The Art of Blessing

What is the art of blessing

The world exists, from a certain point of view, to awaken the faith in God in us. The Art of Blessing is the first essential step which the human being can take towards God. If the Art of Blessing awakens the faith in God in us in the beginning, through perservering practice of this extraordinary spiritual method we can “melt” into God, merging with Him completely. This initiation is unique in the world and we consider it to be an extraordinary revelation for the whole of humanity.

In the beginning it is enough to believe that God exists, or at least to have the inner openness to practice the Art of Blessing. That is sufficient for this “grain” to develop through the Art of Blessing to reveal an overwhelming splendor. When we reach ecstatic fusion with God, we understand that He is everything, He is the only One who truly exists. In a state of spiritual ecstasy, Samadhi, we see nothing but God, we also forget about ourselves because God is everything. The Art of Blessing makes us understand that the Divine Grace moments are not occasional. They are expressions of necessity and can be triggered exactly when we wish as a consequence of the Art of Blessing.

The energy of blessing results from the Supreme Divine Energy and bestows on us Supreme Grace, deriving from the Supreme Divine Spirit which exists beyond the three worlds (physical, Astral, causal). The fundamental revelations realized by Sri Yuktesvar and unveiled to Yogananda – presented in the book “Autobiography of a yogi – about God-ness, the world beyond, the physical, astral, causal worlds are fundamental to understand the Divine Laws on which the Art of Blessing is based.

This article will explain what the Art of Blessing is, how it is practiced and the effects for both the person who performs the blessing and for the blessed one.

The Key to the Art of Blessing

The Art of Blessing allows the Supreme Energy, which is beyond existence and non-existence, to flow over the person. It derives from the Almighty sphere of the Eternal Divine Spirit of God The Father. There is nothing in the Universe equal or above it. It is almighty, ubiquitous, eternal, and everything in the three worlds is subordinated to it. The person who fully acquires this technique comprehends that nothing exists apart from God The Father. This Energy leads us to the Unique Eternal Reality, and reveals the ultimate truth about the ultimate manifestation of the Eternal Spirit of God to us. Even if it is feeble in the beginning, this flow of Divine Energy gradually helps us to transcend Maya (the root of all pleasure and suffering), and so have a pure, beneficial life. Supreme Divine Energy helps us to detach from everything that chains us, helps us discover divine wisdom without being affected by the whirl of life, leading us to final liberation. It teaches us that every human being is a divine manifestation, which enables us to more intensively, and more often experience, feelings of love, compassion, forgiveness, non-violence, and altruism. It impels us and sustains us to irrevocably liberate from the cycle of reincarnation. It aids us in discovering the nature of Atman. Further, it can awaken in our self endless unconditional love, thus granting us an extraordinary inner power.

The main conditions for success in the Art of Blessing are:

a great faith in God;
a love for God;
a clear and deep understanding of the divine process that has been started;
an authentic state of humility and abnegation;
the awakening and the deepening of the state of being as a child;
the aim to increase our selflessness and to diminish our ego;
the profound understanding that the reality of God The Father is a total and overwhelming Mystery;
the acceptance of the fact that God The Father is always present in us through Atman;
the firm belief that if you, as a child full of humility, ask God something that is in accordance with divine law, God will grant you what you ask;
the Aspiration to surpass our ego through humility and sincere aspiration to God The Father, because the reducing of ego is directly proportional to being able to Commune with the Supreme Energy that is poured forth from the Almighty Spirit of God;
to cultivate real kindness, and the power to completely forgive;
to purify ourselves internally in order to be able to rapidly transform.

Free will is a divine gift, but we have to know how to use it. Through it we are free to do whatever we wish, although not everything is allowed. Through the Art of Blessing, the man who begs God is the one who proposes and soon after, God is the One who disposes. The smaller the ego, the greater the intensity of Energy we receive through Sahasrara during the blessing. The “answer” we receive is a way to determine the degree of selfishness that characterizes us. It is very important not to lie to ourselves.

The inner obstacles are:

lack of faith in God;
vanity, pride and arrogance;
lack of love, hatefulness;
vice and fornication;
weakness, a fascination with luxury;
greed and selfishness;
meanness, wickedness, sadism;
wrath, fury, violence, crime;
derisive scepticism;
the passions of envy, jealousy, gossip, slander;
laziness and apathy.

The one who still doesn’t succeed in practicuing the Art of Blessing will have to sincerely ask himself which of these obstacles is present in his case and eliminate that problem. It is very important to insist again and again and God’s answer, if it is asked for with sincerity and faith, will not delay in coming. No obstacle is permanent in man’s efforts to become closer to God.

Divine Law

The Law of Analogy

The law of analogy is also known as the law of correspondence between the microcosm of man and the macrocosm of the universe; it is between the individual spirit Atman and the Universal Spirit Paramatman.

Everything that exists in God The Father exists in us as well. Through the Art of Blessing we have access to the Supreme Energy of God.

The Law of Vibration

Nothing is motionless. Everything that exists is merely vibration that is manifested on different scales. Thus the difference between manifestations of matter, feelings, thoughts, and other phenomena has this simple explanation. The evolutionary scale is made of grades of frequencies from the dense to the subtle, ranging up to the Immortal Spirit of God. The higher the vibration, the more elevated the manifestation. In reality matter is composed of energetic particles in continuous motion of a certain rhythm. Pythagoras discovered that motion is characteristic to every thing or being. Even what seems to be inert has a certain frequency of vibration. Everything that exists in the Universe was created by Divine Energy. An object subjected to vibration can seem perfectly immobile for example, the spokes of a wheel in motion appear as a compact fixed object. Therefore we should not allow ourselves to be fooled by appearances. Rather, we should seek further in order to be closer to reality and to see if a thing object is coarse or refined. We will discover that light, heat, magnetism and electricity are nothing but vibratory phenomena. This is also true for thoughts, emotions, moods, and willpower: they are all vibratory states, emitted towards the exterior, having a larger or smaller impact upon the environment.

The law of vibration represents the ability to intervene in lower levels of manifestation in order to produce the desired transformations.

According to the law of vibration, Supreme Energy is attracted to our being through the technique of the Art of Blessing. It comes from God The Father and is the Ultimate Supreme Energy that originates from the Ultimate Spirit of God. By attracting it, we make the first step on the path of Divine Love. This energy is the direct answer God The Father offers to everyone.

“Ask and thou shall receive. Knock and the door shall open” – this is the fundamental promise the Creator made to Creation, which He has always respected. God The Father immediately grants Supreme Divine Energies of His Spirit as an answer to our prayers.

The Art of Blessing allows us to receive the most valuable spiritual gifts. The energies the individual spirit Atman receives from God have a very high frequency of vibration; they make everything possible in the entire manifestation of spirit.

The Law of Cause and Effect

Every genuine cause that has not been erased has its own effect; and every effect that appears has its own cause that determined it. Everything takes place according to Universal laws established by God. “Luck” and “accident” are only names that the ignorant give to the law of necessity. Nobody can elude the divine laws God has established.

We have the tendency to approach the law of cause and effect in its most negative, pessimistic and ill-fated forms – this attitude seems almost normal. Our shallowness and mediocrity have us misunderstand this principle which is also called the law of Karma, and to take appearances as reality. Nothing is fortuitous or by chance. There is a strong connection between events and what follows them. All thoughts appear from the mind, all actions are the consequences of our thoughts, all are links of the chain of cause and effect. This is the secret contained in divine spiritual law. Therefore it is necessary to train the mind in order to obtain happiness, as this is the emotional representation of spiritual evolution. Unfortunately most people limit their access to happiness and indulge in negative states. They abandon themselves passively to others’ will, for example when using the mass media. In this way they lose the ability to exercise their own will and allow themselves to become manipulated. The wise and initiated man can use divine law in an intelligent manner against the laws made by people. The superior prevails above the inferior. The common emotion of fear is a torment which blocks knowledge and stops evolution. Thus if we feel troubled we should freely admit our mistakes and move forward and so remain in a calm state. Our errors impact only on us; others’ mistakes illustrate what level we are. If someone hurts us, he accumulates karma and this does not affect us. Therefore, we should not take revenge, but should instead ponder why we attracted that action upon us. The law of “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, “is thus nullified.

We must consider all our experiences as spiritual tests that allow us to confront our mistakes and learn from them. If we are unsuccessful in learning from this, we simply remain behind other advanced people that may surround us. For example, a man who murders will be murdered in the next existence. Through his action, he accumulates a duty towards himself. If we do not understand this, we will continue killing and being killed life after life. It is important therefore to become conscious, fair and honest with ourselves, to aspire to God, and to follow an upward trajectory towards heavenly divine fruit. All events take place because of causes we know little about; but once the mystery is solved they become natural.

The Law of Synchronicity

Everything is One and this is God The Father. This includes everything: me, you, her, creatures, the Tattva-ic elements, and so on. To realize this can only be obtained by a supra-mental consciousness. This state of true harmony is impossible to be reached by mere mechanical understanding. The one who achieves this awareness is above the actions of people, beyond karma. The people who commit selfish actions merely illustrate how they misinterpret life, because appearances are different to reality. In order to see life as it really is, one should reach divine knowledge.

Through the Art of Blessing, Divine Consciousness is awakening in us. The person becomes moral; he will never harm anybody or anything. Divine Consciousness offers such mental peace that cannot be disturbed by anything; this is the most rapid way to obtain the Supreme goal. Regarding devotion, the love of an awakened person is greater than the love of a mother, because she feels separated from her child whereas the wise person is one with God.

It is necessary to tenaciously practice the Art of Blessing, because we can thus reach the Supreme Divine Reality. God is The One who transcends everything we perceive.

Cause, or Karma, can be revoked by knowledge, therefore knowledge is essential. The reason for being reborn is simply our ignorance. However if we can annihilate every desire, we will stop the cycle of rebirth and incarnating again.

Creation is an infinite spectrum of the underlying reality of people, things, and phenomena; with ourselves as conscious beings superior. But the One who created this is beyond all categories. He is transcendental because He is beyond our capability of rational knowledge. Through the Art of Blessing, or through any other efficient method where the Self is revealed by relating to the Supreme Consciousness, He lets Himself be known. When He is known, it eliminates any suffering according to our aspiration. A drop of Divine Grace corrects every mistake, heals every misfortune. The state in which we are freed from every desire grants us perfect peace, complete self contentment and inner reconciliation. Through the Art of Blessing, we reach the state of Communion with God, we get to know Him as “Sat – Chit – Ananda” (ever-existing, ever-conscious, ever-new bliss). It clearly gives us the direct path and the means to reach Supreme realisation. However God’s Grace cannot be obtained without any effort. He offers us the Art of Blessing as a direct path to reach Him, but He can only be known by sustained individual practice.

The Correlation between the Law of Synchronicity and the Art of Blessing

Sometimes we feel inspired (zones of synchronicity-harmony, significant coincidences), sometimes we do not (zones of turbulence). In moments of synchronicity, everything is fluid; people, gestures and objects appear exactly at the right time and place. This harmony that seems to come from beyond may appear as a miracle, even in the smallest things:

meetings, telepathy – the so-called simple coincidences;
cascade, succession of coincidences (at a superior level). For instance- a person is passing by a phone box, the phone rings, the person answers, the call is for her and the person who made the call dialed this number by mistake instead of the home number!

For many, these are only extraordinary chances of fate, merely “coincidences” or “miracles”. Actually they illustrate profound resonance with the mysterious forces of God. It is only our ego that stops us from being in a state of synchronicity all the time.

Synchronicity represents significant coincidences that are not related each other by an evident cause. An event is synchronous with another one when an inner experience (for instance a dream) prepares us for an event that takes place later in the external world. Wishing something passionately, we create what we desire in another plane (sometimes even unconsciously) and we can obtain astonishing effects. For instance, the intellect has very little to do with brilliant discoveries: rather, it is intuition that appears and the solution comes without knowing how, as Albert Einstein confessed. The term “synchronicity” (syn=with and chronos=time) was chosen by Jung to stand for the simultaneous appearance of connections between elements, through meaning but without a unique cause. Science does not quite understand these phenomena and the rational mind denies them. What connects them can only be understood within a mysterious, timeless and causal Universe, which brings spontaneous enlightenment.

Prediction techniques are based on synchronicity – there is no apparent connection between signs and their meaning. Divination is a form of synchronicity. The law of synchronicity and the law of cause and effect are complementary. The law of karma is the law of connections and the law of synchronicity is the law of miracles. Understanding these fundamental laws leads to spiritual leaps in evolution. Synchronicity connects the material world to the psychic world through symbols that are not always understood and which appear from the collective subconscious.

When a person is spiritually elevated and wise, she benefits by having additional degrees of freedom, as she is no longer conditioned to live life by the usual patterns. The law of synchronicity offers her the power, and thanks to her creativity, anything is possible (but not everything is allowed). This “freedom” of a wise man manifests in various ways. For instance near a spiritual master, the evolved disciple is confronted with unexplainable synchronicities.

One can bless houses, places, objects, food, and situations. The Energy of the Spirit of God can be directed to anything; deification can appear in everything. The Blessing does not have to be preceded by Consecration, as it is about the Spirit of God who exists in manifestation as well as outside it. Through the Art of Blessing one activates invisible subtle forces and connects to the synchronicity field.

The Effects of Blessing

The Art of Blessing leads us to:

the manifestation of Divine Energy through us. This connects us to eternity, the almighty, the sacred, divine ecstasy, spiritual freedom, the Father’s Kingdom, the mysteries of the divine game, pure and overwhelming love, and spiritual intuition of the existence of God;
the opening towards the state of holiness;
the belief in miracles;
an understanding of the ultimate mysteries of existence, of the living essence, of the highest of all religions: God-ism. The Blessing is a manifestation of dialogue with God and of our need for God; our frantic necessity for God is pleasant to Him and represents our first step without intermediaries towards a complete religion;
the opening towards a full spiritual life;
divine wisdom;
miraculous healings;
the awakening of the soul;
the revealing of the Immortal Self, Atman – a spark of God The Father;
the amplification of the beneficial “psi” field;
the amplification of the state of ecstasy, and due to effervescent devotional experiences even reaching the state of samadhi;
the reaching of the state of silence;
being capable of levitation, premonition, coping with hyperthermia, in-combustibility;
the introduction of beneficial experiences upon people near us and of harmonizing energies upon the objects surrounding us;
the possibility of travel in time and space in the superior astral worlds;
the appearance of beneficial paranormal powers;
expansion of the horizon of knowledge, the capacity to use psychic abilities in order to understand concepts;
transformation in invulnerable spheres, i.e. any action of aggression will not cause a traumatic response;
the appearance of certain high spiritual states;
the experience of certain deification states in meditation;
relaxation, stillness of mind;
receptivity at the prithivi level through the appearance of pleasant smells (incense, floral, exotic scents) – the same thing happening at the level of other elements;
the appearance of certain spontaneous mystical states;
intuitions, premonitions, ecstasy;
healing and improved bioenergetic potential;
mysterious alchemic transformations even at the physical level;
the appearance of lucid dreams;
the acceleration of spiritual evolution.

Technique for the Art of Blessing

The steps for the technique of Blessing are listed below:

We focus internally, both mentally and spiritually;
We point our attention, our soul and our emotions only towards God the Father, as this inner attitude is essential;
We focus our attention at the level of Anahata Chakra (the area in the middle of the chest) and Sahasrara (the area on top of the head) simultaneously. We feel a state of elevation, of a unique euphoric emotion, with countless nuances;
We say mentally the formula of Blessing in such a way as to feel it with all our being;
We raise the hand in the indicated position;
Then after saying the formula and keeping the eyes closed, we orient our gaze to become slightly cross eyed as we focus on Sahasrar;
When the Divine Energy starts to flow in our body, the gaze relaxes and the eyes remain closed;
Simultaneously we try to perceive what is happening in us and through us;
We become aware of how the flow of Divine Energy penetrates the top of the head, travels downwards and floods our whole being and then a part of it flows through our right arm into the person we are blessing. If Self-Blessing the energy remains within.
Paying as much attention as possible to the 5 stages of the manifestation of Divine Energy, we become aware of:

a. climbing to a crescendo;

b. reaching a climax;

c. gradually decreasing;

d. ending;

e. the global effects.

After these five stages are over, the hand relaxes to a normal position;
If the person we bless does not deserve it, according to the blessing formula, nothing appears, the flow of energy doesn’t appear;
Those who do not practice yoga should focus on the areas of the chest and the top of the head, both inside and outside the physical body;
At the end, we thank God (it is not necessary to say the prayer of thanksgiving after each blessing, only at the end).

The effects that appear intensify in time. They are complex, multiple and remain for days, weeks, months, and years both in the blessed one and in the one who blesses. The energy we receive is infinite. God always has energy for everyone. Therefore we can do the Blessing as often as we wish.

The Blessing is more than a prayer, because in prayer we can make mistakes by asking God certain things. However, through Blessing, God grants us exactly what we need (in Self-Blessing) or what the blessed ones need. The Art of Blessing implies our free will. Only if we ask can we receive, as they say “God can bestow on us anything, but he does not place it in our bag”.

There houses, objects, aliments, situations, actions, can also be blessed in which case we modify the blessing formula. The Energy of God’s Spirit can be directed towards anything, because deification can appear in everything. The blessing does not need to be preceded by a consecration because it is about the Spirit of God which is both in manifestation and outside of it, and it is an action done by God himself. Through the Art of Blessing we activate the invisible energetically centers and connect ourselves to the field of synchronicity.

Formulas used in the Art of Blessing

The formula used when we ask for a Blessing (said internally):

“O Lord, our Heavenly Father, I beg You full of humbleness, if this human being named … (the baptist name or names are said) deserves, bless him/her, bestowing upon him/her, through me, Your Supreme Grace. Thy Will Be Done. Amen.”

The formula used to bless a group of people:

“O Lord, our Heavenly Father, I beg You full of humbleness, if this group of human beings deserves, bless them now, bestowing upon them, through me, Your Supreme Grace. Thy Will Be Done. Amen.”

The formula used for Self-Blessing for men:

“O Lord, our Heavenly Father, I beg You full of humbleness, if the one who is asking You now, having the name of … (your baptist name or names are said) deserves, bless him now, bestowing upon him Your Supreme Grace. Thy Will Be Done. Amen.”

The formula used for Self-Blessing for women:

“O Lord, our Heavenly Father, I beg You full of humbleness, if the one who is asking You now, having the name of … (your baptist name or names are said) deserves it, bless her now, bestowing upon her Your Supreme Grace. Thy Will Be Done. Amen.”

Thanksgiving words said at the end (or even later):

“I thank Thee Heavenly Father, for making my being the vessel of Your Supreme Grace.”

These words should be learnt by heart and then used!

Observations

Through the Art of Blessing we learn the true opinion God has about the person we bless. Thus we can correct any absurdities we might think/feel about certain people. The Energy is always specifically directed to the person we bless, which shows that God always gives us what we need. This Energy has a purifying effect, upon both the blessed person and the medium it is channelled through. The Art of Blessing can be used in all worlds (that is we can retain it after we leave the physical plane) and we can use it to ask for assistance from God The Father. Sometimes we make mistakes in prayer but never in a blessing.

The blessing changes depending if the blessed person is still in this world or not. If the person has left this world, the words for the blessing become: “..if this person who had the name of..” (because after leaving this world we do not keep the same identity as in the physical plane).

In the case of repeated blessings, the effects are different from one blessing to the other and thus we can notice the transformation produced in that person. We should not have prejudice regarding the answer of God, as it is indescribable and unimaginable. Due to the Blessing, the relationship between the bless-er and the blessed persons gains a deeper intensity. The one who does the blessing is also blessed in turn. If we desire God’s help, we can practice the Art of Blessing even after our physical death, on the condition we do not enter the infernal worlds because we will not deserve to practice it.

The Blessing in Unison as a Group

It is recommended to realize the Art of Blessing upon a group, or for Self Blessing, for about 7-10 minutes at the beginning of every meeting. A person can be chosen by a consecrated drawing of lots and asked to stand in the middle of the group. Everybody should direct the Supreme Divine Energy towards this person. This technique is similar to a group prayer only it is more powerful.

If there is a major problem and there is a group of 7-28 people, they should orientate to the divine and state this issue with profound sincerity. Mobilisation of the whole being, detachment and surrender to the Divine Will are necessary for solving problems. A drawing of lots should be done again in order to choose a person called “the ear”, who will be told all the revelations that are to follow. Meditation is the next step for increasing creativity (that is, projections in the superior astral worlds such as Shambala, and contact with spiritual guides). Everybody should note attentively what has been revealed to them and will communicate this to others or only to the “ear”. Every participant must make a commitment. It could be to practice the Art of Blessing 7 times in order for divine inspiration to offer the necessary information to improve his creativity, to become a perfect force. This commitment must be re-activated every morning, in order to speed up the resolving of the problem. Manifestation in the physical plane has precise laws regarding transformation of energy from the causative plane into the physical plane, that is, enough energy must be accumulated. If we do not keep on re-activating this commitment, we will gradually fall back to the old level when the problem seemed unsolvable. Practising the Art of Blessing daily, we have a dialogue with God deep down in our being and we connect to the Energy of Divine Possibilities. Therefore our desires can more easily manifest in the concrete domain. By applying the Art of Blessing with as much intensity as possible, we obtain Divine Inspiration and our mental field becomes connected to the invisible point, although it may not appear so. At subsequent meetings we should explain everything and draw conclusions. The aim is to make the position we hold in this warp to appear in a clear and divinely integrated manner.

By starting from our problem and practising the Art of Blessing in a group, we become open towards inspiration and creativity in solving it. Thus everything becomes clearer and we obtain the courage to truly create.

The definitive exorcism of a possessed person can even be obtained by practising the Art of Blessing in unison as a group and with complete fasting. In the case of weak possessions, exorcisms can be done by a single person or by self-blessings practiced daily.

The Blessing is in essence a mysterious divine power pouring from up downwards: this is the recognizable sign. This flow of Supreme Spiritual Energy manifests in man in the form of a divine favour in reply to prayer performed with faith and humility. This evokes divine assistance and guidance for this issue or for another person. The one who blesses benefits as well, because he opens his being for the Supreme Energy to pass through. He is actually self-blessing and is therefore helped.

Self – Blessing

In the beginning when the ego is very strong, it is possible to be unsuccessful in conducting the self-blessing. It is then necessary to bless others with humility and faith as often as possible. Only when detachment appears by unselfishly offering aid to others through blessings can we diminish the ego and progress spiritually. After the necessary transformations have occurred in us, we will be able to realize the Self-Blessing.