Crystal Gazing:

Staring into a reflecting surface (e.g., mirror, glass, crystal, liquid) in order to obtain paranormal information. Also known as scrying.

See also Divination .

(See also: Crystal Gazing , Psychic, Psychic Dictionary, Parapsychology, Parapsychology Dictionary)

Of all the questions we're asked, this is the most common: "How can I develop my own psychic skills?" The sad thing is, when someone is asked why they want to do this, they don't usually have an answer. The first suggestion, whether you think you know why or not, is to write down and define why you want to tap into your psychic abilities. Define your "intent."

Read more here: » Psychic Development: How to develop your own psychic skills

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: Candle Gazing , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

CRYSTAL GAZING - the use of a candle flame, a crystal ball, a black mirror, a dark bowl of water or a bright sword for divination. (SD)

(See also: CRYSTAL GAZING , Wiccan Pagan, Paganism, Pagan Dictionary)

About four out of ten reported psychic experiences involve some seeming awareness of the future. The term premonition is in general use, and the more clinical word precognition, ('before knowing'), tends to be used by parapsychologists. In descending order of frequency, premonitions come in the form of dreams, waking thoughts, waking imagery and sleep-onset, (hypnagogic), imagery.

Read more here: » Meaning of dreams: Precognitive dreams and premonitions

Crystal Gazing

the use of a crystal ball, for divination.

(See also: Crystal Gazing , New Age Spirituality, Body Mind and Soul)

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)

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.

(See also: Frontal & Nasal Gazing , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

There are two fascinating qualities that can enter into our lives or the lives of those we care for at any moment: love and addiction. At first these two may appear to be strange bedfellows: love evokes pleasurable images of couples passionately embracing or tenderly gazing into each others' eyes, while addiction brings up a darker, grim, even desperate image of people struggling against a part of themselves that is out of control. Yet at their core, both have in common a profound spiritual yearning, the desire to transcend the self, to experience powerful states of bliss and ecstasy and to merge with and feel a part of something greater than oneself.

Read more here: » Relationships: Addictive Love Relationships

‘Trataka’ is steady gazing at a particular point or object without winking. Though this is one of the six purificatory exercises, it is mainly intended for developing concentration and mental focusing. It is very useful for the students of Hatha Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Raja Yoga.

Excerpt from the book Kundalini Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Trataka: Trataka and Kundalini Yoga

2005-04-23

The central teaching in Tantra is that all of life is sacred, especially our sexuality. This is because Tantrism views the sex power as being the same inner energy that powers our enlightenment. The practitioner of sexual Tantra attempts to use the powerful sexual force as an agent for awakening and transcendence.

Read more here: » Tantra: Aligning Intimacy with Spirituality

A dictionary Of Commonly Used Sanskrit terms. From Pada to Svastikasana.

Please note that all words in grey, like "yoga", "enlightenment" or "kundalini" are hyperlinked to archives further explaining the term. At the corresponding archive you will also find articles related to the term.

Dreams play a very important part of our subconscious guidance and will often bring messages even important warnings to us.
- You should give a particular attention to dreams offering incredible images, Dr Turi explains in this article.

Read more here: » Meaning of Dreams: Astrological perspective on Dreams

There are different kinds of meditation. A particular kind is best suited for a particular mind. The kind of meditation varies according to taste, temperament, capacity and type of mind of the individual.

From "Easy Steps to Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Meditation: Different Kinds of Meditation

Dhauti, Basti, Neti, Nauli, Tratak and Kapalabhati. These are known as Shat-Karma or the six purificatory exercises in Hatha Yoga.

From "Kundalini Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Shat-Karma: Shat-Karma or the six purificatory exercises in Hatha Yoga.

A dictionary of Parapsycology. Please note that words in grey are hyperlinked to a corresponding archive with articles related to that particular topic.

A Yoga Dictionary from Abhyasa to Yukti.

From "Kundalini Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda

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: Meditative Postures , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Phanes, Phanes-Protogonos (Greek) [from phaino to make visible, appear, shine forth + protogonos first-born]

In Orphic mythogony, Aether (the Father, spirit) and Chaos (the Mother, primordial matter) produce the world-egg, silvery and gleaming white, out of which Phanes, the Third Logos, is born. He is the Orphic counterpart of Eros, the divine love which sets the atoms of spirit in motion, and is both male and female, mythologically said to have golden wings which carry him everywhere and four eyes gazing in every direction.

As Phanes, he is the first of the five cosmic rulers successively to appear; parent of the gods, the demiurge and creator of the world. Being thus the primordial father of gods, of the world, and hence of men, every such derivative offspring from Phanes contains Phanes in itself. Thus man, as an individual, contains Phanes as the primordial essence or original force of this own being. From another point of view, Phanes is equivalent to cosmic mahat, which as the universal formative spiritual power of the universe is at once the parent as well as the primordial substance of whatever is -- as well as cosmic intelligence.

Nux (night) is associated with Phanes as both mother and wife. Zeus does not appear in the Orphic mythogony until later, as the fourth in the line of succession; but eventually, due to a loss in popular conception of the ancient verity, he absorbs his great prototype, who apparently did not figure largely in popular mythology.

Phanes was connected mystically and esoterically with four animal symbols of the zodiac -- Aries the ram, Taurus the bull, Leo the lion, and Draco the dragon or serpent.

(See also: Phanes, Phanes-Protogonos , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)