In the face of a world in turmoil, let’s remember that God’s love for us—in fact, simply God’s love—is the only important thing, the only reality. Whether it’s expressed through the love of another person, through a pet, or through a challenging situation, look behind the surface, and see God’s love. Let it saturate your heart, and then share it with everyone. So where do we find love? If we have eyes to see, everywhere.

The heart of a devotee naturally overflows with the desire to help others. In fact, this yearning is one of the first signs of a refined consciousness. In a sense it is that impulse that brought this world into existence in the first place. God, the only thing that really exists, is ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new bliss. That bliss is ever expanding and, as Swami Kriyananda put it so simply and beautifully, “It is the nature of joy to want to share itself with others. So God created a multitude of seemingly separate souls so that He could share His bliss.”

What can we do to help bring light into the world and reestablish peace and harmony in human hearts?

Do you want to help create a better world? It begins with you taking responsibility for changing yourself. Here, then, is a simple three-step process to get started.

The world in which we live today is rife with tension, dishonesty, power-seeking, violence, and warfare. In the face of it all, feeling helpless and hopeless as so many do, it is far too easy to fall into a pit of despair. Yet each of us has within him the power to make a difference. Here are three ways that we can release the power of one.

An Indian friend of ours recently mentioned a phrase that really caught my attention. While guiding her son through a challenging period she told him, “Show me your friends, and I will show you your future.”

This phrase can also serve as a noteworthy reminder for ourselves. At times we can get a little careless about this aspect of life, but its significance is indeed profound.

Paramhansa Yogananda said, “The company you keep is important. If you leave your coat in a room where people are smoking, pretty soon it will smell of smoke. If you leave it outside in the garden, later on, when you bring it indoors, it will carry with it the fragrance of fresh air and flowers.

Kriyanandaji often spoke of the importance of bringing “keen, alert attention” to everything that we do. The next step is deeply to focus our attention not only on what we’re doing outwardly, but inwardly on God. This is essential for deeper meditation and spiritual awakening.

Paramhansa Yogananda said, “The minutes are more important than the years. If you fill the minutes of your life with thoughts of God, you will find the years of your life automatically saturated with the consciousness of God.

Yoganandaji taught that it is what we do that makes us holy, not what we don’t do. His guru, Sri Yukteswar, said, “The vanished lives of all men are dark with many shames. . . . Everything in future will improve if you are making a spiritual effort now.”

Only three things are absolutely essential: First is the desire to improve; second, the self-discipline to practice consistently; and finally, being open to help from a guide. Other qualities are important, but if these three are in place, the rest will follow naturally in its own time, just as the flowers of spring develop naturally into the fruits of fall.

What is it that makes us inwardly withdraw from deeper experiences in meditation?

One common cause is a feeling that we’re not yet ready or worthy to experience expanded states of awareness. This is just the ego trying to defend its own turf. It plants in our mind the misconception that we have to earn the right to grow spiritually.

It would be helpful to introspect and try to feel the core purpose of your own life, the trunk of your particular tree. What motivates and energizes you? Look for themes that have been there since early childhood. As you meditate, try to feel the essential aspiration of your life.

Once you have a sense of your purpose, it is important to honor it and allow it to guide your major life choices. As long as you stay aligned to your core purpose, the forms in which it will be expressed will reveal themselves. Those who stray from their essential vibration never seem to feel settled in anything they do.