Eckankar Youth & Family

Bring Your Heart To Someone You Love

By Lura Fisher

I've had the good fortune to teach and learn in a class with another Eckankar adult along with several young teens between the ages of 11 and 13. These remarkably aware youngsters attend the class to explore how the ECK teachings can open a window of spiritual insight into their active and emotion filled lives to overcome the barriers of doubt and fear that gnaw away at self-esteem.

The teens are familiar with the spiritual exercises of Eckankar and have quite vivid spiritual insights. During one class recently we were exploring the notion of an inner guide. Our focus was upon the current leader of Eckankar, Harold Klemp, whose title is "The Mahanta, the Living ECK Master." As the class settled down, I asked if anyone had an inner experience to share. One of the teens stated that she had an experience where the Mahanta handed her a piece of blue paper that said, "Bring your heart to someone you love." Intrigued with the message, the group explored the difference between personal love and God's love.

Another teen said he and his dad had built a replica of an ECK Golden Wisdom temple, often seen in the dream state, over his bed. He described the colors, the pictures of his favorite ECK Masters who graced his wall and the unique structure he and his father had built. He said it helped him to focus on God right before he went to sleep and also feel the presence of his guide preparing him for new adventures as he dreamed.

Earlier in the class I heard the surprise of two adolescent sisters who were coming to discover that they chose, as Souls, to be together in this lifetime. Although the sisters were having a hard time fathoming, on any level, that they actually chose to be together to spiritually unfold and learn more about divine love, they knew at a deeper level it was so.

Out of the blue, the younger sister knowingly smirked and remarked, "Oh, yeah, we must be working off big-time karma together in this lifetime."

Yet another teen insightfully added, "But if you chose each other to work off karma as sisters, out of all the gazillion other Souls in the universes of God, you two must trust and love each other as Soul quite a lot!

(Bring Your Heart To Someone You Love.. continued)

I wonder if you can turn karma into love?" This insightful question is certainly one that gave me pause.

Just the same, as remarkable as these Souls are, they are still human. Tired from school and the plethora of activities, they slouch in their chairs, scribble mysteriously on little pads of paper or look vacantly askance when a question is directed at them. Yet, here is what I have found is different about them. They actively travel, and often lucidly, in their dreams to astonishing universes. They consciously meet with their inner teacher and friend both in their dreams and contemplations (spiritual exercises). They also know how to sing HU to open their hearts as a way of protecting them from the confusion and illusions of the world they live in. And finally, they have an unerring ear for spiritual Truth.

As the class came to a close one youth spoke up and announced that the one thing she liked most was learning to walk through this world with more courage because she felt closer to the Mahanta. The last question that ripped through my mind as these bright Souls got up to leave the room was, "Who was teaching who in this room today?"

One last note: I have discovered my own universal truth: always bring treats because they are after all, teens.

And, of course, bring your heart!