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Sri Aurobindo provided advice to an individual who was trying to sort out the direction for his life and how to face the difficulties that confronted him, particularly with respect to certain vital weaknesses to which he was prone. Sri Aurobindo analyzed the condition of this individual in great ... Views: 1
The question of ‘hostile forces’ is one that generally needs a certain amount of reflection. In the West, the major religious denominations frequently speak of the devil, the fallen angels, Satan, and other beings to which they attribute a malignant power that pressures human beings to commit ... Views: 2
It is easy, in fact, quite normal, for an individual to turn toward medical treatments once an illness presents itself. The mind-set of the entire society is based on the idea that illness must be defeated and that medicine, through its long history, has increasingly gained powers and tools to ... Views: 3
How do medicines work? What exactly do they do in the body? How do we explain the effect of placebos, which are involved in a reasonably large percentage of cures? What about cases of spontaneous remission of disease? Is it possible to recover from “antibiotic resistant” bacterial diseases? Can ... Views: 3
The mental consciousness likes to make ‘black and white’ decisions. Thus, it tends to set up oppositions between reliance on the spiritual force for healing, and the use of physical means such as medicines or other medical interventions. When we recognise, however, the complexity of the human ... Views: 5
While many people discount the value of imagination, pigeon-holing it into the realm of the creative arts, without much impact on their lives, an ever-expanding number of people are realizing the tremendous power that imagination holds in shaping one’s life and future. Pre-eminent geniuses such ... Views: 5
The Power of Affirmations in Healing the Body and Achieving Positive Results in Life
Posted on August 13, 2022
Emile Coue was a French psychologist who used the power of positive affirmations to heal his patients of numerous diseases. He created a program to be repeated a number of times ... Views: 6
Whether consciously or subconsciously, suggestions reach the being from the outside world, in some cases impacting directly on the body, and in others through the mind or the vital being. When these suggestions arrive subconsciously, we only recognise the thought or feeling when it arises within ... Views: 7
Suggestions are not just directed at the mind; nor are they restricted in their impact on just the mind. We are used to the process of people making suggestions to us constantly about what we could, or should, do or how we could, or should, respond to a situation. We weigh these suggestions not ... Views: 8
There are names for various impacts that the mind has on the health of the physical body. For instance, there is hypochondria, which is noted when an individual accepts a suggestion in the mind that they are suffering from a particular illness. Even if they are not at the time having that ... Views: 9
Where the mind focuses and attention is given, energy flows. Thus, when we focus on our physical body and its health issues, when we create fear or anxiety over our health status, we are actually opening up a pathway for the very concerns we are worried about. Positive healthy attention to the ... Views: 10
When the body is disturbed in its balance, through illness, injury, or other causes, it causes signals to be sent through the nervous system to the brain, broadcasting the perception we perceive as pain. Some people never experience pain, however, due to either a failure of the nervous pathway, ... Views: 12
Fear opens up pathways for whatever is feared to enter the being, as it creates a vibrational ‘link’ between the individual and the feared event or circumstance. Fear also opens holes int he vital envelope, or aura, that helps protect the individual from catching illnesses. We have all heard of ... Views: 13
There is a part of the vital nature which takes a perverse pleasure in flaunting illnesses, pain and suffering publicly to collect the sympathy of friends and acquaintances. These things become the topic of conversation and extensive gossip. Thus, the vital nature may prolong, accentuate or even ... Views: 12
In various places, Sri Aurobindo describes the possibility of pain becoming for the spiritual practitioner an intense form of spiritual bliss, Ananda. He is describing the psychological experience of a realized soul who has separated himself from attachment to and identification with the ... Views: 15
People speak about an aura surrounding the physical body. Because many people cannot physically see the aura, they remain skeptical about its existence. This however is not a proof of its non-existence. Occultists and those who have developed subtle sense perception have described the aura ... Views: 14
When an illness strikes the body, its energy must go to recuperation and rebuilding its basic strength. For a practitioner of yoga, as well as for those who have a developed mental or emotional consciousness, or an aesthetic sense, the recuperation and rebuilding phase can be irksome, as there ... Views: 17
The machinery of the physical body has its own basic requirements for rest in order to function optimally. When one goes beyond the body’s capacity for effort at any point in time, and thereby becomes fatigued, a state of tamas tends to arise. This is inimical to maintaining the continuity of ... Views: 18
Transformation of the vital nature in man is a key and essential part of the transformation that must come with the evolution of the next stage of consciousness. Past yogic paths did not focus to any great degree, if at all, on transformation of the external being and life in the world; rather, ... Views: 16
The normal human individual lives primarily in a state of consciousness that is immersed in the outer life, including the inner reactions to that life, and the functions of the body, life-energy and mind. This is true whether the person considers himself to be an extrovert or an introvert. The ... Views: 19
At certain stages along the way, a particular technique or method of standpoint may be helpful to the growth of the spiritual consciousness or the implementation of that consciousness in the outer being and life. These same methods, however, can lead to stagnation if practiced without heed to ... Views: 22
Albert Einstein was famously quoted as saying: “We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them”. It is necessary to achieve a new frame of reference and standpoint in order to address the issues of the body-life-mind complex and the transformation of the vital ... Views: 22
The Mother illustrates the difficulty of transforming the vital nature. None of this is either fast or easy, given the complexity of human nature and, in particular, the vital being. There are also deeply entrenched habits of action and reaction and a general force of vital nature that lives in ... Views: 20
Lion tamers, horse whisperers, dog trainers, all learn certain things about how to bring the vital nature into a compliant and participatory mood, to carry out the wishes of the trainer. They quickly learn that they cannot simply allow these vital beings the absolute license to do whatever they ... Views: 22
It is a universal human experience that the vital force in the being is either extremely reactive to situations, particularly when it has a desire or craving to fulfill, or, if not given its desire, it can sulk or withdraw its energy and the being goes into a state of torpor or indolence, ... Views: 23
The primary initial difficulties faced by the sadhak in overcoming the vital nature are related to the Gunas of Rajas and Tamas. Rajas is naturally energetic and somewhat aggressive and thus, it tackles issues with vehemence. When it becomes frustrated or suffers a setback, it tends to recoil ... Views: 21
The Mother provides a clear approach to transforming the vital nature. In part 1 she addresses how to gain perspective, the necessary steps involved and the kind of resistance that arises and what can be done about it.
The Mother notes: “The first step: will. Secondly, sincerity and ... Views: 21
The shift from the standpoint of the desire-soul of the ego is not something that can occur completely and all at once. There are too many persistent threads of the instincts and habits of the mind-life-body complex to expect so radical a change to happen magically. There may be, and generally ... Views: 19
Yogic practitioners have a number of different methods they have utilized to try to gain control over the movement of vital desire. The disturbances caused by desire, and the distractions that result are clearly inimical to success in the yogic sadhana. Some, like those who practice various ... Views: 25
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: 23
Can human nature be changed? We are exhorted to be kinder, more compassionate, less egoistic, more rational in our relationships with others and our actions in the world. When we try to actually carry out these things, we find that, for the most part, our vital instincts and drives still control ... Views: 25
Jealousy is one of those deeply rooted vital reactions that are not amenable to being “convinced” to change by mental logic. Highly educated, refined individuals are also subject to jealousy when appropriate circumstances arise, and as with other such deeply rooted reactions, the vital ... Views: 27
In Shakespeare’s play The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice the vital reaction of jealousy is explored in considerable depth. The title character Othello is married to a young woman with whom he is passionately in love, in the normal sense of the word. Iago, who wants to bring down Othello, ... Views: 28
At some point in life, virtually every individual has an experience which is extremely disappointing and painful, due to a perceived betrayal or undue negative reaction from another person. A great part of human interaction is driven by reactions of jealousy, envy, lust, greed, fear, anger or, ... Views: 29
Psychological tests and experiments have shown that each individual sees external events from their own perspective and thereby bring their personal biases, albeit unintentionally, to what they observe and how they understand situations. What the senses perceive is enhanced and filled in by the ... Views: 29
Refined and sensitive individuals tend to judge others by their own internal standard. In many cases, this means expecting others to always respond with good will, compassion and honesty. They build up an image of how the world ‘works’ that is based on their inner sense of things, and in many ... Views: 33
There is a phenomenon that is called “entering the zone”. This is a state of consciousness where one essentially acts without the involvement of the ego and identifies with the action one is undertaking. Amazing results or performances come about through entry into the “zone”. There is a ... Views: 32
There is a strong human potential movement that counsels ‘mindfulness’ by living in the present, and not worrying about or identifying with the past, and not imaging or creating images about the future in one’s mind. This movement has an underlying truth associated with it, as dwelling on either ... Views: 33
It is a malady of modern society that we believe we must stay constantly busy, We do not understand nor appreciate the value of quiet time for contemplation and stepping outside of the whirl of day to day activities to unite our awareness with that of the consciousness which manifests in the ... Views: 31
Most people believe that both the impulse of desire and the impulse to anger are both inherent, deeply established reactions that are either completely impossible, or virtually impossible, to overcome and remove from one’s life. They say that one may succeed in controlling outer expressions of ... Views: 32
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: 31
Practitioners of yoga are not exempt from the play of the gunas, the qualities of Nature, and thus, are from time to time, subject to bouts of discouragement and depression when tamas is in the ascendent. It may happen when a particular goal or ambition is thwarted or delayed, as the frustration ... Views: 34
In today’s world, depression is a widespread malady that affects people throughout the world. In many cases, pharmaceutical drugs are known to have potential ‘side effects’ that can cause depression, thoughts of suicide, or other dark moods that inhibit the ability of the individual to function ... Views: 36
There is a difference between ‘joy’ and ‘enjoyment’. Enjoyment is a more or less passive state, such as when we enjoy some form of entertainment. Joy, on the other hand, is an active status, which rises spontaneously through involvement and action. If we observe children, we see that they ... Views: 36
As long as we remain bound to the ego-personality, we are caught in the play of the three gunas, or qualities of nature. Every individual is subject to all three, and their constant interchange. Thus, there will be times and circumstances where tamas, the quality of indolence and darkness comes ... Views: 36
In The Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo describes the sevenhold ignorance which limits the human being. We live in a world about which we know very little, and we lack a complete understanding of the significance of our lives, the meaning of existence, or the processes of Time. As a result, we act as ... Views: 33
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: 38
Aspiration in terms of the yogic process is a tuning of the consciousness towards the spiritual reality, and thereby shifting the focus away from the ego-personality to the divine. The aspiration directs the attention, but must be followed up with an attitude of receptivity so that the response, ... Views: 35
In our world today, we tend to doubt everything, question everything, trust in nothing. We recognise how much dissembling takes place, how many illusions are placed before our eyes, and we frequently have the experience that when we trust in someone or something, we tend to later see that we ... Views: 34
The West, in particular, believes in the power of thought to solve problems. The educational system focuses its attention on analysis and categorization, and eventually adds the precepts of logical thought as a methodology to work through problems step by step. The scientific method, as it is ... Views: 35