Programming and Reprogramming of the Being Through Application of Will

Everything we do represents an action of will. Even inaction winds up being a ‘willed’ action. We are provided a choice at each moment as to how to respond to circumstances, pressures, events, opportunities that lie before us. In many cases, however, we do not recognise the power of choice as we feel compelled to respond in a particular way, through instinct, habit, or conditioned, trained behaviour.

If we observe closely the process of developing a habit, and the influence of habits on our behaviour, we see that it starts with an observation, a connection, that creates either an attraction or a repulsion in our vital being. As we choose our response, we create a ‘neural pathway’, a ‘groove’ if you will, that makes it easier for the same response to arise in connection with a similar circumstance in the future. The more we actively choose, or at least passively permit, this response, it develops into a more or less fixed action and we have then a habitual pattern that begins to condition our action in the world. The more ingrained that set pattern is, the more effort of will is required to change it; therefore, it is best to make positive choices at the beginning of the process when the response is yet in its ‘seed’ form and before it becomes a fully grown habit.

Just as a habit is created, it can be dissolved. We have programmed the habit into our being, so that the mind accepts it, the vital nature is drawn to it, and the body expects it. The detailed operation of neuro-transmitters, hormone release, and physical experiences of craving are the manner in which habits become embedded in the being. Yet all of these things can be changed through operation of will. The exertion of will-power is something that can be trained and systematically developed over time, through repeated effort. While it may not fully succeed in immediately overcoming a deeply engrained pattern, over time it succeeds in modifying the behaviour.

Certain habits go on to become physical addictions. This can be an addiction to intoxicating beverages, drugs, or even the stimulation and gratification that can come to the vital being from exciting actions, or from sexual activity or from dominating behaviour such as bullying, or from excessive interaction with immersive video games or television programming. Whatever the form or source of the addiction, we are observing embedded, deep grooves in the being that utilize neuro-transmitters and hormone release as a mechanism to create deep physical reactions of ‘need’, and any attempt to change these addictions creates ‘withdrawal symptoms’. In this case, the issue is the same. Once the addiction is in place (which started with an approval of the action the first time!), it needs an effort of will, combined with implementation of methodologies to systematically break down the addiction and move the body-life-mind to a new pathway forward.

A simple example: we have a habit of taking a refreshment, a snack, in the mid-morning or mid-afternoon between meals. We may start doing this as an exception, perhaps in a period of high exertion and the body requesting an energy boost. If we repeat this daily, it becomes a habit, whether or not the body ‘needs’ it. If we try to change this habit, we then can observe that there is a subtle pull or what we may call a physical craving that tells us that it is ‘snack time’. In some cases, we give in to the craving and go and obtain the expected refreshment. In other cases, however, we can use our will to ‘reprogram’ this trained habit through substitution of a different action, such as an exercise program, or a focus on some subject of intense interest, or through a type of conditioning either through use of “reward” or “punishment”, or through a type of education of the body-life-mind complex to recognise that this snack is not required and is actually not helpful, as it will tend to increase weight and decrease our health over time. Another method is to provide the refreshment, but reduce the quantity or change the constituent foods, such that the body’s expectation is reduced and eventually can be eliminated. One way or another, with perseverance and patient exercise of the active will, the change can occur.

Another example was related by an individual about his experience in monitoring and controlling the impulse of speech. He undertook a practice for a period of time to not speak ‘socially’. He had a pad and pen and wrote responses to all social inquiries during that time. However, he determined to speak if speech was necessary in relation to the specific work he was given to undertake. This practice forced him to observe how the impulse to speech arose within him, and forced him to make variable choices depending on the circumstance under which speech either would, or would not, be required. He reported learning a great deal about the rising of impulses within the being generally, and the use of will power to guide and direct which impulses would be fulfilled and which would be denied.

The Mother observes: “There is always a moment when everyone has self-control. And if one had not said ‘Yes’ once, if one had not taken the decision, one would not have done it.”

“There is not one human being who has not the energy and capacity to resist something imposed upon him — if he is left free to do so. People tell you, ‘I can’t do otherwise’ — it is because in the depths of their heart they do not want to do otherwise; they have accepted to be the slaves of their vice. There is a moment when one accepts.”

Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, Powers Within, Chapter XI Power of Control, pg. 96