Dear Bob, I'm sure Yogani has answered your questions in some detail in the AYP lessons with regard to the "milestones" and all. Answering from my personal experience (and I am not a representative of AYP), I don't really have much interest in the astral and causal realms although at one time I found this fascinating and spent a lot of time doing that. The star is pretty much just "here" as a given. I personally reject the idea of "enlightenment" as a goal to be reached. Having said that, my "new effortless state of being and bliss" or "a state of Grace," if you like, did in fact happen very definitively and I can recall the exact moment and my life has been utterly changed since that moment. I am aware of the astral and causal realms, although frankly nowadays my focus is on staying grounded enough on this plane to take care of my worldly duties, otherwise I will have a tendency to just go into meditation. With regard to your question in general (and again, this is just my opinion), it is based on kind of a mechanistic, goal-oriented approach which assumes you are not already a perfect manifestation of Love and that somehow you are going to get there by doing certain things in a specified way. Perhaps this works for some people; it didn't work for me (I did the SRF/kriya thing for many, many years). IMO it's all about cultivating bhakti and being open to grace. Yoga is something we do to participate in and enjoy our connection with Source Reality which is always present here, now, in our heart, not an arduous exercise to achieve some future goal. I wish I had known this many years ago; I could have spared myself a lot of grief. So my advice is ENJOY your yoga practice and surrender to the Bliss and Love that is in your own heart and do not doubt, it will eventually take over your entire life! Much Love and Blessings to you, Jamie
