Beauty

Beauty, Contemplate and Practice

Question for Contemplation How can you bring more order- and beauty - into your life? Practice for the Week Spend a few minutes really looking at your bedroom. Notice what is there and how it is arranged. Then make any changes needed to bring more order to your bedroom. Let

5 Stages of Work

Each stage consists the greatest essence of the previous stage. STAGE 1: Work as Livelihood When you work to earn money, to make ends meet, to take care of one's own and family needs. Often this aspect grows into working for money, name, fame, power etc. However, here

Twelve Indicators of Work as Worship

1. What is your work serving? Ask yourself who are you working for?  Is it serving a degenerating old world, or helping birth a new world? 2. Who are you working for, moment to moment? Even after you have chosen to work for noble causes, moment to moment - ask

Beauty

How to Cultivate Beauty?

It is difficult for even the best pianist to play beautiful music if their instrument is damaged and out of tune. Any sound they make will be incomparable to the beauty of the same notes played on a good, perfectly tuned piano. It is the same for us. If we

Beauty

What is Beauty? Contemplate and Practice

Question for Contemplation When you think about the word beauty what comes to mind? Are there specific images, or sounds or sensations or feelings? Practice for the Week Bring beauty to your workspace by changing the screensaver on your laptop to a beautiful, inspiring image. This will bring you joy

Beauty

What is Beauty?

Last week we saw that beauty connects us to what is true and pure within ourselves. But what exactly is beauty? Beauty is the way the divine expresses itself in the material world. It is seen as a perfection of form and felt as a living harmony. It is a

Newsletter

Beauty, Contemplate and Practice

Question for Contemplation What is your experience of beauty so far? When was the last time you encountered it and what happened? Write a short diary entry. Practice of the Week Take a photo of something in nature that you find to be beautiful. It may be a flower, an

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Why Beauty Matters?

Imagine that you’re running late for a meeting and find you missed your bus. You feel frustrated but then you notice a flower. Despite your hurry, something draws you to stop and gaze at it. Suddenly everything shifts. You experience deep joy and happiness. A feeling of harmony, satisfaction

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Concentration

Overcoming Mental Chatter

The stream of thoughts or restless thinking is what we call the activity of the mind, which always comes in the way of the concentration and tries to create doubt and dispersion of the energies. Have you ever seen those people who try to stop a quarrel by shouting still

Concentration

Concentration as an Established State

So far we have seen the importance of concentration, what exactly it is and how to cultivate it. It is not enough that once in a while you concentrate, eventually the whole being must arrive at a gathered state without any scattering of energies. Eventually, it will become your natural

Concentration

Bringing Concentration to Routine Activities

When you do routine activities, are you able to notice how much you are on autopilot? Or do you see how the mind is busy with its own thoughts while the body is engaged in some routine work?  Through the practice of concentration we are making the unconscious autopilot movements

Concentration

Methodical Training Develops Concentration

Just like an athlete develops his muscles methodically by gradual training, the faculty of concentrated attention can be developed by a methodical training in such a way that concentration is obtained at will and on whatever subject or activity is chosen. It is not enough to practice concentration as a

Concentration

Concentration on the Inner Flame

When you concentrate on your chest area, it is a physical location. First you may concentrate on the surface of the chest to feel the sensations on the surface. Then try to move deeper inward to feel the space within the chest area. There, feel the presence of a steady

Universe in each Atom

Through Concentration, you can enter into the inner worlds and realms of any and everything. After a point, the thing itself stop being what it is apparently seen as. What gets revealed is way beyond the nature of the thing itself. The Universe lies in each atom, and you begin

Concentration

What is Concentration?

Last week we saw that without concentration one cannot achieve anything. But what exactly is concentration? Ordinarily, our consciousness is spread out everywhere, dispersed, running in this or that direction, after this subject and that object in multitude. Concentration means gathering of all the scattered movements of consciousness into a

Concentration

The Three Powers of Concentration

The Three Powers of Concentration 1)  Knowing By concentration on anything whatsoever, we are able to know that thing. 2)  Acquiring By concentration, the whole will can be gathered up for the acquisition of any object whatsoever. 3)  Becoming By concentration of our whole being on one state or one

Concentration

Why Concentration Matters?

For this month, our theme is concentration! Imagine a deadline looming large. You are trying to focus on the task at hand but you are unable to do so. Unless you are able to focus your attention and keep it steady, it is impossible to succeed in your task. How

Gratitude

Gratitude Towards the Setbacks in Life

Can we give gratitude for the setbacks in life? It is relatively easy to feel grateful for our blessings. From the food we eat to the love we receive, we can give gratitude for all the positive things in our lives. However it is the challenges in life that make

Gratitude

How Do We Practice Gratitude?

We have seen that gratitude is the source of the purest delight. How do we practice gratitude? More often than not, people focus on what they want but do not have at a given moment. Once they receive what they want, they are happy and grateful for a few moments

Gratitude

Gratitude Circle

Did you hold a gratitude circle yet? This week's practice is to hold a gratitude circle with friends or family, where each one shares what s/he is grateful for. Whether it is on the dinner table or online, take some time out to practice gratitude. Sharing from

Gratitude

What is Gratitude?

Last week we learned that gratitude can help us feel happier. But what exactly is gratitude? A Master once said “I have received hundreds of letters from people thanking me because they had been saved from some difficult situations; but it is very rarely that someone writes to thank me

Gratitude

Healing by Expressing Gratitude

Gratitude can facilitate and strengthen the connection between your inner being and various parts of your outer being such as your sensory perception, thoughts, emotions and physical body. For example, feeling grateful for the scent of an incense or for a particular idea striking you or for a body part

Gratitude

Why Gratitude Matters

All of us would like to be as happy as possible for as long as possible. At times we find it difficult to stay happy in the face of adversity. Is it possible to experience happiness in every moment, regardless of the situation you are in? Yes, it is, and

Newsletter

Launching Integral Education Portal

Dear friends, Greetings from Auroville! On the occasion of Sri Aurobindo’s 148th birth anniversary, we are happy to launch The Integral Education Portal. For those who are curious about the history of integral education here is an 18 minute video for you. Email College, Our Newsletter For lifelong students