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ARTArticleUnderstanding Experience of a Shift from the Exte al to the Inward ConsciousnessAs the seeker begins to go inwards in his awareness, theare are innumerable new experiences that take place. He generally is not able to determine exactly what they mean. In this case, the guidance of an experienced practitioner or of a Guru can be of immense assistance. If a seeker is proceeding without a guide, or if an experience comes upon an individual more or less suddenly without conscious intention or preparation, he needs to appreciate that the exploration of inner space with bring forward many things formerly unknon and unseen previously.ARTArticleUnderstanding Faith and Its Role in Spiritual DevelopmentThere is a long history of debate about what we believe and how we know what we know. Science and religion have historically taken opposite positions in this debate. Science takes the view that the mind must be able to ascertain objective facts, and draw conclusions based on them. This includes potentially developing hypotheses and testing them, discarding or modifying those that do not bear themselves out in the test. Science is therefore most comfortable with phenomena that are observable, or at least measurable, as to their existence, their result and their uses.ARTArticleUnderstanding Fluctuations in the Force of the Spiritual SadhanaThe spiritual seeker tends to struggle with the constant recurrence of old thoughts, feelings, reactions and desires. He is also constantly confronted by changes in his energy levels and focus. Much of this is due to the underlying and deeply embedded energies that he has inherited as part of human nature as it has been developed and manifested. Some of this is due to education, expectations and societal pressures that have helped shape his being in this lifetime. Another portion are due to the constant changing of the three Gunas as they adjust their predominance from one moment to the next.ARTArticleUnderstanding Psychic and Soul In Their Deepest and Original SenseThe English language leaves a lot of room for confusion, simply because terminology tends to be imprecise, inexact, or vague. The issue is made even more difficult because, particularly in the West, there is very little understanding of the vast field of consciousness, the various planes and parts of the being, and their interactions with one another. It is compounded by the use of language to join together vastly different things simply because they are not recognised in their true place or significance.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Differences Between the Vital Desire Soul and the Psychic BeingWe can observe, in our own lives and in the lives of various individuals we see on the ‘world stage’, the difference between those who are driven primarily by the impulses of the exte al vital nature and the ego-personality, and those who have made contact with the inner being and has developed a new standpoint that is based on the harmony of the divine, or spiritual, consciousness. Those who are fixated on the exte al vital nature may exhibit various forces of the animal nature, may be filled with desire, lust, greed, and a power-hungry demand that can turn into bullying and intimidation.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Higher Guidance That Directs Our Actions Towards Our Spiritual DestinyWhen we rely on our surface impressions, which are very much based on and influenced by our background, family, society and the values inculcated into us by those relationships, we only are able to truly understand a fraction of what is actually occurring, and generally this is conditioned by our desires, wishes and preconceived ideas based on our ego-consciousness. It is thus, necessarily, not truly possible to get a real sense of the larger perspective that encompasses our growth, and the developmental trend that is working itself out within us and in our environs.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Higher Guidance That Directs Our Actions Towards Our Spiritual DestinyWhen we rely on our surface impressions, which are very much based on and influenced by our background, family, society and the values inculcated into us by those relationships, we only are able to truly understand a fraction of what is actually occurring, and generally this is conditioned by our desires, wishes and preconceived ideas based on our ego-consciousness. It is thus, necessarily, not truly possible to get a real sense of the larger perspective that encompasses our growth, and the developmental trend that is working itself out within us and in our environs.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Influence of the Subconscient on Our Conscious ExperienceWhile we tend to believe that our consciousness is centered in the region of the brain, or in some cases, the heart, there is really a much broader framework for consciousness. There are different forms that consciousness takes. These forms vibrate at different frequencies and are then taken up and processed by the various subtle energy centers aligned along the spine, based on which vibratory pattern and frequency can be picked up by these centres or chakras, as they are called. Thus, vibrations that occur at a level that we call ‘mental’, i.e. thoughts, perceptions, etc.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Masks, False Fronts and Deceptive Appearances We Present to the World and to OurselvesIt is relatively easy to recognise that we are putting up a false front in our dealings with society. We greet people with a smile while in our minds, we may be having an opposite feeling about the person. We flatter people to get ahead in society, knowing that the flattery is not based on reality, but is meant to gain a certain position or end result. Similarly we mask our own feelings, intentions and thoughts in order to appear more successful, more important and more powerful than we really are.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Masks, False Fronts and Deceptive Appearances We Present to the World and to OurselvesIt is relatively easy to recognise that we are putting up a false front in our dealings with society. We greet people with a smile while in our minds, we may be having an opposite feeling about the person. We flatter people to get ahead in society, knowing that the flattery is not based on reality, but is meant to gain a certain position or end result. Similarly we mask our own feelings, intentions and thoughts in order to appear more successful, more important and more powerful than we really are.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Respective Roles of Personal Effort and Divine Grace in the Transformation of Human NatureIt is one thing to adopt, in one’s mind, the idea that since the Divine is doing the work, we need simply accept the idea and let things take their course. It is an entirely different thing if we actually want to accomplish the transformation needed to bring about a change in human nature based on evolutionary growth and development. There is a long debate about whether we have ‘free will’ or whether everything is determined by fate, or destiny, dependent origination or karmic consequence. The mind wants to have a simple solution that tends to be either ‘yes’ or ‘no’, ‘black’ or ‘white’.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Stage of Striving and the Role of Instincts in Response to Exte al EventsBeyond the stage of “flight or fight” we see in panic and the eventual recoil into inertia, where we see the initial reactions of instinct at play, the stage of ‘striving’ begins to harness energy of response by the vital being, albeit still very much under the influence and control of the power of instinctive behaviour. Striving, however, implies marshalling of the vital forces to try to address and overcome the perceived threat or obstacle in the way of the being’s desire, and thus, goes beyond pure instinct to a type of vital focus or attention, characterised by the Guna of rajas.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Stages of Coping and Mastery in Response to Exte al EventsAt some point in life, the individual becomes aware that the former methods of reacting to circumstances and events are not only counter-productive, but actually harmful to their own health and well-being and the successful resolution of the situation. Struggling and striving, fighting and reacting, instinctive behaviour and apathy and inertia, all past responses, wind up leaving the situation unresolved, the individual exhausted or worn out or in a state of despair or depression.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Stages of Panic and Inertia That Arise When Facing Difficulties and Obstacles in LifeBoth panic and inertia are responses to situations that arise in the life of individuals. They come about when something new or unexpected comes forward to challenge the individual. In the case of panic, there is clearly a perception of danger, and the rising of fear in the being. This drives the individual into what is generally regarded to be a manifestation of the “fight or flight” reaction. There is no ‘thought’ involved. It is a reaction of the vital being that drives the individual’s response to the situation.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Terminology in Sri Aurobindo’s Use of the Words ‘Soul’ and ‘Psychic’Sri Aurobindo’s use of the terms ‘soul’ and ‘psychic’ started out with the common usage of the time, but as his work developed, he determined it was best to create a more precise terminology than was commonly in use. In order to appreciate the nuances involved and follow along with the central sense being communicated, we take a moment to focus on these terms which will appear constantly in our review of the current text.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Yogic Process and Its Developments Through the Action of TimeWe frequently overlook the element of time in any inner review of progress toward spiritual fulfillment, surrender to the Divine, or any other aspect of our spiritual path. We want and expect instant results, and thus, when we once take up spiritual practice, we want it to be immediately fulfilled, and, indeed, we frequently overlook the weaknesses or failures of the exte al nature by simply believing that accepting the Divine in our hearts or minds means that we have accomplished the objective.ARTArticleUnflagging Perseverance and Persistence Is Required for the Practice of the Integral YogaAthletes undergo extensive training routines, logging many thousands of hours with, in many cases, tough physical conditioning and practice, in order to achieve their goals for physical development and to be able to participate in a competitive sporting event. Many who are not athletes undertake training routines to modify their physical strength or endurance. Actors in many cases have to take serious programs to prepare for a particularly demanding role that requires physical toning, strengthening or conditioining of their bodies.ARTArticleUniversal Forces and Their Impact on the Individual and Means of Protection From Their ActionWe are constantly being inundated by forces active in the world. These forces may be physical, such as the radiation from the sun, radioactivity from the earth, the power of wind, waves, gravitational influences, etc. They may also be vital forces that provoke sympathetic vibrations within us based on long habit or instinctive reaction or some trained response we have developed with respect to events, circumstances, relationships or traumas in our past experience. They may also be mental forces which may feed us ideas, opinions, speculations, imaginations that are circulating in the world.ARTArticleVigilanceThe ancient texts, such as the Upanishads or the Dhammapada, focus on distinguishing the true and ete al, from the transitory and illusory existence upon which most people spend their time and attention. Thus, the term ‘vigilance’ means something entirely different than what a person, awake in the exte al world, would take it to mean.ARTArticleVigilant Awareness Is Needed to Manage the Energies That Arise in the Lower Regions of the BeingMost people respond to life as it comes to them and react according to the energy that they are able to receive and process in some form or another. They remain immersed in the exte al personality. They become the fear, the anger, the hunger, the thirst, the craving, the pleasure, the pain, the joy, the sorrow, etc. They are attached to the impressions and sensations and how their internal awareness feels about them.ARTArticleVital Forces and Spiritual Forces and the Evolution of ConsciousnessVital Forces and Spiritual Forces and the Evolution of Consciousnessr Posted on January 8, 2026r ARTArticleVital Impatience and a Hurried Effort Are Obstacles to the Transformation of the Human InstrumentThe vital ego is impatient. It wants to keep pressing on regardless of the impact on the body or the mind, or even its own native energy. It wants to get somewhere and begrudges the journey and the time and the waypoints along the path. It believes that haste will achieve the goal sooner, while in fact, it usually sets the achievement further away, due to the inevitable breakdowns, and the very energy that is circulating, which does not permit the Divine Force to act in its own way and its own time to carry out the complex, detailed and enormous task of transformation of human nature.ARTArticleWe Tend to Take Ourselves Too SeriouslySeriously, we get all wound up about things that have no real significance in the larger picture of life. Whether it is someone cutting in front of us in a queue or on the road, or whether someone says something about us which we do not like, we tend to get revved up and stew on what happened. In issues that have some relevance to our daily lives, we become even more fixated on what we desire to see happen. And if we turn to politics, religion or economic theory, we are in many cases ready to kill to uphold our favoured viewpoint.ARTArticleWeakness of Limitation or the Power of Omnipotence Depends on the Status of ConsciousnessWhen we are feeling weak or limited, we become unhappy, we react with frustration and are discontented with our lot. We feel in many cases oppressed by circumstances. We can become depressed if things are not going the way we expect or want them to go. We can become angry with ourselves, with others, with circumstances, with a general lack of what we desire to see or achieve.ARTArticleWeaknesses of the Vital Nature That Impede the Practice of the Integral YogaSri Aurobindo describes three conditions that can derail the practice of integral yoga. Each of the three represent a form of weakness of the vital nature. The normal vital nature craves excitement and seeks new experiences all the time. The transformation of human nature, however, involves efforts that may seem endless and repetitive as the habits and embedded ‘grooves’ in the being are not changed quickly.ARTArticleWhat Actually Is Spirituality?We speak of ‘spirituality’ and we have a conception in our minds about what it actually is. We vaguely sense that it encompasses a devotion and focus on something other than our daily exte al life and relationships. Many people state that they are ‘spiritual, not religious’. We sometimes conceive of it as a deep devotional sense in our being. Others may conceive of it as the ability to put aside all worldly conce s and cares and focus one-pointed attention on the Infinite, by whatever name, and in whatever form, we may conceive of the Infinite.ARTArticleWhat If?I am often bereft of words to explain the many deeply transcendent spiritual experiences I have had over the last ten years. I say bereft, because I cannot speak about what is conceptless, beyond human language, and formless. The best I can do is share inspirational stories and weave mystical imagery never knowing if I will trigger the deep inner wisdom of the one consciousness free of illusion that resides within each of us.ARTArticleWhat is a Spiritual Warrior?In light of the recent events that took place in the sweat lodge in Sedona with James Arthur Ray, I think it’s a good time to talk about what it means to be a spiritual warrior. As a spiritual warrior we learn to change our perspective from being mind-body focused and ego-identified to becoming aligned with the life-force-spiritual-nature that we all are.ARTArticleWhat is so Different about Astrology all of a Sudden?What’s So Different about Astrology All of a Sudden?All of a sudden there are tweets and Face Book posts about how astrology has changed and how it affects our personal horoscopes. The dates are different and that moves people from one sign to another. How on earth is this going to affect us? An astronomer named Kunkle claims that the rotation of the earth and the sun has slowly changed the signs. It is supposed to have happened over the eons. All of a sudden,the dates are totally changed. The dates for the signs have changed and a new sign has been added. November 29 – December 17.ARTArticleWhat Spirit Speaks- Part 1What Spirit Speaks

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