While we are allured by the idea of spiritual experiences, or, if one looks at the popular media, the idea of some kind of unusual powers that an individual can develop, obtain or possess, we actually have very little idea about what is really possible, and how it actually occurs.
Popular ... Views: 476
Dannion Brinkley told the story in his book Saved By the Light. He was a mercenary, a hired killer. He was struck by lightning. He was pronounced clinically dead. He returned to life. He knew, at that moment, that he was ‘sent back’ to accomplish a task, a mission. He left behind his prior life ... Views: 106
One reason we do not have a sense of our purpose or role in the world, generally, is that we do not examine deeply our inner predilections or the trajectory of our lives. We interpret our lives based on external criteria and motives without appreciating that there is another driving force behind ... Views: 109
Today’s world provides people with both an obstacle and an opportunity when they try to follow their chosen or cherished path in life. The obstacle is based on societal requirement that individuals take up a productive form of work in the world to earn enough money to support their needs for ... Views: 122
It is only in still waters that we can see our reflection. Swami Vivekananda in his lectures on Raja Yoga, describes the mind-stuff (chitta), and how impressions, desires, observations and thoughts all disturb the stillness of the mind-stuff. He also describes methods of bringing it to a status ... Views: 116
How can we know that the spiritual force is actually working in us? An actual experience of a force or what is called a ‘spiritual experience’ is a specific, generally short-lived ‘event’ that enormous numbers of people have had. Yet, the experience recedes and the daily life goes on, seemingly ... Views: 274
Once we distinguish the lower forms of spontaneity that stem from the vital nature and its instincts and desires, from the higher form of spontaneity that is linked to unification of the being with the higher spiritual purpose, the question arises as to how the individual can develop this higher ... Views: 298
We grow and develop our physical body and its capabilities. We may undertake various training regimens and refine the body’s ability to perceive, and to respond. Yet the body dies and that training is left behind with the dissolution of the body. We can see an effect within the larger framework ... Views: 307
In the movie Sixth Sense, a psychiatrist meets up with a young boy who claims to see dead people and interact with them. The psychiatrist spends the better part of the film trying to understand the boy and bring him out of his delusion. In the end, it turns out that the psychiatrist gains the ... Views: 218
Whenever the discussion turns to unseen powers and forces, the rational intellect of the mind tends to shut down. That is one reason why there has been an argument, in the West, between Science and Religion. Yet, at some point, even the reasoning intellect needs to begin to reflect upon and ... Views: 634
Since we cannot easily observe vital beings or mental beings operating on their respective planes to influence actions in our existence, and since we maintain a skeptical attitude about things which cannot be observed or measured, we find it difficult to accept the existence of conscious vital ... Views: 291
Many people are skeptical about the possibility of true change to human nature. This skepticism is supported by the long experience humanity has had in trying various ways of changing and overcoming habits, atavisms and what are considered to be the ‘natural’ forms of expression and action of ... Views: 496
Human beings have struggled in their attempts to make changes to human nature throughout human history. Many approaches have been tried, including adopting tough disciplines, isolating oneself from society to avoid the impulses and temptations, as well as harsh tortures to which the body has ... Views: 55
Humanity has struggled with the idea of an individual changing his character and becoming something more, or different, than what he was before. Numerous methods have been tried, and at the end of the day, almost everyone agrees that human nature and the individual character that expresses that ... Views: 336
Through long habit and through a process of socialisation, we desire and expect that a specific path of development can be placed in front of us to guide us systematically along a pre-determined track, and that this path is suitable for everyone. We therefore believe that our accepted form of ... Views: 437
We rightly recognise that memory is not the same as a living experience. Yet, the power of memory holds a key for those who wish to undertake spiritual development. We see this in the context of religious and spiritual pursuits that rely on the power of memory in some form to renew and actualise ... Views: 399
Spirituality is not about having an intellectual understanding. There are methods described in various paths of spiritual growth, in books, or in other forms of instruction which have their potential benefit, but they are not a replacement for an actual inward experience that changes the texture ... Views: 430
As the awareness develops of the influences that have shaped our character and active nature from our ancestors, our parents, as well as the influences from our peers and from the society at large, we begin to develop a respect for the complexity of the task and the reasons why we cannot simply ... Views: 551
In the Taittiriya Upanishad, Bhrigu approached his father, Varuna and asked to be taught about the Eternal. Varuna replied ‘Seek thou to know that from which these creatures are born, whereby being born they live and to which they go hence and enter again; for that is the Eternal.’ As Bhrigu ... Views: 684
Sri Aurobindo describes the first step to move from a mental seeking to a living spiritual experience as “the practice of concentration of your consciousness within yourself.” We ask what this means exactly. Some observation of our mental state discloses what we normally consider to be ... Views: 418
We tend to treat intuition as something amorphous and difficult to define. We want to somehow fit it into the framework of a mental process, possibly one that is very fast, but nevertheless works through the logical steps to arrive from a set of facts to a decision. At the same time, we try to ... Views: 423
As we have noted, there are some who believe that intuition is simply a very fast reasoning process that moves directly to a determination. This is clearly not intuition as the Mother explains below. It is a separate mental process that still follows the laws of the mental plane in its ... Views: 430
There is an idea, prevalent in some aspects of Western psychology, both mainstream and ‘pop’ psychology, that it is unhealthy to internalize and hold in strong reactions or emotions such as anger. They counsel letting it out and thereby saving oneself from the psychological and physical effects ... Views: 643
Forces at work in the world try to effectuate themselves and perpetuate their action. They seek for receptive vessels to manifest and carry out their line of action. As these waves of energy, these vibrations move out into the world, they naturally come across elements and beings that are not ... Views: 130
It is perhaps a virtually universal experience. An individual takes up a spiritual practice, and for a time, particularly when Sattwa is in the forefront, he has unique insights, experiences and a sense of progress. At some point, however, these experiences tend to recede and the individual is ... Views: 85
When an individual is confronted with a possible, or likely, case of vampirism, several questions arise. The first is how the individual can be safe from the negative effects of such activity impacting them or their family, friends or associates directly; the second is the possibility and ... Views: 306
Those who wish to develop and utilize the power of intuition in their own lives have to address their active mental process, so as to open up the receptivity to the higher intuitive force, and allow it to modify the action of the mentality itself. There is a parable out of the teachings of Jesus ... Views: 195
One of the ways we tend to limit ourselves is to decide, in advance, that we cannot succeed at something, that we don’t have the education, the experience, the skill or the necessary training to accomplish that task. We imprison ourselves within our narrow range by this type of mental ... Views: 251
Trying to change human nature, the basic physical-vital-mental makeup that we accept as the predominant mode of being in the world today, is hard. The actions and reactions of the body, the senses, the vital energy, the organ systems, the emotional system, the hormonal responses, and the mental ... Views: 507
It is often said that ‘you can’t change human nature’. One of the major obstacles turns out to be the seeds of all past habits, actions, behaviors, reactions and instincts that reside in the subconscious levels of the being. An individual may spend his life culturing his mind, his emotions and ... Views: 364
How do we experience desire? For some, it comes as a drive to possess something we experience in the world, whether something seen, heard, felt, etc. In other words, desire begins with something perceptible by our senses. In the past, this was therefore something close at hand. Nowadays, with ... Views: 566
The Mother advises that the way to establish unity in the being is to treat the psychic being or the central aspiration as the guiding principle, and then observe and manage the mind, the life-energy and the body to conform to the intentions expressed by that central guiding principle. It is ... Views: 322
The Vedic Rishis described a change in conscious awareness as representing satyam, rtam, brihat, the truth, the right, the vast. It is difficult for most people living in the modern world to gain a conception of the vastness of existence. We may know intellectually that the universe is large, we ... Views: 310
Philosophers, scientists and religious leaders argue about the existence of the soul. Some say the soul does not exist. Some scientists have tried to conduct measurements by weighing the person immediately before and after death to determine if any difference in weight, representing the soul, ... Views: 346
When we are met with ideas or understanding propounded by others that we do not agree with we tend to create a mental barrier as a defense and then develop our mental arguments to contradict or overturn the proposed ideas. There is very little, if any, true understanding that comes out of such ... Views: 182
As the seeker begins to enter and experience the inner and higher realms of consciousness, he comes into contact with beings, forces, planes and worlds that transcribe experiences into his awareness, yet do not generally function under the same methods and laws that are operative in the normal ... Views: 670
Ideally we want some kind of a pill we can take, some kind of an instant solution, some magic formula that will instantly resolve some difficulty we face when a subconsicent formation has been triggered. We react without any advance warning when this occurs. it is also the source of many ... Views: 363
The Taittiriya Upanishad speaks of the unified field of the conscious universe: “The Spirit who is here in a man and the Spirit who is there in the Sun, it is one Spirit and there is no other.” [Taittiriya Upanishad, Brahmanandavalli, Chapter 8, translated by Sri Aurobindo in The ... Views: 190
We tend to be carried away by the external focus in the work we are doing, and thus, the presence of mind needed to remember and offer is set in the background of our awareness. If we reflect on the state of consciousness we experience when focused on some external work, we soon find that we can ... Views: 404
Much research has been done to monitor the various stages of sleep and to try to determine what is taking place during each stage. People have been experimenting with learning during sleep, and some people actively ‘program’ their minds before they go to sleep to solve certain problems they are ... Views: 579
A number of years ago, a crowd of anti-war protesters in Washington DC were gathered in front of a federal building and were suddenly confronted with a phalanx of heavily armed police wielding guns, batons and potentially tear gas cannisters, arriving with numerous paddy wagons, who surrounded ... Views: 715
As has been shown time and again when individuals have attempted to change the vital nature, the attempt is doomed to only partial success, if not ultimate failure, if the struggle is carried out under the conditions of the vital being. Almost any method, process, technique, control mechanism or ... Views: 521
In the biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we find human beings innocent and acting out of their natural instincts, predilections, and their basic intelligence as human beings. They have no social setting or training to which they need to conform. They are essentially ignorant ... Views: 490
It is a virtually universal experience. One sits for meditation, trying to quiet the mind, and the thoughts keep surging and seem to have more intensity than before! Every sensation seems to provoke some activity in the mind, pent up issues or concerns take that time to come to the fore, ... Views: 535
We are trained to think and act from the viewpoint of the ego-personality. When we take up the practice of integral yoga, however, we understand that the standpoint of action must shift so that we can become true instruments of the higher action of the divine force which is working to transform ... Views: 550
In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna asks how the ‘liberated soul’ can be recognised. How does he walk? How does he talk? What distinguishing characteristics can we find that identify such a person? Sri Krishna responds that there are not external signs, but only the inner standpoint of the individual ... Views: 393
We get prompted inwardly to do somethng. In some cases, we have conflicting impulses or reactions. We wonder how to distinguish the Divine Will from all of the other drives, motives, forces, and options that confront us. Add to this the complications of the vital nature, in i ts attempts to ... Views: 97
How do we recognise the Divine manifesting through an individual human being? Arjuna poses a similar question in the Bhagavad Gita, when he asks how to recognise the enlightened man. How does he walk, how does he dress, what does he eat, how does he act? Sri Krishna reminds Arjuna that the ... Views: 564
One of the most frequent concerns raised by people generally is their inability to get a good night’s sleep. Insomnia, as well as restless sleep, seems to be a widespread concern. Among practitioners of yoga, the concern goes even farther, in that they desire to convert sleep into a luminous, ... Views: 595
Once we have recognised that we cannot rely on the mental being to truly review, analyse and control the vital desire-soul of the external being, and adopted the principle enunciated by the Mother to hold up each thought, feeling, emotion, action and motivation before a ‘screen’ of one’s highest ... Views: 484