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How to Convert Mental Seeking into Living Spiritual Experience · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  SRI aurobindo describes the first step to move from a mental
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  seeking to a living spiritual experience as the practice of
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  concentration of your Consciousness within yourself.
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  We asked what this means. Exactly.
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  Some observation of our mental state discloses, what we
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  normally consider to be concentration We focus on
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  solving some issue or problem in our lives or we focus on some
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  experience. Some opportunity, some
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  relationship some event. In each case, we turn our
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  concentration outwards towards the external world and attach
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  our Focus to those external objects.
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  If we are not concentrated on some specific outer
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  circumstance, we are for the most part, receiving sense,
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  perceptions, and moving more or less randomly through, whatever
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  presents itself to our senses or Rises up as a result of past
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  impressions. We may experience hunger or
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  thirst, desire, or ambition of some sort or we may simply
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  distract our attention, through, various forms of entertainment.
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  We may be caught up in the idea of accumulating clothes, or
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  technology or cars or jewelry. These distractions do not
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  involve much in the way of concentration generally.
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  And the mind jumps from one object to another when
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  concentration is lacking. None of this however represents
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  the concentration within oneself, SRI, aurobindo
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  references. When the Seeker first attempts
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  to understand and experience an inner concentration, he is
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  immediately confronted with the almost endless distracting.
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  Forces of sent perceptions feelings thoughts ideas, and
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  emotions there is no settled peace in the mind and may he may
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  feel like it is an impossible task.
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  Yogic science provides various guiding techniques to
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  systematically prepare for an inward concentration, regardless
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  of the specific method chosen with regular practice.
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  And patience the Mind eventually comes to a status of questions
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  which is the basis for inward concentration.
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  Some paths advise following the breath in and out to attain this
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  initial stage others use Is the combination of a mantra with the
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  breath to drive out thoughts or perceptions, which can act as
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  disturbances still others recommend putting the whole
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  attention on creation of a mood. That one becomes such as deep
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  aspiration, where nothing else can intervene.
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  And the entire being is focused on this aspiration, Focusing on
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  a visualization or even on a single point of light can move.
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  One away from the surface being and eventually a point comes
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  where one can lose track of time, space and Circumstance and
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  simply dwell in an inner space of light and calm the
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  experience. When it first arises may occur
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  without warning. And without any form of
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  expectation, as the Consciousness simply shifts away
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  From All Surface distractions. it may be helpful to create a
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  space and a specific time to quiet the mind and undertake the
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  practice as the regular process sets up a rhythm in the being,
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  Once the n-word awareness becomes quite regular the
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  Seeker. No longer need depend on such a
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  formal practice or discipline to recreate the Inner Space of
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  awareness, SRI, aurobindo notes. Quote, you have asked, what is
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  the discipline to be followed in order to convert the mental
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  seeking into a living spiritual experience?
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  The first necessity is the practice of concentration.
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  Of your Consciousness within yourself.
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  The ordinary human mind has an activity on the surface, which
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  veils the real self. But there is another a hidden
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  Consciousness within behind the surface one in which we can
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  become aware of the real self and of a larger deeper.
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  Truth of nature, can realize the self and liberate and transform
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  the nature to quiet. The surface mind and begin to
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  live within This is the object of this concentration.
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  And quote, reference SRI aurobindo, and the mother
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  growing within the psychology of inner development, chapter for
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  growth of Consciousness. First Steps in Foundation ages,
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  70 to 71.