning, I first chanted the mantra
Om Namah Shivaya for a few minutes, and then did my breathing exercises. I then began to inwardly recite Gurumayi’s New Year’s Message for 2023. When I did so, I felt that I was being showered by Gurumayi’s grace and bathed in her love.
After completing my meditation practice, I experienced that my heart and mind were filled with light. This light then slowly infused my whole being. I sat quietly for a while, reflecting upon this divine experience. Somehow, I knew with certainty that one day, every minute of every day could be filled with this light.
San Felipe, Mexico
I am understanding more these days about the first part of Gurumayi’s Message for 2023: “The perfectness of the heart, the fulfillment of life.” By focusing on practicing the virtues, I am finding that my entire attitude toward whatever happens to me is being transformed. I am starting to experience “the fulfillment of life” no matter what is going on.
Auroville, India
As I begin each session of my meditation practice, I inwardly repeat Gurumayi’s Message for 2023 three times. As I do so, I usually experience the repetition of the first line as an immediate doorway to silent expansiveness. Then, each subsequent line deepens that experience. Also, as I repeat each line, I am reminded of the immeasurable gift that Gurumayi has offered me with her Message.
Washington, United States
I’ve come to realize that I may have a habit of brooding on negative experiences rather than recalling the happier ones. As I was in the metro, riding to a family reunion, I saw my reflection in some glass and my face was not a happy one. I looked inside and recognized that I was not unhappy—I’d just been brooding on negative thoughts. So I decided to think of all the nice things that had happened in the last month.
Suddenly, I realized that I had received a lot of presents from life: some dear friends visiting, the loving presence of my children, success in some endeavor, nice cool weather, an invitation to spend some time in a beautiful place, and now the perspective of this joyous family reunion. As I remembered all these blessings, a soft smile started to light up my face and my reflection in the glass became much more pleasant. In very little time, my mood had changed completely and I was experiencing “the friendship of the mind.”
Marlanval, France
While walking my dog recently, I began to reflect on what it means to be in God’s sweet company. I asked myself what kinds of thoughts I would be having and what qualities would be flowing through my being if my mind was absorbed in God. Then, I mentally began listing some of the qualities of the Divine, as I understand them to be. I attempted to absorb my mind in each one as I named it. I started with qualities like compassion, kindness, expansiveness, gentleness, and forgiveness. Soon, my choices became more playful. I started contemplating and savoring words like ebullience, luminosity, resonance, and astuteness. This happy exercise went on for a while. I became immersed in a devotional, light-filled state, as each quality seemed to release its essence when my mind touched on it.
With the support of Gurumayi's Message, I am realizing how important it is to deliberately choose what kinds of thoughts I will have. I am experiencing that this practice cultivates the friendship of the mind.
Castlemaine, Australia
As I reflected on Gurumayi’s Message, I realized that when I begin to explore my heart, this leads me to an experience of my inner Self. I am able to feel the joy and love pulsating within me.
I believe that this experience of love welling up in my heart connects me to the loving heart of Shri Guru. In this way, my heart becomes one with the heart of Shri Guru, which in turn brings a sense of fulfillment to my life.
Jaipur, India
For the past three years, I have been following an intention I made to find different methods to practice and study Gurumayi’s Message on a daily basis. For example, I made each Message resonate with me by reading passages by different authors that relate to the Message. I also looked for various ways to put aspects of the Message into practice. As a result of engaging with Gurumayi’s Message in this way, my days have been filled with greater awareness. This practice has also kept me more attentive and centered.
Guadalajara, Mexico
Gurumayi’s Message for 2023 is so beautiful! I enjoy playfully allowing words of her Message to stand out and then relate to each other, as they bring forth inner connection—and silken exultation. Sometimes just one word takes center stage. As I witness these words, my mind becomes as quiet and soft as a sleeping child and I know that all is well and as it should be.
Washington, United States
As I sat down for meditation, I tried to focus on the source of my breath. But very quickly I realized that instead of the source of my breath, I was following my mind, which had become busy scanning the events of the day. At that moment, my mind appeared like a bent branch that had tilted away from the tree.
I drew upon Gurumayi’s Message and repeated the phrase “The friendship of the mind.” I repeated it just once, and to my utmost surprise, the bent branch retreated and aligned itself with the tree.
My focus returned to my breath. No other thoughts occurred. I felt whole and complete and continued my meditation.
Bangalore, India
Today, after my early morning meditation, I took my dog out for a walk. It was still dark outside. In the silence of the morning, Gurumayi’s Message for 2023 started repeating itself within me. It felt as if it was coming from a space beyond me and beyond all physical dimensions. And in that moment, I had the vision that all activities in this world are as infinitesimally small as the specks of dust we see in a ray of sunlight. A wave of calmness descended on me.
Bangalore, India
After receiving Gurumayi’s Message for 2023, I spent some time creating motions to express each of the four lines. Physicalizing Gurumayi’s Message has been a powerful way to allow this priceless gift from Gurumayi to enter me more fully.
Michigan, United States