Deeper I-Ness
Another process Yogananda reviewed was the evolution of the ego self. What we might call the concept of self or the level of identification. First thing to note is that he describes our person as …
Category: Waking
The Seat of the Soul
Recently, I was reading some of Yogananda‘s commentary on the Bhagavad Gita (the Song of God, a key section of the Mahabharata where Krishna teaches Arjuna about the ways of action, yoga, etc.) In it, …
Samskaras
In Getting It Straight, I spoke of the process of clearing old habits of mind. The eastern perspective on this can add some further clarity. “A thought or physical act once performed does not cease …
Getting it Straight
We carry so many habits of mind… As we move along our spiritual journey, circumstances bring various habits of thinking to the surface to be seen. Some habits are good ones. To be nice. To …
Discipline and Freedom
Tom Stine has written a new post, Discipline and Freedom, basically on how to get through the maze of techniques of awakening. I’ve said some similar things in a little different way. Worth a read. …
Everything Wakes
There is an interesting aspect of awakening that is not too often covered. Awakening is not about what you or I are doing, it’s what everything is doing. Everything wakes. Of course, it’s not possible …
Habits of Ignorance
The mind is a habit machine. That’s how we learn to ride a bike, drive a car, and read. But it’s also how we respond automatically and inappropriately to some circumstances. Like learning to spell …
What’s Real?
Responses to a few questions on reality… What’s Real? When we answer questions about reality, we can look at it 2 ways. Firstly, there is reality that is unchanging, absolute, omnipresent silence. That which cannot …
Exploring Cognition
In a discussion forum with several experienced and awake people, we explored the nature of cognition. This is what I derived from the results. Cognitions are a specific form of experience characterized by a sense …
The Hidden Shoulds
I’ve written here before about the way the identity creates sub-conscious ‘shoulds’ and ‘needs‘, essentially fear driven resistance to what is. ie: “I should do X or Y might happen.” We end up acting from …
What Leads to Awakening?
In a recent post, I spoke of how our gifts come, not from our suffering, but from the movement of life through us. This arose from the underlying idea that suffering is necessary and will …
Castle of Brahman
In the center of the castle of Brahman, our own body, there is a small shrine in the form of a lotus flower, and within can be found a small space. We should find who …