Self Improvement Site
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
On The Internet! Take the Self Improvement Tour
Self Knowledge Articles
We are currently looking for an Official SelfGrowth.com Guide to "Self Knowledge". If you have expertise in Self Knowledge and your own website and/or product for this topic, please review this form for complete details. The Official Guide Position is part of our Premium Placement Package
- Spiritual Progress Requires Non-Attachment to Specific Spiritual Experiences - by Submitted on Apr 23, 2023 from santosh krinskyThe external being wants to have a stable basis by which it can understand and act in the world. The tools that support this stable basis include habit, fixed tendencies, instincts, education, memory and even the way the mental processes work, comparing new impulses of the senses to past memory ...
Views: 400 - Spiritual Progress: Personal Effort or Surrender to the Divine Grace - by Submitted on Jul 06, 2025 from santosh krinskyWe see in the legends about great yogic practitioners and their struggles to achieve the spiritual results, a variety of approaches. Two major approaches have been categorised as the “baby monkey” and the “baby cat” approach. The differentiation involves the way the individual participates in ...
Views: 138 - Spiritual Realisation Begins With Psychic Discipline - by Submitted on May 23, 2026 from santosh krinskyIn The Life Divine, Sri Aurobindo describes the triple transformation that develops the human existence to a new status through conscious evolutionary development. The first transformation is what he calls the ‘psychic transformation’. The psychic transformation is the awakening to the ...
Views: 19 - Spiritual Realisation Goes Beyond All Scriptures - by Submitted on Jan 02, 2023 from santosh krinskyWe live in a dynamic, evolving universe, not one that is static and unchanging. All teachings of the past, therefore, have their limitations. In his Essays on the Gita, Sri Aurobindo reminds us that all scriptures have both a temporal element, specific to their time and their circumstances, and ...
Views: 482 - Spiritual Realisation Through Concentration in the Heart Centre - by Submitted on Sep 23, 2022 from santosh krinskySri Aurobindo distinguishes between a “mental seeking” and a “living spiritual experience”. While those who are intellectually-minded frequently confuse ‘knowing’ with “KNOWING”, there is actually a clear distinction between the ability to read, hear, memorize and repeat back a teaching, which ...
Views: 484 - Spiritual Realisations and Experiences - by Submitted on Mar 31, 2023 from santosh krinskySpiritual Realisations and Experiences Posted on April 1, 2023 There is an interesting tale in the Mahabharata when the preceptor Drona was teaching the sons of Dhristarashtra and Pandu, the royal princes of the kingdom, the lesson of the day, which was “not to become angry”. He asked each of ...
Views: 545 - Spiritual Realms, Evolution in the World, and the Role of the Psychic Being - by Submitted on Apr 20, 2026 from santosh krinskyPeople are generally skeptical about the existence of beings outside our normal experience of life in the world. At the same time, there is incredible interest in other beings, and the search for life-forms in the universe occupies the minds of many people. People frequently report encounters ...
Views: 33 - Spiritual Sadhana Varies by Individual Based on Temperament and Situation of the Sadhak - by Submitted on Feb 12, 2022 from santosh krinskyNot everyone can achieve spiritual progress using exactly the same methods or disciplines. The “one size fits all” approach tried by many religious or spiritual communities of the past only works if their members are all basically similar in temperament and their spiritual development. We have ...
Views: 573 - Spirituality and Enlightenment: The Secret to Bliss - by Submitted on Dec 07, 2015 from Scott & Stephen PetulloThe ultimate goal of many spiritual seekers is to find enlightenment, which is another way to say awakening to spiritual awareness or illumination. A tall order, but with discipline it’s possible to make serious progress on your spiritual path. “I think a spiritual journey is not so much a ...
Views: 1107 - Spirituality: What It Is Not, and What It is - by Submitted on Nov 28, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe frequently hear people speaking about spirituality. They indicate ‘I consider myself to be spiritual, not religious.’ Beyond that distinction, however, when one asks what they mean by ‘spirituality’ there is a wide range of responses that make it clear that spirituality is mostly something ...
Views: 474 - Spiritually Effective Work Depends on the Inner Attitude - by Submitted on Apr 30, 2025 from santosh krinskyWhenever we act in the world, whether it is a job, or any kind of activity that involves the expression of energy in the external world, whether physical, vital, mental, etc. we generally do so with a particular ambition, motivation, desire or need. It could be based on physical needs for food, ...
Views: 210 - Stages in the Spiritual Development of the Individual - by Submitted on Jul 03, 2026 from santosh krinskyThere seems to be a very common progression in the spiritual development for most individuals. While individual cases can, and will, vary somewhat, and rare exceptional cases may follow a totally different development, the general case is common enough in its occurrence to create what may be ...
Views: 14 - Stages of the Development of Peace in the Being - by Submitted on Feb 02, 2023 from santosh krinskyWith all the complexity surrounding the reactions we have to impressions and pressures we receive from the world, it is important to both understand the seed causes of our reactions and find a way to systematically gain control over these reactions. One of the techniques recommended by Sri ...
Views: 515 - Stages of the Non-Reactive State of Being - by Submitted on Dec 14, 2024 from santosh krinskyMost people do not reflect on the state of their inner being. They tend to live on the surface and respond or react to whatever happens to come their way. They become happy or unhappy based on how circumstances impact them. They are essentially under the control of external events or happenings ...
Views: 254 - Standing Back from the Reactions of the External Nature - by Submitted on Nov 21, 2025 from santosh krinskyThe action of the three Gunas rules our external nature. Rajas active in the vital being tends to fixate on the fulfillment and satisfaction of desires of whatever kind. Desires, however, cannot ever be fully satisfied as the fulfillment of a desire simply increases the vital’s push for more. A ...
Views: 103 - Start Great Conversations with Your Kids - by Submitted on Oct 09, 2015 from Maggie SliderI have to admit having one child of each gender has really made me more aware of the male/ female differences. One huge difference I've found is the way they communicate and their interpretation of words. When I think about when my kids were younger and I picked them up from school, the ...
Views: 1261 - Static Power and Dynamic Power - by Submitted on Nov 29, 2024 from santosh krinskyThere are numerous types of power at work in the world and in us. Some of them can be viewed as ‘dynamic’ powers, powers with movement, action and outward facing application of force. Others can be viewed as ‘static’ powers, powers of holding, receiving and containing, powers of withstanding the ...
Views: 236 - Steps for How Can We Be on The Right Path - by Submitted on Feb 22, 2018 from Umer FiazIslam is the most practiced religion in the world. Muslims are present in almost every religion of the world and practicing the teaching of Islam. It is the psychology of every Muslim to know about their religion and its aspect. It is the most asked Question of the people that How can we be on ...
Views: 1118 - Steps Needed to ‘Become Conscious’ - by Submitted on Nov 01, 2023 from santosh krinskySome people believe that an intense aspiration is all that is needed to overcome the obstacles that prevent seekers from seeing, understanding and effectively responding to the forces that drive the outer life they lead. Others emphasize the details of the methodology to gain the needed insights ...
Views: 381 - Steps Toward Achieving a Calm Mind - by Submitted on Feb 07, 2023 from santosh krinskyEverything comes to the seeker based on his ability to tune his focus and maintain that focus in an unwavering manner over time. Sri Aurobindo, in his book The Mother, sets forth the methodology as “aspiration, rejection, surrender”. Aspiration is the will from the depth of the being to achieve ...
Views: 557 - Strength and Courage Are Needed to Face the Difficulties of the Spiritual Path - by Submitted on Dec 13, 2025 from santosh krinskyWhen an individual withdraws from most external activities to focus on spiritual sadhana, people tend to interpret this as a sign of weakness or failure in the outer life. They believe the seeker could not ‘make it’ in the competition in the external world and therefore retreated from it so he ...
Views: 97 - Study Tips for the MBLEx - by Submitted on Mar 13, 2021 from Ananta AnonProspective massage therapists and massage therapy graduate students often struggle to pass the national MBLEX certification exam. The MBLEX is a certification test and exam that all aspiring massage therapists must pass before receiving a license. Most of the 50 states are now accepting MBLEX ...
Views: 572 - Subtle Energetic Interchange, Sexual Relations and the Inner Consciousness - by Submitted on Mar 10, 2024 from santosh krinskyHuman interactions, human relationships have both a surface meaning and a subtle hidden energetic action. One of the most powerful vital energies in human life is sexual relations. By examining how this force operates, both overtly and on the occult levels, we can quickly see the mechanism that ...
Views: 349 - Success in Yoga Despite Negative Suggestions of Unfitness or Impossibility - by Submitted on Dec 04, 2025 from santosh krinskyAs the three Gunas continue to rotate their action in the external personality, there are times when Rajas presides and there is potentially a sense of ambition and with it, a sustained effort. When Tamas presides, however, there is a tendency to fall into despondency or depression, seeing ...
Views: 102 - Success: Its Meaning, Measure and Ultimate Significance in the Supramental Transformation of Consciousness - by Submitted on Jun 02, 2021 from santosh krinskyWe frequently identify success, as defined by our minds, as an indicator of divine Grace; yet this is driven in many cases by the ego, not by the larger viewpoint of the Divine. In a complex world that is undergoing evolutionary transformation driven by the manifestation of a new power of ...
Views: 607 - Suggestions Coming from the Vital World Also Impact Our Responses - by Submitted on Apr 19, 2024 from santosh krinskyThe vital worlds are generally unseen and unrecognised by us, as they do not take physical forms in the same way as our external world within which we live and act. This does not imply, however, that they do not have interaction with our world and the beings, including ourselves, that inhabit ...
Views: 319 - Suicide Does Not Provide an Escape From the Difficulties of Life or of Spiritual Development - by Submitted on Dec 14, 2025 from santosh krinskyAn individual reaches an absolute low point in his life. He may be suffering under intense grief, he may have made mistakes that led to catastrophic consequences, he may be faced with exposure and embarassment for actions he has undertaken, he may be in intense pain and suffering from a terminal ...
Views: 100 - Supermind - by Submitted on Jun 18, 2023 from santosh krinskyWithin the framework of our mind and the experience of our vital existence, we are inculcated in the belief that everything is subject to duality, good and bad, happy and unhappy, light and dark. We cannot generally conceive of an existence that is not subject to these pairs of opposites. We ...
Views: 491 - Suppression or Rejection of the Force of Desire - by Submitted on Dec 21, 2025 from santosh krinskyWhen an individual takes up religious or spiritual practices, he becomes aware of the force of desire and the need to curb it. In some cases, particularly in religious pursuits, there are a set of moral rules or monastic rules that provide set guidelines for the practitioner. Usually these ...
Views: 93 - Suppression Without True Rejection of the Sexual Impulse Does Not Solve the Issue for the Spiritual Seeker - by Submitted on Jan 05, 2026 from santosh krinskyThe first impulse of religious or spiritual paths with respect to the sex impulse has frequently been to simply suppress and deny it. When any form of energy is forcefully suppressed, it acts like a coiled spring, storing that energy and building up its potential power, until such time as it is ...
Views: 102 - Supraphysical Powers of Darkness and the Earthly Life - by Submitted on Dec 16, 2021 from santosh krinskyThe great religious traditions of the world virtually all relate a battle between Powers of Darkness and the Powers of Light. Regardless of the specific names and forms each tradition adopts, the similarities speak to a human experience of a supraphysical reality that impacts life on ...
Views: 517 - Sustaining the Yogic Endeavour in the Unique Challenges Posed by the Integral Yoga - by Submitted on Jul 26, 2025 from santosh krinskyFor those individuals called to take up the integral yoga, there is a unique opportunity and a unique set of concerns that arise. Those paths of yoga which aim at liberation have their own difficulties. It is not simple to escape the lures of the external life, or even to undertake ...
Views: 153 - Svadhyaya, Reflections Upon the Nature of Soul - by Submitted on Jan 31, 2018 from Maetreyii Ma NolanDear friends, We have two more aspects of Yama and Niyama to cover, Svadhyaya (self-reflection) and Ishvara Pranidhana ( surrender to God). When we have completed these two aspects we will move on to discussion of other aspects of yogic teachings such as karma, samskara, the five ...
Views: 1445 - Swing Hard (Just in Case You Hit It) - by Submitted on May 23, 2014 from Mike RobbinsIn July of 1992, the summer between my senior year in high school and my freshman year at Stanford, I got invited to play in the U.S. Junior National Baseball Championship tournament in Boise, Idaho. It was a pretty big deal. Some of the top high school players in the country were there, ...
Views: 1648 - Symbolic Dreams - by Submitted on Feb 20, 2026 from santosh krinskySymbolic dreams are common and in many cases, similar thematic elements show up for most people. These dreams attempt to raise up from the subconscious levels some underlying need, concern, fear, or persistent issue that remains unresolved in the external life. Sigmund Freud, in his work on The ...
Views: 69 - Symbolism and Significance Explained of Panchmukhi hanuman Idol - by Submitted on Jul 30, 2021 from vivek choudharyThere are innumerable devotees of Hanuman all the world over who admire this majestic one in several forms. One of the much-revered forms is the extremely Panchmukhi Hanuman. Five faces are gazing in various directions, frequently operating the witness in reverence. The Panchmukhi Hanuman or the ...
Views: 726 - Symbolism and Significance Explained of Panchmukhi hanuman Idol - by Submitted on Jul 30, 2021 from vivek choudharyThere are innumerable devotees of Hanuman all the world over who admire this majestic one in several forms. One of the much-revered forms is the extremely Panchmukhi Hanuman. Five faces are gazing in various directions, frequently operating the witness in reverence. The Panchmukhi Hanuman or the ...
Views: 633 - Symbolism and Significance Explained of Panchmukhi hanuman Idol - by Submitted on Jul 30, 2021 from vivek choudharyThere are innumerable devotees of Hanuman all the world over who admire this majestic one in several forms. One of the much-revered forms is the extremely Panchmukhi Hanuman. Five faces are gazing in various directions, frequently operating the witness in reverence. The Panchmukhi Hanuman or the ...
Views: 738 - Symbolism and Significance Explained of Panchmukhi hanuman Idol - by Submitted on Jul 30, 2021 from vivek choudharyThere are innumerable devotees of Hanuman all the world over who admire this majestic one in several forms. One of the much-revered forms is the extremely Panchmukhi Hanuman. Five faces are gazing in various directions, frequently operating the witness in reverence. The Panchmukhi Hanuman or the ...
Views: 738 - Symbolism and Significance Explained of Panchmukhi hanuman Idol - by Submitted on Jul 30, 2021 from vivek choudharyThere are innumerable devotees of Hanuman all the world over who admire this majestic one in several forms. One of the much-revered forms is the extremely Panchmukhi Hanuman. Five faces are gazing in various directions, frequently operating the witness in reverence. The Panchmukhi Hanuman or the ...
Views: 749 - Tapas the Third Principle of Yama & Niyama - by Submitted on Aug 16, 2017 from Maetreyii Ma NolanToday lets discuss the relationship we have to ideas like selflessness, self-sacrifice or selfless service. Ideas like self-sacrifice or selflessness have become associated for many people with letting yourself be stepped on or over run by others, of being a kind of dish rag, moping up others ...
Views: 1842 - Tapping Into the Universal Forces Rather than Interchange with Other People - by Submitted on May 21, 2022 from santosh krinskyWe are very much creatures of habit, and thus, when it comes to our intake of energy, we tend to habitually turn to a preferred method of reception. For most people, the primary source is food. Most people engage in vital interchange with others, and there is a subtle interaction that can both ...
Views: 518 - The 7th Avatar - Book 2 - “The Avatar and the Apprentice” - Chapter 11 - by Submitted on May 20, 2015 from Dr. Paul HaiderChapter Eleven - “What the Universe is All About” Then the stranger and the apprentice went on their way, moving through the desert, across great sand dunes and into peaceful valleys. And soon they came upon a suitable place to bed down for the night near a small spring so the camels could ...
Views: 2211 - The 7th Avatar - Book 2 - “The Avatar and the Apprentice” - Chapter 12 - by Submitted on May 21, 2015 from Dr. Paul HaiderChapter Twelve - “Mans Awakening is Coming Soon” And the next morning the stranger and the apprentice start their way across the desert with rested camels and quiet minds. They start their way up high mountains and at the base of the mountains left their camels behind in exchange for horses ...
Views: 2148 - The Action and Power of Suggestion - by Submitted on Aug 10, 2022 from santosh krinskySuggestions are not just directed at the mind; nor are they restricted in their impact on just the mind. We are used to the process of people making suggestions to us constantly about what we could, or should, do or how we could, or should, respond to a situation. We weigh these suggestions not ...
Views: 549 - The Action of Imagination in the Manifestation of Thought into External Circumstances - by Submitted on Sep 21, 2024 from santosh krinskyThere are several points worth considering with respect to utilizing imagination and some of the unanticipated issues that are based primarily in the lag between formulation and accomplishment of the imagined form. Visualization and use of the imagination can act to turn a vague idea or sense ...
Views: 373 - The Action of Karma and the Nature of Suffering - by Submitted on Mar 03, 2022 from santosh krinsky“What goes around comes around” and “karma” both basically indicate that there is a factor in existence that rewards good deeds and punishes bad deeds. But do we really see that things work this way? Is there some divine entity sitting up in the clouds, watching our good and bad actions, and ...
Views: 651 - The Action of Spiritual Force Is Generally Conditioned by the Field Within Which It Works - by Submitted on Jul 24, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe tend to operate under the fallacy that any spiritual force that is operative will automatically, and completely, achieve its intended result without difficulty. We forget, thereby, the way forces actually work in the world. There are always starting points, conditions, limitations, and ...
Views: 312 - The Action of the Divine Force As It Descends Into the Being - by Submitted on Sep 17, 2021 from santosh krinskyIn the classic methods known as Kundalini Yoga, and more generally in traditional yogic practices that seek to open and energize the subtle energy centers, or chakras, the experience is described as one of the energy starting at the lower chakra center, the Muladhara, and then rising up until it ...
Views: 592 - The Action of the Higher Force As It Descends Into the Present Formulation of the Mind, Life and Body - by Submitted on Dec 10, 2025 from santosh krinskyWhen the higher spiritual forces begun to enter the being through any kind of opening, they interact with the existing framework of the body-life-mind. Any time energy is introduced into a system, it activates the existing patterns of response, so that the mind begins to create its thoughts and ...
Views: 94