For many weeks, since the onset of the Middle East War, I have been hesitant to write anything. Every day brings seemingly awful news, bombing and killing, the world doing backflips, and news stories you don’t even know if they are true. According to the Yuga cycles of time and the Vedic texts, we are in the midst of a 30-year “re-set” from 2020 to 2050—a time when things may rapidly fall apart in order to build a newer, better world. Instead of focusing on what’s wrong with the world, here are seven things that can help uplift us and give us hope for a better world.
1. Hope & Overcoming Hardship
Since the Taliban shuttered secondary and post-secondary education for young women in Afghanistan, education is not just a pursuit of knowledge but a revolutionary act of survival. Our Living Wisdom International Online High School has become a vital lifeline for these women, offering an accredited American high school diploma to those barred from classrooms since 2021. Now, in September 2026, Ananda College’s Yoga Institute will offer Afghanistan young women a free college education. Young women often join from dimly lit rooms, using borrowed phones and battling unreliable Wi-Fi to keep their dreams of future alive. Our curriculum focuses on “Education for Life,” teaching self-mastery and leadership alongside academics. Graduates are not just seeking diplomas; they are training to become the next generation of teachers and leaders who will eventually rebuild Afghan society.
2. Kindness & Compassion
A struggling single mother was trying to buy groceries at a Price Chopper in Kansas. When her card was declined for a $200 bill, a stranger behind her stepped forward and paid the entire balance in cash. This act of compassion inspired the single mother to return to school, eventually becoming a nurse. Years later, she spotted a woman in the same checkout line facing the same struggle and paid her $200 bill. This act of kindness provided the financial relief necessary to change a career path and foster a cycle of giving that continued for over a decade. A small monetary sacrifice can remove a major barrier for someone in crisis. Receiving kindness often motivates recipients to “pay it forward” multiplying the original value of the gift. Compassion is a renewable resource that grows when shared.
3. Love & Connection
Yogananda said that human love is often conditioned and selfish. To reach divine love, one must purify and expand these feelings until they include all souls as part of the divine. Yogananda suggested that silently broadcasting the thought “I forgive you” can heal broken connections and even change an enemy into a friend. During this world turmoil, we can broadcast thoughts out into the ether to perceived enemies and world leaders. By communing with the divine in meditation, we can all tap into an infinite source of love that naturally radiates outward to others. By sending out thoughts like “love, love, love”, and “peace and harmony, peace and harmony” we can gradually change thoughts of fear and hatred that may be harboring in the minds of world leaders. A little bit goes a long way. Want more peace and calmness in your life? Our 12-week online Superconscious Living Course can help you get started with meditation, yoga and more.
Visit the Ganges River in Varanasi, India on our February 2027 Pilgrimage
4. Personal Growth & Transformation
Yogananda taught that pilgrimages to India offer profound transformation by placing devotees in the “living vibrations” of masters. He emphasized that visiting sites like the Ganges River helps one tune into divine vibrations, quickening self-realization and inner peace. He explained that the divine vibrations of many of the pilgrimage spots from his “Autobiography of a Yogi” remain at these holy sites, accessible to those who prepare themselves through meditation. He emphasized that seeking the divine through daily meditation is the single most important practice for personal transformation. By calming the mind and attuning your consciousness to the Divine, you can access superior wisdom and overcome karmic limitations. He also taught that self-effort and the initiative to replace bad habits with constructive ones are essential to reforming yourself and, consequently, reforming thousands.
5. Success After Persistence
The Chinese Bamboo Tree illustrates that true success requires invisible preparation. After being planted, the tree shows no visible growth for four years despite constant watering and fertilization. In the fifth year, it suddenly grows 80 feet in just six weeks. Persistence creates a deep foundation during periods of perceived stagnation, ensuring that when the breakthrough occurs, the structure is strong enough to support massive expansion. Spiritual growth, enlightenment, or any major breakthrough rarely arrives when you demand it; it arrives when you are too busy persevering to notice you are waiting. True success is not the absence of obstacles; it’s the refusal to let them become your focus. Our 10-week online course Vedic Astrology & Dharma is a tool for self-understanding and clarity to help you discover life themes that are helping propel you towards greater success.
6. Nature, Beauty & Wonder
Many years ago a few dedicated gardeners and lovers of beauty began creating a trellised garden on the slopes of the Crystal Hermitage, 1,000 feet above the Yuba River in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Today, every March, April or May (whenever the 18,000 tulips bloom), the Ananda Village hosts a Tulip Festival as part of their “Springtime at Ananda” celebration. Thousands of people visit these gardens to remind themselves that the world is bigger and more beautiful than their problems. Natural phenomena like gardens, sunsets, space, oceans, animals and awe-inspiring landscapes uplift us through a sense of wonder. A trip to the ocean, a beloved national park, or just gazing at the night sky when the crickets or fireflies join in can bring the sense of awe that reminds us we are not alone in this movie called life. Do you love nature? Become a Sharing Nature Facilitator with our 9-week online program.
7. Humor & Lighthearted Joy
Yes, it’s true. Sometimes the most uplifting thing is something that makes people laugh or feel light inside: A man dangling from a cliff asks if anyone is there. When God answers and tells him to let go, the man asks, “Is there anybody else up there?
A man is walking along a beach and finds a magic lamp. He rubs it, and a genie appears.
The genie says, “I can grant you one wish.”
The man says, “I want peace in the Middle East. See this map? I want all these countries to stop fighting.”
The genie looks at the map and says, “Gosh, that’s too difficult. Even for me! Is there anything else?”
The man thinks and says, “Okay, can you help my wife understand my spiritual practice and stop complaining when I meditate?”
The genie sighs and says, “Let me see that map again.”
If you’re wanting to understand what’s happening to our world on a cosmic level, consider taking our asynchronous course, Introduction to the Yuga Cycles of Time.
If you’ve ever wondered whether ancient myths preserve real events, whether the rhythms of the Sun and the human body are more connected than we realize, or how the yuga cycles of time may be affecting us more rapidly, join our partners at CPAK (Conference on Precession and Ancient Knowledge) this September 25-27, 2026 in Newport Beach, California.