Category

Spirituality

Browse the spirituality library by topic first, then narrow into articles, websites, videos, or events.

Topics

Spirituality Topics

Like the legacy category pages, start with the full topic folder list. The selected lane controls where each topic opens.

View Spirituality experts

Everything39,166Browse the category resource library Articles30,061Read expert articles and newsletters Websites9,102Browse recommended websites and resources Videos2Watch category videos Events1Find upcoming sessions and events

Topic clicks are currently scoped to Everything. Choose Articles, Websites, Videos, or Events to open that resource type for every topic below.

Everything

Spirituality Resources

Browse a compact directory list below, or use the topic folders above for a focused legacy-style path.

30 resources

ARTArticleUnconscious and Automatic Action of Thought Forms and Formations in Daily LifeA story was related by an individual in business which. at the time, seemed somewhat unusual, but now, in context, makes a lot of sense. He indicated that he had a customer who would think about him when she needed to place an order for goods for her store.ARTArticleUnderdeveloped and Unevolved Powers of ConsciousnessAs the evolution of consciousness unfolds we see the development and expression of ever-increasing powers of knowledge and action. There are powers of perception, there are powers of thought and reflection, there are powers of vital expression, emotion, and there are physical powers. Because evolution of consciousness is progressive and reveals itself over time, we also find that not all powers reveal themselves at the same time, nor perfectly in all individuals at once.ARTArticleUnderstanding Adverse Forces and the Evolutionary Response to Their ActionHow easy it is, and how comforting, to look at someone who opposes us, or who is creating some form of havoc in the world at large and simply label that individual as pure evil, as a Rakshasa, an Asura, a Demon, or some other form of hostile being. And yet, those individuals are actually part of the creation and apparently have some role to play, even if that role appears to be highly destructive. In the economy of the universal manifestation, there are forces that create and build, but also forces that tear apart and destroy.ARTArticleUnderstanding and Dealing with the Subtle Vital Interchange in Human RelationshipsWe undergo changes of mood, feelings, responses and do not generally try to understand how these changes come about, their source, and impact upon our own state of being. In some cases, we actually associate ’cause and effect’ with an interaction with another individual, such as when we exclaim that we are avoiding meeting a particular person because it is a “draining” experience. This rare recognition is, however, a sign of the deeper interactions that are taking place constantly between people.ARTArticleUnderstanding and Utilizing the Power of Sincerity in ActionIf we reflect on our own efforts to change things in our lives, whether a resolution to follow a diet, exercise regularly, create a work-rest balance, spend more time with our families, or carry out some effort in our religious or spiritual focus, we will quickly see that our resolve does not always get carried out in our lives. We berate ourselves for lack of will power, without fully working out why that seems to be the case that we cannot follow through. We feel compelled in many cases to do things that are self-defeating. Of course, will-power can be practiced, strengthened and developed.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Action of the SubconscientThe field of psychology in the West has developed over the last couple of centuries with a focus on the influence of the subconscious levels on our exte al lives, fixating on trauma, past events and their effect on the way we respond to circumstances in our lives. This has led to techniques such as psychotherapy, dream interpretation, regression therapy, and hypnosis as mechanisms to unlock the subconscious realm to gain an understanding of what lies hidden there.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Complexity and Risks of Dealing with the Power of Thought FormsThere 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 warrior of his time. This story, however, relates to his son Abhimanyu. Arjuna had been teaching Abhimanyu all the various stratagems of warfare but had been unable to fully complete his training.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Exte al Medium of Communication and the Inner Force Within the CommunicationThere are hidden forces, vibrational patterns that move between people that remain unseen, but have their effect, similar to the way that we do not observe electricity, but we do observe its effects. These vibrational patterns operate without any overt, exte al medium, simply through communication of the vibrations from one vital being to another.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Issues of Mastery Over Vibrations Inwardly and in the Exte al WorldWe try to control or dominate other people generally through various methods. It is customary in many cultures to subject children to strict discipline and education so that they do things the way the parents or educators like, or they get subjected to some kind of punishment, whether it be corporal, emotional, or vital; or else, get rewarded for doing what is expected. This is a form of “operant conditioning” as described in the Western psychological literature. What this does NOT accomplish, however, is the true mastery over the impulses, feelings, etc.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Meaning of Vital Formations and Beings That Arise During MeditationWhen people take up the practice of meditation, they generally do not know much about it. They follow a set of guidelines on ‘how to meditate’ and just let things happen. The result is very much dependent, then, on their state of conscious awareness, and their focus of attention. Meditation is not a state that just allows anything to come with no form or purpose. Rather, for it to accomplish its purpose, meditation needs a concentration, an object of meditation.ARTArticleUnderstanding the Stage of Development of the Vital ManHuman beings are not all at the same stage of evolutionary development. We can see this clearly when we observe the different interests, ways of responding and directions that people take as they grow and begin to participate in the life of the society and the world at large. We see some people are very rooted in their physical nature and are conce ed primarily with food, drink, comfort and physical satisfactions. Others appear to be very reserved and thoughtful, as if living in a world of mental development, possibly a realm of science or mathematics.ARTArticleUniversal Forces and the SubconscientThere are many functions of our existence that take place without the conscious awareness or intervention of the mind. All of the complex functions of the body and its organs, for instance, are very much independent of control by our conscious mind and will, although some of these functions may, through intensive training and focus, come under at least partial control, such as the generation of inner heat in the Tibetan practice of tummo.ARTArticleUniversal Forces, the Aura and the Individual ConsciousnessMany people hold that the truth of existence is an “either/or” proposition. If the universal forces create all of existence, then the individual is essentially an illusory conception; and on the other hand, if the individual is a real and separate entity, then the universal is somehow denied or disproven. It is however not necessary to go to either of these two extremes in our understanding of our existence in relation to the universal manifestation. Sri Aurobindo resolves this conflict in chapter 4 of The Life Divine, a chapter titled ‘Reality Omnipresent”.ARTArticleUniversal Forces, the Chakra Energy Centers, and the Utilization of the ForcesEach individual has his own unique types and levels of receptivity, and these too can vary over time. The universal forces are constantly there, but if an individual is closed off, unresponsive, then he does not gain the full benefit of that force. The ancient description of the energy centres in the subtle body, the chakras, holds that we receive energies through an ascending series of centres, and each one has its own characteristic action and expression.ARTArticleUseful Tips For the Seeker on the Path to RealizationMany people believe that realisation comes from reading specific texts, or practicing specific techniques of posture, breathing, prayer, mantra etc. The Mother provides a counterpoint to this belief by showing how the practice should take up all the actions and movements of life and transform them from exte al acts to expressions of an internal state of consecrated effort.ARTArticleUtilizing the Mind-Body ConnectionWe find that our state of physical health clearly impacts our minds. In cases of severe pain, the mind may actually be fixated on the pain signals and be unable, for that period of time, to focus on virtually anything else. But the connection is more subtle than simply reacting to acute pain. We find that as we experience some kind of discomfort, we begin to worry, to speculate, to research causes of the symptoms we are experiencing and then, to begin to ‘self-diagnose’ and create scenarios in our minds about what is taking place and what the impact will be.ARTArticleVedic Astrology, Karma and the Power to Change the Predicted DestinyThe question arises as to what exactly the science of jyotish, Indian astrology, is able to calculate and incorporate. Looking at the line of karma, the antecedents, direction and trajectory of energy in a particular stream, it can help to determine the life-path and major challenges facing an individual. Yet the individual is not totally separate and independent of the rest of the creation. This implies that there is an interaction that may impinge upon, modify or change the line of results that would be calculated for the individual in a vacuum.ARTArticleVibrational Patterns of Existence and the Advent of Harmony Through Intervention from Higher PlanesWhen we are fixed in the exte al consciousness and perceive things with the exte al senses, we treat material objects as ‘solid’. We do not see that they are actually energy that has been condensed to appear solid to us, while in fact, they are a form of energy. Western scientists, however, for the last 90 to 100 years, at least, have understood that Matter is not ‘real’ and that it is Energy. More recently, scientists are beginning to discover that Energy is actually a form of Consciousness.ARTArticleVital and Mental Life Forms Interact With Us in the Material WorldWe scour the galaxy for signs of intelligent life elsewhere.ARTArticleVital Beings and Their Interaction in the Evolutionary World on the Material PlaneAccording to sages and rishis who have investigated the issue deeply, the earth, the material manifested world we live in, is the place where evolution of consciousness takes place, and thus, where the psychic being develops to carry the progress in this evolution at the individual level through from lifetime to lifetime. It is said that even the gods need to take birth in this world in order to progress. Otherwise, they are what we may call ‘static’ beings with a fixed place in the hierarchy of the manifestation.ARTArticleVital Beings Utilize Vital Drives to Control Human Action for Their Own Benefit and EnjoymentVital beings, by their very nature, take advantage of our ambitions, desires, greed, and fears to convince us to interact with them, and they then use these responses for their own enjoyment or nourishment. The more we are motivated by these vital drives, the easier it is for such beings to toy with us, as a cat will toy with a mouse before finally delivering it to its death.ARTArticleVital Vibrations and the Response to ThemWe are able to perceive and respond to specific frequency ranges. Anything above, or below the frequency ranges to which we are attuned, does not register with us consciously, although there may be some subtle impact and energetic action that takes place, even so. We see that in the case of the opera singer who can shatter glass when she reaches a certain note and pitch, that the glass vibrated only when that frequency was attained and otherwise, remained stable in its constitution of being a vessel of glass.ARTArticleWhat Causes the Wind?A young child was asked what causes the wind. The child replied: “When the trees move their branches and leaves, that is what makes the wind!” This extremely logical observation mirrors the way we tend to look at the world. We think that we make the decisions, that we are ‘in charge’ of what we do, and we fail to see that there are larger universal forces that move all action in us and others and in the world at large.ARTArticleWhat Is Immortality?A common conception about immortality is that this personality, this individuality that we identify with, will somehow survive intact, maintain its existence and continuity of existence and thus, have a continuous line of memory stretching endlessly into the future. This is not, however, a realistic viewpoint, nor is it the meaning of immortality in the sense that Sri Aurobindo describes it.r ARTArticleWhat is the Role of the Spirit?People are always asking about the difference between spirituality and religion, as well as the difference between the mind and the spirit. The term ‘spirit’ has been used in so many different ways and contexts, that it is hard to comprehend exactly what is meant by it. When ‘spiritual awakening’ is discussed, many people have no idea what that actually is.ARTArticleWho or What Experiences the Growth of Consciousness Through the Process of Rebirth and the Evolution of Forms and of Consciousness?There are quite a few anecdotes and statements by individuals about remembering past lives, and there is an entire field of study dealing with what is called ‘past life regression therapy’. Some of the more intriguing incidents involve young people who can describe a village in some distant land, and even recognise or speak in a language they have not learned in this lifetime. There is some amount of uncertainty as to whether this is evidence of an actual past life experience, or possibly an alte ative such as accessing what some call the “akashic record” that records all events through time ARTArticleWill-Power Can Aid the Development of the Physical BodyA woman recounted her experience of living in a small intentional community during her 20’s. The community arranged to get broken bags of cement from a nearby production facility at no charge. She was tasked with driving a van, loading up the 40# bags, and bringing them back to the location where they were unloaded and stored for later use building a wall. She was a petite woman 5’2″ and 108 pounds at the time. She did this work for some months, eventually moving hundreds of sacks. Looking back, she indicated that while she carried out the task, she struggled with it.ARTArticleWisdom of Be ard WilliamsSir Be ard Arthur Owen Williams (September 21st, 1929 – June 10th, 2003) was an English moral philosopher. His authored the books Problems of the Self, Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy, Shame and Necessity, and Truth and Truthfulness. He was a Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge and a Deutsch Professor of Philosophy at the University of Califo ia, Berkeley. Below we list some words of wisdom from Be ard Williams. "If we try and fail, we have temporary disappointments. But if we do not try at all, we have permanent regrets."ARTArticleWisdom of Charles BabbageCharles Babbage (December 26, 1791 – October 18 1871) was an English philosopher, inventor, mechanical engineer, and mathematician. He is known for inventing the first mechanical computer and is considered the “father of the computer.” Below we list some words of wisdom from Charles Babbage.ARTArticleWisdom of David HumeDavid Hume (May 7th, 1711 – August 25th 1776) was a Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, economist, historian, essayist, and librarian. He is best known for his system of philosophical empiricism, skepticism, and naturalism. Below we list some words of wisdom from David Hume. "There is no such thing as freedom of choice unless there is freedom to refuse." "A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence."

Page 152 of 1,306