Agustina Thorgilsson is The Official SelfGrowth.com Guide to "Spiritual Growth". You can find complete information on Agustina Thorgilsson and her products by visiting www.lifenavigation.com.
Religious devotees and spiritual aspirants throughout the world have tried to experience a divine revelation through various extreme practices that put the body under severe stress. One of these practices has been extreme fasting, and another, the attempt to overcome the power of sleep and carry ... Views: 449
When the mind is engaged in carrying out some idea, or the vital being is involved and enthusiastic about something, there is a strong tendency for the rise of Rajas in the being. Rajas has a tendency to overdo things, go beyond limits and as a result, it is the frequent cause of injury and the ... Views: 528
In the field of medicine, there is a practice known as ‘differential diagnosis’ which examines symptoms and looks at the variety of potential causes before suggesting a remedy or curative action. The classic example is one of headache, which can have innumerable potential causes, including ... Views: 498
Many people mistakenly believe that those who take up the spiritual life and withdraw from active involvement in the outer life of society, marriage, familiy, commerce, governance, etc. are somehow weak or unfit to succeed in society and they are “taking the easy way out”. It is true that some ... Views: 458
Fear arises in the lower vital, in some instances, as a direct vital response to an energy that threatens health and safety of the individual; in other words, it is part of the survival instinct. But it also arises through social acculturation, such as in issues of stage fright, or through ... Views: 493
The soul-mate, the individual who is intended to match your soul in this lifetime, the perfect partner, the person who helps one make life work. People are always seeking for just the perfect match, and there are any number of romantic notions about how this occurs in life. People then say that ... Views: 451
In many religious traditions it is customary to expect the dedicated aspirant to forego not only sexual relations, but also worldly entanglements. In the Catholic religious tradition, nuns are considered to be ‘brides of Christ’ and as such, do not enter into the state of marriage. In the Hindu ... Views: 466
We have learned quite a bit about the sexual impulse. Young children are basically asexual, and it is only with the coming of puberty and the flooding of mood-creating chemicals in the system (hormones), that we become susceptible to responding to the sexual energy when it arises. Not everything ... Views: 428
Many religious traditions and cultures have placed sex in a ‘taboo’ category for discussion or consideration. Sex is considered by many to be something sinful, immoral and only to be conducted within the confines of a lawfully sanctioned marriage and under guidelines for procreation not ... Views: 441
For the practitioner of the integral Yoga, energy is utilized to redirect and shift the standpoint away from the ego-personality into the divine standpoint, and then to effectuate actions to carry out the divine manifestation in the world. Energy dedicated to the enhancement or satisfactions of ... Views: 617
Religious and spiritual paths throughout the world have recognised the need to gain control over the sex impulse. Similarly societies have recognised that in many cases the sex impulse can create disruption in the orderly processes of the society. Traditionally, certain mores or rules of conduct ... Views: 429
When Sri Aurobindo states “all life is yoga”, he is speaking generally about the long, slow ‘yoga of nature’ which is taking place in the universe, leading to ever-greater stages of consciousness manifesting and transforming, successively, the previously manifested planes of awareness. This ... Views: 473
We found out in scientific research that things and our bodies consist of atoms in continuous motion. Matter moves. If the movement increases, the state of things adjustments. Ice is warmed to water. Water is heated to heavy steam. Light, warm, and power vibrate. Shades develop a range from red ... Views: 485
Western psychology has been fixated on the idea of sexual energy being at the root of all creativity. Beginning with Freud they have discussed the sublimation of sexual energy into creative pathways of art, and intellectual effort. The sexual energy stems from the root chakra and provides a ... Views: 644
The sexual impulse and energy is one of the basic primary drives in Nature and is widespread in the animal kingdom, although there are instances of asexual reproduction. The drive is so powerful that it can drive beings to extreme lengths, even killing off rivals, or fighting to maintain ... Views: 577
‘The law of the jungle.’ ‘Dog eat dog’. ‘Survival of the fittest.’ ‘Darwinian evolution.’ These ideas illustrate the way we understand life on earth, and its requirements for survival and success in worldly life. When Jesus proclaimed ‘the meek shall inherit the earth’, he expressed an idea that ... Views: 469
Through ambition or impatience, the spiritual seeker may try to rush the spiritual progress, and in many cases, this is attempted through various forms of overt or sublimated violence. The overt forms include various extreme penances or even self-punishment, while the sublimated forms may ... Views: 468
If we examine the phenomenon of anger closely we see how it suddenly rises up and overpowers even those who are normally quite even-keeled in their day to day lives. By studying mob psychology, where we see a large number of individuals inflamed in a crowd setting and set into motion to wreak ... Views: 447
For the spiritual seeker there are two major transformations ahead of the ultimate supramental transformation. These are the psychic transformation and the spiritual transformation. The one opens up the devotional aspiration and the receptivity of the being. The other shifts the standpoint away ... Views: 446
There is an illustrative tale in the Mahabharata. The Pandava and Kaurava princes were being instructed by their noted teacher Dronacharya. Today’s lesson was ‘not to become angry’. The 100 Kaurava princes were asked if they had learned the lesson and they all replied in the affirmative. The 4 ... Views: 487
A Love Letter From God to You
(How Do I Tell You "l Love You"?)
Dedicated to my Mother and to all who've blessed my life.
This poem was written as a Mother's Day card to my Mother.
How do I tell you "l love you"?
How do I show you I care?
How do I say all you mean to me?
How can mere ... Views: 688
Today’s civilisation is fixated on possession and ownership of material things, and people are generally respected and honored for their ability to accumulate resources. This has led to extreme inequality in terms of the resources available for use by people on the planet, as a very small number ... Views: 533
Some people interpret the need to eliminate desire as becoming essentially cold and unmoved by anything. They even treat desire for the Divine realisation as something to eventually be eliminated. The subtlety and narrowness of the path makes it easy to stray in one direction or the other, and ... Views: 642
Suppression of desire can be compared generally to the compression of a spring. The spring increases its latent energy by being compressed and eventually, when it escapes the compression stage, it responds powerfully. When desires are suppressed, they gain in strength and eventually burst forth ... Views: 635
Hey, do you know there is nothing like a good and bad Soul?!
Yes, you may find living beings whom the world terms as good or bad, based on the deeds they do.
Let’s dwell on the subject a little further...
The Soul is Above All Kinds of Dualities
Good-bad, nice-not nice, ... Views: 428
The mental consciousness likes to frame issues in terms of black and white determinations, as ‘either/or’ considerations. So we tend to swing from one extreme to the other. Either we try to indulge ourselves in fulfilling desires, in some cases with the idea that by satisfying the desire we will ... Views: 497
When the spiritual aspirant hears that he must eliminate desire from his consciousness, he frequently takes this as a message of ‘renunciation’ and thereby determines to live an isolated life free from the efforts involved in living in the world and interacting within the societal framework. ... Views: 514
An individual experiences a craving, an urge, a desire and automatically tries to fulfill it through some action. If it is hunger or thirst, the individual wants to eat or drink. If it is a more complex desire, something that cannot simply be accomplished, the mind is brought into the picture to ... Views: 557
Change implies giving up something that is currently active and replacing it with something new and different. A change of consciousness, a shift from the normal human egoistic standpoint to the divine standpoint, implies similarly that the normal human habits, traits, actions, drives and ... Views: 591
In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna inquires how he can know an enlightened individual, whether by his talk, or the way he acts, or by some other external sign. Sri Krishna replies that it is not through external actions or signs that one can recognise the realised souls. The truth lies in their inner ... Views: 543
To realize an addiction as one is the greatest thing ever! Addiction makes us dependent and poses a hindrance in achieving our goals. Hence, addiction is best when quit, especially if that is of alcohol.
Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan, an Enlightened being, tells us that ‘to realize that an ... Views: 452
The quality of humility is important to keep the ego in check, but even here, the ego finds ways to create an artificial form of humility that actually reinforces the ego. Those following an inspiring leader, or treading a path that provides true spiritual experience may use their position to ... Views: 635
The ego-consciousness controls our viewpoint, how we respond to events and circumstances, and our relations with others. This is such an inherent and automatic framework of action, that we many times do not even notice or appreciate that it is there. When egoism becomes extreme, we can ‘see’ it, ... Views: 496
The development of the ego-consciousness is part of the evolutionary cycle of increasing manifestation of conscious awareness in Nature. As consciousness develops it moves from a generalized sense of existence to a more specific recognition of one’s own life and awareness. In animals we see this ... Views: 478
The action of the three Gunas pervades and permeates all action including our response to obstacles, setbacks and concerns that arise during the practice of Yoga. When Tamas is predominant it sends out thoughts and ideas of weakness, failure and limitation. When Rajas is in the ascendent it ... Views: 514
Yes, it can. However, the happiness gained from material things is always temporary.
Happiness which once it comes is not followed by misery again is called real happiness. But such is not the case with happiness received from material things. Whilst one continues to seek happiness from ... Views: 398
Rejection of the calls and demands of the ego personality under the impulsion of the rajasic vital desires, can be considered the “negative” side or pole of the yogic practice. It is important, but there is another “positive” side or pole of the effort which involves re-tuning the being toward ... Views: 578
My needs, my wants, my likes and dislikes, my feelings, my emotions, my ideas, my goals and aspirations — all of these things are the signs of the ego-consciousness at work, overcoming the law of inertia that says that a body at rest tends to stay at rest. All of humanity is immersed in the ... Views: 469
The divine Force that descends is not a theoretical event, but a real experience with consequences for the mind, life and body of the seeker. The seeker must be prepared mentally, vitally and physically for the action of this force in the being. The story of the unbaked jar, which cannot sustain ... Views: 508
The great religious traditions of the world virtually all relate a battle between Powers of Darkness and the Powers of Light. Regardless of the specific names and forms each tradition adopts, the similarities speak to a human experience of a supraphysical reality that impacts life on ... Views: 449
Those who take up the spiritual quest face numerous difficulties along the way. Old habits and ways of seeing and acting are suddenly challenged, while at the same time energies long subdued or depressed may arise as the various chakras begin to open and pour out their energy. The various parts ... Views: 553
Yes of-course. It’s a law that is universally applicable forever!
The Enlightened One explains to us how the science of karma operates:
In this world, through the media - the TV channels or newspapers, we see so many bad things happening in this world. And we generally end up blaming someone ... Views: 452
Is it better to consult a relationship expert or psychic?
The simple answer is that it depends on why you are consulting them. For some who very much into finding out about their marriage, relationship, ex etc then you might think that it is always best to consult the relationship expert rather ... Views: 656
For many people, Christmas is primarily a time of physical consumption, feeding our bodies with much food and other material goods. May this also be a season of greatly needed spiritual consumption, feeding our souls with the Word of God and the great truths about the purpose of Christ’s ... Views: 600
Life is full of distractions. It’s so easy to lose sight of what is most important. And with Christmas right around the corner, I’m reminded of this now more than ever.
The urgent tasks of today have a way of crowding out the ultimate priorities of eternity.
Christmas is about Christ. It ... Views: 598
There must be some form of inner connection or resonance for any vibration to succeed in impacting an individual. On the more general basis, the physical body represents a connection to the material world, so that actions which impact the material world may obviously impact the physical body. ... Views: 491
Sure!
‘I’ - our real Self is not John (you may insert your name here), yet we believe I am John
Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan, the Enlightened Being has said, “One does not know who he really is, and hence claims to be what he is really not. To claim to be something you are not is called ‘ego’!” ... Views: 325
The focus on attacks by hostile forces, and difficulties faced, easily engages the ego-personality in a form of vanity. It strengthens the hold of the ego, rather than loosening attachment to open the way for the shift to the divine standpoint. When it takes a rajasic form, the ego glorifies in ... Views: 553
It is a common occurrence for practitioners of yoga to adopt a position on one extreme or the other. Either they get fixated on dealing with weaknesses, failures, and attacks by forces inimical to their yogic progress; or else, they take the position that there is no reality to these forces and ... Views: 494
In order for any force or action to affect an individual, there must be something that links them together, attracting the energy that is external to the receiving station nexus of the individual body-life-mind complex. For purely material forces,, obviously, this connection is existence in the ... Views: 548