My copy of The Golden Present, received during Teacher Training in 2002, is worn and dogeared. For many years it was my daily companion. I carried it with me when traveling. It moved from my bedroom, to office, to parlor. Reading this book, virtually every day for years, never gets old. Each year, I find meaning in passages that I’ve read many times before, but only at that very time resonate and impart the lesson.

One of my favorite “presents” happens to be on my birthday: Next To The Rose, God Made A Thorn. Being a middle child, I was usually pushing my older brother while dragging my little sister. My mother used to tell me I was the thorn between two roses. That sharp comment always pricked a bit, so I had to laugh seeing this particular lesson show up on my birthday. I can delight in being that thorn. Someone had to be. Why not me? God made me for a reason.

During a very dark day in my life about a decade ago, I was full of anger, betrayal, pain. Needing to find solace, I picked up the book and opened to that day’s lesson: You Are The Pure Spirit. “Chidanand Chidanand Chidanand Ham. Hara Halume Alamastu Sat Chid Ananda Ham.” I began sobbing while reading this, then giving it voice, louder and louder, chanting: Not the body. Not the mind. Immortal Self I am. In all conditions I am Kowledge-Bliss-Absolute! This absolutely brought me through the rough time. It does to this day.

Several years ago while traveling to Yogaville for Guru Poornima, a celebration of the Guru, I was involved in a terrible car accident leaving me with a traumatic brain injury. There began a terrifying descent into loss of cognition, memory, understanding numbers and dates, and aphasia that lasted about six months. Healing returned slowly over the next two years. I was grateful for two readings during this time: What Came For Your Head Took Away Your Hat and The Conscience Is The Same In Everyone.

The first is obvious— broadsiding another car at 45mph can be fatal. I asked many times, why I was spared? The accident left me unconscious for about 10 minutes – why did ‘they’ throw me back? The first reading says it all. Karma came for my head, but only took my hat. Well, that and a wee part of my brain, and with it, my career as a filmmaker as my short term memory was obliterated for a while. Trusting the Divine, I was ultimately very grateful that the knowledge gained through a dozen years of studying yoga were all still there and that became my focus.

The second reading is about God’s Will. When I cleared the side of the van in the left lane, I had no time to react as a car pulled in front of it to cross the highway. There was nothing I could do. In the single breath before impact, I whispered, “Thy Will be done.” I am to this day grateful that the impact of that reading inspired that thought. It could have been my very last thought in this lifetime. How glad I am that it was not a thought of fear or anger at the other driver. It was complete surrender. Supreme Peace.

The reading a few days before the accident states, “Once you get over the fear of death, you are not afraid of anything.” From that moment forward, I can honestly say there is no fear of death—for myself or others.

There are many ‘presents’ in the book that inspire fortitude in my marriage. One in particular, Such A Marriage Will Last, instructs serving without expectation of return. Serve, serve, serve. The ego in me grumbles about having to clean up after someone else. But the yogi in me realizes who is the one disturbed, and just cleans up the mess, just as I would do if I didn’t know who made it. This also enables me to laugh at the times my ego grumbles about cleaning up crumbs on the counter, only to have my Higher Self whisper that those crumbs are actually from my breakfast.

When in dark times, when feeling alone, when happy, when wanting sangha, this book is the gift that keeps giving. Golden Present, indeed. I’ve given over a dozen copies of this book to friends, family and students over the years. The Golden Present is now available as a phone app. The book may rest on a shelf, but its messages continue to brighten my day. I begin each morning with Mantra Japa. On finishing, I get ready for my day and collect my phone. When it opens up, I first click the Golden Present app, before anything else. The smiling picture of Sri Gurudev lights up, I offer pranams, and the daily reading begins. For the rest of the day, I think about that reading, and how to apply it in my life.

Always, my heart is full of gratitude for those who made The Golden Present available to us all.