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Consciousness and Awareness Articles
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- Overcoming Difficulties With Cheerfulness - by Submitted on Nov 01, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe 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 ...
Views: 48 - Seeking and Attaining Mastery Over the Touches of Nature - by Submitted on Oct 31, 2024 from santosh krinskySeekers throughout the ages have struggled with the issue of how to deal with the pressures and circumstances of the external world. They recognise the swing of emotions, feelings and thoughts that occur as they receive input from people and events. They recognise that sometimes this causes them ...
Views: 48 - The Three General Forms of Response to the Touches of Nature - by Submitted on Oct 30, 2024 from santosh krinskyEndurance 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: 59 - The Will to Endure and the Body’s Ability to Withstand Hardship and Suffering - by Submitted on Oct 29, 2024 from santosh krinskyWhile 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: 66 - Endurance Is Required for Progress, Growth and Success - by Submitted on Oct 28, 2024 from santosh krinskyEach part of the being has its own form of endurance. Endurance is essential for any true and lasting development. Change tends to be mostly incremental. When it comes more rapidly it is usually accompanied by major disruptions to the status quo. In either case, one form of endurance, or ...
Views: 65 - Understanding and Utilizing the Power of Sincerity in Action - by Submitted on Oct 28, 2024 from santosh krinskyIf 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 ...
Views: 73 - Attitude and the Law of Attraction - by Submitted on Oct 26, 2024 from santosh krinskyThe ‘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 ...
Views: 70 - Doubt and Faith: Resolving the Debate Between Science and Religion - by Submitted on Oct 25, 2024 from santosh krinskyThere has been a long-standing debate between religion and science, centered around the question of faith versus the search for truth through the use of the mind and its powers. This raises several questions, however, about the type and nature of the faith, and the type and nature of the mental ...
Views: 76 - Faith and Personal Effort - by Submitted on Oct 24, 2024 from santosh krinskyThere is a tendency in the human mind to create an artificial division between faith, based in the divine Grace, and effort, based in the mental, vital and physical being of the individual. Thus, if we have faith, we tend not to ‘worry’ about specific actions we can or should take. It is a type ...
Views: 70 - The Conditions of an Effective Faith - by Submitted on Oct 23, 2024 from santosh krinskyIn his book The Mother, Sri Aurobindo defines the conditions and qualities of faith needed to overcome all obstructions or disasters: “To walk through life armoured against all fear, peril and disaster, only two things are needed, two that go always together — the Grace of the Divine Mother and ...
Views: 80 - Trust and Faith - by Submitted on Oct 22, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe frequently remark on how young people act with a seemingly carefree attitude and take risks that older people would not take. This is due to the inherent trust they have in their body’s vital and physical resilience and powers of prevailing even in difficult or dangerous circumstances. As ...
Views: 75 - Faith and Confidence - by Submitted on Oct 21, 2024 from santosh krinskyThere are countless stories of what may be called the “placebo effect” for confidence in action. Athletes sometimes believe they will perform better if they are wearing a specific shirt or pair of socks. People have their ‘lucky charms’ that they believe provide them success in certain ...
Views: 75 - The Characteristics and the Power of an Integral Faith - by Submitted on Oct 20, 2024 from santosh krinskyWith our standpoint based in the mental consciousness we tend to believe that if we think something, it is ‘real’. This viewpoint fails to account for the different parts of the being, and their different modes of response. For example, we may hold a mental conception to not fear something, and ...
Views: 79 - Healing the Body Through Spiritual Force or Through Faith - by Submitted on Oct 19, 2024 from santosh krinskyHealing the Body Through Spiritual Force or Through Faith Posted on October 19, 2024 We tend to believe that an individual who has a strong mental development has advantages in all fields of life. It is true that the mind has provided some strong benefits, particularly in navigating the ...
Views: 85 - Healing Modalities, Faith and Our Societal Biases - by Submitted on Oct 18, 2024 from santosh krinskyThe prevailing wisdom in today’s world holds that science has understood enough about the etiology of disease to be able to intervene and take steps to mitigate or cure disease using drugs or even, at the cutting edge, various forms of genetic intervention. The practitioners of that science ...
Views: 83 - The Power of Auto-Suggestion for Health and Wellness - by Submitted on Oct 17, 2024 from santosh krinskyAuto-suggestion is constantly active, although we generally do this more or less unconsciously. For example, when we anticipate a meal at a favorite restaurant, our mind sends signals to the body that generates feelings of hunger, begins to develop saliva, and prepares the body for enjoyment of ...
Views: 85 - Medicine, Faith and the Healing Process - by Submitted on Oct 16, 2024 from santosh krinskyThere are a number of examples that lead to the conclusion that it is not medicine alone that cures the patient. A young man reported his own experience. He was visiting India in the early 1970’s and was afflicted by a severe case of amoebic dysentery while there, to the point that he was in ...
Views: 75 - Mindfulness, Conscious Attention and the Harmonious Development of the Body - by Submitted on Oct 15, 2024 from santosh krinskyThere 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: 71 - The Mental Will and Its Influence on the Health and Well-Being of the Body - by Submitted on Oct 14, 2024 from santosh krinskyBy now most people have heard of the ‘placebo effect’. Yet, they have not gone into the significance of what this implies. Studies have shown that as much as 30% of a group given an ‘inert’ treatment have similar healing outcomes to those given an actual targeted treatment. The individual given ...
Views: 78 - Will-Power Can Aid the Development of the Physical Body - by Submitted on Oct 13, 2024 from santosh krinskyA 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 ...
Views: 79 - Focusing the Will on the Physical Body and its Development - by Submitted on Oct 12, 2024 from santosh krinskyThe mind has a tremendous power to influence the physical body, for good or ill. In some cases, mental ideas can lead to extraordinary imbalances in the body, which can lead to weakness, illness and even the death of the body. Many times we will push the body beyond its limits without concern ...
Views: 84 - To Learn How To Will - by Submitted on Oct 11, 2024 from santosh krinskyIf you looks deeply at one’s attempts to utilize will-power to accomplish any task, to bring about some change in one’s being, or to develop in some direction, it quickly becomes apparent that there are elements within our own being that are not supporting the focus, intensity and direction that ...
Views: 77 - How to Utilize Will-Power Effectively - by Submitted on Oct 10, 2024 from santosh krinskyMost people have very little idea about how to utilize will-power effectively, because they don’t fully understand what will-power actually is and how it needs to be focused and concentrated. Essentially will-power is the function that concentrates the ‘signal’ while reducing the ‘noise’ in a ...
Views: 74 - The Exercise of Will-Power and the Role of Sincerity in Implementation - by Submitted on Oct 09, 2024 from santosh krinskyMost people have had the experience. They decide to try a new diet or exercise regimen. They stick with it a few days or weeks and then it seems to get overlooked, forgotten or abandoned. Other things got in the way, or else, the impulses caused them to weaken their resolve. How many times ...
Views: 83 - The Deeper Meaning of Will-Power - by Submitted on Oct 08, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe speak generally about exercising will-power, particularly when it relates to overcoming an impulsion or attempting to achieve some particular result. We may want to overcome an addiction, or follow a particular diet and we struggle to carry out our resolve. We make ‘new year’s resolutions’ to ...
Views: 77 - Concentration and the Centres of Energy in the Subtle Body - by Submitted on Oct 07, 2024 from santosh krinskyPeople constantly ask whether they should concentrate focused in the heart, between the eyebrows or above the head. The short answer is “yes”. Each centre of concentration relies on a different power of action. In the end, what is more important is the action of concentration itself. An ...
Views: 85 - The Ultimate Focus of Concentration - by Submitted on Oct 06, 2024 from santosh krinskyThe genius of the Rishis of ancient India was their ability to focus on the essential core of knowledge, will and existence. They reminded us that we can obtain many forms and types of knowledge, but each of these is but a fragment, an isolated fact or event, if we have not identified that ...
Views: 84 - Mastering the Power of Concentration - by Submitted on Oct 05, 2024 from santosh krinskyThere are any number of ways to develop concentration. Concentration is also developed progressively, such that the power to concentrate increases with practice and continued use. In their writings, both Sri Aurobindo and the Mother describe a number of ways to develop the power of ...
Views: 89 - Applying the Power of Concentration to Develop Efficiency of Time of Accomplishment of Any Task - by Submitted on Oct 04, 2024 from santosh krinskyOne 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 ...
Views: 78 - Concentration Helps the Individual Successfully Accomplish More Tasks in Less Time - by Submitted on Oct 03, 2024 from santosh krinskyIt 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: 67 - Concentration Aids Speed and Accuracy in Action - by Submitted on Oct 02, 2024 from santosh krinskyThe human propensity to set up ‘either/or’ scenarios leads us to believe that we either have to focus on ‘perfection’ or ‘speed’ in the things we do. This is actually a false choice because it leaves out the factor of concentration which can accomplish actions with speed while not sacrificing ...
Views: 83 - The Difference Between Scientific Focus and Artistic Focus - by Submitted on Oct 01, 2024 from santosh krinskyMany people hold the idea that science is ‘fact based’ and focused on the external world solely, while the artistic focus is based in the use of imagination and is not as tied to external facts. The difference, however, is not necessarily one of a lack of imagination by those with a scientific ...
Views: 85 - All Problems Can Be Solved Through the Power of Concentration - by Submitted on Sep 30, 2024 from santosh krinskyIn 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: 75 - The Need and Benefit of the Power of Concentration - by Submitted on Sep 29, 2024 from santosh krinsky“By askesis do thou seek to know the Eternal, for concentration in thought is the Eternal.” Thus spoke Varuna to Bhrigu in the Taittiriya Upanishad [Sri Aurobindo’s translation]. Swami Vivekananda’s lectures on Raja Yoga, expounding the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with an extensive commentary, ...
Views: 76 - The Power of Imagination and Visualisation Can Aid in Coming into Direct Contact with One’s Psychic Being - by Submitted on Sep 28, 2024 from santosh krinskyThe power of visualisation has been recognised as an aid in healing from illness, in excelling in sports, and in helping an individual achieve results in the external world. The spiritual seeker also can put this power to work to achieve results in the inner world. Practitioners of Tibetan ...
Views: 93 - The Dreams of Childhood Are the Realities of Mature Age - by Submitted on Sep 27, 2024 from santosh krinskyMost individuals wind up having to abandon their childhood dreams and aspirations. They follow the career path set before them by their society, their family, their teachers and their peers. Yet, in most cases, they never fully lose their deeper aspiration which surfaced in their childhood ...
Views: 102 - Imagination Can Help or Harm Depending on the Intention Behind Its Use - by Submitted on Sep 26, 2024 from santosh krinskyEvery great power that humanity discovers and wields in the world has both its negative and its positive side. It can either be utilized to destroy or to support, benefit and create. For example, humanity has harnessed the use of fire. Fire can burn down the house, or it can cook one’s food. ...
Views: 94 - Effectuating the Formations of Imagination Over Time and Circumstance - by Submitted on Sep 25, 2024 from santosh krinskyCreating a detailed imagination is the first step in a future realisation. The formation so devised will attempt to achieve its actualisation in the world. Yet, it must contend with the readiness of the ground upon which it alights, the preparation of the ‘soil’, the proper support along the ...
Views: 92 - Imagination and Science - by Submitted on Sep 24, 2024 from santosh krinskyJules Verne, a writer who was not himself a scientist, nevertheless inspired generations of scientists. He did not invent the idea of the submarine, but in his book Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, he worked out a number of conceptual issues so that submarine use could become widespread, ...
Views: 91 - The Imagination: a Tool for Development - by Submitted on Sep 23, 2024 from santosh krinskyImagination is a window to the future. People who are stuck in their past, or the present, tend to close themselves off from development. They insist that things have always been done a certain way, and that is how they are going to be done. Change is anathema to them. They have little, if any, ...
Views: 97 - Controlling One’s Imagination - by Submitted on Sep 23, 2024 from santosh krinskyMore frequently than not, the spiritual aspirant has both a great upward aspiration and a corresponding ‘knot’ that he needs to work out which is the counter-part to the upward capacity. It is the dynamic tension between the two that forces him to persevere. He will either given in to the lower ...
Views: 97 - 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: 104 - The General Action of Thoughts and Our Need to Observe and Manage Them - by Submitted on Sep 20, 2024 from santosh krinskyEvery thought, every idea, every imagination, every focus, represents electrical impulses that are formed and projected into the general mental atmosphere, whether expressed verbally or in writing, or simply formulated in one’s mind. Each such formation is either weaker or stronger depending on ...
Views: 99 - Sources of the Higher Forms of Imagination - by Submitted on Sep 19, 2024 from santosh krinskyHow does imagination work? Why do some people seem to have a large amount of active imagination and others very little? All kinds of formations are active in the vital and the mental domains. For those who have the receptivity and the aware connection to either of these realms, there is an ...
Views: 105 - Imagination is a Power of Formation - by Submitted on Sep 18, 2024 from santosh krinskyMost people tend to respond to life circumstances and opportunities based on past experience, training, education and any guidelines or rules they have imbibed from their past, all combined with their basic outlook on their lives, their desires, their needs and their circumstances. We can say ...
Views: 96 - The Spiritual Split - by Submitted on Sep 18, 2024 from William CottringerThe Spiritual Split By Bill Cottringer “Three things cannot be long hidden: The sun, the moon, and the truth.” ~Buddha. One such truth is the awesome power of threes. Just consider the influence of the threes in pyramids, the Christian trinity, colors of traffic lights, a tri-fold ...
Views: 108 - The Power of Thought to Shape Our External Existence and Its Significance - by Submitted on Sep 17, 2024 from santosh krinskyWhen we begin to reflect on the role of thought in the creation of forms in the world, it becomes clear that it is an important part of the process of converting pure conscious awareness into the world of vital action and physical substance. Thought is a tool of consciousness. When properly ...
Views: 106 - Prenatal Influences on the Development of the Child in the Womb - by Submitted on Sep 16, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe 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, ...
Views: 102 - To Think Without Words - by Submitted on Sep 15, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe tend to associate the process we call ‘thinking’ with the linear sequence of words that organize our understanding in our mind. We thus associate thinking with language and indicate that our thinking is limited by the language. A language that is rich in words and nuances will yield more ...
Views: 93 - The Process Behind Communicating Thoughts from One Person to Another - by Submitted on Sep 14, 2024 from santosh krinskyWe utilize speech to communicate with other people. Speech however is a translation into vibrational patterns a specific thought content developed with a particular pattern of electrical impulses. When it is effective, the hearer receives the vibrational energy of the speech he has heard, and ...
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