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
While there is a real difference between prayer, as an external action and aspiration as an inner status of being, there is also connection between the two which can be extremely potent in terms of bringing forth the aspiration into the external world and making it a living and real thing. When ... Views: 206
Endurance can be trained and developed. There are entire philosophical programs that have developed to systematically help an individual face the pressures and circumstances of the world with a sense of equality and equanimity. Some of these disciplines rely on acclimating the body to handle ... Views: 205
The Mother describes two conditions for preventing illness from invading the physical being. The first condition is basically ‘not to want it’. When we reflect on this, the first reaction is that we don’t want it! This is however not the complete picture. We have to recognise that the human ... Views: 205
The mind cannot comprehend experiences with which it has no familiarity. Sri Aurobindo describes a spiritual status that is experiential in nature. When there is such an experience, the mind tries to describe or transcribe that experience into its normal process of linear thought expressed in ... Views: 204
The Mother provides a practical example of the ‘power of immobility’, albeit as applied in the external 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 ... Views: 203
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is regarded as one of the greatest saints in Indian spiritual history, revered as both a scholar and a divine incarnation of Lord Krishna. His life and teachings have left an indelible mark on the path of bhakti yoga, making him a central figure in the Gaudiya Vaishnavism ... Views: 202
Many people have had the experience of a feeling that something is happening in the body, such as a feeling of a “cold coming on”. In some cases the feeling is very strong and the pressure is great. There may be some sneezing, some tickle in the throat, some coughing, some amount of congestion. ... Views: 202
The idea that one can receive guidance in response to a question, or aspiration, one is holding within oneself, from a randomly chosen page of a book is not based on some idea of magic, but is grounded in an understanding of the unity of consciousness and the interactive nature of consciousness ... Views: 201
There is a discipline that asks an individual to focus on conscious attention to each thought, each emotion and each movement he makes, through a process called ‘mindfulness’. This is intended primarily to center the individual’s mind and attention and focus the person on the present moment ... Views: 201
QuickBook support Phone Number+1(855)649-3480☎️ **** help desk number
QuickBook support Phone Number+1(855)649-3480☎️ **** helpline number
QuickBook support Phone Number+1(855)649-3480☎️ **** help phone number
QuickBooks premier desktop Technical helps your business accounting in many ways, ... Views: 201
When we reflect on what we mean by prayer, and what expectations we have for it, we can determine both the limits and the uses of prayer in navigating our way through life, and obtaining results aligned with our aspirations. In the USA it is common for people to send “thoughts and prayers” for ... Views: 200
We train the physical body with intense repetition to create what is called ‘muscle memory’. This allows the body to respond, instantly, without thought, when certain circumstances occur. Not all circumstances require the instantaneous response of the body, or even if they do, the body may not ... Views: 199
The vital nature is closely tied to the operation of desire. Whether it is a desire for recognition, for money, for sex, for achievement of some sort, for acceptance or comfort, the vital nature activates its energy to reach out and grab some result it believes will satisfy that desire. At the ... Views: 199
The Mother draws a clear distinction between the individual who is in contact with his own deepest inner truth of being, his swadharma, and the individual who does not pay attention to this deepest truth but lives what we may call a “transactional” existence focused on the aggrandisement and ... Views: 198
While most people are quite insulated from direct confrontation with extremes which the body is asked to endure, our modern media makes it possible to see and relate to some of these extreme situations. Far beyond the pressure of training for and running in a marathon race, there are ... Views: 198
In order to be most effective in its action, the external nature must have the capacity of concentration of its efforts. Whether this is a mental concentration, or a vital or physical concentration, the focus must be total, without distraction, or it will yield less than the optimal ... Views: 197
The general concept of ‘immobility’ in the face of external pressures is actually not a new discovery. Stoicism encouraged people to develop ways to withstand the pressures of the external world and accept those pressures without wilting or breaking under them. For the most part, however, the ... Views: 197
In 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 ... Views: 196
What 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 ... Views: 196
We frequently hear people say that they had a “gut feeling” that something was not right when they went to a certain place. In fact, most of us have had similar feelings from time to time. We don’t have any externally perceptible facts to base this feeling on. It just ‘is’. The same thing ... Views: 195
It 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 ... Views: 195
We occasionally meet people who seem to be highly intuitive. With very few facts, and with a very fast response time, they seem to understand and decide things successfully that we are struggling to deal with, and for which we need considerably more time. In some cases, there may be the ... Views: 195
Those who wish to develop and utilize the power of intuition in their own lives have to address their active mental process, so as to open up the receptivity to the higher intuitive force, and allow it to modify the action of the mentality itself. There is a parable out of the teachings of Jesus ... Views: 195
We operate on multiple levels at the same time. There is the external level comprised of actual physical, vital and mental actions we undertake. We speak, we express ourselves through gestures and body language. We undertake physical activities. At the same time however, there is the unspoken ... Views: 195
We get an intimation of what we should do, how we should respond to a situation. Then all the excuses and justifications and ‘needs’ and temporizing begin, and we find that there are good reasons why we should not do exactly, in the precise way, that the inner guidance tells us something should ... Views: 194
We are habituated, particularly in the modern world, to the mind constantly interacting with its environment, with sensations, with media and with ideas. We are also addicted to the activity, the energy, of the mind’s engagement and when the mind is not engaged somehow, we either sleep, or seek ... Views: 194
When 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 ... Views: 192
Plato in the famous dialogues recounting the teaching of his mentor, Socrates, recounts the understanding that Socrates held that education was simply a recognition by the individual of what he already knows. The process of education was one of drawing out, removing the obstacles to the ... Views: 192
We can look at the idea of a transformation of the body from several viewpoints. One viewpoint accepts the basic current structure and function of the body and simply enhances, protects, extends the life and capacity, or removes limitations and failures to which the body is currently prone. Many ... Views: 192
An experiment some years ago showed that stones that came from a temple where ongoing worship had been taking place, held and radiated an energy not found in stones that had not been subjected to the influence of constant prayer. Just as stones absorb heat vibrations and then radiate them back ... Views: 192
When 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 ... Views: 191
Most 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: 191
The Taittiriya Upanishad speaks of the unified field of the conscious universe: “The Spirit who is here in a man and the Spirit who is there in the Sun, it is one Spirit and there is no other.” [Taittiriya Upanishad, Brahmanandavalli, Chapter 8, translated by Sri Aurobindo in The ... Views: 190
A major concern for those who are desirous of shifting from the mental to the intuitional consciousness definitely lies in the transition, how that is going to work, what the role of the mind, if any, is in this transition and how the consciousness will function as it shifts to reliance on the ... Views: 190
We tend to label actions and thereby don’t reflect on the implications of them. Thus, for most people, when we use the term ‘hypnosis’ we associate it with a hypnotist using some unique power to gain some control over another individual’s will and actions. Since its introduction in the West, ... Views: 189
Have you ever wondered how some people seem to go through various situations without a problem while others go through similar situations and have to undergo tremendous challenges and suffering? If someone escapes a harrowing incident once, we tend to call it “luck”. But if it happens repeatedly ... Views: 188
It is frequently noted that certain individuals seem to accomplish more, and despite enormous commitments, they seem ready to take on more and do even more than they are doing. On the other hand, there are individuals who seem to have a low threshold of action and they seem to never have the ... Views: 187
We 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 ... Views: 186
An Expanding Consciousness Recognises the Inherent Oneness and Mutuality of All Existence
Posted on December 9, 2024
When we identify with the ego personality, we view the world as being separate and apart from ourselves, and we look at other beings as either competition for resources or ... Views: 185
One of the prevalent ideas about managing the vital nature has been the idea that punishment in some form or other is beneficial. Spanking of children, for example has been a common method of ‘educating’ them. It is a form of conditioning that administers a negative consequence to a specific ... Views: 185
With the rise of modern technology in the field of film-making, we find an immersive experience in movie theaters engulfs the viewer deeply in the action. This includes high resolution images, 3D technology, giant wide screens, comfortable seating and surround sound. The viewer of such films is ... Views: 185
The Bhagavad Gita has an interesting verse that provides a clue to the secret of action and inaction, between ‘static’ and ‘dynamic’ power, if you will: “He who in action can see inaction and can see action still continuing in cessation from works, is the man of true reason and discernment among ... Views: 185
Contacting QuickBooks support by phone 1(814 273 2000) involves several steps, aimed at ensuring that you receive timely and efficient assistance for your specific issue. QuickBooks, being a comprehensive accounting software developed by Intuit, offers various products and services catering to ... Views: 184
Some years ago, some parents in the USA had an interesting conversation with their local elementary school administrator. They were concerned 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 ... Views: 183
If we observe carefully our interactions with others, we may note that when another person is describing or explaining something, our minds are eager to jump in, express a different point of view, or simply remain fixed in our own ideas and mindset; in other words, ‘hearing’ without ‘listening’. ... Views: 183
When we recognise that the world is an actual manifestation of the Divine, we can begin to appreciate the Divine in all things that we experience, all things that we see, all that we hear, all that we feel or touch or smell. The Divine manifests through his power, Shakti, which takes various ... Views: 183
From the point of view of animals, we may assume, the actions, and the powers that drive them, of human beings are some kind of ‘occult powers’ about which the animals know nothing. These actions may seem miraculous but they are in reality expressions of the evolution of the mental stage of the ... Views: 183
When we are met with ideas or understanding propounded by others that we do not agree with we tend to create a mental barrier as a defense and then develop our mental arguments to contradict or overturn the proposed ideas. There is very little, if any, true understanding that comes out of such ... Views: 182
At a certain point in life, an individual begins to appreciate that the surface events, surface ‘facts’, the ‘reality’ of the external world are all derivative results, with the causal forces and energies active on more subtle planes or domains and creating from that place, the physical forms ... Views: 182
The development of the vital, life-force integrated with the physical domain led to changes in the physical in order to accommodate the action of this new energy. At the same time, the life-force had to itself make adjustments in order to operate in the material world as opposed to in its own ... Views: 181