Latest / Sri Aurobindo Studies / Training the Subconscient to Respond to the Higher Spiritual Will

Transcript

Training the Subconscient to Respond to the Higher Spiritual Will · Sri Aurobindo Studies

• 0:01
  As the seeker begins to observe the movements of the external
• 0:04
  nature closely, he can identify certain repetitive patterns of
• 0:08
  response, including impulses to stimuli of various sorts,
• 0:14
  cravings, desires, fears, frustrations, anger, and
• 0:19
  attraction. All of these are, for the most
• 0:22
  part, virtually automatic without conscious decision or
• 0:26
  control by the higher elements of the being.
• 0:29
  While we tend to think of ourselves as being in control of
• 0:32
  our life responses, the reality tends to be far different than
• 0:37
  our superficial assessment. We call these movements
• 0:41
  instincts, habits, or trained behavior.
• 0:46
  Trained behavior is essentially an embedded memory that calls
• 0:50
  for a specific response. Each of these needs to be
• 0:54
  resolved somewhat differently. Instincts tend to be the most
• 0:59
  deeply embedded elements which hearken back to an evolutionary
• 1:02
  development that may be far in the distant past of the species,
• 1:07
  or indeed of the animal or plant Kingdom more generally.
• 1:12
  Instincts are thus not simply overturned with the application
• 1:16
  of a mental will or some kind of affirmation.
• 1:21
  They can be partially controlled through an exercise of will, but
• 1:25
  their force of expression remains and can easily overcome
• 1:30
  the willpower in most instances. Changing an instinct thus
• 1:34
  requires application of a new evolutionary power to intervene
• 1:39
  in the process and can thus only come about when the subconscious
• 1:44
  is flooded with the spiritual light and force and thus takes
• 1:50
  on an entirely different vibratory pattern.
• 1:55
  A small example of an instinctive response and a
• 1:58
  change occurred some years ago when some people attended an
• 2:02
  anti war protest in Washington DC.
• 2:05
  They were surrounded by heavily armed and armoured police and a
• 2:10
  general instinctive response of fear entered the people thus
• 2:14
  surrounded. Then an individual began to
• 2:18
  chant ohm loudly, and this was picked up by others and soon the
• 2:24
  entire group was responding and the fear element was removed by
• 2:29
  this higher vibratory pattern. It is thus possible to overcome
• 2:35
  even instinctive behavior under certain conditions.
• 2:40
  Making this a more permanent and automatic response, of course,
• 2:44
  is a different matter, requiring substantial and persistent
• 2:48
  efforts to bring the higher light into the densest and
• 2:53
  darkest regions of the being. Habits are somewhat more easily
• 2:59
  controlled. Habits are made through
• 3:01
  repetitive behaviour. While the behaviour may begin as
• 3:05
  something of an automatic response to a sensation,
• 3:09
  feeling, impulse, or perception, it does not become a habit in
• 3:14
  the first instance. It is through a repetition, in
• 3:18
  many cases involving A conscious decision, that a habit builds up
• 3:23
  and creates what many call grooves in the nature that
• 3:27
  smooth the flow of energy in the direction that has been turned
• 3:31
  into a habit. A habit that has been made can
• 3:35
  be unmade through patient and persistent steps to counteract
• 3:40
  it when it arises. This includes things like
• 3:43
  various forms of craving or even behaviors of frustration or
• 3:48
  excitement under various provocative circumstances.
• 3:52
  We sometimes see professional tennis players become upset with
• 3:56
  their play or the umpire's calls and throw their tennis racket
• 4:01
  out of frustration. This is actually an expression
• 4:05
  of an habitual pattern they have likely developed during the
• 4:08
  training period. Just as habits can create
• 4:13
  negative vital responses, habits can also be made through pattern
• 4:17
  and reward processes that can aid the being.
• 4:21
  Replacement of 1 deleterious habit by a more positive habit
• 4:26
  can interrupt the old habit. Of course, the new habit will
• 4:31
  eventually need to be addressed, but this can be seen as a
• 4:35
  progressive process over time. One example of this is to
• 4:40
  replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations.
• 4:43
  Chance, mantras, etcetera. Trained responses are the most
• 4:49
  superficial of the elements that influence this subconscious in
• 4:53
  that they are built through a very detailed process of
• 4:56
  repetition, in many cases through a designed program.
• 5:02
  Much of the educational activity that takes place in schools or
• 5:06
  in military training represents the systematic development of
• 5:10
  trained responses. An awakened seeker can begin to
• 5:14
  recognize these trained responses and undertake to
• 5:18
  adjust, modify, or eliminate them through a counter training.
• 5:23
  In some cases, such as those that involve involuntary muscle
• 5:27
  tightening, various practices such as meditation, hata, yoga,
• 5:32
  martial arts, or biofeedback training can work on these
• 5:37
  elements. In the end, the power of light
• 5:42
  entering the mind and will and exposing this subconscient layer
• 5:47
  and its mechanisms, then entering the vital being and
• 5:50
  working on opening the emotions and the vital responses and
• 5:55
  finally changing the very vibrational patterns of the
• 5:58
  physical being is the tool needed to be patiently and
• 6:02
  persistently applied to the subconscious.
• 6:06
  Understanding the mechanisms at work and the relative type of
• 6:11
  subconstant behavior being addressed can aid in this
• 6:15
  process if the practitioner exercises calm, steady and
• 6:20
  persistent will towards the needed opening and change.
• 6:25
  Sri Aurobindo notes quote The subconscious is a thing of
• 6:30
  habits and memories, and repeats persistently or whenever it can,
• 6:34
  old suppressed reactions, reflexes, mental, vital or
• 6:39
  physical responses. It must be trained by a still
• 6:44
  more persistent insistence of the higher parts of the being to
• 6:48
  give up its old responses and take on the new and true ones.
• 6:54
  End Quote Reference Srioro Bindo Bases of Yoga Chapter 5 Physical
• 7:01
  Consciousness, Subconscious Sleep and Dream Illness pages 90
• 7:06
  to 91.