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ARTArticleA Reversal of Consciousness Accompanies the Seeker’s Focus on Spiritual GrowthWe read or hear about the accounts of individuals who had some kind of experience, either dramatically uplifting, or severely traumatic, who awaken to a spiritual purpose in their lives which changes the entire direction and focus of what takes place for them afterwards when compared with their earlier life.ARTArticleA Shift of Consciousness Brings New Understanding of One’s Life and Existence in the WorldWe typically live rooted in the ego-consciousness in the exte al, physical world. We judge things based on our perceptions, our physical, vital and mental processes and our habitual way of understanding things from the standpoint of the ego. This leads to a very limited and biased viewpoint that does not provide a complete view of things. We see a small slice of existence and try to judge from that.ARTArticleA Technique to Shift to Another Domain of ConsciousnessIt is a well-recognised phenomena that when an individual focuses his concentration down to a single point, and fixes it there long enough, he suddenly can shift to a new domain of consciousness, and everything becomes wide, clear and known from that new standpoint. There is a yogic practice called ‘tratak’ which has the individual fix his focus on a flame, a candle or some other bright object until he passes out of the exte al consciousness into that new domain. This can also occur through focus on a mantra, or through concentration of conscious force (tapasya) on a single subject.ARTArticleAccessing Universal Vital Forces Directly or Through Vital Interchange With OthersThe Mother clarifies a distinction between receiving the universal vital forces directly and receiving them through a vital interchange with other individuals. These two methods represent two entirely different statuses of consciousness. To receive the universal vital forces directly, a wide and receptive consciousness is needed. Many people do not appreciate that this is an actual, palpable experience of wideness, not restricted to a mental status.ARTArticleAdaptation of the Body to Support the Manifestation of a New Power of ConsciousnessIn his Autobiography of a Yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda details a number of events he witnessed or experienced personally whereby a spiritual master was able to materialize his form and communicate with the disciple from a great distance; and where various yogis were able to perform acts of materialization of various material objects. His experiences are not isolated, but are similar to those reported by others on a number of occasions.ARTArticleAddressing the Fallacy of an Individual Perfection in the Absence of Collective ProgressWe start from the ego-consciousness and we treat ourselves, from that standpoint, as independent, separate and “walled off” from all other beings, interacting with them from our insulated status. When we then turn to spiritual growth and development from this standpoint, we start by looking at it as something that the individual can “accomplish” regardless of the status of the rest of humanity or the world as a whole.ARTArticleAligning Education With the FutureSome years ago, some parents in the USA had an interesting conversation with their local elementary school administrator. They were conce ed about the type of education their children would receive so they set up a meeting to interview the administrator, with the idea that they were prepared to undertake ‘home schooling’ but did not feel competent themselves to teach some of the more technical subjects such as mathematics or science, nor the character forming subjects such as art or music.ARTArticleAll Problems Can Be Solved Through the Power of ConcentrationIn 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 the concentration. The process of unification through one pointed concentration with the object is called samyama. Anything can become the object of such focus, including any particular issue, obstacle, decision, plan, direction or practical skill one wants to choose.ARTArticleAn Accident AvoidedThe Mother advises us that we are generally not aware of the action of all the subtle forces and how they interact to cause circumstances that occur in the exte al world. She further notes that with awareness, many accidents could be avoided. This reminds us of an incident reported some time back:ARTArticleAn Expanding Consciousness Recognises the Inherent Oneness and Mutuality of All ExistenceAn Expanding Consciousness Recognises the Inherent Oneness and Mutuality of All Existencer Posted on December 9, 2024rARTArticleApplying Knowledge Criteria Appropriate to Each Domain According to Its Own Law of NatureWe frequently try to ‘know’ things based on a particular capacity of our being; however, this may not always be the correct way to appreciate and understand what is actually taking place. Trying to understand music, for instance, by applying the logical intellect and trying to parse the sounds, notes and combinations is going to be an exercise in futility. Music must be appreciated through a different type of evaluation than that of the logical intellect.ARTArticleApplying the Power of Concentration to Develop Efficiency of Time of Accomplishment of Any TaskOne 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 object of the concentration, from “inside” as it were.ARTArticleApplying the Scientific Method to the Understanding of the Yoga-ForceHow do we determine whether there is any such thing as a ‘yoga-force’? Some treat it as a form of self-delusion, some as hypnotic suggestion, some as some form of ‘placebo effect’ of the mind, some as simply the action of other forces that we simply define as ‘yoga-force’ without any objective method of distinguishing such a force from other forces active in our world and in our awareness.ARTArticleAre There Really Vampires? — the Reality and Nature of VampirismThe popular imagination about the existence and characteristics of vampires has developed from the famous novel by Bram Stoker, Dracula. From that book we get the picture of beings that survive many hundreds of years, who are shapeshifters , and who drink the blood of their victims, preferably the blood of young, innocent women, in order to gain sustenance and extend their lives. The blood-sucking concept appears to have come from the actions of a form of bat, the vampire bat.ARTArticleAspiration and the Witness ConsciousnessWhen spiritual seekers attempt to implement the technique of the separation of Purusha and Prakriti, they generally go through a stage where they try to utilize the mind to observe. The mind, however, is not the instrument for the actual shift to the standpoint of the Purusha; in fact, the mind is one of the elements that is to be observed by the Purusha.ARTArticleAstrology: Destiny, Possibility, or Irrelevancy?There are those who treat astrology as a science, those who believe that our fate is determined by the “stars” and also those who believe that astrology is a pseudo-science with no real basis in anything that can meaningfully either control our destiny or even signify events in our lives. How can we understand what role, if any, astrology has in providing guidance and direction in our lives?ARTArticleAttitude and the Law of AttractionThe ‘law of attraction’ has been seen as something of a ‘wish-fulfilling gem’, where we can think about something and focus on it, and thereby draw it to us. The reality of the law of attraction is not so dramatic as to cause riches, fame and other desired results to manifest for us somewhat automatically, but is nevertheless a reality that we can and should understand and utilize in the way we maneuver our way through life.ARTArticleAutomatic Writing, Ouija Boards, the Planchette and Communication With People After Their DeathWe see a proliferation of people who claim to act as intermediaries through a process of seance, or use of a Ouija board or planchette, to communicate with individuals who have passed away. The interest in this area goes through periods of peaks and troughs, but continually captures the popular imagination, particularly for people who are unwilling or unable to ‘let go’ of their deceased loved ones, or who have specific unfinished business for which they are seeking answers.ARTArticleAvoiding Self-Deception While Developing the Power of IntuitionWhen a seeker begins to explore the inner realms and undertakes what Sri Aurobindo describes in his epic poem, Savitri: a Legend and a Symbol, as an ‘adventure of consciousness and joy’, he is confronted with numerous unfamiliar circumstances, powers, forces, and pressures that are not all benign, and not all supportive of his spiritual aspiration and development. As he begins to develop the power of intuition, the seeker must exercise real caution to ensure that he is not simply opening the door to impulses, ideas, and forces that take the shape of intuition to his inexperienced view.ARTArticleAwakening of the Chakras Opens Up Undreamed Potential in Our BeingIf we run a small current through a wire to a light bulb, but below the capacity of the bulb, it will light up, although it may flicker. If we increase the current the light bulb brightens and the illumination becomes constant. If we put too much current through the bulb, we may start a fire or burst the bulb. This image provides us a way to appreciate the opening of the chakras.ARTArticleAwakening the Kundalini Energy From Below or From AboveTraditional paths of yoga describe the various chakras, or subtle energy centers, that act as collecting and disseminating points for various specific vibrational patterns related to the action of that specific chakra. Certain paths, such as various Tantric disciplines as well as the well-know Kundalini Yoga, take up this knowledge and apply it to the growth of consciousness and the realization of the Divine and liberation of the individual from the exte al personality and the ego.ARTArticleBecoming Aware of and Distinguishing the Source of Vibrations Impacting our LivesOur consciousness tends to be so fluid and so mixed that it is difficult, if not practically impossible, to distinguish what represents our own internal process and what is coming to us from outside, from our interaction with others, from environmental influences. None of these things remains pure and unadulterated. There is a constant mixing process that goes on. We can observe the thoughts. We can observe the emotions. We can observe the vital reactions. We can observe the physical responses.ARTArticleBecoming Aware of Cosmic and Universal Forces That Impact Our ExistenceEnormous forces are at work in the universe. Vast numbers of stars and their planetary groupings move at high speed. Radiation of various sorts streams throughout the universe. There is a cosmic background radiation that scientists can now measure as they develop ever-finer instrumentation to try to understand the universal creation. Here on earth, we exist due to the radiation provided by the sun which provides the energy needed to sustain life on the planet. We are subject to gravitational forces including the influence of the Moon.ARTArticleBecoming Conscious of OneselfA devotee residing at Sri Aurobindo Ashram some years ago tried an experiment which he reported. For a specific time period he determined not to speak. He did not do this in an indiscriminate way, however. He implemented this experiment by avoiding all social speech whatsoever, but agreed to speak as necessary for the work role he had been assigned. He carried a pad of paper and pen with him to let those who addressed him know about the discipline he was undertaking during that time.ARTArticleBiological Energy Developed from Food and from Other SourcesPeople are not generally consciously aware of the energy interchanges that take place to fuel their bodies and drive their live energies. They understand that they need to eat food as a form of ‘fuel’ for their energy, and they count ‘calories’ that are produced by various food sources. Clearly, the connection between matter (in the form of food) and energy (in the form of life action and biochemical processes) is recognised and accepted. We also recognise that Einstein’s famous equation about the convertibility of Matter and Energy in physics also holds true in the field of life.ARTArticleCan Reading Random Passages of Books Provide True Guidance and Direction?The human mind tries to find patterns and meaning in things. We see random cloud shapes and we want to understand a ‘message’. We look into the night sky and create shapes out of stars which are enormous distances separated from one another by seeing a particular form or image in the pattern created by the starlight of those disparate stars. Moving closer to our daily lives, we try to understand patterns in divination, tarot cards, and other practices which we use to build inner linkages and thus, provide meaning for our present and future actions.ARTArticleCauses of AccidentsWestern scientists tell us that the universe is always tending toward a state of lower energy and less organisation, a concept that call ‘entropy’. While this concept was developed and applied in the field of physics, particularly in the law of thermodynamics, it has been extended and claimed to apply throughout many levels of existence, and some even claim that it is so pervasive that eventually all of existence will reach a status of equilibrium in total dispersal, emptiness, and lack of cohesion.ARTArticleChallenges of a Transitional Phase for Transformation of Earthly LifeWhen we reflect on the difficulties involved with both the transformation of the individual to a spiritual, gnostic consciousness and the need for this individual change to proliferate and transform society, it becomes necessary to focus on what the transitional phase or steps might be and how this might be effected. It is not sufficient, obviously, for an individual here or there to undergo this transformation in isolation.ARTArticleChance and Divine OrderWe tend to interpret events from our own ego-standpoint as to whether they are “good” or “bad” without reflecting on or considering how they relate to a larger picture and longer perspective. This means we judge circumstances as if they occur by ‘chance’ and we evaluate these things with the concepts of “good luck” and “bad luck”. All of this, however, is both inaccurate and extremely misleading.ARTArticleChanging the Mental Focus From Negative to Positive Objects: the Power of Positive AffirmationsThe 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 misuse of the incredible power that lies within us to turn our attention and focus on some vibratory pattern, and thereby to create an environment in our lives where that pattern brings us into contact with all of its various aspects.

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