European culture takes credit for ‘discoveries’ that it makes despite the fact that societies in other parts of the world have long known about these things. Thus, Europeans ‘discovered’ America while disregarding the fact that it was already populated with numerous tribes of indigenous people, ... Views: 245
We construct a personality that we present to the world and organize our expression and actions around this chosen construct. In doing so, we pick and choose elements that are present in our conscious mind, heart, life-force and physical body and create for ourselves the ego-personality that ... Views: 198
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: 216
Consider that we remove ourselves from active participation in the external world and its activities for some 30% of our lifetimes while we are asleep. Sleep provides the physical body-life-mind complex with the opportunity to undertake basic ‘maintenance’, repair the body, soothe the life ... Views: 256
Our surface awareness is basically the ‘tip of the iceberg’. Most of what takes place in our being occurs outside of the range of our active external perception of the senses and mental awareness. Even the interactions with the external reality we experience represent only a small fraction of ... Views: 318
We generally jump to extremes in our way of looking at things from our normal, mental viewpoint. Thus, we either want to accept that everything is absolutely determined and thus, every move we make, every action, every reaction, is choreographed down to the slightest detail; or else, we want to ... Views: 188
The seer of the Taittiriya Upanishad identified various planes of ever more subtle and powerful consciousness, with the most subtle and powerful being the ultimate causative agent of the denser and lower formations of Matter, Life and Mind. If we look at the experience of the vedic seers, we ... Views: 208
The concept of maya is frequently described as the world being an illusion that mystifies our senses and our minds, such that we take it for real, when it is not the truth of existence. We are then asked to cut through the illusion to find the actual reality, the Absolute, the consciousness that ... Views: 216
Many people profess to believe in the existence of God based on the teachings of their religion. Because the belief is based solely on a teaching, rather than actual experience that would support this belief, they may, in many cases, not take their faith in God seriously enough to actually abide ... Views: 205
When we look at the immensity of the evolutionary crisis, and the failure of “tried and true” solutions that have been put forward through history, it is easy to become discouraged and pessimistic about the possibility of survival. The solution proposed, a radical transformation of human life ... Views: 219
As the evolutionary pressure begins to develop individuals who undergo the spiritual transformation we have been discussing, there is still the issue of how these individuals can impact the wider life of humanity. Isolated individuals surrounded by an untransformed mass of humanity and the ... Views: 225
The actions that take place in the external world are controlled by the action of the three Gunas, or qualities, of Nature. This includes not only the physical nature, but also the vital nature and the mental nature. There is what we may call a ‘machinery’ of Nature that drives the creation ... Views: 207
As long as we remain rooted in the external surface consciousness and ego-personality, we are firmly bound by the determinism of Nature. Nature, whether on the physical, vital or mental level, operates under its own ‘laws’ of action. The more dense the expression of consciousness is, the more ... Views: 217
We believe we have free will. We are confronted with choices and make a decision and carry it out and believe that this decision was made freely by the individual we identify as ourself. At the same time, we can recognise the step-wise development which is called ’cause and effect’, or the law ... Views: 242
There are hidden forces, vibrational patterns that move between people that remain unseen, but have their effect, similar to the way that we do not observe electricity, but we do observe its effects. These vibrational patterns operate without any overt, external medium, simply through ... Views: 184
When Bram Stoker wrote his classic ‘horror’ tale, Dracula, he popularized and sensationalized an actual phenomenon of vital interchange that operates mostly unnoticed and not as sensationally as his tale implies. To put it in simple terms, ‘vampirism’ is the ability of someone to utilise the ... Views: 215
It is common for spiritual aspirants to be advised to isolate themselves or at least limit their contact with others in a social setting, with the ostensible reason to aid the seeker in focusing on the spiritual effort and avoid distraction and the possibility of being diverted or diluted in the ... Views: 205
We undergo changes of mood, feelings, responses and do not generally try to understand how these changes come about, their source, and impact upon our own state of being. In some cases, we actually associate ’cause and effect’ with an interaction with another individual, such as when we exclaim ... Views: 239
When we reflect on the difficulties involved with both the transformation of the individual to a spiritual, gnostic consciousness and the need for this individual change to proliferate and transform society, it becomes necessary to focus on what the transitional phase or steps might be and how ... Views: 227
Another, and serious, issue that arises is the relationship of the gnostic individuals and community to that wider world of humanity and life in general which remains based in the physical, vital and mental principles and thus, continues to operate on the basis of division, fragmentation and the ... Views: 202
Human interactions, human relationships have both a surface meaning and a subtle hidden energetic action. One of the most powerful vital energies in human life is sexual relations. By examining how this force operates, both overtly and on the occult levels, we can quickly see the mechanism that ... Views: 230
We tend to pay attention to the various forms of external communication that take place between people. Written, verbal, and visual non-verbal cues through body language or expression, are all considered to be the major means of creating a relation between individuals. What we do not always ... Views: 246
The question arises as to what exactly the science of jyotish, Indian astrology, is able to calculate and incorporate. Looking at the line of karma, the antecedents, direction and trajectory of energy in a particular stream, it can help to determine the life-path and major challenges facing an ... Views: 305
Someone has their astrological chart done, and by that they are able to determine the location of the various planets and the sun and moon and the constellations in relation to their birth. They will learn about the hardships they will face, the major life events they can expect, and the ... Views: 201
There are those who treat astrology as a science, those who believe that our fate is determined by the “stars” and also those who believe that astrology is a pseudo-science with no real basis in anything that can meaningfully either control our destiny or even signify events in our lives. How ... Views: 205
The individual is not an island unto himself; he is part of a series of larger groupings, such as family, clubs, teams, tribes, school classes, corporate entities, community, states and nations, religion, etc. The collective energetic expression of each of these groupings develops a way of life ... Views: 221
We have a physical being, we have a vital energy including nervous energy, moral force and emotional energy, and we have a mental nature which includes thought, reasoning powers, and formulation of thought into word or deed. The vital force acts on its own plane as well as utilizes the physical ... Views: 208
We face, in every sphere of human endeavor, a conflict of competing ideas or directions. If we look closely we can see an element of truth in each side, but can also recognise that as long as we are bound by the mind’s limitations and its desire to reduce everything to “either-or”, we cannot ... Views: 213
Under the influence of the gnostic consciousness, the entire framework of the mental organisation of life, which we accept as assumed and given, would necessarily be modified. The very basis of viewing and understanding things would have to shift from one of division and separation to one of ... Views: 245
As long as we remain fixed in the mental framework, we tend to create judgments and rules for everything we do that are founded on the limited and fragmented understanding that the mental power possesses. The advent of a new wider, more expansive, more unifying and comprehensive consciousness ... Views: 250
Most of us are wedded to the sense that enjoyment of life and richness of experience are inseparably linked to the play of the dualities. We believe and find our satisfaction in the mixture of darkness and light, joy and pain, beauty and ugliness, and the challenges attendant on meeting and ... Views: 225
Whether one calls it the ‘law of Karma”, ‘dependent origination, or ’cause and effect’, the operation of karma essentially states that each action will create an effect which thereby creates a line of development that impacts the individuals who participate in the situation as it develops. While ... Views: 214
Many people consider the concept of ‘karma’ to be some form of moral retributive factor that brings back to an individual the ‘fruits’ of his actions. Thus, they believe, if a man does something considered wrong, dishonest, underhanded, the universal law of karma will eventually right the score. ... Views: 226
How do we decide what we decide? Why do we do what we do? For most people, the response is relatively automatic. They have an innate sense of having ‘made a decision’ and they thus believe they have free will. Yet, for the most part, they are reacting to conditioning they have received through ... Views: 259
The individual drops of water that make up the ocean do not determine the movement or action of the ocean. They are carried along and partake of the larger forces that act upon and through the ocean. The are a small pinpoint ‘nexus’ of the ocean action but not the motive or driving ... Views: 217
There is a third factor that intervenes in the debate about free will and determinism and that is ‘random chance’. In that concept, there is basically no plan, no framework and no way to manage or control events, which thus can occur through random occurrences with no predetermined end. Both the ... Views: 258
In the material world, the laws of physics state that ‘for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”. Is it possible to extend the working of the law of the physical world into the vital, or even the mental, realm? We recognise the dualities, both on the physical level and in our ... Views: 261
The study of human history is one of externalities generally. We memorize dates of important events and try to lay the responsibility for certain subsequent actions at the door of those events. To hear historians tell it, the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand was the trigger that set off ... Views: 275
it can be especially difficult for those who are highly educated in the field of Western science, medicine, or other studies that focus on the logical intellect of the mind, to actually appreciate and be receptive to the play of forces that occurs outside the normal perceptive range of the ... Views: 237
With our normal human viewpoint based in the standpoint of the ego we react as if the entire world revolves around us. This ego-centric, anthropocentric viewpoint creates its own formidable limitations in terms of recognising, perceiving, knowing and addressing the larger forces at work. If we ... Views: 190
The mind gathers details from the senses, attempts to classify them according to past experience, and then tries to both judge the meaning of the situation and extrapolate how future steps will occur. This process relies on known powers of the mind, powers of analysis, powers of what is known as ... Views: 244
As an individual begins to work with various forces or powers in the world, he gains an insight and understanding of them, and gains the benefit of making use of those powers or forces in various aspects of his life. For example, someone can learn about the anatomy and physiology of the human ... Views: 214
We treat free will and determinism as opposite and irreconcilable concepts, and there are adherents ready to argue one position or the other and provide irrefutable proofs of their position. It is clear from the strength of each position that there is a truth that underpins each of these ... Views: 211
We can identify the direction of the evolutionary development of the universe towards the expression of free will, despite the fact that at our current state we can recognise that there is apparently very little free will operative in our actions. In the physical world, Matter operates under ... Views: 228
Subjectively we tend to believe that we make our own decisions and that we are exercising ‘free will’. What we do not generally do is recognise that there is an entire preceding set of ’causes’ which lead us to the present moment and the very type of choices we make. We may be extremely ... Views: 230
To explore the hidden forces, both in our own lives, and in the larger framework of the universal manifestation and the evolution of consciousness over time, a new way of ‘knowing’ needs to be developed, one that can experience and interact with these hidden forces on a more direct and aware ... Views: 226
When we are rooted in the body consciousness, we experience intensely the reactions of the physical body to circumstances and events. We may experience a feeling of pleasure, or pain, and as the intensity of that experience captures our focus, we are generally unable to pay attention to vital ... Views: 210
One of the greatest difficulties we face in trying to understand the operation of hidden or occult forces in life is the limitations on our ability to perceive and to know what is actually taking place. Each aspect of our being has its own way of “knowing”. For our lives in the external world we ... Views: 213
Isaac Newton identified various forces that operate in the physical external world around us. His work was followed up by numerous others and codified into laws of physical substance. The force of gravity is one such force that impacts the movement and attraction of physical objects. Other ... Views: 208
Chance, coincidence, free will, astrological influences, fate, destiny, karma, chain of causality, predestination, determinism, correlation, causality, foreknowledge, past life influences, fortune telling, divination, omens, predestination, oracles, Divine Plan — these terms all come up when we ... Views: 229