Appendix A
The Divine Light Invocation


I offer the following practice called The Divine Light Invocation.  It was brought to this hemisphere by Swami Radha who was a disciple of Swami Sivananda.  She founded Yasodhara Ashram in Kootenay Bay, BC in 1956.

The Divine Light Invocation*

Stand with your feet at shoulder width (barefoot on the earth if you have a lot of negativity), relax and breathe quietly for a moment until you are centered.

Then close your eyes, raise your arms over your head as if reaching for the light, tense your entire body, take a deep breath and hold it.  Say (aloud or to yourself):

I am created by Divine Light
I am sustained by Divine Light
I am protected by Divine Light
I am surrounded by Divine Light
I AM Divine Light**

Exhale, lower your arms and relax.  See a vast ocean of brilliant white light above you.  Now see a ray of that light enter your body through the top of your head and begin to fill you as if you were a crystal vase, filled with brilliant sparkling white light. [Take a moment for this to happen.]

Again tense your entire body this time with your arms down at your side and the palms turned to the front, take a deep breath and hold it.  Say again:

I am created by Divine Light
I am sustained by Divine Light
I am protected by Divine Light
I am surrounded by Divine Light
I AM Divine Light

Exhale and relax.  This time FEEL the light as it illumines every cell of your body and every level of consciousness.  Take a moment for this to happen.  Then say:

"I am one with the Light.  I AM Divine Light."

[At this point you can use the light to cleanse yourself or to share with others.  Note that the first offering is from me, the second one is from Swami Radha.]

1.  To bless yourself:

Now let the light expand to create a spiral of scintillating white light around you.  Visualize and/or feel the energies in all the parts of your bodymindspirit that are painful, stressful or negative.  Wait to see what they look like, how they feel and what shape, size and color they seems to be. Gather them together and see them being returned to the earth as the light carries them out through the soles of your feet.  When this is complete, allow the light to wash through your aura bringing peace, harmony and love to your whole being.

Bring the palms of your hands together in a gesture of thanksgiving for the blessings of the light.

2.  To share with or bless others or projects you may have:

Turn the palms of your hands toward the front.  Allow the doors of your heart center to open and the excess light to flow outward and form a spiral of light in front of you.  In the spiral, see the person(s) you wish to bless or heal and/or any project you wish to bless.  See the light circle around them and slowly lift them up to the source of light up above.  Now place in the circle [a man, woman or child to represent those in need of the light, someone being born, someone dying, someone suffering, etc. as you feel moved to reach out to others in trouble] and see them being lifted up to the source of light above.  Now see the circle begin to expand until it encompasses the entire room, the building, the neighborhood, the town, the nation and the whole world.  Then see the planet being lifted up to the source of light above.

Now, bring the palms of your hands together in a gesture of thanksgiving for the blessings of the light.

Don't forget the gesture of gratitude.  It is very important to return the energy to its source.  Otherwise it can block your channels.

Note:  This practice can be done with a group standing in a circle and one person leading the invocation saying the directions and invocation aloud.  In such a case, when the light  is formed into a spiral in front of you, say "in the center of our circle."  Then when the spiral expands near the end, say "to encompass our circle" then continue.  A person in the group in need of healing may step into the center of the circle in order to be blessed by the light of the whole group's invocation.

*The entire and original practice is available in a small booklet called The Divine Light Invocation by Swami Sivananda Radha, Timeless Books, 1987, ISBN 0-931454-08-5.  If you can't find it through a bookstore, write to Timeless Books, % Yasodhara Ashram, Box 9, Kootenay Bay, BC V0B 1X0, phone 604-227-9224 or try www.timeless.org.

**This line is slightly different from Swami Radha's addition to the original.  The original was only the first four lines.  She added "I am ever growing into Divine Light."  Since I feel we are already Divine Light and only need to be reminded of it, I use this version.  You may use whichever feels right to you.