Blog Administrator’s Note: We are making an exception to the usual blog policy to share this short article by Swami Yogatmananda, with his permission. We encourage all to read it.
Summary: In this short essay, Swami Yogatmananda expands on the spiritual journey that culminates in God realization. We may frequently get off track when pursuing this journey by fantasizing and daydreaming about how our everyday lives could be different. Daydreaming is a fruitless effort, in that, as even Freud pointed out, it is not possible to fulfill desires in this way. In daydreaming, we are seeking to fulfill desires that are unreal, and as we keep expanding our desires, our lives increasing become filled with frustration. Like meditation, and unlike nighttime dreaming, day dreaming occurs while we are conscious and capable of using our awareness. Yet, by shifting the focus from that which is unreal to that which is Real, meditation enables us to use the imagination to attain God Realization, the journey’s ultimate Goal.
