A Technique to Shift to Another Domain of Consciousness

It is a well-recognised phenomena that when an individual focuses his concentration down to a single point, and fixes it there long enough, he suddenly can shift to a new domain of consciousness, and everything becomes wide, clear and known from that new standpoint. There is a yogic practice called ‘tratak’ which has the individual fix his focus on a flame, a candle or some other bright object until he passes out of the external consciousness into that new domain. This can also occur through focus on a mantra, or through concentration of conscious force (tapasya) on a single subject. The third chapter of the Taittiriya Upanishad has the seeker practicing tapasya in order to realize the truth of existence. He systematically increases his concentration until he transcends the ordinary external viewpoint and reaches a stage of enlightenment.

The Mother observes: “One can learn how to identify oneself. One must learn. It is indispensable if one wants to get out of one’s ego. For so long as one is shut up in one’s ego, one can’t make any progress.”

How can it be done?

“there are many processes. I’ll tell you one. … When I was in Paris, I used to go to many places where there were gatherings of all kinds, people making all sorts of researches, spiritual (so-called spiritual), occult researches, etc. And once I was invited to meet a young lady (I believe she was Swedish) who had found a process of knowledge, exactly a process for learning. And so she explained it to us. We were three or four (her French was not very good but she was quite sure of herself!); she said: ‘It’s like this, you take an object or make a sign on a blackboard or take a drawing — that is not important — take whatever is most convenient for you. Suppose, for instance, that I draw for you… (she had a blackboard) I draw a design.’ She drew a kind of half-geometric design. ‘Now, you sit in front of that design and concentrate all your attention upon it — upon that design which is there. You concentrate, concentrate without letting anything else into your consciousness — except that. Your eyes are fixed on the drawing and don’t move at all. You are as it were hypnotised by the drawing. You look (and so she sat there, looking), you look, look, look…. I don’t know, it takes more or less time, but still for one who is used to it, it goes pretty fast. You look, look, look you become that drawing you are looking at. Nothing else exists in the world any longer except the drawing, and then, suddenly, you pass to the other side; and when you pass to the other side you enter a new consciousness, and you know.’ “

“We had a good laugh, for it was amusing. But it is quite true, it is an excellent method to practice. Naturally, instead of taking a drawing or any object, you may take, for instance, an idea, a few words. You have a problem preoccupying you, you don’t know the solution of the problem; well, you objectify your problem in your mind, put it in the most precise, exact, succinct terms possible, and then concentrate, make an effort; you concentrate only on the words, and if possible on the idea they represent, that is, upon your problem — you concentrate, concentrate, concentrate until nothing else exists but that. And it is true that, all of a sudden, you have a feeling of something opening, and one is on the other side. The other side of what? … It means that you have opened a door of your consciousness, and instantaneously you have the solution of your problem.”

“It is an excellent method of learning ‘how’ to identify oneself.”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Powers Within, Chapter XIII Power of Identification, pp. 104-105