The mind has a tremendous power to influence the physical body, for good or ill. In some cases, mental ideas can lead to extraordinary imbalances in the body, which can lead to weakness, illness and even the death of the body. Many times we will push the body beyond its limits without concern ... Views: 124
There are any number of ways to develop concentration. Concentration is also developed progressively, such that the power to concentrate increases with practice and continued use. In their writings, both Sri Aurobindo and the Mother describe a number of ways to develop the power of ... Views: 124
The ego-consciousness lives within the illusion of having free will and making its own independent decisions. A closer examination shows us that the individual is not an ‘island’ unto himself; rather, he is a result of innumerable factors from genetics, to pre-natal influences, to interactions ... Views: 124
There are countless stories of what may be called the “placebo effect” for confidence in action. Athletes sometimes believe they will perform better if they are wearing a specific shirt or pair of socks. People have their ‘lucky charms’ that they believe provide them success in certain ... Views: 123
Most people have had the experience. They decide to try a new diet or exercise regimen. They stick with it a few days or weeks and then it seems to get overlooked, forgotten or abandoned. Other things got in the way, or else, the impulses caused them to weaken their resolve. How many times ... Views: 122
“By askesis do thou seek to know the Eternal, for concentration in thought is the Eternal.” Thus spoke Varuna to Bhrigu in the Taittiriya Upanishad [Sri Aurobindo’s translation].
Swami Vivekananda’s lectures on Raja Yoga, expounding the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with an extensive commentary, ... Views: 121
We frequently remark on how young people act with a seemingly carefree attitude and take risks that older people would not take. This is due to the inherent trust they have in their body’s vital and physical resilience and powers of prevailing even in difficult or dangerous circumstances. As ... Views: 121
The ‘law of attraction’ has been seen as something of a ‘wish-fulfilling gem’, where we can think about something and focus on it, and thereby draw it to us. The reality of the law of attraction is not so dramatic as to cause riches, fame and other desired results to manifest for us somewhat ... Views: 117
One of the key elements of Raja Yoga, based on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is the practice of samyama, which is a one-pointed concentration that is so complete that it merges subject, object and the process of knowing into one unified whole. By this practice, one knows everything about the ... Views: 116
There is a tendency in the human mind to create an artificial division between faith, based in the divine Grace, and effort, based in the mental, vital and physical being of the individual. Thus, if we have faith, we tend not to ‘worry’ about specific actions we can or should take. It is a type ... Views: 116
Most people have very little idea about how to utilize will-power effectively, because they don’t fully understand what will-power actually is and how it needs to be focused and concentrated. Essentially will-power is the function that concentrates the ‘signal’ while reducing the ‘noise’ in a ... Views: 116
There are a number of examples that lead to the conclusion that it is not medicine alone that cures the patient. A young man reported his own experience. He was visiting India in the early 1970’s and was afflicted by a severe case of amoebic dysentery while there, to the point that he was in ... Views: 116
If we reflect on our own efforts to change things in our lives, whether a resolution to follow a diet, exercise regularly, create a work-rest balance, spend more time with our families, or carry out some effort in our religious or spiritual focus, we will quickly see that our resolve does not ... Views: 115
We speak generally about exercising will-power, particularly when it relates to overcoming an impulsion or attempting to achieve some particular result. We may want to overcome an addiction, or follow a particular diet and we struggle to carry out our resolve. We make ‘new year’s resolutions’ to ... Views: 114
If you looks deeply at one’s attempts to utilize will-power to accomplish any task, to bring about some change in one’s being, or to develop in some direction, it quickly becomes apparent that there are elements within our own being that are not supporting the focus, intensity and direction that ... Views: 113
Traditional paths of yoga describe the various chakras, or subtle energy centers, that act as collecting and disseminating points for various specific vibrational patterns related to the action of that specific chakra. Certain paths, such as various Tantric disciplines as well as the well-known ... Views: 112
Each part of the being has its own form of endurance. Endurance is essential for any true and lasting development. Change tends to be mostly incremental. When it comes more rapidly it is usually accompanied by major disruptions to the status quo. In either case, one form of endurance, or ... Views: 112
The Mother draws a clear distinction between the individual who is in contact with his own deepest inner truth of being, his swadharma, and the individual who does not pay attention to this deepest truth but lives what we may call a “transactional” existence focused on the aggrandisement and ... Views: 111
By now most people have heard of the ‘placebo effect’. Yet, they have not gone into the significance of what this implies. Studies have shown that as much as 30% of a group given an ‘inert’ treatment have similar healing outcomes to those given an actual targeted treatment. The individual given ... Views: 111
Sri Aurobindo describes the very traditional understanding of the awakening of the yogic force in the being and its ascent upwards from the Muladhara Chakra to the crown of the head where it meets the Divine Consciousness and thereby brings into the being the higher force to transform the life ... Views: 109
There is a discipline that asks an individual to focus on conscious attention to each thought, each emotion and each movement he makes, through a process called ‘mindfulness’. This is intended primarily to center the individual’s mind and attention and focus the person on the present moment ... Views: 108
For a spiritual seeker, there is a major difference with regard to prayer and aspiration. Prayer is, generally, and in many cases, a more formalized, external activity, primarily based in the outer nature. Aspiration is centered in the soul, or psychic being, and represents the spiritual flame ... Views: 108
Many people formulate their prayers in the form of thoughts, and they are repeated according to a strict formula and ritual. In that case, if the mind is actively engaged in the prayer, it carries the power of the mental focus to tune the being to the frequency of the being who is the object of ... Views: 107
We are habitually conditioned to try to solve problems with our mental capacity. We are taught to observe, organize, classify, compare and contrast, and examine similar past circumstances in order to determine a solution to whatever we are facing. This is the normal pattern for a mentally ... Views: 106
A devotee reported the following incident: He had visited a researcher at Jipmer Hospital in Pondicherry, India who was using Kirlian photography in his research. The researcher showed him several stones. One of them was an ordinary stone. The other one had been in an active temple for a ... Views: 106
While most people are quite insulated from direct confrontation with extremes which the body is asked to endure, our modern media makes it possible to see and relate to some of these extreme situations. Far beyond the pressure of training for and running in a marathon race, there are ... Views: 106
In the yoga sutras of Patanjali, the power of concentration is extolled. In particular, the one-pointed concentration on any particular object unites the seeker with the object such that they become one. At that point, all of the secrets of the object are delivered up to the person undertaking ... Views: 105
We try to control or dominate other people generally through various methods. It is customary in many cultures to subject children to strict discipline and education so that they do things the way the parents or educators like, or they get subjected to some kind of punishment, whether it be ... Views: 105
In order to be most effective in its action, the external nature must have the capacity of concentration of its efforts. Whether this is a mental concentration, or a vital or physical concentration, the focus must be total, without distraction, or it will yield less than the optimal ... Views: 104
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 ... Views: 103
An experiment some years ago showed that stones that came from a temple where ongoing worship had been taking place, held and radiated an energy not found in stones that had not been subjected to the influence of constant prayer. Just as stones absorb heat vibrations and then radiate them back ... Views: 103
The idea that one can receive guidance in response to a question, or aspiration, one is holding within oneself, from a randomly chosen page of a book is not based on some idea of magic, but is grounded in an understanding of the unity of consciousness and the interactive nature of consciousness ... Views: 102
While there is a real difference between prayer, as an external action and aspiration as an inner status of being, there is also connection between the two which can be extremely potent in terms of bringing forth the aspiration into the external world and making it a living and real thing. When ... Views: 102
The Mother provides a practical example of the ‘power of immobility’, albeit as applied in the external world and society. There is an apocryphal story from the time of the Mahabharata. Drona, the preceptor of the sons of Dhritarashtra and the sons of Pandu, princes and future king of the ... Views: 100
The mind cannot comprehend experiences with which it has no familiarity. Sri Aurobindo describes a spiritual status that is experiential in nature. When there is such an experience, the mind tries to describe or transcribe that experience into its normal process of linear thought expressed in ... Views: 100
When we reflect on what we mean by prayer, and what expectations we have for it, we can determine both the limits and the uses of prayer in navigating our way through life, and obtaining results aligned with our aspirations. In the USA it is common for people to send “thoughts and prayers” for ... Views: 98
We train the physical body with intense repetition to create what is called ‘muscle memory’. This allows the body to respond, instantly, without thought, when certain circumstances occur. Not all circumstances require the instantaneous response of the body, or even if they do, the body may not ... Views: 98
It is frequently noted that certain individuals seem to accomplish more, and despite enormous commitments, they seem ready to take on more and do even more than they are doing. On the other hand, there are individuals who seem to have a low threshold of action and they seem to never have the ... Views: 97
When most people are asked about the nature of prayer, they respond that it is a formulation in words of a specific request to God, for some result or benefit they desire to see come to fruition. Prayer is much more than that, and need not be formulated in words. Each level of the being actually ... Views: 96
The Bhagavad Gita has an interesting verse that provides a clue to the secret of action and inaction, between ‘static’ and ‘dynamic’ power, if you will: “He who in action can see inaction and can see action still continuing in cessation from works, is the man of true reason and discernment among ... Views: 96
We operate on multiple levels at the same time. There is the external level comprised of actual physical, vital and mental actions we undertake. We speak, we express ourselves through gestures and body language. We undertake physical activities. At the same time however, there is the unspoken ... Views: 96
Many people have had the experience of a feeling that something is happening in the body, such as a feeling of a “cold coming on”. In some cases the feeling is very strong and the pressure is great. There may be some sneezing, some tickle in the throat, some coughing, some amount of congestion. ... Views: 95
An individual reported an experience which, at the time, was unique to him. He was suddenly attacked by a virulent disease and collapsed on the floor. He was carried off to another room in the facility where various individuals tried to figure out what happened to him and what to do about it. ... Views: 94
When we consider the ‘awakening of the Kundalini Shakti at the base of the spine, we frequently imagine some kind of dramatic experience, some palpable energy, some noticeable force operating and moving up through the experiential body. And in some cases, this actually does occur this way. For ... Views: 94
If we observe carefully our interactions with others, we may note that when another person is describing or explaining something, our minds are eager to jump in, express a different point of view, or simply remain fixed in our own ideas and mindset; in other words, ‘hearing’ without ‘listening’. ... Views: 94
Endurance can be trained and developed. There are entire philosophical programs that have developed to systematically help an individual face the pressures and circumstances of the world with a sense of equality and equanimity. Some of these disciplines rely on acclimating the body to handle ... Views: 94
When we are injured or affected by a disease condition that can cause pain, we find that the nerves attached to the injured area capture a vibration and transmit it to the brain as a signal we associate with pain. This signal is intended to spur us to some form of action to relieve the causative ... Views: 93
Have you ever wondered how some people seem to go through various situations without a problem while others go through similar situations and have to undergo tremendous challenges and suffering? If someone escapes a harrowing incident once, we tend to call it “luck”. But if it happens repeatedly ... Views: 93
When spiritual seekers attempt to implement the technique of the separation of Purusha and Prakriti, they generally go through a stage where they try to utilize the mind to observe. The mind, however, is not the instrument for the actual shift to the standpoint of the Purusha; in fact, the mind ... Views: 92
If we look at the mechanism of pain, we find that wherever there is an injury, disease or stress on a part of the body, a ‘vibration’ starts there, in many cases what medical science would call ‘inflammation’, that triggers a nerve impulse to send the signal to the receptors in the brain, where ... Views: 92