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Consciousness and Awareness Articles
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- Causes and Avoidance of Accidents - by Submitted on Jul 12, 2023 from santosh krinskyAn accident avoided. An individual related the following incident. He was driving with a passenger through Yellowstone National Park in the USA some years ago during the summer season in a van late in the afternoon. He had a sense or feeling of an impending accident involving a bison, although ...
Views: 359 - Interaction of the Mind, the Vital Envelope and the Physical Body in the Development of Acute Illness - by Submitted on Jul 11, 2023 from santosh krinskyFor most people, acute illness is an event of the body, which is subject to attack by various malign types of germs, bacteria and viruses. We tend to envision the body as a battlefield and the attacking germs aggressively target the cells and organs and the body fights back with an immune ...
Views: 382 - Understanding the Causes and Prevention of Illness - by Submitted on Jul 10, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere are many ideas about the causes of illness, as well as ways to prevent or cure illness. In the West, the prevalent idea is related to what may be called the “germ invasion” theory, namely, that illness is caused by specific physical ‘germs’ (bacteria or viruses) which invade and overpower ...
Views: 396 - The Aura — the Vital Envelope that Surrounds the Physical Body - by Submitted on Jul 09, 2023 from santosh krinskyFor those people who only treat as ‘real’ things they can directly perceive with the physical sense organs, the aura is considered to be some kind of fantasy of imagination. The aura, a vital sheath or envelope that extends beyond the boundaries of the physical body, has therefore long been the ...
Views: 391 - The Role of the Vital-Physical Aspect of Our Being - by Submitted on Jul 08, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen we observe the nerves and their role in our actions, we see that they carry vital sensations within a physical frame to connect our senses and responses to external pressures to the brain, and then, carry impulses back to the organs of action. Most people do not recognise the essential role ...
Views: 277 - Understanding the Physical Body in its Gross and Subtle Aspects - by Submitted on Jul 07, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen a particular power of consciousness is intended to participate in the evolution in the external world, it utilizes the physical body as the foundation or anchor of its action. This fixes its action in the world, while at the same time, imposes limits on the power due to the watering-down ...
Views: 284 - Interaction of the Powers of Consciousness in the Material World - by Submitted on Jul 06, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhile each power of consciousness, physical, vital, mental (and others) operates in its native mode and strength in its own plane or sphere of action, it projects itself into the world we inhabit by tying itself to the foundation of the basic physical principle. This involves a ‘watering down’ ...
Views: 281 - The Continuum of Consciousness and the Interactions of the Various Wave-Forms - by Submitted on Jul 05, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe recognise the electro-magnetic spectrum, the color spectrum, the sound wave spectrum and others, each as representing a continuum of wave forms with varying characteristics. There are shorter, more intense waves and longer wave frequencies. Some conduct tremendous amounts of physical heat, ...
Views: 265 - The Reality of Worlds of Existence Other than the Physical World - by Submitted on Jul 04, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe have a strong bias in favor of accepting things that we can perceive with our physical senses, and we tend to disbelieve or discount anything that is not directly, physically available to our experience. Yet if we reflect on the totality of our life experience, it becomes clear that there are ...
Views: 316 - The Status of the Purusha in the Individual and in the Universal Manifestation - by Submitted on Jul 03, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe see pattens repeating from the macro-level to the micro-level. The study of fractals shows us that there are indeed certain patterns and relationships that repeat themselves in every smaller configurations as we drill down toward the micro-level. The macrocosm and the microcosm reflect the ...
Views: 314 - Understanding Planes of Existence or Planes of Consciousness - by Submitted on Jul 02, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe reflect on the evolution of consciousness, how Life evolves out of Matter and Mind evolves out of Life in Matter. Nothing can evolve that has not been previously involved, just as a tree can develop out of an acorn, because the genetic coding is 'involved' in that seed and under the proper ...
Views: 296 - Becoming Conscious of the Multiple Sheaths or Planes of Our Being - by Submitted on Jul 01, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn the Taittiriya Upanishad, the seeker discovers, through intensive tapasya that there are multiple layers, or sheaths, of consciousness that make up the human being. His seeking first discovers the material body, or ‘food sheath’. As he continues he recognises the vital body, or ‘prana ...
Views: 304 - Yoga as Applied Psychology to Understand and Address the Complexity Inherent in the Evolution of Consciousness - by Submitted on Jun 30, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe evolution of consciousness involves an increasing level of complexity as successive levels of consciousness are layered and then interact with each other, with each layer attempting to not only express its own native way of seeing and acting, but also needing to accommodate the demands and ...
Views: 294 - Organizing One’s Life Around a Central Aspiration - by Submitted on Jun 29, 2023 from santosh krinskyOne of the things that spiritual seekers experience is that regardless of how strong the central aspiration of the soul happens to be within them, they experience fluctuations based on the various parts of the external nature coming to the front and asserting their own priorities. This leads to ...
Views: 321 - Understanding Conflicting Powers in the Being - by Submitted on Jun 28, 2023 from santosh krinskyIt is practically a universal experience among religious and spiritual seekers, and even among people who are simply developing some kind of an inner life, that they have an aspiration, a desire to consecrate themselves to some goal, principle or idea, and yet, they struggle with opposing ...
Views: 287 - Unifying the Entire Being Around the Aspiration for the Divine - by Submitted on Jun 27, 2023 from santosh krinskyA spiritual seeker identifies with his aspiration and the focus and actions that come about as a result of that aspiration. It may be acts of prayer, acts of giving, acts of consecration, acts of meditation, or dedicated works. During the moments that he is engaged in these acts, he feels like ...
Views: 321 - Untying the Knot of the Ego-Consciousness - by Submitted on Jun 26, 2023 from santosh krinskyAs long as an individual is locked within a framework of understanding, he is unable to truly recognise or exceed the limits of that framework. The ego-consciousness is such a frame of awareness. It creates the sense of a separate individual, apart and having his own autonomy in ...
Views: 321 - Understanding the Mechanism of the External Nature and the Way to Overcome Its Limitations - by Submitted on Jun 25, 2023 from santosh krinskyAs the seeker attempts to follow a spiritual path, he frequently finds that he struggles with old habits, desires, feelings, cravings, emotions and ideas. He believes these are part of ‘who he is’ and he thus cannot find a way to overcome them, In some cases, he is deeply attached to some of ...
Views: 257 - Contending With the Multitude of Beings That Exist Within Each Individual - by Submitted on Jun 24, 2023 from santosh krinskyAlmost everyone has the experience, from time to time, of acting out a different personality. We may say that someone “got out of bed on the wrong side this morning” when we see a normally cheerful and upbeat individual responding in a totally uncharacteristic way. We chalk this up to some mood ...
Views: 335 - Understanding the Separate Aspects of Being That Make Up the Human Individual’s Personality - by Submitted on Jun 23, 2023 from santosh krinskyMost people look at what they consider to be their personality in a very simple and straightforward manner. The mixture of ideas, thought-process, emotional responses, vital reactions, desires and physical needs and cravings is simply ‘who they are’. When they conclude that something needs to ...
Views: 314 - Confusion About the Real Inner Self and the ExternalSurface Personality Is the Root of Our Suffering - by Submitted on Jun 22, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen an individual takes up the spiritual path, there is considerable focus on the idea that the life of the external world is an ‘illusion’ and needs to be abandoned in order to achieve spiritual liberation. He sees that a focus on the external personality, its needs, desires, satisfactions, ...
Views: 298 - The Psychic Being and Transformation - by Submitted on Jun 21, 2023 from santosh krinskyAs long as we remain rooted in the awareness of mind-life-body, we see the world and our existence as a fragmented collection of separate objects, beings and forces and we act as if we are separate and distinct from everything else. The spiritual transformation of consciousness involves a shift ...
Views: 302 - The Path to the Attainment of Integral Self-Knowledge - by Submitted on Jun 20, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn The Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo describes at some length what he calls ‘the refusal of the ascetic’. This refusal is caused by the focus on the attainment of the Supreme by disregarding or even eliminating the relationship of the seeker to the life of the external world and society. He eschews ...
Views: 332 - Sachchidananda (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss) - by Submitted on Jun 19, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn our mental view of the world, we see everything separated and fragmented, and we identify separate objects, beings and forces as interacting with one another. We can intellectually conceive of the concept that all these separate entities and forces are part of a coordinated and combined ...
Views: 292 - Supermind - by Submitted on Jun 18, 2023 from santosh krinskyWithin the framework of our mind and the experience of our vital existence, we are inculcated in the belief that everything is subject to duality, good and bad, happy and unhappy, light and dark. We cannot generally conceive of an existence that is not subject to these pairs of opposites. We ...
Views: 338 - Overmind - by Submitted on Jun 17, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere are further levels of consciousness beyond the intuition. The next superior level, as Sri Aurobindo has defined it, is that of the ‘overmind’. The overmind involves at least a partial shift of standpoint as it sees and understands the greater oneness and unity and factors that knowledge ...
Views: 300 - Intuition - by Submitted on Jun 16, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe popular idea about intuition is tied to some kind of unexplainable process of "knowing" that people go through. If it is purely based in the type of extrapolation from past experience, or some sense that drives the decision without careful and logical analysis, it is still based in the ...
Views: 417 - Illumined Mind - by Submitted on Jun 15, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen we study the functioning of the mind, we see that the essential nature is one that can receive sense perceptions, analyze, organize and then subject the objects so developed to a process of reasoning using systematic application of rules of logic. We can also see a process of recall of ...
Views: 317 - Higher Mind - by Submitted on Jun 14, 2023 from santosh krinskyIf we reflect for a moment on the shift from one evolutionary principle of consciousness to another, we can see a shift of standpoint as well as a difference in the mechanism of operation. Those beings who are primarily based in the vital nature tend to react based on principles of fear and ...
Views: 299 - Unlocking The Sixth Sense: 6 Benefits For Your Personal Growth And Enlightenment - by Submitted on Jun 13, 2023 from Ian ParkinExplore the profound benefits of cultivating psychic abilities, from enhanced emotional resilience to spiritual enlightenment. Delve into personal stories that illuminate the potential for personal growth and discover specific exercises for developing psychic skills. Unlock your sixth sense ...
Views: 406(1 vote) - The Superconscient - by Submitted on Jun 13, 2023 from santosh krinskyJust as the electro-magnetic spectrum has ranges below those that we can consciously receive and translate, as well as ranges above those we can utilize, so also consciousness has ranges below and above our limits. The ranges below our limits are called subconscient and inconscient. Those above ...
Views: 302 - What is Our Basic Nature? - by Submitted on Jun 13, 2023 from William CottringerWhat is Our Basic Nature? By Bill Cottringer He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts. ~Samuel Johnson. A turtle was about to enter the water on the edge of a large ...
Views: 448 - The Subconscient and the Inconscient - by Submitted on Jun 12, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe are conscious and aware of forces and energies that operate within a certain specified range. Anything that falls outside that range, whether above or below, remains unseen and unknown to us, even if the forces operative in those superior or inferior ranges impact our thoughts, feelings, ...
Views: 284 - The Supramental Evolution Represents the Fulfillment of Life, Not the Abandonment of Life - by Submitted on Jun 11, 2023 from santosh krinskyFor much of human history, spirituality has been looked upon as a contradiction of an active life in the world. The anchorite in the desert, the renunciate, the Sannyasin, the monk or nun in the cloister are held up to us as the examples of dedication to spiritual growth and purpose. All of ...
Views: 257 - The Inmost Being — the Psychic Being - by Submitted on Jun 11, 2023 from santosh krinskyFor those who live their lives on the surface, focused on fulfillment of their external lives, desires and their ego-personality, there is generally no direct knowledge of the existence of the soul. They may accept the idea of a soul without a clear sense of what that implies or means. Or they ...
Views: 278 - Environmental Consciousness — the Circumconscient - by Submitted on Jun 10, 2023 from santosh krinskyA feeling, an emotion, a thought arises within us. Do we ‘manufacture’ these, or are we the recipients of them from elsewhere? If we manufacture them, how exactly do we do that? Where does the basis for that thought or feeling come from? What causative factors are there for a specific feeling or ...
Views: 314 - The Inner Being (the Subliminal) - by Submitted on Jun 09, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere are many times when people suddenly get a true ‘sense’ or a ‘feeling’ about something that is not directly perceptible to their senses. Sometimes one will feel that someone is watching or following, although the person cannot be seen or heard. There is some inner sense, with a wider and ...
Views: 297 - The Outer Mental, Vital and Physical Consciousness of the External Being - by Submitted on Jun 08, 2023 from santosh krinskyModern-day Western psychological researchers are finding that certain portions of the brain are related to higher cognitive functions, logic, reasoning, extrapolation, imagination, projection, analysis and classification while some parts are in charge of the purely mechanical control of things ...
Views: 288 - Understanding the Relationship of Various Parts and Planes of the Being to Our Current External Mental, Vital and Physical Consciousness - by Submitted on Jun 07, 2023 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo frequently describes going inward to discover the deepest inner being, the psychic being, or soul, as one way to come into contact with the truth of one’s existence and unify one’s being with the Divine. This is a way to overcome the artificial wall of separation that we set up ...
Views: 292 - The Value of Attaining the Standpoint of the Witness Consciousness in Understanding the Complexity of Interaction of the Parts of the Being - by Submitted on Jun 06, 2023 from santosh krinskyIt has been famously stated that we cannot understand the system within which we are acting until we can shift our view to a standpoint outside that frame. As long as we are immersed within any particular system or standpoint, we are locked into the viewpoint and understanding embedded within ...
Views: 279 - The Experience of the Individual in the Ordinary Life of the External Surface Being - by Submitted on Jun 05, 2023 from santosh krinskyFor the individual living on the surface of his being, interacting with the external world, responding to impulsions, pressures, forces and the objects of desire, his inner experience is essentially a reaction to these external pressures and an attempt to meet the desires that arise and somehow ...
Views: 289 - Transformation of Human Nature Requires a Shift of Standpoint Away From Absorption in the Actions and Reactions of the External Being - by Submitted on Jun 04, 2023 from santosh krinskyTransformation of human nature is not practical from a standpoint mired within that nature. Forces push the being in one direction or another, and the individual is under the power of the divergent drives put up by the physical, the vital and the mental being, compounded by the impact of the ...
Views: 336 - A Primary Difference Between Traditional Understanding of Yoga and the Integral Yoga of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother - by Submitted on Jun 03, 2023 from santosh krinskyYoga has historically focused on liberation of the individual soul from the illusion of the outer world. The seeker is advised to see through the transitory nature of all external rewards, undertake practices that help him to discover his true self, and once that is done, live a life, free from ...
Views: 317 - Self-Knowledge and Self-Mastery - by Submitted on Jun 03, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe purpose of attaining self-knowledge is not to create an intellectual framework and be able to learnedly expound on a subject; rather, self-knowledge implies that the seeker has a purpose behind the effort. This purpose may be to find a way to gain ‘liberation’ from the existing life, to ...
Views: 341 - Understanding the Difference Between Psychic and Spiritual - by Submitted on Jun 01, 2023 from santosh krinskyEvery language has its limitations, particularly surrounding areas of development that were not central to the people who developed and utilized that language. This makes it difficult to translate concepts that are self-evident in one language easily or effectively into another language. This ...
Views: 455 - Discrimination to Recognise the Distinction of Different Forces and the Various Parts of the Being is Necessary for the Spiritual Seeker - by Submitted on May 31, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe Buddhist tradition describes Manjushri as a Bodhisattva who, with his flaming sword of discrimination, cuts through illusion and falsehood to disclose the truth of existence. The power of discrimination between different powers, forces, impressions, suggestions, and their source and intent ...
Views: 530 - The Opportunity of Life's Challenges to Awaken and Grow - by Submitted on May 30, 2023 from Maetreyii Ma NolanFor hundreds of thousands of years, humans have lived on this planet. They have each struggled to exist, to survive, to have a good life - to live. And in this time throughout history, people have encountered various obstacles, difficulties, and struggles in life. These struggles are a natural ...
Views: 322 - Utilizing the Mental Power to Aid the Understanding of Our Complex Being - by Submitted on May 30, 2023 from santosh krinskyMany years ago, Sri M P Pandit suggested that a devotee write an article about the importance of precise bookkeeping and accounting while engaged in service. There was a prevailing sentiment that such ‘mental ideas’ were antithetical to the kind of absolute devotion and surrender that put ...
Views: 301 - Yoga: The Science of Consciousness - by Submitted on May 29, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn our modern world, we see the wide dissemination of yoga, primarily as a means of gaining some measure of control over the body, through the postures developed and taught under the rubric of ‘hatha yoga’. In many instances, teachers of hatha yoga have taken the step of teaching their students ...
Views: 443 - Conclusions About the Ideal of Human Unity - by Submitted on May 28, 2023 from santosh krinskyEvolutionary change cannot be measured in one or two generations. Developing ideas and forces may be stirring under the surface, preparing to burst forth and, in the interim, remain relatively unseen. In the interim, life goes on as it has always gone on, with the vital and animal propensities ...
Views: 301