Where the worries and trials of everyday life are concerned, the mind must be like water, which does not retain any impression of the waves that play on its bosom.
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When you are beset by overwhelming mental trials or worries, try to fall asleep. If you can do that, you will find on awakening that mental tension is relieved and that worry has loosened its grip on you.
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To experience complete physical relaxation, gently tense the entire body. Then relax and withdraw all energy from the body and remain relaxed, without the slightest physical motion. When you can do this, you have attained perfect muscular relaxation.
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Whenever you want to relax any body part, gently tense it, hold the tension in it counting from 1 to 3, then relax quickly and feel the energy withdraw. Keep the relaxed part still by forgetting it.
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When you wake up in the morning, don’t jump out of bed suddenly. First relax all parts and then give them a breakfast of energy by tensing your whole body slowly, then relaxing. Tense and relax gradually; do not jerk.
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Any time you are tired or worried, tense and relax the whole body, throwing your breath out with the exhalation, and you will become calm.
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People often talk of relaxation, but few know how to achieve it. Complete mental relaxation is voluntary withdrawal of consciousness and energy from the entire body and identification with one’s true nature in Spirit.
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The devotee who aspires to develop uniformly and steadily in spirituality must always keep the body quiet and not in perpetual motion and restlessness. Keep the breath quiet by proper breathing exercises, preserve the vital essence by self-control and good company, and calm the mind with the practice of concentration and meditation.
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By dispassionately watching the breath coming in and going out, one’s breathing naturally slows, calming at last the peace-disturbing activity of the heart, lungs, and diaphragm.
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By the Hong-Sau technique of meditation, one can reach the point of even relaxing the heart, and thereby rising above its compulsion to outwardness, experiencing death consciously, and eliminating one’s sense of the mystery of death and the fear of dying..
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Man lives in an atmosphere of air, which he requires even as a fish requires water. By rising above the breath in the breathless state, man can enter the celestial realms of light, where the angels dwell.
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*All quotations are from: How to Achieve Glowing Health and Vitality, by Paramhansa Yogananda, Crystal Clarity Publishers.
4 Comments
It’s very interesting, Yogananda gives his devotees a subtle hint on how to practice the art of astral projection in order to realize that we are more than our bodies and to rise above the fear of death, and experience the celestial realm of angels.
Although many yogi’s dismiss the practice of astral projection, Yogananda talks about many of his astral experiences in his “Autobiography of a Yogi”. I have had many astral projection experiences in my own life. It has helped me to fully realize that we are essentially Spirit and that we can leave our bodies to experience higher realms of consciousness.
As Yogananda says by, “experiencing death consciously” you will lose your fear of death. By losing the fear of death, one is able to live more fearlessly and free in one’s life with the profound understanding of who we really are.
Wow this was real treasure, I can understand Paramhansa Yogananda explanation in his writings and it all makes sense.
When I wake up, I don’t jump up suddenly. Rather, I blink my eyes open and closed, remove my warm blankets, turn my head to the left and right while at the same time put both legs bent in the air and “crawl,” alternating left then leg leg, similar to crawling. This sets my tone for the day. I will learn more about Astral projection experiences in reading Autobiography of a Yogi.