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ARTArticleThe Total Change of the Nature Cannot Be Done in a DayModern life moves at high speed. We expect things to take place virtually instantaneously. As a result, we judge things in the light of the time it takes to accomplish them. If we have to expend an effort, we hope and expect that we will immediately begin to see palpable results. We want an “easy button” or an “enlightenment pill”, something that will accomplish the goal quickly and without a lot stress.ARTArticleThe Tower Card: Should you worry?So... you are new to tarot and your readings are going great. Then, one day, the Tower card turns up in your reading. It's a pretty ominous looking card. Not quite as ominous as the Devil or Death cards, but still, menacing enough to send a shiver down your spine and perhaps lead to fretting. What could it mean? Here's a look at some ways to interpret this important tarot card without doom and gloom. The Meaning of the Tower Card in the Tarotr ARTArticleThe True Attitude of SadhanaMost people act under the impulsion of their vital desires, physical wants, and mental opinions, which are colored by the society within which an individual lives and its established norms and expectations.ARTArticleThe True Condition of Spiritual ProgressWe frequently hear from people who say that they cannot focus on their spiritual practice as they don’t have a quiet space in which to meditate, or they live in a crowded, noisy city, or they are overwhelmed with all their duties relating to education, career, family, etc. They focus their attention on all of the exte al obstacles and use that as an excuse to avoid the focus on their inner spiritual life. “If only i could find the time and a quiet place, i would meditate every day.” We hear this refrain repeated in one form or another regularly.ARTArticleThe True Foundation of the YogaWe are generally so tied to our exte al ego-personality that we identify with it as what we consider to be our ‘self’. We then refer to this body-life-mind complex as our reality and we say that we ‘have a soul’. The reality is far different. The reality is that the soul, the psychic being, takes on a particular existence for its own purposes of experience and growth. The difference in viewpoint is profound and has far-reaching implications.ARTArticleThe Unconverted Vital Nature Must Not Be Permitted to Divert the Psychic and Spiritual Force to Its Own Limited SatisfactionsThere is a substantial and well-known danger of the vital nature taking advantage of the force that comes down through the psychic aspiration and using it to advance objectives of the vital rather than those that carry out the intended purpose of the Divine Power. There is a well known connection, for instance, between the opening of the heart centre and its emotions and the activation of the sexual impulse, when the being has not been sufficiently prepared and purified in its ability to receive and hold the higher force as it descends.ARTArticleThe Universal, the Individual and the Evolution of ConsciousnessWe see the world from the individual standpoint and place ourselves at the center of it. We believe we originate the thoughts, feelings, emotions and responses we give. This, however, is very much the illusion of the ego-sense.ARTArticleThe Value and Importance of Looking from WithinExte al impressions, sensations, impulsions, events all traverse the nervous pathways from the sense organs to the mind, which tends to react to these sensations and thereby remains in a constant state of disturbance. In the modern world, with our addiction to social media, mobile phones, television and radio, and the constant bombardment of stimulation from the exte al world, we generally find it hard to stay focused and concentrate on a specific thought, or project or even just to sit quietly and be receptive in a state of meditative awareness.ARTArticleThe Value of the Witness Consciousness in the Yogic EndeavourThe witness consciousness is an extremely useful mode for the seeker to adopt in any attempt to overcome the limitations and deformations of the exte al nature, whether to try to attain liberation and release from the world, or, as Sri Aurobindo suggests, to work toward the eventual divinsation of life on earth through the evolution of consciousness.ARTArticleThe Vigilance Needed to Ensure That Sattwic Calm, Peaceful Focus Does Not Get Distracted Through the Rise of Rajasic or Tamasic Reactions in the BeingThere is a dynamic that frequently occurs when an individual starts to actively take up the yogic path. At a certain stage of development, the need to bring peace into the being, and the need for a calm, quiet energy to support the practice of meditation may take center stage. At that point, the seeker may take steps to minimize exte al contacts, create a quiet space, and increase the time spent in meditation and study. The active impulse of participation in exte al affairs recedes.ARTArticleThe Vital Envelope Is the First Line of Defense Against IllnessMost people are not aware of the vital envelope, sometimes called the ‘aura’, that surrounds their physical body. Those who experience this vital envelope are sensitive on the vital plane. They are frequently ridiculed for speaking about the ‘aura’ which they can feel or even observe in others. Western science decided to find a way to test the long-proclaimed existence of the aura. Tests were developed to capture the electro-magnetic field that surrounds the body. Eventually, a technique called Kirlian photography was devised that could actually photograph this electro-magnetic field.ARTArticleThe Way Out of the Existential Dread That Accompanies Lack of Knowing Oneself and One’s Purpose in LifeThe development of existentialism as a philosophical viewpoint on human existence in the world took place primarily during the 19th and 20th centuries. it focused on the apparent lack of meaning in the universe and thus, human significance had to be developed from an individual standpoint of freedom rather than from participation in a larger universal purpose.ARTArticleThe Way to Help OthersIt is a characteristic trait of the human ego-personality that we easily see faults and issues in others and in exte al circumstances, that we fail to see within ourselves. But how do we recognise something outside if we have no way to relate to it, if we do not produce the vibrational pattern within ourselves and interpret it?ARTArticleThe Wheel of Fortune: Is Fate in your hands?The Wheel of Fortune card is one of my favorite in the Major Arcana. In Carl Orff's symphonic masterpiece Carmina Burana, the opening 'Oh Fortuna' captures the stone cold-bitchiness of the Wheel of Fortune, where one's fate can seemingly change for the better or worse, without rational explanation: O Fortune, you are changeable waxing and waning; life oppresses then soothes as fancy takes it; poverty and power it melts them like ice. Fate - monstrous and empty, you whirling wheel, you are malevolent, well-being is vai EyeTarot defines the card in the following way:ARTArticleThe Yoga of Nature, Spiritual Sadhana and the Transformation of Action Into a Conscious Expression of the Divine WillAll life, our entire existence, whether we are actively involved in a conscious spiritual discipline, or living a ‘normal’ life in the world following the demands of our needs, desires, relationships and ambitions, etc. is a field of growth, experience and develop. We respond to opportunities, pressures, and difficulties and as we do so, some part of our being gathers that experience and grows through the process.ARTArticleThree Necessary Conditions for the Divine Power To Work Through the Seeker in the Outward LifeUnder normal conditions, we are pushed from one reaction to another by exte al impulsions and our trained responses to circumstances. There is very little chance, therefore, to inject a higher divine power directly into the life-action. Sri Aurobindo outlines the conditions that help the individual shift away from this chaotic reaction that constitutes our normal lives, to an approach that opens the seeker up to these higher powers.ARTArticleThree Tips to Hit Your Personal Bullseye"Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see." Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860) The New Moon and Business ARTArticleTo Be ConsciousWhen we reflect upon what we really know about our existence, our lives, our purpose, the forces at work in the world and in us, the influences to which we are being subjected constantly, and the way we respond to these influences without conscious awareness, it becomes clear that we act out of a primary status of ignorance.ARTArticleTraining the Subconscient to Respond to the Higher Spiritual WillAs the seeker begins to observe the movements of the exte al nature closely, he can identify certain repetitive patterns of response, including impulses to stimuli of various sorts, cravings, desires, fears, frustrations, anger, and attraction. All of these are for the most part virtually automatic without conscious decision or control by the higher elements of the being. While we tend to think of ourselves as being in control of our life-responses, the reality tends to be far different than our superficial assessment. We call these movements instincts, habits or trained behaviour.ARTArticleTransforming Pain and Pleasure Into Spiritual Calm and BlissAll sensations carry signals through the nervous system to the brain, which then can interpret the signal. The signal may be more or less intense. It may be interpreted as pain or pleasure. Intensity of the sensation has something to do with the experience and its interpretation. There is a certain intensity which is comfortable for an individual, and beyond that intensity, it is frequently interpreted as painful. Thus, the signal traveling to the brain, in and of itself is not necessarily pleasurable or painful.ARTArticleTransforming Sleep, Not Suppressing ItIn the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna explains to Arjuna: “Verily this Yoga is not for him who eats too much or sleeps too much, even as it is not for him who gives up sleep and food, O Arjuna.” (Bhagavad Gita and Its Message, tr. by Sri Aurobindo, Ch. 6, V. 16) It is interesting to note that one of the epithets linked to Arjuna was Gudakesha, the ‘master of sleep’, one who overcomes the force of tamas so that he can remain alert and focused to achieve whatever he was destined to achieve.ARTArticleTransforming the Character Of SleepGiving the body the rest and recuperative time it needs, the spiritual aspirant still has to deal with the effects of what is normally a descent into a more tamasic status that can have its impacts on the waking consciousness. If we wake up tired, groggy or cloudy, we have not only not fully recharged the body, but we have put a drag on our waking consciousness. How many people need to resort to coffee or tea first thing in the morning so that the caffeine helps to offset the dullness or grogginess?ARTArticleTransitioning From Mental Consciousness to Spiritual Consciousness While Controlling the Vital NatureThe mind provides a filter to manage and control the vital forces to a certain degree. While it is not perfect, without it, an individual can become subject to whatever vital energy is active and rising up within him. At the same time, the mind acts as a limitation on the ability of the individual to shift the standpoint to the spiritual level of existence. Those who take up spiritual practices, thus, have to navigate the issue of how to move beyond the mind, while not simultaneously becoming a victim of the resurgence of vital energies no longer restrained by the mental control.ARTArticleTreating All Work As Karma YogaWhen the spiritual aspiration awakens in an individual, he often feels like he has to leave his employment and take up some work that is more ‘spiritual’. He tends to equate the type of work with some ill-defined spiritual nature. Thus, we frequently see spiritual people, and organizations, take up work to feed the hungry, heal the sick, etc. This of course is very positive and needed work and we honor those who make that commitment.ARTArticleTwo Necessary Things in the Practice of the Integral YogaThere is a considerable amount of confusion about objectives and methods related to the practice of the integral yoga, primarily due to widely spread ideas about spirituality in general and well-known paths and disciplines that have their own fixed methodologies. Integral Yoga has a different objective from traditional spiritual paths, as the goal is not to escape from life but to bring down the next stage of evolutionary expression of consciousness, and thereby to transform the actions of mind, life and body and the relationship to the exte al world within which we live.ARTArticleUnderstanding and Addressing Desire, Hunger and FoodSri Aurobindo translates Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Chapter One, Section Two, Verse 1: “Formerly there was nothing here; this was concealed by Death — by Hunger, for it is Hunger that is Death. That created mind, and he said, ‘Let me have substance.’ He moved about working and as he worked the waters were born and he said, ‘Felicity was born to me as I worked.’ This verily is the activity in action. Therefore felicity cometh to him who thus knoweth this soul of activity in action.”ARTArticleUnderstanding and Addressing the Desire and Craving for FoodWe have a fixation on food. We do not seek food just for nourishment and proper care of our bodies, generally; rather, we use food to provide us with comfort, emotional support, and fulfillment of desires for various tastes. We center many of our relationship rituals around food. At some point, many individuals conclude that they need to adjust their eating habits, whether through dieting, or fasting. The disease conditions of anorexia and bulimia are extreme examples of our attempts to incorporate our manner of addressing food issues in relation to societal expectations and norms.ARTArticleUnderstanding and Managing the Subconscious Part of the BeingThe idea that significant events or forces can take place within us during sleep or in the twilight range between sleep and waking is something that has been part of human understanding for thousands of years. In particular, dreams, a particular form of the sleep state where the consciousness is attending and in some cases participating actively, have been explored to some depth. In modern Western psychology, the work of Freud broke ground with his study on The Interpretation of Dreams.ARTArticleUnderstanding and Persevering Through the Darkness and the Delays in the Process of Spiritual RealisationWhen we are confronted with difficulties, we employ several different types of responses, mainly depending on instinct, habit, training and the play of the three Gunas, the qualities of Nature, Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas. Sometimes we respond with more effort, sometimes we lapse into depression and sometimes we take a longer-range view and accept the process and the necessary time.ARTArticleUnderstanding Desire and the Absence of DesireWhen seekers take up the spiritual path, they try to follow the guideline to reject desire. They will frequently say “I don’t desire anything”. In many cases, however, this is an obfuscation by the vital nature manipulating the mind to accept something which is not entirely accurate. Let’s break this down:

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