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ARTArticleOur Surface Personality Is Only a Small Representation of Our Complete and True BeingWe construct a personality that we present to the world and organize our expression and actions around this chosen construct. In doing so, we pick and choose elements that are present in our conscious mind, heart, life-force and physical body and create for ourselves the ego-personality that seemingly ties all of this together into what we know as ourselves. In some cases, we consciously mislead ourselves and others by omitting thoughts, motives, drives, and reactions that are occurring, through active suppression or through simple avoidance.ARTArticleOvercoming Difficulties With CheerfulnessWe are all familiar with the artificial type of cheerfulness of the vital nature, which puts on a happy face, and glad hands everyone in a show of bubbly cheer. We are also familiar with the artificial type of cheerfulness that arises through the use of intoxicating beverages and immersion in an atmosphere if vital excitement.ARTArticleOvercoming the Discomfort of Cold TemperaturesDealing with the heat radiation that comes from the sun is a matter of gaining the ability to absorb and utilize the energy without being overwhelmed by its force. Turning then to the issue of how to deal with cold, we have an entirely different scenario, in that we have a reduction in the energy available to us to absorb heat. Cold represents a lack of force, rather than an active force in its own right.ARTArticleOvercoming the Limits of Perception of the Physical Sense-OrgansWe 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 tend to believe that the limits of our sense organs are fixed and anything outside their normal range is simply imperceptible to us.ARTArticlePerceiving the Universal Forces at Work Through Attenuation of the Hold of the Ego-Centric ViewpointWith our normal human viewpoint based in the standpoint of the ego we react as if the entire world revolves around us. This ego-centric, anthropocentric viewpoint creates its own formidable limitations in terms of recognising, perceiving, knowing and addressing the larger forces at work. If we step out of the ego-standpoint for a moment we can see that there is an entire universal creation with galaxies, suns and planets, moving and producing energetic radiation, and we have no real idea why this all exists or what it is all about.ARTArticlePerceiving the Vibrations That Create Conditions of Illness and Counteracting ThemIt turns out that dogs can be trained to identify an imminent diabetic reaction in an individual, or to determine the presence of cancer. If we reflect on the implications of this for a moment, it becomes clear that there are indications that can be picked up by the dog’s senses, even if most (or even all) human beings are unaware of these things. It could be a frequency or vibration, it could be a scent that emanates, or some other subtle sensory stimuli perceptible to the dog.ARTArticlePhysical Senses Beyond the Five We Ordinarily RecogniseSight, sound, smell, taste and touch. We all recognise the input we receive from the five physical senses. These perceptions form the basis for much of our interpretation of our reality and our decision processes. Most people never consider that there are other senses possible, or available, to us. We do recognise that there are other senses in various animal species, such as the sonar or echolocation sense used by dolphins, homing sense available to many species (not just homing pigeons), etc.ARTArticlePower Is to be Transformed, Not Rejected, in Spiritual DevelopmentPower is disconcerting. Humanity is attracted to it, while at the same time, it fears raw power. It is often said “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.” What is then to be done with our vital nature that expresses power and provides the motive force for our lives? Those inclined to asceticism respond that power needs to be avoided, rejected, disregarded. The only thing that matters from that viewpoint is knowledge based in Oneness. If powers arise they are considered to be temptations and should not be developed or followed.ARTArticlePowers Within — IntroductionWe are a civilisation obsessed with the idea of power. In the exte al world, we fixate on economic power, political power, military might, physical strength and various forms of magical and sexual power. We recognize the power of ideas, of charismatic leaders, of religious teachings and many tens or hundreds of millions of people have died as a result of the exercise of one power or another through the history of humanity.ARTArticlePractical Applications of the Power of ImmobilityThe Mother provides a practical example of the ‘power of immobility’, albeit as applied in the exte al world and society. There is an apocryphal story from the time of the Mahabharata. Drona, the preceptor of the sons of Dhritarashtra and the sons of Pandu, princes and future king of the Kaurava kingdom, was teaching the lesson of the day to them. All 100 of the Kaurava princes were asked, one by one, if they had learned the lesson of the day, which was ‘not to become angry’. They each replied affirmatively.ARTArticlePrayer and Aspiration, Part 1When most people are asked about the nature of prayer, they respond that it is a formulation in words of a specific request to God, for some result or benefit they desire to see come to fruition. Prayer is much more than that, and need not be formulated in words. Each level of the being actually can formulate prayer. In some cases, prayer and aspiration become indistinguishable.ARTArticlePrayer and Aspiration, Part 2For a spiritual seeker, there is a major difference with regard to prayer and aspiration. Prayer is, generally, and in many cases, a more formalized, exte al activity, primarily based in the outer nature. Aspiration is centered in the soul, or psychic being, and represents the spiritual flame that motivates the seeker to practice his spiritual path. The Mother provides clarity on the differences between the two, as well as between different types of prayer that the seeker may utilize.ARTArticlePrayer and Aspiration, Part 3What is the experience of prayer in our being? If it is a form of bargaining, with an expectation of a return, then it takes on the colour of a business deal. We give from our side the prayer and the expression of gratitude or adherence, and in return, we get something we desire from the Divine.ARTArticlePrenatal Influences on the Development of the Child in the WombWe 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, however, is the psychological impact of the mother’s experiences, thoughts and surroundings on the development of the unbo child.ARTArticlePreparation and Training Needed to Consciously Draw on the Universal Vital ForceWe recognise that there are ocean currents which circulate ocean water world wide and regulate the climate. We also recognise that there are air currents which we can partially observe through the soaring of birds who let the air currents carry them along, and experience directly if we are participating in the sport of hang gliding, or operating an air balloon or small airplane. Meteorologists refer to the jet stream and the movement of air in consistent patterns is a well-known and accept phenomenon, on which we rely and which we utilize constantly.ARTArticleProgramming and Reprogramming of the Being Through Application of WillEverything we do represents an action of will. Even inaction winds up being a ‘willed’ action. We are provided a choice at each moment as to how to respond to circumstances, pressures, events, opportunities that lie before us. In many cases, however, we do not recognise the power of choice as we feel compelled to respond in a particular way, through instinct, habit, or conditioned, trained behaviour.ARTArticleReading As a Method of Entering into a Wider and Deeper ConsciousnessA teenager was observed as she was deeply absorbed in reading the famous novel by Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo. This novel spans some 1000 pages and encompasses themes of deep and abiding interest, but does so in a captivating story line. It so happened that this teenager was reading the book during an extended road trip across the USA including visits to national parks and the Hopi Reservation of the First Nations’ people.ARTArticleReceiving and Utilizing the Universal Vital ForcesIn our fragmented process of understanding, we frequently create an artificial separation that does not exist in reality. Thus, seekers sometimes undertake to find ways to draw on the universal vital energy, when in fact, it is through the flow of that energy that they live, breathe, exist, grow and undertake actions. A more precise formulation of their interest is how to tap into the universal vital force consciously, at will, and with enhanced power flow.ARTArticleReceptivity and Awareness of Occult Powers and Forces Does Not Come Through the Mental Faculty of the Intellectit can be especially difficult for those who are highly educated in the field of Western science, medicine, or other studies that focus on the logical intellect of the mind, to actually appreciate and be receptive to the play of forces that occurs outside the normal perceptive range of the intellect. The educational process tends to create a blinkered view of reality; anything that does not fit within the walls of the mind and its senses is considered suspect or fake, even when it has palpable and observable effects.ARTArticleReceptivity to the Universal Vital ForcesIn May 1973, a devotee from the West was visiting Auroville in South India. At that time, it was primarily an eroded, dusty plateau, not the lush forested scene that one can see today if one visits. May is an extremely hot month, and the visitor had just arrived a couple of weeks earlier from the United States. As he was walking around in the mid-day sun, he was struck by the intensity of the sun’s heat and force and at one point, he curled up on a hillside, overwhelmed with heat stroke and a pounding headache that accompanied it.ARTArticleRecognising and Addressing the Law of Dualities and Action-Reaction in the Physical, Vital and Mental Levels of Our ExistenceIn the material world, the laws of physics state that ‘for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”. Is it possible to extend the working of the law of the physical world into the vital, or even the mental, realm? We recognise the dualities, both on the physical level and in our psychological elements, such that we go beyond ‘hot and cold’ and ‘wet and dry’ into states such as ‘happy and sad’ and ‘good and evil’, etc. We can see how oppositions form when one condition or another is developing or holding sway.ARTArticleRecognising the Emergence of the Soul in Our BeingThere are many things in the world which we know exist, not because we can directly perceive them, but because we can experience their effects. Thus, we cannot see ‘gravity’ but we know it exists. We cannot see radiation, but again, we know it exists. As we continue to develop powers of the vital and mental planes we begin to recognise that there are many pressures, of feelings, of emotions, of thought, of will-power which are not perceptible directly, but which we understand by their impact on us.ARTArticleReconciling Fate and Free WillWe treat free will and determinism as opposite and irreconcilable concepts, and there are adherents ready to argue one position or the other and provide irrefutable proofs of their position. It is clear from the strength of each position that there is a truth that underpins each of these concepts. How can we then reconcile the innate sense we maintain of having free will with the apparent determinism of the law of cause and effect, the chain of causality?ARTArticleRegimented and Mechanised Social Life Does Not Solve the Evolutionary CrisisSome societies have attempted to solve the the complex problems humanity is facing through massive attempts to educate and regiment the life of the individuals making up that society. These attempts rely on the idea that by controlling the education the society can create more or less “cogs in a machine”, and they try to develop patterns of living that essentially effaces individual uniqueness or creativity. Massive experiments have been tried.ARTArticleRelieving Pain Through the Power of ImmobilityWhen we are injured or affected by a disease condition that can cause pain, we find that the nerves attached to the injured area capture a vibration and transmit it to the brain as a signal we associate with pain. This signal is intended to spur us to some form of action to relieve the causative factor.ARTArticleReligion Does Not Solve the Evolutionary CrisisThroughout human history, mankind has turned to religion in an attempt to address or solve the problems of human life. In many cases, charismatic leaders have arisen who, through their teaching and their personal example, have inspired people to make changes in their individual lives, and there is no doubt that in this sense, religion has played a role in helping to guide and enhance the lives of individuals, and in some cases, through various disciplines associated with the religion helped to foster an opening to spiritual experience and development.ARTArticleReviewing the Operation of the Law of KarmaWhether one calls it the ‘law of Karma”, ‘dependent origination, or ’cause and effect’, the operation of karma essentially states that each action will create an effect which thereby creates a line of development that impacts the individuals who participate in the situation as it develops. While Karma obviously has an effect on our moral nature, it is not primarily a moral law, but a law of vibration and energy. All thought, all feelings, all emotions, all actions are in essence energetic vibrational patterns.ARTArticleSave the Oceans to Save the Planet, Part 3: A Framework for ImplementationAs we have seen in the first two parts of this series, an existential crisis is facing, not only humanity, but the entire world. We have explored a number of aspects of this crisis and begun to understand the various types of solutions that will be required to solve this crisis in a timely manner. Part 3 explores the necessity and the ability of humanity to join together to solve this crisis as one. There are no border walls that can insulate one country from another.ARTArticleSave the Oceans to Save the Planet, Part 4: Tough Choices to Achieve Real SolutionsThere are numerous vested interests, spanning the entire globe, which make the issues surrounding the degradation of the ocean and the ability of the planet to sustain human life and civilization, virtually impossible to resolve from our normal perspectives. Any change that seems necessary or even critical for our future is opposed by those who profit by the status quo, or those who enjoy the results of the status quo. Yet, there are some very clear directions that can provide the difference between success and failure, and therefore, between life and death.ARTArticleSave the Oceans to Save the Planet: Part 1 Understanding the IssuesSave the Oceans to Save the Planet: Part 1 Understanding the Issues

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