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What is Consecration

Results that Come from Consecration

What We Can Consecrate

Affecting the Collective through Consecration

Consecrating for the Sake of Others

What Enables Success of Consecration

What Prevents Success of Consecration

Miscellaneous/To Be Parsed

Also See Overcoming Mind's Ignorance by Moving to the Depths

MOVING TO THE DEPTHS WITHIN (CONCENTRATION)
(top)

[Note: there are three central spiritual methods of connecting to the Spirit are Consecration, Moving to the Depths, and Surrender. Consecration is to open to the Force before engaging in an activity. Moving to the Depths (or Concentration) is a movement away from the surface existence to a deeper existence within. In the deepest depths one discovers the Personal Evolving Soul. Surrender is to offer all one's work, one's life to the Divine Force and Intent. (It occurs generally after one has connected with the Personal Evolving Soul.) The recommended approach for the average person is to begin consecrating every act to enable magnificent results, and over time move the consciousness into the depths, which will enable better consecration. When you reach the Evolving Soul in the depths, then you can begin a life of Surrender to the Divine.]

What Concentration -- Moving to the Depths -- Is

Untitled
We have a deeper nature in the depth of our being. We mostly live on the surface of life. If we learn to live more in the depths, which is closer to our own spiritual essence, we move away from our limitations, our limited view of life.

Overcoming Sense and Concentration
Withdrawing from the world of senses, the external world. This is the first stage of concentration. It means the Mind withdraws from hearing outer sounds, seeing outer sights, etc. (MSS)

Definition of (Inner) Concentration
Mind in meditation turning off the senses, seeing and hearing for itself is concentration. (MSS, slightly modified)

Man's Stages of Inner Growth (away from the outer) & Mind
Man's stages of inner growth are:

[The five] Senses dominate the mind, a pure vital status.
Mind sifts the senses from facts and acts on pure facts--intellectuality.
Mind understands, not the senses.
Mind in meditation can turn off the senses, see, and hear for itself - This is concentration.
This opens the Mind to insight and intuition.
Intuition shifting inside from outside becomes supramental intuition (MSS, slightly modified)

Problems Created by Living on the Surface of Life
We live on the surface of life. We are too outer, reacting to everything around us. From such a poise we are constantly reacting, rather than being rooted in calm and silence and peace. When we live on the surface of life, our bodily ego is constantly asserting itself. When we live on the surface of life, our bodily ego is constantly asserting itself. That sense of I of me is out front, creating a separateness that disengages us from the totality and wholeness of what is happening around us. When we live too close to the surface of life we see things through a haze of our own needs, our own wants, our own prejudices and inclinations; not the full, moment-to-moment emerging true truths, multi-sided truths around us.

The Miraculous Power of the Inner Life Over the Outer Life
There is a continuum that ranges from living on the surface of life, i.e. on the outside, to living in the deepest depths within oneself, centered in our personal evolving soul. When one is centered on what on outside, the surface, one is stuck in ego and separateness, limited to the slow moments of time, to the finite possibilities, to suffering, to Ignorance of the merging truths unfolding in life, leading to lack of accomplishment and results. As one moves within, to the inside, there is a movement away from ego, toward unity with the environment and others, toward the greater possibilities and truths that are emerging, to timelessness, and the movement of the past, present and future into the Now, all of which enables infinite possibilities, vast understanding, insight, and action, which enables infinite accomplishment and results. It is the secret of how we can instantaneously and abundantly effect the outer existence from within ourselves.

To move within, just withdraw your consciousness your mind from the input of the outer senses, and focus within. In that depth feel the withdrawal from the surface, and sense an inner existence. Station yourself there. One day you may meet your soul there, the spark of the Divine, and further still, your personal evolving soul, from which you can instantaneously and miraculously move life without yourself moving. It is the great power of the within to effect the without. In fact, you perceive that the without is actually contained in the within; that you can move the outside abundantly, instantly, and positively by any thought or willed action from that inner status. It is the great secret of how the inner can move the outer, contradicting our whole view of existence that only the outer (action) moves the outer life.

Moving to the Depths Within (i.e. Concentration)
It is one thing to comprehend inner-outer correspondence as a principle of life; it is another to consistently live it. What can we do then to keep it uppermost in our minds, so that when a problem arises, we are able to first relate the outer to the inner, and then make the necessary inner adjustment to overcome the obstacle? In other words, how can we easily recall this approach when we are caught up in the daily details of life?

We can begin to accomplish this by moving the focus of our consciousness away from the surface of life, from the bubblings and churnings of the outer existence, to a deeper poise within. Stationed in this deeper poise inside ourselves, we are able to shift our consciousness from preoccupation with the sense data streaming into our minds from the outside through our five senses, to a clearer and more rational state of mindfulness. As we move our concentration from the surface to the depths, not only do we withdraw our consciousness from the bombardment of surface visual and audible sense inputs to the clear rationality and logic of thought, but we move away from our ego sense, of our sense of separateness from others and the environment. As a result, we develop a wider view; and we are able to embrace the multiplicity and right relation of life unfolding around us, enabling perceptions of the true truth of the life before us. This in turn leads us to perceptions of the possibilities before us, which provides choices, out of which we can make the right decisions, resulting in actions that end in perfect success.

Let's take an example. An individual who is living in his surface consciousness is listening to a conversation that others are having. He picks up on one point that is particularly striking to him, which is to make sure that he downloads the latest updates to his virus protection software. The rest of the crowd responds loudly in agreement. This information is very helpful. However, had he truly listened to other aspects of the conversation; had he had the inner wherewithal to sense the deeper meaning between the words, he would have perceived other critical issues being addressed; issues so important that it could have changed the course of his career. If, through meditation, inner concentration, or other means, he had established that deeper inner poise, he would have had the mindfulness to perceive issues critical to his life. Thus, we see that establishing an inner mindfulness enables a greater fluidity and connectedness between our inner consciousness and the world outside ourselves.

Inner and Spiritual Concentration
When someone is doing a work like writing, we find he does not notice our coming and standing by his side for some time. He may not respond to a few words of ours calling his attention.

Later we are surprised at his surprise when we mention how oblivious he was of our visit. That is concentration. In yoga, concentration is defined as Being dwelling on itself. The index of dwelling on itself is to be oblivious or forgetful of the outside.

At the time of such a concentration, Mind cannot think of the future. Thinking of the future is expectation. Nor can it think of the past, which is the source of worry. We call it brooding over the past.

Withdrawing from the past and future, one concentrates on the Present. That way, the present becomes the Ever Present.

Yogic concentration demands the yogi withdraw from the world of senses, the external world. This is the first stage of concentration. It means the Mind withdraws from hearing outer sounds, seeing outer sights, etc.

Having withdrawn from the outer world, the Mind is in its own inner world. Mind can see now without opening the eyes. It can hear, smell, touch, taste all by itself. Dhyana becomes a success at this stage. Few householders can reach this state.

As one withdrew from the external consciousness, he must now withdraw from the inner consciousness. The Truth of the Spirit lies in the inner consciousness. The Truth of the one is behind the inner consciousness where the yogi expands inwardly into the consciousness of the Idea. (MSS, extracted)

Results of Concentration (Living in the Depths)

Living in Depths and Knowledge
Living in the depths enables clear thinking, insight, and ultimately reveals the final truths or the whole truth that we are seeking.

Moving Within and Its Benefits
Only when you have begun to break the never-ending link of our consciousness to the surface of life can we move within. Only when we are able to move the focus of our thoughts away from the constant input of the five senses to rational thought, or even beyond that to silence in the mind, can we break the connection with the surface.

We begin this process of bringing the spiritual Being into the Becomings of our lives by first moving into the depths of our being, away from the surface of life. We move from mind preoccupied with sense data to mind centered in the silence of the depths. Then we can move further within to the deepest depths where we discover the Inner Being, the personal evolving soul.

We move into the depths within, develop an inner poise, discover the silence there. Then, if we are lucky, we go further within and find our evolving souls, and bring in this spiritual power into our daily lives, changing ordinary life into infinite life.

Living within you are more in harmony and unity with the environment, with others, with the emerging truths in the atmosphere.

Connecting within will enable you to have a deeper sense of what is unfolding around you at any moment in time. From that inner poise you will be far more in tune with others, with the environment, to the moment to moment unfoldings of life. This will enable you to have better ongoing understanding and knowledge, which will enable you to develop keener insights into what is happening around you. As a result, you will make better decision; you will take actions that are based on truth, which means they are far more likely to end in success and achievement. In other words, you will have the inner poise that can enable vast knowledge, accomplishment, and happiness in your daily life.

Moving to Deeper Consciousness Enabling Multi-Sided View and Insight
By going deeper within, into our deeper consciousness will enable can help us move from our sense-based mind -- rooted in our feelings, emotions, judgments, and prejudices -- to the higher part of mind proper, where we see things objectively and rationally; where we engage in pure rational thought, rather than emotional thought. From that inner poise and status we can see the abundant myriad of facts around us, which in their multiplicity and variety lend themselves to insights. And from insights we can have integral insights and illuminations and intuitions that lead to ever greater conclusions, until we reach what we call the "integral knowledge and understanding" that Holmes seemed to have had at the end of every case.

From Ignorance to Integral Knowledge through the Path of the Within
-Living on the surface causes us to be exclusive and hence more Ignorant, while living in the depths enables inclusiveness, hence more integral is our Knowledge.

-Sri Aurobindo's path for overcoming our fundamental Ignorance born of the exclusive nature of Mind, begins with a movement within, away from the surface, which enables a corresponding opening to the higher planes of spiritual mind from which we develop the inclusive, many-sided, integral full Knowledge.

Results of Living in the Depths
By living in the depths, within, rather than on the surface of life you will be -- calmer, more observant of your limiting capacities, more observant of life around you, less inclined to act from one's ego sense and sense of separateness, more likely to find more harmony with the environment, enable more perfection and possibilities to occur in life.

When we are centered, stationed within, we are open to greater forces beyond ourselves, universal forces that enable us to have a greater perspective, understanding, awareness, and effectivity in the world.

Benefits of Inner Poise
When you are poised inside, you are less likely to make hasty, wrong assumptions about the object of inquiry or concern; of circumstances on the outside.

Benefits of Living in Depths
Living in the depths sustains optimism, cheerfulness, patience, and general positive attitude, which are the foundation of a life of evolutionary development.

More Benefits of Living Within
When you live within you tend to be less reactive, impulsive; less likely to needlessly jump off course, yet more open to change when it is objectively necessary.

Experiencing Oneness in the Depths
RP: When we go within we begin to overcome our divided nature that perceives dualities of pleasure and pain. Instead, we see the oneness of life; all things in their essential unity. That includes the unity of the inner and outer, and of spirit and matter. We see all things that appeared as contradictions on the surface as complementary in the depths.

Question: How can we then move to this depth to see life this way?

RP: Imagine you are going for a walk. At first, you perceive a busy life that is beautiful to the sight. You also hear a variety of sounds. Now you withdraw your attention from the things that catch your eye; as well as the sounds. You blur your eyes so you are nor preoccupied by the visual sense. You withdraw to a secret place inside, and the outside becomes a misty dream.

You march on silently with a heart and mind empty and still. You then briefly perceive several thoughts inside, which you let go of, and then slowly fade and disappear. Now you are walking briskly, yet silently; still and free, and empty within.

You walk this way for several minutes. Up ahead you notice a commotion. You see people who appear to be in conflict, yet you sense that they are working things out underneath, despite the outer division. As you walk on you turn around and see them shaking hands. You sense that they now have much to think about and improve on.

You are silent in thought, yet mindful and aware. When you examine your inner conditions, you perceive no division anywhere within. All is clear and smooth.

Inside there is a solidity of stillness. There are no emotions. No desire. There is only flow, and calm.

Still concentrated within, you feel the first stirring of spirit. Then you gaze outside, and you sense that the world itself is a vessel of it as well. As is each person. You are no more important than they are. That they are an extension of you, and you of them.

As you walk on, you feel non-separation between you and life; a single continuous existence that flows from within outward, and from outward to within. All separation and division between you and life has disappeared. It is peaceful non-dual existence that extends forever, and returns to a vast stillness inside.

Now you feel your being extending outward to ends of the universe. You are in silent communion with the All and everything.

You sense that all division, conflicts of life are only surface occurrences; mental views of things. That underneath all is deep harmony and oneness.

You look out onto life and perceive stillness and peace everywhere. All is but a golden light.

Benefits of Living Within and Opening to the Force
If only we learned to live within and harness the spirit above, we would accomplish at ten times the level we are now accomplishing at. Rooted in the depths of our being, and open to the Force "above," descents of intuition begin to pour into your mind, enabling you to overcome the bonds of logic, space, and time. Living such a life brings enormous change. E.g. an investigator on a case would uncover the motive and culprit in the bat of an eye. The athlete would discover a new aspect of his being that would enable to excel far beyond what he has ever experienced. An instructor would have the adoration of his students where previously he only had their respect. A politician would attract the right people and take the right action that would enable the administration to be known for their visionary leadership and great benefit to society. A CEO would increase the company's profit by ten times in two years. A newspaper columnist would turn solid insightful comments into revelations that would electrify the nation. A manager would issue a report to superiors that would become the basis for stunning turn-around for a lifeless company.

In the end what occurs when living within and opened to the Force is that for you future possibilities are realized in the present; infinities of possibilities break out where only the finite seemed to reside; life responds positively from seemingly out of nowhere; knowledge that would have taken weeks or months to acquire simply appears in the mind. In other words, our perceptions of cause and effect, the inner and the outer, time and space, of the finite and the infinite, are rendered obsolete.

Benefits of Living Within
-When you move within to the depths the perceptions of division, duality, contradiction begin to be replaced by interrelatedness, unity, and oneness.

-At its greatest depths one perceive the spirit emerging in every aspect of life, which is the birth of Brahman consciousness in the individual.

-The deeper one lives, the greater the possibility of understanding and Understanding the unfolding around one's self.

-To the degree one lives within, one's own limited sensibilities are overcome.

-When you move within to spirit you move from reliance of one's own capacities and skill to a Higher Consciousness and Capacity.

-Living within is concentration. Opening to the Force "without" is consecration. Concentration enables better (i.e. deeper, more frequent) concentration. Results and benefits of greater consecration can energize one to live even more within and its ever-accelerating benefits, including the potential to burst through to one's personal evolving soul.

-When you are centered within your interests tend to move towards others and away from self. Accomplishment at any or all levels (money, success, happiness, productivity, profits, new opportunities, etc.) will certainly follow. It may even take the form of life response in another related area of life, challenging our normal perceptions of cause and effect, space and time.

-When we center ourselves within in our daily activities we reduce the tendency to drink, take drugs, smoke, overeat, to be tense, to seek intensity, etc. What could be more immediately practical?

Effect of Withdrawing from Sense Perceptions of Outer Objects
It might seem harsh to withdraw the mind from the splendorous scenes before it, such as the ever blue skies, the mighty mountains in the distance, the beholding of some delicate beauty, and the attraction of all other alluring things, including the incessant attention to the objects of life that are displayed before us in a never ending procession. Yet it is precisely this withdrawal that enables the truer INNER pleasures to well up within us, and take hold of our lives, rendering these other pleasures small, even frivolous; and yet ironically enabling us to perceive these objects in their right relations, it their truer sense and purpose in existence, in their wonder as forms of Spirit.

Stepping Back within for More Conscious Living
Most of you live on the surface of your being, exposed to the touch of external influences. You live almost projected, as it were, outside your own body, and when you meet some unpleasant being similarly projected you get upset. The whole trouble arises out of your not being accustomed to stepping back. You must always step back into yourself - learn to go deep within -step back and you will be safe. Do not lend yourself to the superficial forces which move in the outside world. Even if you are in a hurry to do something, step back for a while and you will discover to your surprise how much sooner and with what greater success your work can be done. If someone is angry with you, do not be caught in his vibrations but simply step back and his anger, finding no support or response, will vanish. Always keep your peace, resist all temptation to lose it. Never decide anything without stepping back, never speak a word without stepping back, never throw yourself into action without stepping back. All that belongs to the ordinary world is impermanent and fugitive, so there is nothing in it worth getting upset about. What is lasting, eternal, immortal and infinite -that indeed is worth having, worth conquering, worth possessing. It is Divine light, Divine love, Divine life- it is also Supreme Peace, Perfect Joy and All-Mastery upon earth with the Complete Manifestation as the crowning. When you get the sense of the relativity of things, then whatever happens you can step back and look; you can remain quiet and call on the Divine Force and wait for an answer. Then you will know exactly what to do. Remember, therefore, that you cannot receive the answer before you are very peaceful. Practise that inner peace, make at least a small beginning and go on in your practice until it becomes a habit with you. (The Mother)

The Universe Contained Within that We Can Move

-When we go within we come to see that the outer life is really contained within our inner life and existence. That from this inner poise we gain control of the outer life from within ourselves. That the inner can control the outer, whereas when we are only living on the surface, in the outer, we have no real control of the outer.

-The inner containing the outer is an experience and realization that we find to be literally true as we move further along on the spiritual path. We learn that we are not only individual beings, but we are also universal beings. We can not only can discover our own evolving soul, our individual True Self, but we can come in contact with our Universal Self.

If the discovery of our True Individual Self gives us mastery over life -- enables us to become masters over our own individual lives -- then discovering the True Universal Self enables us to become masters of the universe.

We can not only have higher perceptions of our immediate environment by knowing our own true self, and then use the Force to optimize and bring in the infinite possibilities into our lives, but we can have higher perceptions of all things around us, extending to the collective, to society, to the universe, and then use the Force to bring about positive outcomes for others, for the collective, for society, the world, and the universe.

Moving the Outer from Within
As we move along the path of personal growth, we begin to see that the deeper we go into our inner consciousness -- even to the depths where we discover our personal soul being -- the more we begin to perceive the power that enables us to move the outer world from within ourselves.

Affecting Life from Within (Life Response)
Affecting life from within is life response. It is based on the principle that the inner can move to the outer.

Changing the World from Within
An individual can change the course of history from within. You can also accomplish the same thing by overcoming a corresponding limited quality in one's self.

Stopping Time from Within
When we move within, we live less in the normal frame of time. Instead we begin to stop time, and as a result have at our disposal a greater awareness in those micromoments in between.

Going Within and Perceiving the Oneness of Life
When we go within, we see the oneness of life. We see all things in their essential unity. As a result, we overcome our divided nature of pleasure and pain; seeing the unity of the inner and outer, and of spirit and matter. We are able to look at all contradictions in life and see the complementariness and unity behind.

Developing our Power of Creation from the Depths
The process of creation for the individual is the same process by which the Divine manifest the known universe. The more we perceive this, the greater the power we can harness its power, and thereby enabling life to suddenly and abundantly respond. When we move to the depths, culminating in the evolving soul, we develop the greatest capacity to perceive the similarities between the process of Divine Creation and the process of individual creation. We can then develop the ultimate knowledge and wherewithal to become Masters of Life.

Concentration Enabling Consecration and Surrender
Though one can consecrate an event before one has learned to concentrate, a decided attempt at an ongoing all-inclusive concentration will enable the greatest capacities of consecration to blossom, and open up the further possibility of one's Surrender to Spirit in life.

Concentration & Running Thoughts
Concentration means dwelling on itself. What disturbs concentration is lack of mental discipline which is unable to control running thoughts. (MSS)

Recognition of Subliminal
When you move within you are more likely to recognize the positive thoughts and forms of subtle guidance rising from the subliminal.

Living in Depths Enables Experiences of Spiritual Mind
The deeper we live within the more we enable such descents from the various levels of spiritual mind. Also, as we use conceptual mind to analyze gathered thoughts, we gain a greater understanding. If there is a multi-sided perception of those facts, then insight comes about. If we are centered within, then those insights will attract even greater insights as the illuminations, intuitions, and revelations of spiritual mind.

ARTICLE: The Power of Living in the Depths
A series of short essays on how living an inner life, in the depths of one's being, enables one to achieve infinite knowledge, skill, accomplishment, success, and joy in life.

All-Inclusive Concentration

All-Inclusive Concentration
There are various methods to begin the practice of yoga -- i.e. conscious evolution. We can consecrate acts, surrender to the Divine, etc. We can also move our concentration inward.

If we focus all of our being inward to a single point, it is all inclusive. How is this done? E.g. in our minds we can to concentrate exclusively on a single aspiration we have in life so that it might be accomplished. It then gathers a power and tends to manifest. (If we also consecrate it to the Mother, it has added causal power). We can also focus on a point behind the heart, and other locales.

There is a more ultimate purpose of all inclusive concentration. It is a method that will enable our full surrender and self-consecration to the Divine. As Sri Aurobindo puts it in The Synthesis of Yoga:

"The effective fullness of our concentration on the one thing needful to the exclusion of all else will be the measure of our self- consecration to the One who is alone desirable."

All-Inclusive Concentration
All-inclusive concentration is to focus on a single point. It can be used to achieve a purpose, such focusing our aspiration so that it may be quickly achieved through that gathering of energy within. It can also be used to focus ourselves on the Divine exclusively.

All-inclusive concentration is somewhat different than concentration, i.e. the going within away from the surface of things.

Consecration vs. Concentration vs. Surrender
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Methods of Connecting to the Spirit
There are three central spiritual methods of connecting to the Spirit are Consecration, Moving to the Depths, and Surrender. Consecration is to open to the Force before engaging in an activity. Moving to the Depths (or Concentration) is a movement away from the surface existence to a deeper life within. In the deepest depths one discovers the Personal Evolving Soul. Surrender is to offer all one's work, one's life, one's very being to the Divine Intent and Power. (It occurs generally after one has connected with the Personal Evolving Soul.)

From Consecration to Concentration to Surrender
-The recommended process of spiritual growth is to begin by consecrating aspects of one's daily life to the spiritual Force. After a while, it will enable one to forge a deeper consciousness within (concentration). At some point one may come in contact with the deepest depths, the evolving soul from which one can begin to surrender all parts of one's being to the Divine. Thus, the process is Consecration > Concentration > Surrender.

-Most individuals can practice consecration. I.e. offering all activities and events to the spiritual Force to enable instantaneous miraculousness (i.e. sudden good fortune; aka "Life Response). Beyond that is to embark on a life of conscious evolution ("Yoga" in Indian parlance), which is generally for a chosen few though anyone can partake in it.

Consecration, Concentration, Surrender
Consecration is to offer aspects of one's daily life to the Force to enable perfect outcomes and instances of sudden good fortune. Concentration is to move within, away from the surface of life. Surrender is to offer one's life entirely to the Divine for Its Purpose and Intent.

Consecration, Concentration, Surrender
Through consecration we change life through the power the Force that we open to. From a deeper poise of concentration, we can more readily function in the world, perceiving the flow of life more acutely. From there we can more readily and powerfully consecrate. The spiritual aspirant will begin living their lives from this poise. Surrender is to offer our very being to the Divine. It is to give our lives for its Purpose. It is one of the great points of conscious evolution towards the Spirit (i.e. Yoga).

Consecration that is Enhance through Concentration
We can enhance our ability to consecrate, i.e. self-offer activities to the spiritual Force by moving our orientation inward. That inner orientation in the depths of our being is concentration. Concentration makes consecration more frequent and perfect.

Consecration, Concentration, Surrender
The average man, the householder, the worker can certainly take to consecration, which will bring the conditions of life under control, evoke good fortune. The individual seeking to join the path of conscious evolution -- aka 'yoga" in the east -- can shift his orientation inward so that he is more in touch with the flow of life, and senses what to do from within. That orientation of his existence from within also gives him the concentration to consecrate more often; to offer all events, circumstances, issues, concerns, and problems to the spiritual Force for their instantaneous improvement. Surrender is to devote one's entire existence to the Infinite consciousness; to reorient one's self around the Divine Intent and Will. In that ultimate state of spiritual aspiration, an inner orientation (concentration) and the consecration of all acts and circumstances will be his standard method of operations.

Consecration Moves One to Depths
Consecration Moves One from the Surface to the Depth (MSS)

Consecration or Concentration as the Starting Point
We can start from consecration, which will move us to the depths (concentration) -- this is particularly the method if we are novice to the spirit -- or we can be well on our way in consecration, and therefore consciously move to the depths so that our consecration is more forceful and frequent.

Stages of the Yoga
Before we get to surrender, constant consecration needs to take place for those who are dedicated to the spiritual life. Eventually a path is forged inward to the inner being. If we are true pioneers of consciousness, then we discover the psychic being deeper still, i.e. the evolving soul in the deepest depths. When we have made that awesome connection, we more naturally take to surrendering our entire being, our very lives to the Divine. Mother did it. Few others have. It takes a stupendous inner sincerity and aspiration to live this self-surrendered Divine existence.

I see at least seven stages in the yoga (conscious evolution): constant consecration, forging deeper within, inner silence, descents of intuition of knowledge and light, reaching the evolving soul that is now the Inner Guide, the descent of supramental force into all planes of the being, complete surrender to the Divine, and becoming a Gnostic being (a supramental being of the next species).

Consecration Enables Deeper Concentration
Interestingly, though concentration can be the focus and foundation and of our consecration efforts, the more we consecrate, the more we penetrate to the depths. That in turn creates an opening to the psychic being (the personal evolving soul) in the deepest depths, allowing for Self-Surrender.

Consecration vs. Surrender
Opening to the spiritual Force is consecration. Surrendering to the Force is consecrating our very lives to the Divine. The former enable personal progress, super-normal experience, and the cooperation of life (instantaneous miraculousness; life response). The latter also brings spiritual evolution and transformation to the individual, as well as an opening for a Divine life on earth.

Relationship between Methods of Concentration, Consecration, Psychic, Surrender
The greater the concentration, including an all-inclusive concentration, the more likely we will consecrate. the more we consecrate, the more we forge an opening into the depths enabling more and greater concentration. Both enable movement towards the psychic being, the personal evolving soul. When we touch it, we more readily surrender our being, our lives to the Divine Purpose and Intent.

From Concentration to Consecration to Surrender
[For the spiritual aspirant Sri Aurobindo has identified these three stages of conscious evolution.]

Concentration -- "Concentration is indeed the first condition ... A separate strong fixing of the thought, of the emotions or of the will on a single idea, object, state, inner movement or principle is no doubt a frequent need here also; but this is only a subsidiary helpful process."

Consecration -- "A wide massive opening, a harmonised concentration of the whole being in all its parts and through all its powers upon the One who is the All is the larger action of this Yoga without which it cannot achieve its purpose.

It is, then, in the highest mind of thought and light and will or it is in the inner heart of deepest feeling and emotion that we must first centre our consciousness, --in either of them or, if we are capable, in both together, --and use that as our leverage to lift the nature wholly towards the Divine.... the absolute consecration of the individual to the Divine.

... This concentration of the whole being on the Divine that it seeks and, as its corollary, this constant rejection, throwing out, catharsis, of all that is not the true Truth of the Divine. An entire consecration of all that we are, think, feel and do will be the result of this persistence. This consecration in its turn must culminate [later on] in an integral self-giving to the Highest; for its crown and sign of completion is the whole nature's all-comprehending absolute surrender."

Surrender -- "[In the next stage] there will supervene an increasing purified and vigilant passivity, a more and more luminous divine response to the Divine Force, but not to any other; and there will be as a result the growing inrush of a great and conscious miraculous working from above. In the last period there is no effort at all, no set method, no fixed sadhana; the place of endeavour and tapasya will be taken by a natural, simple, powerful and happy disclosing of the flower of the Divine out of the bud of a purified and perfected terrestrial nature. These are the natural successions of the action of the Yoga."

"These movements [concentration, consecration, surrender] are indeed not always or absolutely arranged in a strict succession to each other. The second stage begins in part before the first is completed; the first continues in part until the second is perfected; the last divine working can manifest from time to time as a promise before it is finally settled and normal to the nature."

"This predominance of a greater diviner leading, not personal to ourselves, indicates the nature's increasing ripeness for a total spiritual transformation. It is the unmistakable sign that the self-consecration has not only been accepted in principle but is fulfilled in act and power. The Supreme has laid his luminous hand upon a chosen human vessel of his miraculous Light and Power and Ananda."

(Sri Aurobindo, from The Synthesis of Yoga, chapter "Self Consecration")

The Process of Realizing the Guru's Realization and Beyond
A guru is the pioneer who provides a greater comprehension. We now can have experiences that verify that knowledge, giving us that same knowledge, possibly even greater than the guru in that specific domain. Parallel to this acquisition of the knowledge of life, we are opening to the higher Power ever increasingly. It occurs through consecration, but a consecration that is ever-increasingly one pointed (i.e. all inclusive). As a result, our concentration deepens and the personality moves away from the surface and down centered in the depths, culminating in the Psychic Being, which is the springboard of Surrender. That in turn is the basis for further spiritual transformation. Or in R's scheme, a higher seeking and embracing of and being enraptured and enfolded in Mother.

Here is an example that may illustrate. Karmayogi developed principles about Life Response ~2001 that were pioneering. I took up his challenge and began to write a book on the subject (2003). To do that I asked others to send me their 100-200 experiences of LR which were helpful. However, until I experienced these different aspects personally, it didn't have the power of true understanding. I was however able to have many of these experiences, documented the various human behaviors that precipitated it (~50), gaining a great knowledge in that particular, narrow domain. In some ways, I surpassed the guru's knowledge (i.e. of the specific behaviors, not the deepest insights).

Along the way, I increasingly consecrated (opened to Mother), and documented the variety of ways to do so that elicited (causal) response of their own. My consecration efforts are still limited in that it is not yet close to being all consuming and all-inclusive. When it does, the pathway to the Inner Being will be forged, including the possibility of reaching the Psychic. Then True Surrender begins, which parallel's R's scheme of connecting to Mother at levels 4-7).

It would entail a sincere, dedicated commitment to a life of Yoga that has further stages of spiritual (mostly light and higher knowledge, intuitive, supramental experience), and supramental transformation of all planes of the being.

Of course, our choice, Human choice, -- which in this case can be thought of as Spiritual Aspiration -- would determine the level one wishes to rise to in this process.

Also See "All-Inclusive Concentration"

DISCOVERING THE PERSONAL EVOLVING SOUL

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The Nature of the Evolving Soul (i.e. the Psychic Being)

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Benefits of Connection to Evolving Soul

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SURRENDER TO THE DIVINE
(top)

General Thoughts | Consecration, Concentration, Psychic Being, & Surrender

Surrender, Acts, and Planes of Being | Surrender and Infinite Accomplishment | Other

[Note: there are three central spiritual methods of connecting to the Spirit are Consecration, Moving to the Depths, and Surrender. Consecration is to open to the Force before engaging in an activity. Moving to the Depths (or Concentration) is a movement away from the surface existence to a deeper existence within. In the deepest depths one discovers the Personal Evolving Soul. Surrender is to offer all one's work, one's life to the Divine and Intent. (It occurs generally after one has connected with the Personal Evolving Soul.) There recommended approach for the average person is to begin consecrating every act to enable magnificent results, and over time move the consciousness into the depths, which will enable better consecration. When you reach the Evolving Soul in the depths, then you can begin a life of Surrender to the Divine.]

General Thoughts

Aspiration - Rejection - Surrender
When the soul moves, it is aspiration. When the inner being, the inner consciousness is active, the movement is called aspiration. When that aspiration is released, yoga begins. Once the aspiration is released and is coupled with rejection of the human parts and the movement of surrender -- which means the mental will withdrawing itself from the field and allowing the Spirit to move -- the Divine consummation is given to the individual. These are the three steps: Aspiration - Rejection - Surrender. (MSS)

Surrender
By which the being, consciousness, delight and power of the human being is given up unto that of the Divine Being is surrender. (Paraphrase of MSS)

Surrender
Once you have turned to the Divine, saying, 'I want to be yours,' and the Divine has said, 'Yes,' the whole world cannot keep you from it. When the central being has made its surrender., the chief difficulty has disappeared. The outer being is like a crust. In ordinary people the crust is so hard and thick that they are not conscious of the Divine within them. If once, even for a moment only, the inner being has said, 'I am here and I am yours,' then it is as though a bridge has been built and little by little the crust becomes thinner and thinner until the two parts are wholly joined and the inner and the outer become one. (The Mother)

Surrender to the Divine and Peace
Give yourself, all what you are and what you do, to the Divine, and you will have peace. (The Mother)

Soul, God's Giving
To the soul that wholly gives itself to him, God also gives himself altogether. (Sri Aurobindo)

Surrender in Works
Instead of us doing the work and relying on our own talents, if we allow the Divine to bring out our talents in that work, the end result is seen in the beginning itself. This is surrender. [MSS, slightly modified.]

Aspiring to Achieve the Divine Aim and Instantaneous Miraculousness
Instead of trying to achieve his own goals, can he try to achieve the divine aim?
If he agrees will his resourcefulness be exercised for that?
In that case, he will witness the infinite emerging from the finite.
Instead of relying on his own capacities will he rely on the Divine capacity?
It will reveal to him the instantaneous miraculousness. (MSS)

Surrender in Sri Aurobindo's Yoga
-The surrender Sri Aurobindo describes moves the man from egoistic centralisation of rationality to universalised individuality. This change takes place on the surface, the mind, the ego, Time and in the finite structure of events and objects.

-Human energy cannot sustain yoga. Only the universal energy can. For that to enter our system, all human energy must be fully exhausted. No drop of energy should go to preserve the existing activities. Thus, HE arrives at the method of SURRENDER. (MSS)

Yoga And Surrender
Yoga means union of the human with the Divine behind the human, or the Divine within the human. To achieve this union, surrender is the means. (MSS)

Become God by Surrendering to God
Not even in his wildest imagination has Man dreamt of being God. All that man wants is to get a boon from God.

Still, the Mother says it is a worthy goal for Man on earth.

What does the Mother mean when She says that Man can become God? She does mean it. She has told the world how to accomplish it. To surrender one's being, consciousness, power and delight to this Force qualifies one to aspire for becoming God, according to the Divine Mother. (MSS, slight modification)

The Nature of Surrender
-By consciously surrendering our mind to the twelve aspects of sprit is the attitude, movement, method which Sri Aurobindo calls "surrender."

-The method of finite going back into the infinity that appears finite, in the dimensions of the simultaneous time, is Surrender.

-Moving from Time in Becoming to Simultaneous Time in the Being of the Becoming is Surrender.

-If we decide to seek it, the Divine Mother offers to act on our behalf. Hence HE wants us surrender to HER.

-The instantaneous miraculous is a point where She accepts our Surrender.

Surrender Beyond Consecration
At a later stage [beyond consecration], you will feel not only this sense of wonder, but begin to develop a certain desire to surrender to this Power. You will begin to see that you are making the effort at consecration not so much for your own personal achievement and success, but to fulfill the Divine purpose and intent. You will begin to feel that you are becoming an instrument through which the Divine Intention and Will can flow. At that point, you may begin to surrender you very life's purpose and existence to the Divine. Then your own individual soul purpose and the Divine purpose will begin to merge. Such spiritual experience and realization in the activities of life is perhaps the greatest joy known to Man.

On Surrendering to the Next Highest Level and Spiritual Surrender
Surrender is a natural psychological process in the evolution of man at all levels. When man progresses, he is seeking for something. Normally he seeks for what he doesn't have, for the next step from where he is. Very often he either has to overcome the stage where he is in order to move to the next one, or he has to shed what he is in order to achieve the next stage. An ignorant man who wants knowledge must first part with his ignorance so that knowledge can come to him. Technically we may say that ignorance is surrendered so that knowledge may come in. Unless the present level gives up its practices, it cannot go to the next higher level. The present level has a certain efficiency, but if we want to move up one level, it is necessarily an improvement over what we are. In the context of learning, the present fabric of learning has to be undone and redone at the next higher level.

In all the areas of evolution at the psychological level, surrender is an implied process. It can be seen in education, in the acquisition of culture, and in organising oneself. Any mental skill or psychological endowment can be attained only by giving up what one has in preference to what is much better.

In the context of yoga, we can also apply the concept of surrender. Yoga means union of the human with the Divine behind the human, or the Divine within the human. To achieve this union, surrender is the means. All that humanity has developed so far for its own functioning at the level of being human must be surrendered, and the original spiritual nature laid bare so that the soul can emerge. (MSS)

On Surrendering to the Supramental Force
The descent of the Truth Consciousness, the Supramental Force is what is New in the world. It is a newly discovered form of the Supreme acting in life. Sri Aurobindo revealed this power to the world.

All of the teachers and gurus of today are not really aware of it. And yet the descending Force is the single key to next stage of human evolution. It is the power and bridge to the future.

That supramental Power is also acting on its own doings its work independent of Man. It is both the Force that created the universe and the Power that we can open to create infinite possibilities in our own life. In other words, the Supreme has the supramental Force for creating a universe of forms. We have it to create anything we wish.

Through consecration -- i.e. self-offering of personal acts, situations, etc. to the Force -- we gain the cooperation of life for our personal needs. When we Surrender to that power, however, we gain the cooperation of life for the needs of the Supreme. Surrender is for advanced spiritual aspirants whose very purpose in living is to serve the evolutionary intent of the Divine. It is a self-offering of one's very existence to the Supreme through an opening to the supramental force and Power for the evolution and transformation of one's self and humanity.

Surrender as Method to Transform Itself into the Divine Will
The human will that has created the material form should be transformed into divine will so that the material force behind will change into supramental force. Is there a method or a process for the human will to transform itself into the divine will? [It is surrender.] (MSS)

Identifying with the Divine through Surrender
If man surrenders totally to the Divine, he identifies himself with the Divine. (The Mother)

Self-Giving to Divine and Surrender
Self-giving to the Divine is the perfect condition for Surrender. Not even asking for anything; but supporting whatever the Divine Intends.

True Love for the Divine
The true love for the Divine is self-giving, free of demand, full of submission and surrender. It makes no claim, imposes no condition, strikes no bargain, indulges in no violences of jealousy or pride or anger -- for these things are not in its composition. (The Mother)

On Surrender
-Behind this act of surrender is the conviction not of sacrifice but of expansion into the nature of the Divine. It is surrender for gain, not for loss. One becomes That to which he surrenders.
-Will is Force, Force issues out of consciousness. Surrender of the will results in the will disappearing into consciousness which is the origin of the Divine. Thus, surrender enables man to become Divine. (Paraphrase of MSS)

Self-Surrender that Makes the Path Short & Easy
The path is long, but self-surrender makes it short; the way is difficult, but perfect trust makes it easy. (The Mother)

Emotional Protection through Surrender
Surrender to the Divine is the best emotional protection. (The Mother)

True Saintliness and Wisdom
True saintliness is to want and realise what the Divine wants for you, and true wisdom is to unite with Him so that you can clearly know what He wants of you and for you. (The Mother)

Surrender Does Not Need to Wait
It is never too early to make the complete surrender. Some things may need to wait, but not that. (Sri Aurobindo)

The Lesson for the Ripe Soul in the Bhagavad-Gita
In The Gita Krishna offers to the ripe soul [i.e. one who has developed considerably] a psychological method [of yoga, personal evolution]. It is a method of Jivatma [the individual soul] surrendering to Paramatma [the Divine]. It is accomplished by renouncing desire, ego and belief in Dharmas [philosophies]. (MSS, with embedded explanations)

Also See Thought on Aspiration for the Divine

Also See Thoughts on Spiritual/Divine Live

Consecration, Concentration, Psychic Being, & Surrender

Surrender
The next stage [beyond concentration within, consecration to the Force, and discovering the evolving soul deeper within] is to surrender our very being and essence to the Divine Will and Purpose. This will radically change the orientation of our lives; a change from a me-centric existence to a Divine-centric existence. Our very purpose in life, all of our actions in life would be surrendered to the spiritual reality and its purpose.

Surrender Beyond Consecration
What consecration begins, surrender completes and consummates. (MSS)

Discovering the Psychic Being and Surrender
Once one has discovered the personal evolving soul [the Psychic Being], the method of Surrender to the divine will emerges as a possibility.

Consecration, the Psychic Being, and Surrender
The more we consecrate acts to the Force, the more we can penetrate into the depths enabling us to connect with the psychic being. When we connect there, we are ready to surrender to the Divine.

The Journey Within

We are at the point of running thoughts in the mind, or we are those thoughts.
To stop the running thoughts is to detach oneself from the tendency to move along the identification with mind, life and matter. The running thoughts are gross, having had their origin in the body.
Human CHOICE is exercised at every moment. When the choice is clear, the will moves away from running and the mind becomes SILENT.
No progress will be there the moment we discard our cherished method of consecration that is surrender.
Consecration of the thought is followed by that of vital movements and physical urges.
Moving along those lines, we reach our first landmark of the Mental Psychic.
As the inward movement to the inner mind and subliminal mind continues, the spiritual mind ranges open, and the psychic [i.e. the personal evolving soul], which is on its downward journey to the body, rises in its upward journey to Supermind. (MSS, extracts)

Surrender, Acts, and Planes of Being

Giving of One's Self to the Divine at Various Levels
The Mother [Mira Richard] was in Japan during the First World War. She recorded her Prayers and Meditations everyday, which was later published. As a preface to that publication, She wrote that there are those who give their souls to God, and others who give their work. Some give their wealth. A few others give their lives to the Divine. There are the rare few who give their souls, wealth, work and lives to the Divine... (MSS, slightly altered)

On Surrender
Surrender seems less to do with acts, events, problems, but a general or overall movement of giving ones self to the Divine's Will, not personal will. The personal self begins to be left behind; though it enables the real Self.

No surrender is possible without the psychic emerging. Surrender is done through the psychic. (We consecrate so that we reach the psychic.)

Mental, Vital, and Physical Surrender
Sri Aurobindo advocates surrender. One surrenders one's speech which is vital. Surrendering one's thought is mental. Surrendering one's acts is physical, as it is the body that works. Surrender means one gives up his own initiative and waits upon the Divine to initiate. That act of surrender starts with the thought in the Mind, feelings in the vital and ends with the sensation of the body. Surrender of one's acts brings the Force through it to his body. Surrender brings the Force to the body and the body thrills at its touch. (MSS, extracted)

The Act as Occasion to Surrender in Sri Aurobindo's Yoga
Sri Aurobindo chose a method that is not of any one part. He chose the ACT as the occasion and the method as surrender. He called it self-surrender and self-consecration. That way it is voluntary self-giving of one's self to the Divine. He says perfect self-giving is perfect self-surrender. (MSS)

Surrendering All Habits
What does the human will actually surrender? In order to be a good and conscientious citizen, we must give up bad habits in favour of good habits. But for one who wants to unite with his soul, all habits have to be given up. (MSS)

Surrender & Initiative
Surrender means one gives up his own initiative and waits upon the Divine to initiate.

Surrender and Infinite Accomplishment (Simultaneous Time, Instantaneous Miraculousness)

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Surrender is the method where method becomes matter. (MSS)

Infinite Results through Surrender
If we realize the Absolute we can create anything infinitely. This is a practical concept of infinity. Surrender to the Absolute enables this practical concept of infinity; i.e. from that relation we can create anything. (Paraphrase of MSS)

Response from Surrender
Surrender of one's self to the Divine enables the spirit Being to enter the life Becoming, which enables the infinite potentials of life to rush into the present as miraculous sudden, abundant, responses from life.

What Practice of Surrender Can Bring
Practise of Surrender can bring prosperity at the social level, and luck at the psychological level. At the spiritual level, the same energy helps the spirit to evolve. (MSS)

How Surrender Accomplishes a Work Instantaneously through Pure Mind and Soul Key Item
-Creation is along the line Absolute - Sat - Supermind - Mind - Life - Matter.
-As we are in the plane of Mind, accomplishment effectuates itself accomplishing through causality.
-Surrender enables us to withdraw from thought and then Mind.
-It is capable of withdrawing further until the I becomes the Soul and the evolving soul, the Psychic Being.
-Moving thus, one moves from Time to Supramental Time -- the simultaneous integrality of Time Eternity and Timeless Eternity. I call it the third dimension of Time.
-When Mind becomes Pure, it accomplishes its work which needs to reach the act of the body, instantaneously. (MSS)

The Nature of Surrender
-By consciously surrendering our mind to the twelve aspects of sprit is the attitude, movement, method which Sri Aurobindo calls "surrender."

-The method of finite going back into the infinity that appears finite, in the dimensions of the simultaneous time, is Surrender.

-Moving from Time in Becoming to Simultaneous Time in the Being of the Becoming is Surrender.

-If we decide to seek it, the Divine Mother offers to act on our behalf. Hence HE wants us surrender to HER.

-The instantaneous miraculous is a point where She accepts our Surrender.

The Present Human Condition vs. What Surrendering to the Divine Mother (the Force) is Offering: (MSS)

The present human condition	What The Force (the Divine Mother) is Offering
1. Man is after pleasure	1. She is offering Delight
2. Man organises his life around a petty ego	2. She is offering to organise his life around a splendid Psychic Being.
3. He is after money and material comforts.	3. She is offering spiritual splendors.
4. He values mental knowledge that is partial and divisive.	4. She is offering spiritual knowledge that is comprehensive and integral.
5. He tries to grow by taking from others	5. She offers to help him grow by giving to others.
6. He values outer action and sees his life as determined from outside	6. She is offering to help him control his life from inside.
7. He is in the grip of money.	7. She is offering to make him master of money.
8. He values sensory knowledge.	8. She is offering him intuitive knowledge.
9. He is a slave of his desires and keeps striving to satisfy one desire after another in a never ending attempt.	9. She is offering him total liberation from the clutch of desires and the permanent possession of delight.
10. His vision is partial and momentary.	10. She is offering him a global vision that covers past & present and future all at the same time.
11. He is subject to space and time limitations.	11. She is ready to equip him with a spiritual power that will help him defy space and time limitations.
12. He goes out towards life in order to get what he wants from it.	12. She can make life come towards him in order to give him what he wants.

Other

Unconditional Surrender
God acts unconditionally in the lives of those who have surrendered unconditionally. (MSS)

Surrender, Contradiction, Complement
Surrender makes what appeared contradictory complimentary. [MSS, slightly modified.]

How to Become God
Not even in his wildest imagination has Man dreamt of being God. All that man wants is to get a boon from God.

Still, the Mother says it is a worthy goal for Man on earth.

What does the Mother mean when She says that Man can become God? She does mean it. She has told the world how to accomplish it. To surrender one's being, consciousness, power and delight to this Force qualifies one to aspire for becoming God, according to the Divine Mother. (MSS, slight modification)

Passing on the Force to Others
Such people who are the beneficiaries of this Force have another opportunity. They can become a source of this Force to all others who come into contact with them.

If they desire it, as they have remained passive when luck carried them along, they must remain PASSIVE in their inner existence all the time, so that the FORCE may constantly enter their life and being and distribute itself to all those who come into contact with them. In yogic parlance, it is called surrender. (MSS)

The Wisdom of the Bhagavad-Gita
The Gita declares we should not be attached to the fruits of our work. It talks about desire. Desire is to be given up. Further, the Gita pleads for the shedding of the ego. Finally, the Gita exhorts us to surrender all our dharmas and come to Him [the divine]. These are all the several stages of perfection according to the Gita. The Lord takes upon Himself the duty of leading soul to liberation when he treads this path. This is a profound spiritual truth which will lead one to realization of the Divine. This is a path meant for the ripe individual soul. Spirituality is not meant for the unripe soul or for those who are not serious. (MSS, modified)

Surrender, the Gita, and Transformation
The Gita's surrender is the most powerful yogic instrument, but it aims at moksha [liberation, apart from life], not transformation. (MSS)

MSS Articles on Surrender
Surrender

Significance of Surrender that Transforms

Surrender Renders Strength

Situations that Defy Surrender or Consecration

OUR ULTIMATE SPIRITUAL POTENTIAL

Conscious Evolution (Yoga)
(top)

Traditional Indian Yoga Methods, Ideas, Writings

Overview

Sri Aurobindo's (Integral, Evolutionary) Yoga

Our Ultimate Transformation
(To be organized)
(top)

New Evolutionary Being and Collective Life on Earth
Eventually this individual can become the ultimate evolutionary personality and being. He become a transformed gnostic individual, filled with the Divine aspects and powers, living life for a Divine Purpose and Unfolding in creation. He acts with a spiritual orientation and purpose, bringing this spirit to bear in all activities in life. He is infinitely creative, dynamic, releasing the infinite potential of life into every moment by bringing he Being, the Spirit into the Becoming of every moment of our existence.

If a number of such divine-like humans emerge, then there is the possibility of the development of a community of such individuals, living within the greater community of society. Such individuals may come together to help form a new social and collective order and existence, culminating in the possibility of the emergence of a divine life on earth.

Pioneers Living in Supramental Consciousness Enabling Divine Life on Earth
The ultimate pioneers of consciousness can go onto supramental heights rooted in this truth consciousness. Such a way of knowing can open the doors to a new way of living, to enable the emergence of a new type of evolutionary individual, and a new divine collective life on earth.

Rapid Evolution of the Soul through Spirit in Life
The personal evolving soul of the individual takes birth in a body in order to gather one new attribute through that host person -- e.g. greater courage, strength, intelligence, generosity, etc.; it can even seek the reverse. It is for this gathering experiential nourishment from its myriad of hosts that the soul travels in its slow journey through successive lives.

However, by connecting to Spirit within ourselves we can overcome this seemingly endless journey. Through Spirit we can enable rapid evolution and change, add more than one new positive trait to one's character, thus providing the evolutionary sustenance that the evolving soul inside our self seeks, abridging multiple births into one fortunate and joyful life.

Another way of saying this is that through our connection to spirit in life we break the slow cycles of the karma of rebirth. Those who have touched spirit within have seen a dramatic change to their inner consciousness, a treat for the evolving soul within. A rarer few have actually discovered spirit through the personal evolving soul itself, further accelerating one's own and one's own soul's evolution.

The Ideal Attitude of the Spiritual Aspirant Toward Time
The ideal attitude of the Spiritual Aspirant towards Time is to have an endless patience, as if he had all of eternity for his fulfillment, and yet to develop the energy that shall realize now and with an ever-increasing mastery and pressure of rapidity till it reaches the miraculous instantaneousness of the supreme divine Transformation. (Sri Aurobindo, slightly modified)

Seeing the Unity of Brahman
We fail to see the truth and oneness of Brahman because we live on the surface of life (not experiencing the depth), and we live in our minds which only sees the part and not the whole. When we move deeper within away from the surface and rise above mind to spiritual mind to supermind, we will know Brahman in its Oneness; experiencing the moments of our lives from this wondrous perspective.

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People are concerned with their mortality. Because of this they do many interesting things along the way. On the other hand, we can go within to begin the journey on the road to our ultimate transformation, where time recedes, eternity breaks out, and the clutch of death slowly begins to loosen.

The Universe Contained Within that We Can Move
-When we go within we come to see that the outer life is really contained within our inner life and existence. That from this inner poise we gain control of the outer life from within ourselves. That the inner can control the outer, whereas when we are only living on the surface, in the outer, we have no real control of the outer.

Developing Higher Consciousness
(To be organized)
(top)

See Thoughts on the Nature of Consciousness

Levels of Change of Consciousness
As individuals with the higher power that is mind proper to self-conceptualize what we wish to be, we can determine to what level we wish to change and evolve. We can minimally change our limiting nature, such as our poor attitudes, limiting skills and knowledge, limiting ability to organize, etc. This is one level of change. Another is to open to the Force to enable even greater life response. We can also connect more deeply within into our inner being to experience life in its fullness and wideness. We can also undertake the triple transformation to become the new evolutionary spiritual being. In all cases, we start from where we are now, and decide that which we want to become. That is the process of individual accomplishment and creation.

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The more conscious you are, the more you realize your imperfections, even down to the very smallest details.

Highest Consciousness Perceives Highest Purpose of a Thing
At the highest levels of consciousness, culminating in Supermind, one sees a thing in its greatest Clarity, its greatest Truth, and for of its Highest Purpose in the universe.

Greater Subtlety, Higher Consciousness in Higher Planes; Higher Consciousness in Depths of Plane
As we rise among the planes (physical, vital, mental and beyond, including their sub and sub sub planes) there is greater subtlety of substance, as well as greater consciousness. Also the consciousness of each plane is greater in the depths than on the surface. E.g. Mind has greater subtlety of substance and greater consciousness than the vital and even more than the physical below it. And the consciousness in the depths of the Mind (i.e. the Inner Mind in the Subliminal) is greater than that of the surface normal Mind.

Higher Plane, Consciousness, Depths Reveals Greater Truth of Situation
Since at higher planes there is higher consciousness we are able at the higher plane see more of the situation in a truer light. E.g. at one plane we may see the tragedy of Shakespearean play, where as a higher level we see the tragedy as a Marvel of Social or even Spiritual Becoming. Similarly, as we move toward a higher plane, we move away from the social and ethical considerations of a situation. E.g. at one plane we may experience something as shame, whereas at a higher level it is brought out in its truer, perhaps we can say, more positive light and purpose. In the depths of that plane this is even more so.

Effects of Being Centered Within
When you are centered in a deeper poise you are less likely to react to the world from your ego-sense, your assertiveness, your contact and conflict with others or the environment. You are more in tune with others, with the events that are unfolding, rather than fighting them or conflicting with them through your ego-based separateness.

Move from Sense-Bound to Rational Mind
We need to move our center of consciousness from what we call the sense-based mind to a higher status of mind, where we are using the more logical, rational part of mind. From that higher rational, conceptual status of mind we are more objective, more likely to see the varied sides of a truth, which enable us to get at most of the facts that lead to insight.

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We need to move mind from sense mind to objective intellectuality. (Paraphrase of MSS)

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The need to think is a transitional phenomenon in human evolution. (Paraphrase of The Mother)

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For transformation what is needed is aspiration, and the end of ego. To those who are sincere in this regard will receive the divine help. (Paraphrase of The Mother)

How We Can Bring Being into Becoming
The Divine Reality is an essence of Being. Our lives in the universe is the form of Becoming. Spiritual life for the individual is to bring the Being into the Becoming, the spirit into every nuance of our daily lives.

Moving From Time to Timelessness
In the inner life one should no longer be burdened by time; e.g. the sorrow and failure of the past should not burden (unless the essence is learned from), nor the impatient anticipation of the future. These are indicators of living in time, which should be abandoned for a life of the timelessness of the ever-present. It becomes truly ever-present when we also simultaneously experience the timelessness of the Divine presence. Living this way releases the infinite into our finite existence.

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We can compress, or merge the future into the present by moving to higher consciousness, such as touching the psychic, surrender, consecration and other methods. If we rise high or deep enough, we reach a point where the compression of the future is no longer separate from the present. The future is in the present; enabling the Ever-Present.

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A key to a higher future life is to see the practical concept of infinity; that the infinite can actually emerge in any finite moment in time; enabling the vast future results to appear in the present, thereby overcoming our notions of what is possible in space and in time.

Mind and Supermind
Mind is the agent of the supramental consciousness, Supermind. Mind is the dividing mechanism that enables us to distinguish; and yet is also intimately linked with our separateness, our ignorance, and ego. Therefore, Supermind can replace mind one day, enabling us to see the oneness of existence, where divisions are perceived as unities or emerging unities that we now we miss in mind.

Indicators of Advancing Consciousness
As you advance in consciousness a softness envelopes your behavior; e.g. you no longer insist on things; on ideas, actions, etc. You also begin to be guided from without by the spirit, rather than one's own initiative. It is a different way of living within the same day to day reality.

On Passivity
Passivity is NOT dullness. It is a state higher than dynamic activity which includes the energy of that dynamism. (MSS)

On Levels of Service
There are many levels of service. There is the servicing of one's ego, the service of the ordinary life, the servicing of one's attempt to grow and evolve, and the service of the Divine spirit to bring about an evolution in the life of humanity. 95-99% of people are in the first two categories.

Ego, Self, and the Universe
Man lives in ego and sees the whole universe in terms of himself. His scope for achievement is to add more duality and division to the world. However, the man who lives within and finds his true Self, contains the whole universe within him. He can utilize all of its knowledge, powers, and force for the greater good, and can in turn move the world from within himself since now all of the outer is contained in the inner.

Force Absorbed at Different Planes
The Force is pressing down on life. That fact is easiest to perceive and experience and embody when we rise to spiritual mind and beyond, and increasingly less so when our consciousness is centered in our vital and physical beings. However, when these later, less subtle planes absorb and integrate that Power, it will be an indication of the cumulative culmination of our evolutionary transformation.

Overcoming Limitations of Physical Consciousness on our Ascent
We open to the Force, we go within, we remain calm and patient, we wish to change our nature, etc. After a while our physical consciousness takes over and says "forget about these things," and so we resume our previous ways. The reactions of the physical consciousness come periodically to stop our growth. Be patient and calm and it will pass.

The physical consciousness may even make us sick or tired or prone to accident after we have made a progress. We should open to the Divine asking it to come into our physical consciousness and transform it. Also we can ask for protection from it and its accomplice, the subconscious.

Spiritual Evolution and Romance
Spiritual evolution is the spirit's quest for adventure and self-discovery. Normally man seeks that adventure at most once in a lifetime, then settles down into a survival-based existence. If he pursues this spirit adventure through romance, of culminates in marriage, here the adventure stops (Romance ends with marriage.) If one seeks further spiritual progress is should normally come through one's career. If it is through another mate, the relationship bust be at a higher level, otherwise one will repeat and grow no further. (Paraphrase of MSS)

On Inner Self-Conception
When man's self-conception becomes [inner, spiritual-based] Self-conception, the man who is dominated changes into one who now determines the outer as well as inner forces. It is a decisive moment in one's life. Once he reaches there, he becomes the master of his own destiny. (MSS)

Results of Spiritual Power
Results of Spiritual Power when released into action by the truth of inner sincerity are INSTANTANEOUS. (MSS)

On Becoming Universal & Transcendent Beings
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Individual, Universal, and Transcendent Self
A realized individual being who discovers his individual soul nature can go on and discover his universal soul nature, fulfilling the second purpose of our existence. The third is to discover the transcendent spiritual soul nature and Self, connecting us in a completed circle to the divine source.

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We have a triple purpose; to find our individual Self, our universal Self, and our Transcendent Self. We also come to see that these three are really one. Our purpose in life is to discover these aspects and purposes in our lives. By discovering our universal Self we serve the universal purpose (in the collective, society, and the universe). By discovering our transcendent self we serve the transcendent purpose, i.e. The Absolute, Gods', Brahman's purpose.

"There are three realms; the Transcendent, the Universal, and the Individual. From any one the other two can be experienced. Thus the transcendent Divine expresses through the creation it has manifest in the universe and in the individual. Likewise, the individual can experience his individual Self, his universal Self, and the transcendent Self beyond the universal."

Individual Achieves for Divine Goals, Universal Goals
The individual achieves in the world not just for his own goals, but for the goals of the Divine purpose and the goals and purpose of the universe.

Transformational Life Requires Overcoming Personal and Corresponding Universal Resistances
Accepting life, he has to bear not only his own burden, but a great part of the world's burden too along with it, as a continuation of his own sufficiently heavy load. Therefore his Yoga has much more of the nature of a battle than others; but this is not only an individual battle, it is a collective war waged over a considerable country. He has not only to conquer in himself the forces of egoistic falsehood and disorder, but to conquer them as representatives of the same adverse and inexhaustible forces in the world. Their representative character gives them a much more obstinate capacity of resistance, an almost endless right to recurrence. Often he finds that even after he has won persistently his own personal battle, he has still to win it over and over again in a seemingly interminable war, because his inner existence has already been so much enlarged that not only it contains his own being with its well-defined needs and experiences, but is in solidarity with the being of others, because in himself he contains the universe.
(Sri Aurobindo, from The Synthesis of Yoga, p.75)

The Individual's Power of Universal Action
We can change the course of history by calling out to the Divine for the sake of the collective. It is part of our evolutionary destiny to be not only a true individual Self, but a true Universal Self and being.

Birth of the Universal Being
A universal prayer with the requisite knowledge enables one to begin to become a universal being.

The Universe and the Transcendent Meet in the Individual
The individual through his transformation realizes that he is a spiritual being, an individual Self; that he is a universal being, i.e. he extends across the universe, is influenced by the universe, and can have the powers and energies of the universe; and he is a transcendent being, i.e. he is an emanation of the transcendent Omnipresent Reality, the Divine. He is then the instrument of his individual evolution, the evolution of the universe, and of the transcendent Divine.

Individual's Higher Consciousness Leads Social Evolution
The individual rising to a higher consciousness enables further evolution of the society. Now society pretty much evolves through the slow and painful workings of Nature, a fact we are unconscious of. We don't even understand the concept of "Nature," which is not trees and birds and sky, but Self-conscious Life that is evolving.

Silence as Foundation of World Peace
It is from a status of Silence that we can elicit peace and harmony among the nations of the world.

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"The outer shifting to the inner brings the whole universe inside." (MSS)

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The art of molding public opinion is a subtle art of great dexterity. (MSS) [How?]

Overcoming a Limitation for the World
If you perceive something wrong in the world, you can overcome it by conquering the corresponding element in one's self. In this sense we are universal beings on the road to discovering our universal Selves.

Response to One's Spirit-Based Value Spreads to Others
The Spirit is universal in its action, which means what one man does [rooted in spirit]

benefits all such men in his emotional world. E.g. one individual dedicated to spirit applied that ideal through extreme cleanliness of her surroundings. As a result of this value, events transpired that not only benefited her, but expanded out, multiplied to benefit many others surrounding her. (Paraphrase of MSS)

Spirit-Based Individual Can Invigorate/Deflate the Market; (i.e. the Individual Can Move the Universal)
Those who invoke the Spirit enter the market and the market booms. After some time they lose interest and the market slumps. They in their modesty do not see that their own attitude is the cause and the market the effect. They exclaim, "The market is in a slump. There is nothing I can do."

It is not the single person who enters the market who can egoistically claim the credit of the boom, but it is the Force of the Spirit for which he was an instrument. Unless they see things in the proper perspective, there is no solution for them. In the meantime, they can philosophize. (MSS)

SPIRITUAL QUALITIES, APPROACHES
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(Spiritual) Aspiration
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(Spiritual) Sincerity
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(Spiritual) Faith
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Prayer
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Calling and the Performance of Business

Calling (the Spirit)
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Engage in a Calling to Resolve an Issue
Sometimes you will need to more than consecrate an act to invoke the force, especially if it is a serious issue. In that case you will want to Call to the Spirit, to the Force through an extended sitting.

Calling Higher Power to Overcome Limitations
We can also call in the force into our being to help us overcome our mental, vital, and physical limitations.

Invoking the Spirit
When you want to invoke the Spirit, sit down, close your eyes - it may not be necessary - stop moving the body, don't talk, DON'T THINK. A stillness descends on the mind. The stillness grows into a QUIET, a calm, and finally becomes SILENCE. Silence is an aspect of the Spirit.

Most people cannot keep quiet. They jump up and act. That is the end of it.

Calling the Divine Mother to Alleviate Suffering and Sorrows
Q: I have seen some very good and innocent people having lots of sufferings and sorrows in their lives. And such problems tend to continue throughout their lives. Why is it so? If this is because of fate or bad karma from past lives, is there any spiritual remedy to enable them to free themselves from the clutches of this kind of everlasting and painful problems?

(MSS) A: If you are that sufferer, you can get rid of it fully shortly. GETTING RID OF IT IS EASIER THAN UNDERSTANDING IT. In one sense, it is easy and in another sense, it is not. A detailed explanation of what that suffering is will help me to explain to you what you should do. In the meantime, let me ask you to SEE that to overcome it is possible for a period of one or two days. That will convince you of its permanent possibility.

Still, I shall briefly answer all your doubts.
1. The Mother says one is attached to these sufferings and is clinging to them. That is why they last. This
sounds outrageous now. When you see it disappeared for a short while, my explanation will gain a greater clarity or reality.
2. Find the deepest point of your inner Personality and call MOTHER nonstop. Maintain the calling as a silent background for your work. In 72 hours you will see it has gone. This is temporary.
3. For a permanent relief, an understanding is necessary.

Spirit Entering without Calling
Now that the Spiritual Force has entered the atmosphere of the earth, it has made itself easily accessible. With increasing receptivity of mankind, a time will come when man will not even need to call and the Spirit will enter his life. That time has not yet come. One can make that TIME come if he can gather a good number of people who are fully receptive to the descent of the Spirit. (MSS)

The Personal, the Impersonal, and Calling the Force
Individual relations are personal. Laws are impersonal. When you are applying for a job, if you are qualified according to their rules, you are selected impersonally. If the CEO is personally known to you and interested in you, you get the job personally.

Calling the [Divine] Mother intensely from the heart evokes Her response offering us Her Force personally. He who follows all Her rules, calling Her every time he needs, has the joy of getting Her impersonal force coming to him personally. (MSS, extracted)

Power of Calling the Divine Force from the Spirit Within
If you go deep down into your personality, then you will see it is not the depth. Going down further, you will feel as if you are at the bottom of the ocean. Even this is not the depth. Cross it. There will be splendour of brilliant white light. That is the Spirit. If you call the Divine Force from there, the will become formidable. (MSS, slightly modified)

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Calling Mother after consecration adds Mother's force to the psychic action. (MSS)

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Calling Mother into oneself works for vital personalities. (MSS)

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I began the calling of the Force about two weeks prior to the meeting where the pain went away.

MSS Articles on Calling:
Calling The Force/The Mother into Us KEY

Grace
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(Spiritual) Protection
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Grace and Protection When in Difficulty or Trouble
The grace and protection are always with you. When in any inner or outer difficulty or trouble do not allow it to oppress you; take refuge with the Divine Force that protects. If you do that always with faith and sincerity, you will find something opening in you which will always remain calm and peaceful in spite of all superficial disturbances. (Sri Aurobindo)

Protection through the Force and Taking Practical Precaution
The [Divine Mother's] Force will act and protect in difficult and dangerous situations. Still one must not be foolish and avoid taking practical precautions in such occasions. (Paraphrase of MSS)

Benefit, Results that Come from Flowers
Our devotees know that flowers are powerful in bringing us the desired results. Especially devotees know of two flowers, 1) protection (Bougainvillea) and 2) harmony (Coral Vine).

Quarrelsome families become QUIET when harmony flowers are brought in. It is well known that protection flowers kept with us bring protection in any impossible condition. To get the full benefit of the flowers we offer to the Mother, we must resort to securing the full knowledge of the flowers and the full knowledge of the issue for which we seek protection or harmony.

Rain responds to the flower "water" (Porana). It also responds to Grace (Cotton Rose Hibiscus), as rain is the material expression of God's Grace. (MSS)

Emotional Protection through Surrender
Surrender to the Divine is the best emotional protection. (The Mother)

Silence, Peace, Reduced Speech, Silent Will, Taking the Other Person's Point of View, Calm, Equality, Patience, Non-initiating
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Silence, Peace

Reduced Soft Speech
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Silent Will

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Taking Another's Point of View

Calm, Equality

Patience

Non-initiation

Reconciliation of Problems through Higher Harmony

Harmony, Oneness, Unity

Harmony

Oneness and Unity