Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Sadhana Program
CEILING ON DESIRES:
ENERGY
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
Road map for the Facilitator
• As a Facilitator, please be familiar with the COD section in the newsletter
and this Powerpoint. Additional reading, resources and activities is not only
welcome, but highly encouraged.
• We ask that you cover at least one topic for each category. Choose based on
what will work for your group.
• Suggested duration: 70-90 minutes.
• Materials needed
• Newsletter section on COD
• Study circle pdf-copies for your youth or go green by projecting relevant sections
• Pens/pencils/paper
• Stop watch
• Candle and matches for jyoti meditation
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
• 3 Oms
• Silent meditation (1 minute)
Lead the group out of silent meditation with this prayer:
O Lord, take my love and let it flow in fullness of devotion to thee
O Lord, take my hands and let them work incessantly for thee
O Lord, take my soul and let them be merged in thee
O Lord, take my mind and thoughts and let them be in tune with thee
O Lord, take my everything and let me be an instrument for thee!
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
Jyoti Meditation
a) Sit in a comfortable posture in front of the flame.
Begin breathing deeply in a slow and rhythmic manner.
b) Imagine a lamp with a bright and steady flame before you.
Bring the flame inside you, resting between your eyebrows.
From there let it descend down into the lotus of your heart,
in the centre of the chest, illumining the path.
c) When it enters the heart, imagine that the petals of the lotus bud open out, one by one,
bathing every thought, feeling, emotion and impulse in the light and so removing darkness
there. There is no space now for darkness to take refuge. It has to flee before the flame.
d) Imagine that the light becomes wider, bigger and brighter. Let it pervade the limbs; now
these limbs can never more deal in dark activities. These have become instruments of light
and love.
e) Let the light reach up to the tongue and falsehood, slander and spite vanish from it. Let it
rise up to the eyes and the ears and destroy all the dark desires therein. Let your head be
surcharged with light and all the wicked thoughts flee therefrom.
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
Jyoti Meditation (continued)
f) Imagine that light in you more and more intensely. Let it shine all around you and let it
spread from you in ever widening circles, taking in your loved ones, your kith and kin,
your friends and companions, your enemies and rivals, strangers, all living beings, the
entire world. Stay on in that thrill of witnessing light.
g) If you are adoring God in any form, now try to visualise that form in the all pervasive
light, for light is God and God is light.
h) Effortlessly repeat OM SAI RAM or your personal mantra. (2-3 mins.)
i) Keep your eyes closed and meditate for a few minutes.
j) End meditation. Softly and slowly.
Om Asato Ma Sadgamaya
Lead me from untruth to truth
Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya
Lead me from darkness to light
Mrutyor Ma Amrutamgamaya
Lead me from death to immorality
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
Jyoti Meditation: Follow-up Questions
a) After going through this meditation, describe your state of
mind.
b) How did you feel before the meditation and how do you feel
after?
c) What other activities do you participate in that makes you feel
most energized?
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
Introduction
1. Define energy in your own terms. What is the first thought that
comes to your mind when you hear the term ‘energy’?
2. The last 3 newsletter topics in this COD series have been on
Food, Money, and Time, all of which are more tangible than
the topic of this current newsletter, energy.
• Why do you think Swami included energy as a part of the COD
program?
• Can you think of anything else in addition to food, time, money and
energy that we could fit in this “COD bucket”?
• In your life, how much importance do you place on practicing CODEnergy compared to the other COD topics or spiritual disciplines?
• Share an experience from your life where wastage of energy led to
undesirable consequences. Likewise, share an experience where
conserving energy led to pleasant results.
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
Introduction
Swami has said: “Conservation
of energy is very important. Our
physical, mental and spiritual
energies should never be wasted.
You might ask me: “How are we
wasting our energies?" Seeing
bad things, hearing bad things,
speaking evil, thinking evil
thoughts, and doing evil deeds
all waste your energy. Conserve
your energy in all these five
areas, and make your life more
meaningful.”
http://us.sathyasai.org/ssn/2010/SeptOct
2010_Aug11b-1.pdf
3. a) Why do you think Swami
considers these 5 areas potential
‘energy wasters’?
b) What are ways to always:
i) see good?
ii) hear good?
iii) speak/talk good?
iv) think good?
v) do good?
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
Concrete & Subtle Energy
Simple experiments to try:
Concrete:
Rub your hands together vigorously
for 10 seconds.
What do you notice?
The friction caused by the hands being rubbed together takes the energy stored in our
muscles and turns it into heat.
Just as we have the ability to convert one type of energy to another by using our physical
strength and muscles, we have the ability to transform subtle aspects of energy using our
thoughts, mind and heart. Let us try this next simple exercise to understand.
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
Concrete & Subtle Energy
Simple experiments to try:
Subtle:
• Sit comfortably. Take a few deep
•
•
•
•
breaths to relax your mind and body.
Start by holding your index fingers at a
close distance so that the tips of the
fingers are pointing at each other - start
with less than 1 cm away.
Observe what you are feeling between
your fingers.
Now slowly move the fingers apart...be
conscious of the feeling as you do this,
Repeat this process with all the fingers
at the same time. Observe what you
feel now.
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
Discussion Questions – Subtle Energy
a) During this exercise, what did you feel
between your fingers:
• when it was closest (without touching)?
• as you move the fingers apart?
• when repeating the process with all the
fingers?
You should have felt a slight magnetic pull or
a tingling feeling around the tips of your
fingers. This represents your aura or your
personal energy field.
b) What are factors that affect the different
aspects (for example, intensity) of our
aura/personal energy field?
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
Discussion Questions –
Identifying Energy Wasters
Concrete:
a) What are the dominant sources of energy (coal, hydro, nuclear,
etc) in your city or region?
b) What are the main energy sources (electricity, water, oil) that
are being wasted in your city or region? In what ways?
c) What steps can you take as an individual or as a group to cut
down on wastage of energy?
Subtle:
a) In what ways do you tend to waste your personal
mental/emotional energy?
b) What steps can you take to conserve your personal energy?
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
Experiencing “Energy” in our Daily Lives
Subtle Energy:
You stay up all night working to complete
a project and end up sleeping through
your alarm and waking up late the next
morning. Your to-do list is endless, and
you have an important meeting to get to in
45 minutes. Needless to say, there is traffic
on the way, and you arrive flustered and
unable to settle down, and you get a rude
comment from one of your supervisors
about not paying attention during the
meeting. Even after the meeting is over,
your bad mood continues, and people look
scared when they approach you.
a) What factors typically lead us to be in this
type of situation?
b) How do you think your energy in this
situation is affecting others around you?
c) What are ways of improving your state of
being so that the energy within and around
you is more positive?
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
Experiencing “Energy” in our Daily Lives
Subtle Energy:
Consider the following scenarios that a lot of
us face in our daily lives:
a) Being in the presence of someone who is not taking
a positive approach to their current situation- he/she
is almost always in a bad mood/ constantly
complaining/focusing on the negative.
b) Somebody being overly critical of us- bringing our
self-esteem and positive energy down
c)Working/Going to school in an environment where
there is tension, personal conflicts, etc.
i) Why do you think we get influenced by the
energy around us? Is it really caused by
external factors? Or could it be our own state of
mind, and our process of reflection, reaction,
and resound?
ii) What are some things we can do to keep our
energy balanced in these situations?
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
Experiencing “Energy” in our Daily Lives
Subtle Energy:
You’ve waited all week to attend a special
YA bhajan session/study circle/service
project, but somehow when you get there,
you can’t seem to “connect” to Swami the
way you hoped, but you don’t want to lose
the opportunity to feel His presence.
What can you do to create the ‘divine’
experience you desire?
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
Experience Sharing:
Tuning into Divine Energy
Share an experience where you
felt an extra ounce of energy
from Swami to get through an
activity even though you felt
that you had absolutely no
energy left in you.
Concrete Energy:
Quiz: How Energy Efficient Are YOU?
In the living room: What color should a room be painted to save
energy?
1.
A.
B.
C.
In the kitchen: What temperature should your refrigerator be set at?
2.
A.
B.
C.
3.
Light Yellow
Navy Blue
It doesn’t matter. The color of the room does not affect energy use
Between 23 and 28 degrees Fahrenheit (-5 to -2 degrees Celsius)
Between 35 and 36 degrees Fahrenheit (2 and 5 degrees Celsius)
Between 54 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit (12 and 15 degrees Celsius)
In the bedroom: What kind of light bulb is the most energy efficient?
A.
B.
C.
Incandescent (Regular) light bulb
Compact fluorescent light bulb
Fluorescent tube lights
Source: EcoKids
Concrete Energy:
Quiz: How Energy Efficient Are YOU?
In the winter, what temperature should you keep your
thermostat for central heating set at?
4.
A.
B.
C.
86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius)
77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius)
68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius)
In the car: while waiting on someone, you should:
5.
A.
B.
C.
Turn the car off
Keep the car running
Drive around the block
Source: EcoKids
Concrete Energy:
Answers: How Energy Efficient Are YOU?
1.
In the living room: What color should a room be painted to save
energy?
(A) White walls reflect 80% of the light in a room. Therefore it will take less
energy to light up a room painted in a light bright color, like yellow. Dark walls
absorb light.
2.
In the kitchen: What temperature should your refrigerator be set
at?
(B) Between 35 and 36 degrees Fahrenheit (2 and 5 degrees Celsius). Fahrenheit
is the ideal temperature for your fridge. These temperatures are safe for storing
food. It the temperature is set any colder, energy is being wasted.
3.
In the bedroom: What kind of light bulb is the most energy
efficient?
(B) Compact fluorescent light uses one-quarter of the energy that
a regular incandescent light uses and it will last up to 10 times longer
Source: EcoKids
Concrete Energy:
Answers: How Energy Efficient Are YOU?
4.
In the winter, what temperature should you keep your
thermostat for central heating set at?
(C) 20 degrees Celsius is the ideal temperature to set your thermostat during
winter. For every degree above 20 C, you pay 5% more on your household
energy bill. At night, you can turn your thermostat down by 1 to 3 degrees. For
every 1 degree decrease, you will save 2% on your utility bill.
5.
In the car: while waiting on someone, you should:
(A) Turn the car off while waiting for someone. Sitting in a car with
an idle engine for more than 10 seconds uses more gasoline than
just restarting the car.
Source: EcoKids
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
Case Scenario/Activity 1:
The image below is a breakdown of your water and sewage utility
bill. Your goal is to cut down your total costs by 15%.
Discuss three (3) ways you can trim your cost.
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
Case Scenario/Activity 2:
For many days you seem to be low in
energy. You start the day by waking
up feeling tired. You almost always
skip breakfast. During the day also
you appear to not have much energy
to work or study. By the time you
come home you are physically and
mentally drained.
What are some ways (besides
caffeine!) you can start the day on a
more positive note and continue to
stay energized during the day?
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Energy
Conclusion & Take-aways
a) What is one thing related to
energy you can take from this
study circle and implement in your
daily life?
b) If the energy field you radiate
out to your environment was
represented by a color, what
color(s) would you want your
energy field to be and why?
c) If applicable, come up with an
action plan for you to practice
COD-energy and other COD topics
as a group
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Time
Closing Prayers
Zone 1 Sai Young Adults- Ceiling on Desires: Time