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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: 128
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: 119
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: 121
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: 126
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: 119
People constantly ask whether they should concentrate focused in the heart, between the eyebrows or above the head. The short answer is “yes”. Each centre of concentration relies on a different power of action. In the end, what is more important is the action of concentration itself. An ... Views: 133
The genius of the Rishis of ancient India was their ability to focus on the essential core of knowledge, will and existence. They reminded us that we can obtain many forms and types of knowledge, but each of these is but a fragment, an isolated fact or event, if we have not identified that ... Views: 135
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: 129
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: 120
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: 101
The human propensity to set up ‘either/or’ scenarios leads us to believe that we either have to focus on ‘perfection’ or ‘speed’ in the things we do. This is actually a false choice because it leaves out the factor of concentration which can accomplish actions with speed while not sacrificing ... Views: 132
Many people hold the idea that science is ‘fact based’ and focused on the external world solely, while the artistic focus is based in the use of imagination and is not as tied to external facts. The difference, however, is not necessarily one of a lack of imagination by those with a scientific ... Views: 130
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: 108
“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: 126
The power of visualisation has been recognised as an aid in healing from illness, in excelling in sports, and in helping an individual achieve results in the external world. The spiritual seeker also can put this power to work to achieve results in the inner world. Practitioners of Tibetan ... Views: 132
Most individuals wind up having to abandon their childhood dreams and aspirations. They follow the career path set before them by their society, their family, their teachers and their peers. Yet, in most cases, they never fully lose their deeper aspiration which surfaced in their childhood ... Views: 151
Every great power that humanity discovers and wields in the world has both its negative and its positive side. It can either be utilized to destroy or to support, benefit and create. For example, humanity has harnessed the use of fire. Fire can burn down the house, or it can cook one’s food. ... Views: 145
Creating a detailed imagination is the first step in a future realisation. The formation so devised will attempt to achieve its actualisation in the world. Yet, it must contend with the readiness of the ground upon which it alights, the preparation of the ‘soil’, the proper support along the ... Views: 142
Jules Verne, a writer who was not himself a scientist, nevertheless inspired generations of scientists. He did not invent the idea of the submarine, but in his book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, he worked out a number of conceptual issues so that submarine use could become widespread, ... Views: 139
Imagination is a window to the future. People who are stuck in their past, or the present, tend to close themselves off from development. They insist that things have always been done a certain way, and that is how they are going to be done. Change is anathema to them. They have little, if any, ... Views: 148
More frequently than not, the spiritual aspirant has both a great upward aspiration and a corresponding ‘knot’ that he needs to work out which is the counter-part to the upward capacity. It is the dynamic tension between the two that forces him to persevere. He will either given in to the lower ... Views: 148
There are several points worth considering with respect to utilizing imagination and some of the unanticipated issues that are based primarily in the lag between formulation and accomplishment of the imagined form. Visualization and use of the imagination can act to turn a vague idea or sense ... Views: 160
Every thought, every idea, every imagination, every focus, represents electrical impulses that are formed and projected into the general mental atmosphere, whether expressed verbally or in writing, or simply formulated in one’s mind. Each such formation is either weaker or stronger depending on ... Views: 146
How does imagination work? Why do some people seem to have a large amount of active imagination and others very little?
All kinds of formations are active in the vital and the mental domains. For those who have the receptivity and the aware connection to either of these realms, there is an ... Views: 160
Most people tend to respond to life circumstances and opportunities based on past experience, training, education and any guidelines or rules they have imbibed from their past, all combined with their basic outlook on their lives, their desires, their needs and their circumstances. We can say ... Views: 142
When we begin to reflect on the role of thought in the creation of forms in the world, it becomes clear that it is an important part of the process of converting pure conscious awareness into the world of vital action and physical substance. Thought is a tool of consciousness. When properly ... Views: 153
We recognise nowadays that actions of the mother impact the fetus in the womb. Certain things impact the physical development, including certain drugs or alcohol. Some drugs may cause physical deformities; others may impact the brain and nervous system. What is less frequently acknowledged, ... Views: 146
We tend to associate the process we call ‘thinking’ with the linear sequence of words that organize our understanding in our mind. We thus associate thinking with language and indicate that our thinking is limited by the language. A language that is rich in words and nuances will yield more ... Views: 134
We utilize speech to communicate with other people. Speech however is a translation into vibrational patterns a specific thought content developed with a particular pattern of electrical impulses. When it is effective, the hearer receives the vibrational energy of the speech he has heard, and ... Views: 147
Perhaps the biggest impediments to the exercise of the occult powers native to the human condition is our lack of willingness to acknowledge these powers for what they are, and our lack of attention and focus on understanding, developing and exercising them. When extraordinary circumstances ... Views: 154
People proudly deny occultism with a laugh and a smirk about how unreal it is, and how people are taken in by the occult sciences. They state their dependence on what is “real” and “solid” and palpable to their senses. Seeing is believing, they say! They frequently pound on the table to prove ... Views: 135
For those who can see vital energies and auras, the driving forces of any individual are quite easy to observe. One can observe this frequently in nightclubs where sexual energies are high and those with particularly powerful formations in this direction can be seen virtually radiating or oozing ... Views: 159
An individual in the business of wholesaling products to stores reported the following phenomenon he had experienced with one of his wholesale customers who ran a metaphysical bookshop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a number of years. He would get a feeling that the buyer was reaching out to ... Views: 163
There is a famous story in the Mahabharata which has a profound meaning when it comes to the application of any power of action in the world, including the power to create thought formations. One of the protagonists in the great war that was fought at Kurukshetra was Arjuna. He was the greatest ... Views: 146
What is thought formation? For many people, the constant stream of haphazard ideas, thoughts, reflections and perceptions represents thought. Their minds are constantly bombarded by thoughts of all types without a consistent flow or theme. They jump from one subject to another without even a ... Views: 148
The idea that there is a ‘law of attraction’ has gained significant attention in the West over the last few decades. It has largely been interpreted by the materialistic mind of the West as a way to attract wealth and all forms of fulfillment of desire. This, however, is both a misreading and a ... Views: 147
The Dhammapada provides the spiritual seeker with a deep wisdom that forces us to reflect and gain understanding. The Mother has taken up a particular verse about the harm caused by a mind that is not tightly focused and under control. With some consideration we can understand the deeper ... Views: 142
Whenever there is some kind of news headline about a major negative event, such as a school shooting, or a catastrophic earthquake or hurricane, we hear major political leaders express “thoughts and prayers” for the victims and their families. Everyone knows that there is no serious force behind ... Views: 151
There is an occult tradition that a practitioner of certain arts can create a formation, send it out to act upon another individual, and thereby succeed in achieving his objective with that other person. The stories mostly revolve around sending forces to harm another individual, and they point ... Views: 158
Physical forces take physical forms. Vital forces take vital forms. Even though they may act upon the physical existence of the being, they are not physical forces. Similarly, mental forces take mental forms on the mental plane. Once again, they may act upon vital forces and physical forces, but ... Views: 140
We take the chatter in our minds for granted and do not attribute any real significance or power to it most of the time. The constant influx of thoughts is just a lot of background noise, for the most part. When we concentrate on something and focus the thoughts, we recognise that we can ... Views: 148
One of the ways we tend to limit ourselves is to decide, in advance, that we cannot succeed at something, that we don’t have the education, the experience, the skill or the necessary training to accomplish that task. We imprison ourselves within our narrow range by this type of mental ... Views: 157
We tend to accept the limitations of the sense organs and the mind as if they are axioms, unable to be altered. We accept that blind people cannot see and that deaf people cannot hear. We believe we cannot interact using the mind alone to communicate or to experience things at a distance. We ... Views: 137
For the most part, we live within a framework set for us by our parents, community, society, education and the individual choices we make as a result of these things. To some extent these things determine where we will concentrate our focus, what capacities we will practice and develop, and ... Views: 143
Spiritual seekers harness the powers of body, vital being, emotions and mind in order to develop and eventually attain the goal of their seeking. The power of dedicated work, the power of the breath, the power of devotion, the power of concentration all have a part to play in the seeker’s ... Views: 162
We live in a time of incredible feats of technological progress. Digital technologies, quantum computing, wireless transmission of energy, solar power, airplane flights, space flight, landing on the moon, instant communications of audio and video content world-wide are things we tend to take for ... Views: 157
Developing external power through the use of technology has several unexpected or unintended consequences. One of these, of course, is to give us powers of observation and action that were not available to us through the normal progression of physical, vital and mental development. In order to ... Views: 143
We rarely reflect on the occult powers that we use all the time, automatically, including the various powers of the mind and emotions. Researchers in the field of medical science have now recognized the important role that our mental state has on our health and well-being. They now admit the ... Views: 180
When an individual undertakes tapasya, the concentration of conscious force, in any manner, it is certain that the results will bring about new powers for that individual, whether an accentuation of powers that the individual already possessed and exercised to some degree, or the development and ... Views: 134
In the movie Sixth Sense, a psychiatrist meets up with a young boy who claims to see dead people and interact with them. The psychiatrist spends the better part of the film trying to understand the boy and bring him out of his delusion. In the end, it turns out that the psychiatrist gains the ... Views: 137