Self Improvement Site
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
Self Knowledge Articles
We are currently looking for an Official SelfGrowth.com Guide to "Self Knowledge". If you have expertise in Self Knowledge and your own website and/or product for this topic, please review this form for complete details. The Official Guide Position is part of our Premium Placement Package
- Inner Growth Differs from Modern Concepts of Growth of Awareness - by Submitted on Nov 05, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe have seen a phenomenal growth of practices that bring attention to our daily actions. Mindfulness training asks us to attend to each movement, each step, each bite of food, and each thought and emotion. Clearly with the amount of distraction we suffer from as a result of our love affair with ...
Views: 393 - Wise Reminders From Edgar Allan Poe - by Submitted on Dec 06, 2022 from Scott & Stephen PetulloEdgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809–October 7, 1849) was an American writer and poet who is considered to have pioneered the category of detective fiction, and was one of the first Americans to consistently write short stories. He is also the first well-known American writer to earn a living ...
Views: 393 - Escaping the Little Ego-Consciousness Through Concentration on Infinite Space and Eternal Time - by Submitted on Oct 14, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe are usually so busy focusing on the day to day lives we are living that we rarely take the time to reflect on the larger significance of the universal manifestation and what role we, as individuals play in this development. The concept of maya, the cosmic illusion, is based on our ...
Views: 392 - Self-Identification with Others — Loosening the Bonds of the Ego-Consciousness - by Submitted on Oct 08, 2022 from santosh krinskyWith focus, over time and with dedicated effort, the power of concentrated attention, samyama, eventually bears fruit and one can escape the boundaries of the ego-consciousness and enter into an identification with others. As this occurs, we understand their motivations and the direction of ...
Views: 392 - Options and Risks in Widening the Consciousness Using Various Methods - by Submitted on Oct 13, 2022 from santosh krinskyThere are numerous ways to widen one’s consciousness to begin to incorporate the viewpoint and direction of others. Some of these methods are easier than others, in that they utilize a mood or feeling that is evoked from a natural environment, such as the starry sky, the ocean, a wide view from ...
Views: 391 - Understanding and Addressing the Difficulties of Gaining Control of the Ordinary Human Nature and Life, Part 1 - by Submitted on Aug 19, 2022 from santosh krinskySri 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: 391 - Vedic Seers Describe the Sevenfold Ignorance and the Sevenfold Knowledge - by Submitted on Apr 11, 2023 from santosh krinskyAs we take up the next chapter in the Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo cites, in the headnotes, some revealing passages from the Rig Veda and the Upanishads to indicate the 7 types of Ignorance that needs to be overcome, and to point out the 7 forms of Knowledge required to achieve realisation. Before ...
Views: 391 - Can you book Umrah yourself from the UK? - by Submitted on Nov 02, 2023 from Ady GrewalThere are still many people who are hesitant about doing the Umrah on their own. Due to the high cost of Umrah Packages the Umrah agents are not particularly informative. Of course, agents are not superfluous; in fact, in some circumstances, they are quite important, since not everyone is able ...
Views: 390 - The Benefit of Obstacles and Difficulties for the Development of Conscious Awareness - by Submitted on Nov 17, 2022 from santosh krinskyIt is a quality of human nature. When things are going well, we are happy and contented, we tend not to make extraordinary efforts or focus on change. We feel like things are where they should be in our lives, and we move into ‘enjoyment mode’ rather than ‘change mode’. In some cases, we believe ...
Views: 390 - The Gods and the Demons in Our Inner Psychology - by Submitted on Sep 29, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe find in the ancient Indian epic, Ramayana, an interesting sub-plot which changes the very complexion of what appears to be a battle between ‘good’ personified by Rama and his family, and ‘evil’ as personified by Ravana and his kin. As we delve deeper into the tale, we find that Ravana was ...
Views: 390 - The Process of Effectuating Real Change in Human Nature - by Submitted on Sep 18, 2022 from santosh krinskyHonest observation without mental bias is the first step the Mother outlines. This is accomplished by setting up the ideal as a screen or filter against which to compare each action. Those that do not compare entirely favorably represent things that can be identified as subjects for the change ...
Views: 390 - The Subconscient Basis of Our Individual Being, Part 4 - by Submitted on Sep 03, 2022 from santosh krinskyAs the individual works to understand the wellsprings of the motives, impulses and forces that rise up through his being in the subconscient and push him into action, a subtler understanding begins to develop. The need to distinguish between the inherited habits and embedded atavistic movements, ...
Views: 390 - Words of Wisdom— Abigail Adams - by Submitted on Jan 16, 2023 from Scott & Stephen PetulloAbigail Adams (November 22, 1744 – October 28, 1818) was the spouse and close advisor of John Adams. She was the first second lady of the United States, second first lady of the United States, and the mother of the sixth president of the United States, John Quincy Adams. She was a ...
Views: 390 - All Knowledge Is Within, Awaiting the Time and Circumstance to Manifest in Our External Being - by Submitted on Dec 30, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe ancient Greek philosopher Plato described the method of teaching utilized by Socrates, known today as the “Socratic method”. Socrates understood that education was not the process of stuffing knowledge into an individual, but rather, as the root of the word ‘education’ implies, a drawing out ...
Views: 389 - Living Within: Summary and Conclusions - by Submitted on Oct 22, 2022 from santosh krinskyLiving Within: The Yoga Approach to Psychological Health and Growth, compliled by Dr. A.S. Dalal, is an eminently practical handbook for understanding and addressing the complexity of our psychological makeup. Modern-day civilisation creates enormous pressures for individuals, while at the same ...
Views: 389 - Observing the Inherited and Environmental Influences on One’s Character from the Standpoint of the Psychic Being - by Submitted on Aug 29, 2022 from santosh krinskyWhen the individual is able to shift out of the standpoint of the ego-personality to that of the soul, the psychic being, he is able to observe and trace the influences of inherited tendencies or environmental pressures that bubble up from the subconscient and try to gain admittance and ...
Views: 389 - Widening the Consciousness: Practical Exercises and Benefits - by Submitted on Oct 10, 2022 from santosh krinskyIf we observe what happens to our inner psychology when we experience physical pain, we will see that we mostly tighten ourselves up, tensing the body, focusing intently on the experience of the bodily pain. By doing so, we actually intensify the pain experience through this focus and it takes ...
Views: 389 - Light and Shadow - by Submitted on Mar 23, 2023 from santosh krinskyYin and Yang, dualities that are inextricably intertwined with one another, that continue to play into one another and which contain an element of the opposite quality within themselves. We live in a world characterized by duality and when we examine closely we find that we cannot have light ...
Views: 387 - Living in the Consciousness of the Eternal Provides an Answer to Our Hurried and Dissatisfied Existence - by Submitted on Jul 09, 2022 from santosh krinskyThere 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: 387 - Aspiration and Prayer - by Submitted on Dec 20, 2022 from santosh krinskyMany people confuse aspiration with prayer. They are however, actually two different things, and while they may support one another when they align, it is not necessary that aspiration lead to prayer. Aspiration refers to the inner state of consciousness that arises from the psychic being in a ...
Views: 386 - Spiritual Realisation Goes Beyond All Scriptures - by Submitted on Jan 02, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe live in a dynamic, evolving universe, not one that is static and unchanging. All teachings of the past, therefore, have their limitations. In his Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo reminds us that all scriptures have both a temporal element, specific to their time and their circumstances, and ...
Views: 386 - The Meaning of True and Complete Sincerity in the Spiritual Path - by Submitted on Dec 24, 2022 from santosh krinskyJust about every individual, including those practicing a spiritual discipline of some sort, creates an image of himself that he then projects out into the world. This image is something of a stylized and idealized version of himself that attempts to present the highest and best of his ...
Views: 386 - The Necessity for Quietude of the Vital Nature - by Submitted on Feb 08, 2023 from santosh krinskyThere can be no permanent settlement of peace in the mind if the vital nature has not also attained quiet and peace. Many people take this as a reason to abandon active life and involvement in society and the world-at-large; yet, this is not a solution. The vital nature is very much driven by ...
Views: 386 - Attaining Peace in the Being - by Submitted on Oct 21, 2022 from santosh krinskyA central key to attaining peace lies in achieving the poise of non-attachment. Non-attachment is sometimes confused with avoidance of action, or some kind of renunciation. But non-attachment can develop even among those who are active in the world. King Janaka was known as being non-attached ...
Views: 385 - The Nature and Power of Sincerity in the Practice of Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Dec 15, 2022 from santosh krinskyWhat exactly is the meaning of ‘sincerity’ in the context of the integral yoga, and what makes it so essential to the successful practice of this yoga? For most people, sincerity is a quality defined by adherence to a specific idea or belief and a direct translation of that belief into the ...
Views: 385 - The Bhagavad Gita and the Path of Karma Yoga - by Submitted on Feb 27, 2023 from santosh krinskyWhen we delve into the yoga of works, the Bhagavad Gita immediately comes to mind as a primary text. The Gita explores the questions of what constitutes a yogic attitude in action and compares it to the normal standpoint about work. The major difference lies in the inner standpoint and attitude ...
Views: 384 - The Case for the Rare Instance of an Ongoing Physical, Vital or Mental Formation Surviving the Death of the Individual - by Submitted on May 07, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe have no difficulty seeing and understanding that an individual can create a legacy in the physical world we inhabit, as we see the evidence everywhere around us in the form of buildings, enterprises, religious movements, mental developments and conceptualization, and artistic creations, not ...
Views: 384 - The Concept of Spiritual Purity in the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 21, 2023 from santosh krinskyFor most people, purity is connected with a moral precept, and for most, this has eventually been related to the question of sexual relations. The question of chastity, and withholding of sexual activity until the socially sanctioned relationship of marriage has been put in place, holds a ...
Views: 384 - The Essential Role of the Psychic Being in the Process of Vital Transformation - by Submitted on Jul 28, 2022 from santosh krinskyTransformation 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: 384 - Widening the Consciousness Through Identification with Galactic Space - by Submitted on Oct 09, 2022 from santosh krinskyThe principle Patanjali set forth for the practice of samyajma provided that one would be identified with and gain complete knowledge with the object of the practice of concentration. Those who choose to identify with the vast galactic panorama of stars and space would find their consciousness ...
Views: 384 - Gaining Mental Understanding Through Quieting and Widening the Mental Consciousness - by Submitted on Oct 11, 2022 from santosh krinskyMany people, over the years, have told me that reading Sri Aurobindo’s writings is difficult due to the complexity and wideness of the concepts he presents. I have heard, or experienced, similar issues reading Kant, Leibnitz, Kierkegaard, Sartre, Joyce and others. For those engaged in technical ...
Views: 383 - How to Prepare Oneself for the Practice of the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Oct 25, 2023 from santosh krinskyIn the biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, we find human beings innocent and acting out of their natural instincts, predilections, and their basic intelligence as human beings. They have no social setting or training to which they need to conform. They are essentially ignorant ...
Views: 383 - Stages of the Development of Peace in the Being - by Submitted on Feb 02, 2023 from santosh krinskyWith all the complexity surrounding the reactions we have to impressions and pressures we receive from the world, it is important to both understand the seed causes of our reactions and find a way to systematically gain control over these reactions. One of the techniques recommended by Sri ...
Views: 383 - Three Primary Paths of Inner Growth and Spiritual Development - by Submitted on Nov 11, 2022 from santosh krinskyEach individual has a unique way of relating to and developing his spiritual aspiration. Those who are more intellectually inclined may find that they naturally incline towards what is known as the yoga of knowledge. Those who have a nature more inclined to devotion and emotional expression may ...
Views: 383 - The Light and the Shadow in Each Individual Being - by Submitted on Sep 30, 2022 from santosh krinskyIt is easy to see the failings of others, while overlooking the issues within oneself. Jesus in his famous Sermon on the Mount, recounted in the New Testament of the Bible, exhorted his followers to not judge others but to look within, and noted ‘And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy ...
Views: 382 - 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: 381 - How to Use Love to Transform Obstacles and Suffering - by Submitted on May 02, 2023 from Maetreyii Ma NolanAll beings have suffered. Sometimes in life, things go your way; sometimes, they go the opposite—be it physical, mental, or spiritual, be it loss of loved ones, loss of health, or loss of well-being in one form or another. These periods where something difficult happens can be very challenging, ...
Views: 381 - Overcoming Hopelessness and Depression by Tuning the Consciousness Towards the Light - by Submitted on Oct 16, 2022 from santosh krinskyMany people, including those who are treading a spiritual path, feel depressed and hopeless when they see all the negativity, violence, and destruction taking place in the world around us. The mass media focuses on, and emphasizes, all this negativity, with the saying ‘if it bleeds, it leads’. ...
Views: 381 - The External Being and the Inner Being - by Submitted on Apr 26, 2023 from santosh krinskyMost people identify closely with their active external personality, and as a result, they consider that to be the extent of their existence. They leave on the surface, interact with others, family, friends, acquaintances, associates and other members of society, and respond to the outer ...
Views: 381 - An Inward Concentration Is Necessary for the Seeker of Knowledge - by Submitted on Jan 27, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe ability to concentrate the mind allows us to function in the world in a coherent manner and to create results in whatever field the concentration takes up. Without concentration, the mind would jump from one perception, one impression, one idea to another randomly and instantaneously as new ...
Views: 380 - Organising One’s Life Around the Ideal - by Submitted on Sep 17, 2022 from santosh krinskyObservation and reflection eventually can lead to focus of the life and attention to achieve a specific aspiration. The process of reviewing with care in the light of the higher aspiration allows the individual to then choose which things to do, and which things to avoid, sculpting, if you will, ...
Views: 380 - What Technique or Practice Is Prescribed in the Integral Yoga? - by Submitted on Feb 12, 2023 from santosh krinskyit is a frequent inquiry: ‘Tell us what technique we should use to reach the spiritual goal?” Many ask what specific technique Sri Aurobindo or the Mother recommends for everyone to follow. They point out that other paths of spirituality offer specific actions one must undertake to succeed. ...
Views: 380 - Following the Right Path to Divine Realisation - by Submitted on Nov 13, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe very easily fall into the mistaken idea that the path we follow is the best way to approach the Divine or achieve spiritual realisation and that other paths are either less effective or do not provide the complete liberation from the ego-personality. We also tend to accept the idea that ...
Views: 379 - The Complementary Aspects of Aspiration and Prayer - by Submitted on Dec 21, 2022 from santosh krinskyJust as there is a debate between science and religion, there is a corollary argument that encompasses aspiration versus prayer. Aspiration for growth, development, knowledge, progress, expansion is acceptable to those in the “science” camp. Prayer is relegated by these individuals to the ...
Views: 378 - Visiting the Symbolic Transcription of One’s Inner Being As Displayed to the Conscious Awareness - by Submitted on Sep 19, 2022 from santosh krinskyFor those who are anchored in their outer external awareness of the world and of themselves, there is no understanding or acceptance of the reality of inner occult states of awareness. Thus, they deny the reality of the inner experiences, until perhaps they happen to have a near death ...
Views: 378 - Visualization as an Aid for Entering into Contact with One’s Psychic Being - by Submitted on Sep 21, 2022 from santosh krinskyFor those who have the power of visualisation and who are ready and willing to concentrate in this way, there can be tremendous progress in developing the relation to the psychic being. The mind transcribes the energetic relationships of the various parts of the being into different rooms and ...
Views: 378 - Impatience and the Practice of Yoga - by Submitted on Jan 14, 2023 from santosh krinskyImpatience is endemic to modern day society. We expect everything immediately. If it does not come, we exhibit frustration, annoyance, anger and a disturbed energy which impacts the the body, the life-energy, the nervous envelope and the mental state. Impatience, therefore, creates an energetic ...
Views: 377 - The Power of Concentration is the Key to Realization in All Fields of Life - by Submitted on Jan 28, 2023 from santosh krinskyEvery major accomplishment in human life involves some form of concentration. We live in a modern world that systematically distracts and disperses the mind, thus making it more difficult to achieve a state of concentration. Cell phones, internet surfing, music, flashing lights, entertainment, ...
Views: 377 - Difficulties, Obstacles and the Spiritual Path - by Submitted on Mar 13, 2023 from santosh krinskyEvery individual faces difficulties during his lifetime. They may be difficulties imposed due to external circumstances attendant on one’s birth, cultural or societal position, opportunities, or economic prospects. They may be difficulties that arise due to climate or natural disasters. They may ...
Views: 376 - Opening to a New Consciousness Through the Revealed Word - by Submitted on Dec 31, 2022 from santosh krinskyA seed in the plant kingdom remains inert and non-developing until such time as it is placed in the proper conditions and pressure from outside, in the form of heat or moisture primarily, is exerted upon it. A corollary process takes place in the animal kingdom, of course. Once the encoding ...
Views: 376