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The Rishis of the Rig Veda focused, first and foremost, on kindling the mystic fire as the key to the reception and utilization of higher powers of consciousness. The altar for this flame is in the secret heart of the being, deep within, behind the physical organ, where the psychic being is ... Views: 314
The power of visualisation has been recognised as an aid in healing from illness, in excelling in sports, and in helping an individual achieve results in the external world. The spiritual seeker also can put this power to work to achieve results in the inner world. Practitioners of Tibetan ... Views: 260
The Bhagavad Gita has an interesting verse that provides a clue to the secret of action and inaction, between ‘static’ and ‘dynamic’ power, if you will: “He who in action can see inaction and can see action still continuing in cessation from works, is the man of true reason and discernment among ... Views: 227
Every day is a new opportunity, a new beginning, an opportunity to live the life you truly want to live. Spirituality uplifts the human spirit. It is governed by love, lovingkindness, compassion, and awareness.
When the mind and body and spirit are aligned, there is a flow from that infinite ... Views: 521
We operate on multiple levels at the same time. There is the external level comprised of actual physical, vital and mental actions we undertake. We speak, we express ourselves through gestures and body language. We undertake physical activities. At the same time however, there is the unspoken ... Views: 240
There is a long tradition and history of individuals who have utilized a variety of methods for the purpose of obtaining ‘visions’ of events, past, present or future. The action generally takes place through creation of a state of trance that allows the surface mental consciousness to recede and ... Views: 225
As human beings, we are enamored of dynamic power. We want “action” and the powers of the body, the life energy and the mind are prized when they can accomplish visible results. We have proverbs such as “might makes right” which make it seem like strength in action is the most positive ... Views: 542
Whether or not phonics play a crucial role in teaching to young minds or not has remained a matter much debated on for several years. However, recent studies and research have revealed that the cognitive powers of the brain of children remain directly related to the sounds they listen to. Hence, ... Views: 882
Operant conditioning is a phenomenon identified in Western psychology by B.F. Skinner. His experiments showed that by the results of carrying out specific actions, they can either be encouraged, through positive reinforcement, or discouraged through negative reinforcement. One of the principles ... Views: 115
We are habituated, particularly in the modern world, to the mind constantly interacting with its environment, with sensations, with media and with ideas. We are also addicted to the activity, the energy, of the mind’s engagement and when the mind is not engaged somehow, we either sleep, or seek ... Views: 236
There is a serious rationale behind the many spiritual paths that counsel the true seeker to abandon his family, his friends, his social life, and live secluded in a cave, in the forest, in the desert, to practice his spiritual discipline. All of these connections and social interactions bring ... Views: 313
We frequently hear people speak about the ‘law of attraction’. In most cases, they treat this as some kind of method or ‘trick’ to attract wealth, fame or other objects of desire to them, through use of a sort of mental focus or vital magnetism effect. The true ‘law of attraction’ however is ... Views: 362
Our physical bodies operate complex functions without active oversight or intervention of the mind. We are essentially in the dark as our organs function, as our immune system automatically responds to pressures, as breathing, brain function and much more go on absent our supervision or control, ... Views: 326
When most people think of ‘power’ , it is within the context of some overt ability to accomplish something in the setting of the external world within which we live and act. This may be political power, economic power, physical power, moral power, the power to persuade, the power of an idea, the ... Views: 346
When we look back on our lives, with the benefit of hindsight, we frequently can identify a change in direction that took an individual from a normal path of societal acceptance, career, marriage, family, social interactions and entertainment, to a life that is dedicated to some cause or purpose ... Views: 186
We are habitually conditioned to try to solve problems with our mental capacity. We are taught to observe, organize, classify, compare and contrast, and examine similar past circumstances in order to determine a solution to whatever we are facing. This is the normal pattern for a mentally ... Views: 257
The development of the human being takes place in several successive stages and as individuals mature they begin to manifest and express the powers of the nature as they successively come to the fore. Not every individual develops and expresses all the powers fully in a particular lifetime. For ... Views: 191
As the mental consciousness awakens, particularly if there is an influence coming from the psychic being or from the spiritual planes pressing down on the mental being, we become aware of virtually endless problems, issues, difficulties, imbalances, disharmonies and outright conflicts in the ... Views: 189
Western psychology has developed with the basis that the subconscious mind is extremely powerful and can determine actions and reactions of individuals that overcome the conscious intentions of those individuals. Events, circumstances, perceptions, and corresponding fears, hopes and excitement, ... Views: 375
When we begin to reflect on the role of thought in the creation of forms in the world, it becomes clear that it is an important part of the process of converting pure conscious awareness into the world of vital action and physical substance. Thought is a tool of consciousness. When properly ... Views: 300
The mental being tends to accept that if it has an intellectual understanding of something, that it has ‘accomplished’ that thing. It does not tend to concern itself with the vital or physical world per se, and thus, if it ‘knows’ that it is one with the rest of the universal creation, or if it ... Views: 454
Looking up a definition of vulnerability, the first one noted is “susceptible to physical or emotional injury.” Aren’t we all, as human beings, susceptible to a blow to our physical and emotional well being? This is part of BEing a human. We can be strong and powerful in one moment, and fragile ... Views: 1018
When an individual being is under extreme pressure, whether through illness, emotional or mental distress, stress of living in the society or dealing with events and people, the natural reaction at the physical-vital-mental level is to contract, to curl up, to close off, to withdraw into a ... Views: 573
So many people today are bitter, broken-hearted, or just plain angry because of what happened to them while growing up.
The reasons for their resentment or regret are as countless as are the unconscionable people responsible for the pain they unknowingly created in the lives of those they ... Views: 1396
We value negative states because of the strong sense of self we get from them. This may be very difficult for us to see, but a strong light will show us the freeing facts. No one wants to believe that he or she values things like self-pity, anger, and depression. We would insist we don't, and as ... Views: 864
There is a theory, current in various spiritual paths, as well as in various attempts to overcome certain unwanted behaviours in the ordinary life, that by purposeful indulgence, through ‘experience’ (anubhava), the individual can overcome the undesired impulse, craving or desire. The idea is ... Views: 58
An individual dedicated some years to study and spiritual development. He gathered a small group of young people around him and took on the role of a teacher. He had obviously studied the texts and spent some time practicing them. He gained an aura of charisma for the young people who came under ... Views: 58
When an individual undertakes tapasya, the concentration of conscious force, in any manner, it is certain that the results will bring about new powers for that individual, whether an accentuation of powers that the individual already possessed and exercised to some degree, or the development and ... Views: 256
In Savitri: A Legend and a Symbol, Sri Aurobindo poses the question: ‘How shall he cure the ills he never felt’, in reference to the world redeemer’s task. There is a truth here that impacts every disciple and devotee of the integral yoga. Sri Aurobnido has set the objective as the ... Views: 103
An understanding of the three gunas, or qualities of Nature, is extremely helpful in gaining an understanding of the responses to external stimuli, events, people and circumstances. The gunas are sattwa, with a predominant quality of light and harmony, rajas with a predominant quality of ... Views: 500
Once the yogic sadhana moves to the physical consciousness, it runs into the nature of the physical and material world that predominates in the quality of Tamas, with its characteristics of darkness, sloth, indolence and dullness, inertia and slowness to change. In the physical world itself, ... Views: 613
In his book The Mother, Sri Aurobindo provides a detailed roadmap for understanding the relatively simple idea that one must have the ‘will to overcome all attachments’, etc. In order to do this, we need to be able to appreciate what is meant by ‘attachments’. Most people would associate this ... Views: 90
Medical researchers tell us that bacteria that can cause various disease conditions are always present in our environment, to some degree, including within our bodies. Yet for the most part, we do not become ill or remain ill all the time. The bacteria may be in a diffused or weak form, or our ... Views: 56
Some believe that it is impossible to change human nature. They repeat the proverb that one cannot straighten out a dog’s tail, but it will return to its former status time and again. Some become frustrated and essentially fight with their body, vital being or mind, wherever the movement they ... Views: 530
We utilize speech to communicate with other people. Speech however is a translation into vibrational patterns a specific thought content developed with a particular pattern of electrical impulses. When it is effective, the hearer receives the vibrational energy of the speech he has heard, and ... Views: 275
The question of how to achieve the status of inner equality to all outward circumstances is one that occupies the attention of spiritual seekers everywhere. In his book Bases of Yoga, Sri Aurobindo devotes the first chapter to the questions of achieving calm, peace and equality, as these are ... Views: 163
Once we acknowledge the ability of the vital desire nature to influence and manipulate the mind in its judgment process, biasing the interpretation and understanding of the motives behind the actions, it is incumbent on those who aspire to spiritual growth to find a way to root out this inherent ... Views: 325
Anyone who has taken up the practice of meditation is familiar with the attempt to quiet the mind and not pay attention to thoughts that arise during the process, letting them drift through without being followed or amplified in any way. One quickly realises during the process that we tend to ... Views: 589
As long as an individual lives ‘aimlessly’, without recognising a higher purpose in life, there is no way to appreciate and measure the actions of the external nature with respect to any variance from that aim or purpose. The aim or purpose comes with the identification with the soul, the ... Views: 343
When we take up the question of how to go about changing human nature, we are confronted with the difficulty of that attempt. Instincts, habits, trained responses, ‘nature’ and ‘nurture’ all conspire to maintain the status quo. When we attempt to make any change, we run up against the opposition ... Views: 408
The character we exhibit today is a result of the past, whether we start from the underlying habitual patterns of human nature, or perhaps even go back farther to the patterns of the vital animal nature. Much of this is actually built into the genetic framework of the being, but layered on top ... Views: 525
Honest observation without mental bias is the first step the Mother outlines. This is accomplished by setting up the ideal as a screen or filter against which to compare each action. Those that do not compare entirely favorably represent things that can be identified as subjects for the change ... Views: 488
As Sri Aurobindo has indicated, the practice of yoga is a science of applied psychology. The normal and habitual patterns of response that we exhibit need to be both understood and modified, energies redirected, and new forces allowed to intervene and exert their influence in our lives. ... Views: 627
Establishing peace and quietness in the being is not a matter of intellectual determination; rather, it is a concrete experience that comes with the action of the Force that descends into the being from higher ranges of consciousness. Many believe that it is a matter of disciplining oneself not ... Views: 126
If we examine the sleep state, we can identify different phases of ‘normal’ sleep patterns for human beings in general. Starting from the waking state where we are conscious of the sights, and sounds of the outside world, as well as the thoughts and emotions and nervous impulses, feelings and ... Views: 521
If it were only simple! The integral yoga holds out the goal of not just attaining liberation from the external surface nature, but also transforming that nature under the impulsion and intention of the divine intention in the universal creation. While the concept of liberation is well known and ... Views: 368
The Bhagavad Gita proclaims that ‘yoga is skill in works’. The type of focused concentrated effort that comes about through a yogic practice is an essential aspect of completing any task skillfully. It does not imply, however, that all ‘skill in works’ is necessarily yoga, unless by that one ... Views: 568
The Bhagavad Gita proclaims that ‘yoga is skill in works’. The type of focused concentrated effort that comes about through a yogic practice is an essential aspect of completing any task skillfully. It does not imply, however, that all ‘skill in works’ is necessarily yoga, unless by that one ... Views: 582
As the seeker becomes more and more conscious he may experience reflections of his past actions which, in retrospect, were incorrect, inaccurate or false. This frequently brings feelings of regret and soul-searching. This is however an over-reaction to an increasing sense of awareness. It is ... Views: 345
As the seeker becomes more and more conscious he may experience reflections of his past actions which, in retrospect, were incorrect, inaccurate or false. This frequently brings feelings of regret and soul-searching. This is however an over-reaction to an increasing sense of awareness. It is ... Views: 337