Meditation

According to Swami Vishnu Devananda, meditation is "….a continuous flow of perception or thought, just like the flow of water in a river." A practice wherein there is constant observation of the mind, meditation brings awareness, harmony and natural order into life. It helps you dig deep into your inner self to discover the wisdom and tranquility that lie within.

Principles of Meditation

The basic points to be kept in mind in practicing meditation are:

·      Have a special place and specific time for meditation. Try doing it daily.

·      Choose a time when your mind is not clouded with worries.

·      Sit up straight with your back, neck and head in one line. Facing north or east.

·      Condition your mind such so as to remain quiet for the duration of your meditation session.

·      Regulate your breathing. Start with 5 minutes of deep breathing. Then gradually slow it down.

·      Follow a rhythmic breathing pattern - inhale and exhale.

·      Initially let your mind wander. It grows more restless if you force to concentrate.

·      Then slowly bring it to rest on the focal point of your choice.

·      Hold your object of concentration at this focal point throughout your session.

·      Meditation happens when you reach a state of pure thought. Even while retaining an awareness of duel self.

Followed diligently you will soon be able to attain a super-conscious state.

Tips on Concentration

·      At the outset, it is hard to keep your attention to keep focussed on one object.

·      So it is better to start off by limiting your field of concentration to a category of objects.

·      Choose your objects with care e.g. any four flowers, fruits, trees...etc. You must feel at ease with what you choose.

·      After concentrating on one, you can move on to the next, if & when your mind starts wandering.

This style of meditative exercise will help you control your mind down to a finer focus, teaching you the principle of single point concentration.

Meditative Postures

Yoni Mudra

·  Close your ears with thumbs.

·  Cover your eyes with your index finger.

·  Close your nostrils with your middle fingers.

·  Press your lips together with your remaining fingers.

·  Release the middle fingers gently to inhale and exhale while you meditate.

Frontal & Nasal Gazing

·  Gaze at a point between your eyebrows, seat of the 'Third Eye' or at the tip or your nose.

·  This would improve your level of concentration. At the same time, strengthening your eye muscles. Nasal gazing has a positive effect on the central nervous system.

·  Remember not to strain your eyes. Start with one minute of gazing and then slowly build it up to ten minutes.

Candle Gazing

• Place a candle at eye-level in a darkened, draught-free room.
• Close your eyes and hold an after-image of the bright flame.
• The practice steadies the wandering mind, leading you to focus with pin-point accuracy.

(See also: Meditation , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Thought Field Therapy (TFT, Callahan Techniques, Callahan Techniques Thought Field Therapy (CTTFT), tapping therapy, tap therapy): One of the power therapies. According to clinical psychologist Roger J. Callahan, Ph.D., quoted in the November 1996 issue of Visions Magazine, TFT is the study of the structure of thought fields and the body's energy system as they pertain to the diagnosis and treatment of psychological problems. Callahan originated TFT in the 1980s. It involves sequentially tapping specific acupuncture meridian energy points with fingertips.

(See also: Thought Field Therapy , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

orgone therapy (medical orgone therapy, medical orgonomy, orgonomic medicine, orgonomic medicine therapy): System developed by psychoanalyst Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957), who coined the word orgone to refer to a hypothetical fundamental, omnipresent, life-sustaining, intelligent radiation.

Orgone therapy encompasses the Reich Blood Test and Reichian Therapy. The professional activities of medical orgonomists include administering orgone charged water and applying peculiar devices: The orgone field meter and the vacor tube contribute to ostensible diagnosis. The meter shows the extent and strength of the patient's orgone energy field. The vacor tube is an orgone charged glass vacuum tube that glows under the influence of the patient's orgone energy field. The medical dor-buster siphons a toxic form of orgone - dor (an acronym for deadly orgone) - from the patient's body.

(See also: Orgone therapy , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

Prana (Sanskrit) [from pra before + the verbal root an to breathe, live]

In theosophy, the breath of life; the third principle in the ascending scale of the sevenfold human constitution. This life or prana works on, in, and around us, pulsating unceasingly during the term of physical existence. Prana is "the radiating force or Energy of Atma -- as the Universal Life and the One Self, -- Its lower or rather (in its effects) more physical, because manifesting, aspect. Prana or Life permeates the whole being of the objective Universe; and is called a 'principle' only because it is an indispensable factor and the deus ex machina of the living man" (Key 176).

In working upon the physical body, prana automatically uses the linga-sarira (model-body) as its vehicle of expression during earth-life. Prana may be said to be the psychoelectric veil or field manifesting in the individual as vitality. The life-atoms of prana fly instantly back, at the moment of physical dissolution, to the natural pranic reservoirs of the planet.

Further, occultism teaches that "(a) the life-atoms of our (Prana) life-principle are never entirely lost when a man dies. That the atoms best impregnated with the life-principle (an independent, eternal, conscious factor) are partially transmitted from father to son by heredity, and partially are drawn once more together and become the animating principle of the new body in every new incarnation of the Monads. Because (b), as the individual Soul is even the same, so are the atoms of the lower principles (body, its astral, or life double, etc.), drawn as they are by affinity and Karmic law always to the same individuality in a series of various bodies, etc. . . ." (SD 2:671-2).

In Sanskrit it refers to the life currents or vital fluids, variously numbered as three, five, seven, twelve, and thirteen. The five life-winds mentioned are samana, vyana, prana, apana, and udana. In this classification prana represents the expirational breath.

Jiva is sometimes used similarly to prana, but strictly prana means outbreathing and jiva means life per se. There is a universal or cosmic jiva or life principle, just as there are innumerable hosts of individualized jivas, which are the atoms of the former, drops in the ocean of cosmic life. These individualized jivas are relatively eternal, and correspond exactly to the term monad. Jiva, without qualification, is of general application; when considered as individualized, these jivas are used in the sense of individual monads; contrariwise, prana is applied to the life-fluid or jivic aura when manifesting in the lower triad of the human constitution as prana-lingasarira-sthulasarira. Hence Blavatsky said that jiva becomes prana when the child is born and begins to breathe.

(See also: Prana , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

somatic therapy (somatic disciplines, somatic methods, somatics, somatic techniques, somatic therapies): Field that encompasses aikido, the Alexander Technique, applied kinesiology, Arica, Aston-Patterning, Awareness Through Movement, bioenergetics, Body-Mind Centering, Capoeria, Continuum, CranioSacral Therapy, Eutony, Focusing, Functional Integration, Hakomi, Hellerwork, judo, karate, kundalini yoga, kung fu, Lomi (see lomi-lomi and Lomi work), Oki yoga (see Oki-Do), Process-Oriented Psychotherapy (process psychology), rebirthing, reflexology, Resonant Kinesiology, Rolfing, Rosen work (see Rosen Method), sensory awareness, SHEN, somasynthesis, tai chi, Touch for Health, Trager, Trans Fiber, yoga therapy, and Zero Balancing.

Subtle-energy elements are a commonality of somatic therapies. Thomas Hanna, founder of the journal Somatics, coined the word somatics.

(See also: Somatic therapy , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

The Staircase

·  Should be in the western or northern side of the building.

·  Turnings should be in the clockwise direction.

On reaching the upper floor, the facing should be towards south or east.

See also: Vastu Shastra

(See also: Vastu Shastra , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Meditation

Ideal for disciplining the mind and removing stress & strain, it is best done after a quick bath to cleanse yourself. Critical in satisfying the mind's hunger, when done well it is so nourishing that even the body can survive on less. Control of desire, or mental hunger, is the key to longevity and immortality. Anything can be meditation so long it is sincere and heartfelt. The simplest and healthiest involves the sun and its golden colour is deemed the most nourishing and productive.

While this routine acts as a critical shield of defence against the destabilising influences of an external environment, by using selective choice in some of the other factors mentioned below you can easily improve upon the condition of your total health.

(See also: Meditation , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Elysian Fields, Elysium (Greek) Originally in Greek mythology, beautiful meadows or plains, or islands of the blest, located in the far west by the banks of Ocean.

There certain heroes of the fourth race who never experienced death were said to dwell in perfect happiness ruled by Rhadamanthus. The titans after being reconciled with Zeus also lived there under the rule of Kronos. Pindar holds that all who have passed blamelessly through life three times live there in bliss. Later, Elysium was located in the underworld as the abode of those whom the judges of the dead found worthy. The river Lethe (forgetfulness) flowed by the Elysian Fields.

See also AANROO; DEVACHAN; HADES ()

(See also: Elysian Fields, Elysium , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

etheric touch: manual means of directing human and spiritual energies to initiate and boost self-healing. It is a form of chakra healing and channeling whose principle is that, through the hands, one can:

(a)           sense imbalances in the subtle energy fields of an individual; and

(b)           project healing vibrations (universal energy), which are augmentable with divine force. It does not require touch.

(See also: Etheric touch , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)

field of consciousness

In ESP experiences there are many potential combinations of seeing, hearing, sensing. When the medium is under a proper self-disciplined conscious control, he can be aware of the major thought-flow focus and simultaneously know of fringe or marginal awareness and impressions impinging into the periphery of consciousness

(See also: Field of consciousness , Body Mind and Soul)

Theory:

(1) A belief, policy or procedure proposed or followed as the basis of action.

(2) An ideal or hypothetical set of facts, principles or circumstances.

(3) The body of generalizations and principles developed in association with practice in a field of activity.

(4) A judgment, conception, proposition or formula formed by speculation or deduction, or by abstraction and generalization from facts.

(5) A working hypothesis given probability by experimental evidence or by factual or conceptual analysis but not conclusively established or accepted as a law.

(See also: Theory , Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

Artemis (Greek) Greek divinity, commonly identified with the Roman Diana, daughter of Leto and Zeus, twin of Apollo. Goddess of chastity and protectress of youths and maidens against the wiles of Aphrodite, she is celebrated in Arcadian rites and legends which are older than those of Homer.

These show her to be a nature goddess, patroness of fields and forests, goddess of life-giving waters, marshes, rivers, and springs. As goddess of agriculture, she brings increase to the fields, drives away mice and pests, and is the friend of the sower and reaper. The legend of the Calydonian boar shows her to have been worshiped as a harvest goddess. She was also called the tamer, the goddess of the chase, and the healer. She is the protector of the beasts, rather than their persecutor in the chase.

Artemis was also the protectress of mankind and was specially active in regard to the education of the child and youth. Boys and girls were consecrated to her in the temples. She was goddess of marriage and presided over births. Her chief festival, that of Ephesia or Artemisia, was held in the spring.

The connections of various kinds between Aphrodite (or Venus) and the moon, represented under various names, were numerous and highly suggestive. In fact, the Aphrodite Pandemos (the common and popular) was more intimately connected with the lunar powers and attributes than even with Venus. The moon, for instance, under the name Lucina, presided over births; under the name Diana was referred to as being the giver of life and lives, of abounding vitality; and under the name Hecate was the goddess of the underworld because the bringer of disease, decrepitude, and death.

(See also: Artemis , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Ardath (Hebrew, Jewish). This word occurs in the Second Book of Esdras, ix., 26. The name has been given to one of the recent "occult novels" where much interest is excited by the visit of the hero to a field in the Holy Land so named; magical properties are attributed to it. In the Book of Esdras the prophet is sent to this field called Ardath "where no house is builded" and bidden "eat there only the flowers of the field, taste no flesh, drink no wine, and pray unto the highest continually, and then will I come and talk with thee".

(See also: Ardath , Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary,)

Apopsi or Avoidance:

An antipsi power that appears to generate an energy field into which no external psi field can penetrate; may work through transmutation, retuning or aportation; may interfere with internal psi fields as well.

(See also: Apopsi, Avoidance , Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

DEATH –

1. life’s other side, afterlife, discarnate realm of existence.

2. end of this life, cessation of the vital functions.

3. Tarot #13; transformation.

4. sleep; field of service and learning; entrance into fuller life; freedom from the handicaps of the fleshly vehicle; continuance of the living process in consciousness and carrying forward of the interests and tendencies of the life (Bailey)

5. that which is fixed, petrified, attached (Joseph Campbell)

6. process of dissolving ourselves to become more harmonious on another level (Michio Kushi) (NAD)

(See also: DEATH , Wiccan Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

Space:

A three-dimensional something that extends without bounds in all directions (this week) and is the field of physical objects and events and their order and relationships.

(See also: Space , Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

Love

For most of us, love is a full-time obsession . We are concerned about the love of our parents, children, co-workers, friends, and many, many others. There is nothing more important to our emotional, psychological, or spiritual well-being than love. It is a vital part of any growth process. We need to have a healthy dose of self-love so that we can, in turn, love the world. Dreams may be filled with images of love, friendship, compassion, and lust. In the end, it is all about acceptance and belonging. To be loved is to feel accepted and have a sense of belonging. In our dreams we may be trying to figure out this mystery called love. The dream may be wish-fulfilling or compensatory in nature. It may be spiritual or practical, but always deals with a significant part of our psyche or our daily lives.

Source: Dream Lover Incorporated, http://www.dreamloverinc.com

(See also: Dream Archives, Meaning of Dreams, Dream Interpretation, Dream Dictionary, Dream Dictionary - Love , Meaning of Dreams about Love , Dream Interpretation Love )

Choice of Partner

Ayurvedic wisdom suggests that like types make better mates because of similar mental processes, attitudes and sexual proclivities. Unfortunately, two people of similar dispositions are likely to have the same defects too. Choosing the right partner who will stimulate, inspire you to evolve into better individual thus becomes very important.

(See also: Choice of Partner , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

bodywork (Bodywork Therapy, bodywork therapies): A potpourri of methods typified by exercising, manipulating, and/or manually (especially digitally) touching the body. It overlaps with energy field work. The expression bodywork is generally interchangeable with hands-on healing and hands-on health.

The major categories of bodywork are:

(a)           massage therapy,

(b)          body-centered psychotherapy, and

(c)           touch therapy.

Its major foci are:

(a)           body structure (e.g., chiropractic),

(b)          body armor (e.g., Reichian Therapy),

(c)           chi or vital energy (e.g., acupressure massage, acupuncture, and jin shinn),

(d)           relaxation (e.g., lomi-lomi and Swedish massage), and

(e)           the subtle body (e.g., Reiki and Therapeutic Touch).

The word bodyworkers refers to practitioners of any form of bodywork that is not categorizable as acupuncture, chiropractic adjustments, osteopathy, body-centered psychotherapy, touch therapy, or energy field work.

(See also: Bodywork , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

A Theosophical definition of Death :

Death

Death occurs when a general break-up of the constitution of man takes place; nor is this break-up a matter of sudden occurrence, with the exceptions of course of such cases as mortal accidents or suicides. Death is always preceded, varying in each individual case, by a certain time spent in the withdrawal of the monadic individuality from an incarnation, and this withdrawal of course takes place coincidently with a decay of the seven-principle being which man is in physical incarnation. This decay precedes physical dissolution, and is a preparation of and by the consciousness-center for the forthcoming existence in the invisible realms. This withdrawal actually is a preparation for the life to come in invisible realms, and as the septenary entity on this earth so decays, it may truly be said to be approaching rebirth in the next sphere.

Death occurs, physically speaking, with the cessation of activity of the pulsating heart. There is the last beat, and this is followed by immediate, instantaneous unconsciousness, for nature is very merciful in these things. But death is not yet complete, for the brain is the last organ of the physical body really to die, and for some time after the heart has ceased beating, the brain and its memory still remain active and, although unconsciously so, the human ego for this short length of time, passes in review every event of the preceding life. This great or small panoramic picture of the past is purely automatic, so to say; yet the soul-consciousness of the reincarnating ego watches this wonderful review incident by incident, a review which includes the entire course of thought and action of the life just closed. The entity is, for the time being, entirely unconscious of everything else except this. Temporarily it lives in the past, and memory dislodges from the akasic record, so to speak, event after event, to the smallest detail: passes them all in review, and in regular order from the beginning to the end, and thus sees all its past life as an all-inclusive panorama of picture succeeding picture.

There are very definite ethical and psychological reasons inhering in this process, for this process forms a reconstruction of both the good and the evil done in the past life, and imprints this strongly as a record on the fabric of the spiritual memory of the passing being. Then the mortal and material portions sink into oblivion, while the reincarnating ego carries the best and noblest parts of these memories into the devachan or heaven-world of postmortem rest and recuperation. Thus comes the end called death; and unconsciousness, complete and undisturbed, succeeds, until there occurs what the ancients called the second death.

The lower triad (prana, linga-sarira, sthula-sarira) is now definitely cast off, and the remaining quaternary is free. The physical body of the lower triad follows the course of natural decay, and its various hosts of life-atoms proceed whither their natural attractions draw them. The linga-sarira or model-body remains in the astral realms, and finally fades out. The life-atoms of the prana, or electrical field, fly instantly back at the moment of physical dissolution to the natural pranic reservoirs of the planet.

This leaves man, therefore, no longer a heptad or septenary entity, but a quaternary consisting of the upper duad (atma-buddhi) and the intermediate duad (manas-kama). The second death then takes place.

Death and the adjective dead are mere words by which the human mind seeks to express thoughts which it gathers from a more or less consistent observation of the phenomena of the material world. Death is dissolution of a component entity or thing. The dead, therefore, are merely dissolving bodies  - entities which have reached their term on this our physical plane. Dissolution is common to all things, because all physical things are composite: they are not absolute things. They are born; they grow; they reach maturity; they enjoy, as the expression runs, a certain term of life in the full bloom of their powers; then they "die." That is the ordinary way of expressing what men call death; and the corresponding adjective is dead, when we say that such things or entities are dead.

Do you find death per se anywhere? No. You find nothing but action; you find nothing but movement; you find nothing but change. Nothing stands still or is annihilated. What is called death itself shouts forth to us the fact of movement and change. Absolute inertia is unknown in nature or in the human mind; it does not exist.

See also: Death , Mysticism, Body Mind and Soul

Rolfing (Rolfing Method of Structural Integration, structural integration, structural processing): Form of myofascial massage that Ida P. Rolf, Ph.D. (1896-1979), developed in the 1930s in New York. Rolf was an organic chemist who had studied chiropractic and yoga. The Rolf Institute, in Boulder, Colorado, founded in 1971, quoted her in a pamphlet: Rolfers make a life study of relating bodies and their fields to the earth and its gravity field, and we so organize the body that the gravity field can reinforce the body's energy field.

Rolfing theory posits muscle memory: recollection of an incident held or recorded in a particular part of the body. Rolfers adjust the massage when they detect areas of energy imbalance within the body. Proponents claim that one's posture reveals past traumatic experiences, that Rolfing effects emotional and energetic release, and that this release restores the flow of vital energy and integrates mind and body.

(See also: Rolfing , Body Mind and Soul, Alternative Health, Alternative Health Dictionary)