22
Enlightenment Journal | Summer 2017
LIVING KRIYA YOGA
Dharma 365! Online Course
with Yogacharya O’Brian
Notes from A Year of Living Purposefully
Genie Palmer, Ph.D.
Just like many of us, I was continually looking for a way to bring my spiritual
practice more consistently into my daily routine but often got sidetracked
by the busy-ness of work, family and the many distractions that pull us away
from remembering ourselves as spiritual beings. For years, I had subscribed to
Yogacharya O’Brian’s Daily Inspirations so I had my spiritual “toe in the water”
of daily contemplation. But I had reached a place where I longed to integrate
my path more evenly into my life so that it did not feel like one more thing that
I needed to accomplish, but rather a foundation for me to carry with me as
support throughout each day. I wanted to try to live with a higher purpose, but
not just when it was convenient or when I remembered or when I had a free
moment. After experiencing many positive and useful benefits with the year-
long Artha program at CSE from a couple of years ago, I eagerly enrolled in the
Dharma 365! online course. Plus, I had read that “Discovering our dharma can
be like discovering our North Star—our spiritual compass—the sure guide to
living with higher purpose every day.” That is exactly what I was seeking.
Now that I am receiving not only those 365 Daily Inspirations, but weekly
lessons that focus on one inspirational theme, and monthly practices with
step-by-step instructions, I am feeling so much closer to my goal of integrating
my spiritual self into my work and family life instead of feeling that uncomfort-
able sense that we sometimes have that our lives are splintered into segments.
Knowing that I can let go of “planning” my spiritual practice and simply receive
the teachings each day has given me a sense of surrender into my practice. I like
knowing that there are many others out there taking the course and if I chose to,
I can interact with them, but if I want to just stay with myself and journal about
that week’s lesson, I can do so anytime in the privacy of my home or even on a
break at work. I also love that I can refer to any previous lesson anytime I want
to and have found myself going back to a particular teaching when a need for it
arises, so I get the chance to practice and apply the dharmic lesson in the “labo-
ratory” of my own life.