Pattern Dictionary

Murder, Suicide

Causing death has very diverse meaning depending on who dies, why and how they die, and what interpretive framework seems to fit the death. The changing ethic of death in our society may also begin to effect death in dreams. In recent years, the assisted suicide and euthanasia movements have begun to effect dream presentations of death. The id (the part of the personality which contains our primitive impulses such as sex, anger, and hunger) is often revealed as a mass murderer in dreams. This is because anger and aggression that cannot be displayed publicly works its way into dreams of wish-fulfilment. Recently, stress has been popularly defined as "choking the life out of someone."

Fortunately, the id can do for you in dreaming what the rest of you would like to do while you're awake. If you killed a stranger, you may well have been trying to assault a facet of your own personality that is particularly troubling, self-destructive, or shameful to you. By killing the stranger, you are showing your desire to excommunicate this bad aspect from your life. This can be valuable.

It may have been that you killed yourself. Of course, you may not necessarily intend to kill your whole self, just a part of it. The worthiness of killing yourself in a dream stems from the fact that a pathological tendency or troubling behaviour pattern in your personality needs to be resolved. For example, there is never an appropriate time to steal from another. Consequently, if that is part of your personality at some level, your dream life may try to kill it off by projecting the negative facet onto a stranger (representing yourself) who you then dispatch.

However, what is not worthwhile is killing a part of yourself in order to ignore it. Each of us has shadows of our public selves that we hope are pretty well hidden from the perception of others. We often criticize those around us who are most like us in many ways. These shadows need to be accepted and constructively dealt with so they do not turn into pathologies. The act of committing suicide in a dream should be taken fairly seriously. This act says a lot about how you perceive yourself and your value as a person. If you continue to have such a dream, and the thoughts of suicide run through your waking mind, it may become more than symbolic. If this happens, you should seek out someone you trust to discuss your life with.

Source: iVillage, http://www.ivillage.co.uk

(See also: Dream Archives, Meaning of Dreams, Dream Interpretation, Dream Dictionary, Dream Dictionary - Murder, Suicide , Meaning of Dreams about Murder, Suicide , Dream Interpretation Murder, Suicide )

GYROTONIC

A system designed to exercise the musculature while mobilizing and articulating the joints.

Gyrotonic was conceived regarding key principles of gymnastics, swimming, ballet, and yoga through which major muscle groups are worked interdependently and in an integrated manner. This system is served by a series of specially designed exercise equipment, which is built around the human body with all regards to total freedom in movement, no restriction to speed and versatility, and enhancement rather than distraction from coordination, strength, and flexibility. The motion patterns are natural, turbulence-free, and pure with no interruption, creating a bridge between contraction and extension through the rotating movement of the joints, resulting in a balanced support system for the skeleton.

Each exercise is synchronized with a corresponding breathing pattern and is performed with either a rhythm or melodic rhythmical expression, creating a gentle or vigorous cardiovascular-aerobic stimulation, depending on the intensity and speed of the execution. (Adapted from www.gyrotonic.com.)

(See also: GYROTONIC , Alternative Health, Massage, Bodywork, Body Mind and Soul)

Pattern - Restrictive belief system; ways we handle situations.

(Source: Myths - Dreams - Symbols)

Related pages: Dream Symbols, Dream Interpretation, Dream Symbol Pattern, Dream Dictionary Pattern, Meaning of dreams about Pattern, Dream Interpretation Pattern, Dream Analysis Pattern, Dreaming of Pattern

Pattern, Restrictive belief system, Belief system, Beliefs

There are four principal kinds of dharma, as follows. They are known collectively as - chaturdharma: "four religious laws."

1. rita: "Universal law." The inherent order of the cosmos. The laws of being and nature that contain and govern all forms, functions and processes, from galaxy clusters to the power of mental thought and perception.
2. varna dharma: (Sanskrit) "Law of one's kind." Social duty. Varna can mean "race, tribe, appearance, character, color, social standing, etc." Varna dharma defines the individual's obligations and responsibilities within the nation, society, community, class, occupational subgroup and family. An important part of this dharma is religious and moral law. See: jati, varna dharma.
3. ashrama dharma: "Duties of life's stages." Human or developmental dharma. The natural process of maturing from childhood to old age through fulfillment of the duties of each of the four stages of life- brahmachari (student), grihastha (householder), vanaprastha (elder advisor) and sannyasa (religious solitaire)- in pursuit of the four human goals: dharma (righteousness), artha (wealth), kama (pleasure) and moksha (liberation). See: ashrama dharma.
4. svadharma: "Personal path, pattern or obligation." One's perfect individual pattern through life, according to one's own particular physical, mental and emotional nature. Svadharma is determined by the sum of past karmas and the cumulative effect of the other three dharmas. It is the individualized application of dharma, dependent on personal karma, reflected on one's race, community, physical characteristics, health, intelligence, skills and aptitudes, desires and tendencies, religion, sampradaya, family and guru.

(See also: Chaturdharma , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Meditation

A technique of mind control that leads to inner feelings of calm and peacefulness and may result in experiences of transcendental awareness and self-realization. The two main types of meditation are

(1)  the focusing type, similar to self-hypnosis, in which the meditator focuses on a repetitive sound or chant, an image, or pattern of breathing;

(2)  the "opening-up" type which emphasizes the detached observation of mental events as they occur.

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

mehndi:

long-lasting pattern made with henna dye on the hands of a woman at her wedding and sometimes at festive occasions

(See also: mehndi , Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

yantra: (Sanskrit) "Restrainer," "limiter."

A mystic diagram composed of geometric and alphabetic figures - usually etched on small plates of gold, silver or copper. Sometimes rendered in three dimensions in stone or metal.

The purpose of a yantra is to focus spiritual and mental energies according to computer-like yantric pattern, be it for health, wealth, childbearing or the invoking of one God or another. It is usually installed near or under the temple Deity. Psychically seen, the temple yantra is a magnificent three-dimensional edifice of light and sound in which the devas work. On the astral plane, it is much larger than the temple itself.

Sri Chakra: The most well known yantra and a central image in Shakta worship. Consisting of nine interlocking triangles, it is the design of Siva-Shakti's multidimensional manifestations. Yantras are also used for meditation and sadhana, especially in the Shakta tradition. Installing them beneath Deities is a fairly modern practice, while the Agamas prescribe the placement of precious gems. For Saivites the Tiru-ambala chakra, representing Lord Nataraja, is most sacred.

See: murti.

(See also: Yantra , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Reiki:

Reiki is believed to have begun in Tibet several thousand years ago. Seers in the Orient studied energies and developed a system of sounds and symbols for universal healing energies. Various healing systems, which crossed many different cultures, emerged from this single root system. Unfortunately, the original source itself was forgotten.

Reiki practitioners channel energy in a particular pattern to heal and harmonize. Unlike other healing therapies based on the premise of a human energy field, reiki seeks to restore order to the body whose vital energy has become unbalanced.

Reiki energy has several basic effects: it brings about deep relaxation, destroys energy blockages, detoxifies the system, provides new vitality in the form of healing universal life energy, and increases the vibrational frequency of the body.

The laying of hands is used in Reiki therapy also as in spiritual healing. There is a difference though. In spiritual healing, a person with a strong energy field places his or her hands above a particular part of the recipient’s body in order to release energy into it. So, here the healer is the one who is sending out the energy. In Reiki, however, the healer places the hands above the recipient; however, it is the recipient that draws the energy as needed. Thus, in this case, the individual being healed takes an active part in the healing process as opposed to having a passive part in spiritual healing. The individual takes responsibility for his or her healing. The recipient identifies the needs and caters to them by drawing energy as needed.

Although there are a few positions in which the practitioner is in contact with the patient (such as cradling the head), most Reiki treatments do not involve actual touching. The practitioner holds his or her hands a few inches or farther away from the patient’s body and manipulates the energy field from there.

(See also: Reiki , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Archetypal World or Universe (from Greek archetypos original pattern)

Either an abstract type in the divine mind, or a subtle form which is the model for a grosser form. In the processes of cosmic manifestation, forms are built by the builders working on a particular plane from abstract models already existing on a higher plane. In order for ideation to pass from the abstract into the concrete or visible form, the creative logoi see in the ideal world the archetypal forms of all and proceed to build upon these models forms both evanescent and transcendent (SD 1:380).

The Archetypal Man of the Qabbalah is the host of the higher dhyani-chohans collectively called 'Adam Qadmon or the upper triad of the ten Sephiroth, also svabhavat or the fourfold anima mundi, whence proceed the creative, formative, and material worlds. The archetypal world has three planes, corresponding to the First, Second, and Third Logoi, and to parabrahman with mulaprakriti or to Brahman with pradhana. In the human hierarchy, this is paramatman (the supreme self) from which fall the armies of rays which permeate every atom on every plane, constituting the unity in the divine selfhood which is the essence of all. In contrast with the septenary hierarchy below, this upper triad is called arupa (formless).

Archetypal world is also used to designate the fourth cosmic plane.

(See also: Archetypal World, Universe , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Dream Interpretation Cigarettes, smoking

Cigarettes is a symbol of addiction and satisfaction. If you are smoking a cigarette, or offering a cigarette to others, it is a lucky omen which denotes self-satisfaction and prosperity. If you are smoking in smoke-free areas: you are trying to get your own way even if it is bothering others. If you watch other people smoke: someone's behaviour is bothering you. If you have never smoked in real life and dream of smoking: some addictive patterns in your life are coming through. Take a look what has taken a hold of you and might be dangerous even for your health. It may indicate that some bad habits are going to cause you harm.

Source: Dream-Land, http://www.dream-land.info

(See also: Dream Archives, Meaning of Dreams, Dream Interpretation, Dream Dictionary, Dream Dictionary - Cigarettes, smoking , Meaning of Dreams about Cigarettes, smoking , Dream Interpretation Cigarettes, smoking )

A dictionary with common spiritual words from Hinduism and Sanskrit. Also see these links: Hinduism, Spirituality, Enlightenment, Spiritual Dictionary and Hinduism Dictionary.

reincarnation: "Re-entering the flesh." Punarjanma; metempsychosis. The process wherein souls take on a physical body through the birth process.

Reincarnation is one of the fundamental principles of Hindu spiritual insight, shared by the mystical schools of nearly all religions, including Jainism, Sikhism, Buddhism (and even by Christianity until it was cast out by the Nicene Council in 787). It is against the backdrop of this principle of the soul's enjoying many lives that other aspects of Hinduism can be understood. It is a repetitive cycle, known as punarjanma, which originates in the subtle plane (Antarloka), the realm in which souls live between births and return to after death. Here they are assisted in readjusting to the "in-between" world and eventually prepared for yet another birth.

The quality and nature of the birth depends on the merit or demerit of their past actions (karma) and on the needs of their unique pattern of development and experience (dharma). The mother, the father and the soul together create a new body for the soul. At the moment of conception, the soul connects with and is irrevocably bound to the embryo. As soon as the egg is fertilized, the process of human life begins. It is during the mid-term of pregnancy that the full humanness of the fetus is achieved and the soul fully inhabits the new body, a stage which is acknowledged when the child begins to move and kick within the mother's womb. (Tirumantiram, 460: "There in the pregnant womb, the soul lay in primordial quiescence [turiya] state. From that state, Maya [or Prakriti] and Her tribe aroused it and conferred consciousness and maya's evolutes eight- desires and the rest. Thus say scriptures holy and true.")

Finally, at birth the soul emerges into earth consciousness, veiled of all memory of past lives and the inner worlds. The cycle of reincarnation ends when karma has been resolved and the Self God (Parasiva) has been realized. This condition of release is called moksha. Then the soul continues to evolve and mature, but without the need to return to physical existence. How many earthly births must one have to attain the unattainable? Many thousands to be sure, hastened by righteous living, tapas, austerities on all levels, penance and good deeds in abundance.

See: reincarnation, evolution of the soul, karma, moksha, nonhuman birth, samsara, soul.

(See also: Reincarnation , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Apache Tear Drop:

Apache tear drop is a form of black obsidian. It is a calming translucent stone, found in Arizona and other parts of the U.S. It is composed of feldspar, hornblend, biotite and quartz. It was formed by rhythmic crystallization that produces a separation of light and dark materials into spherical shapes, and is a form of volcanic glass. There is a haunting legend about the Apache tear drop. After the Pinal Apaches had made several raids on a settlement in Arizona, the military regulars and some volunteers trailed the tracks of the stolen cattle and waited for dawn to attack the Apaches.

The Apaches, confident in the safety of their location, were completely surprised and out-numbered in the attack. Nearly 50 of the band of 75 Apaches were killed in the first volley of shots. The rest of the tribe retreated to the cliff’s edge and chose death by leaping over the edge rather than die at the hands of the white men. For years afterward those who ventured up the treacherous face of Big Pacacho in Arizona found skeletons, or could see the bleached bones wedged in the crevices of the side of the cliff.

The Apache women and the lovers of those who had died gathered a short distance from the base of the cliff where the sands were white, and for a moon they wept for their dead. They mourned greatly, for they realized that not only had their 75 brave Apache warriors died, but with them had died the great fighting spirit of the Pinal Apaches. Their sadness was so great, and their burden of sorrow so sincere that the Great Father imbedded into black stones the tears of the Apache women who mourned their dead.

These black obsidian stones, when held to the light, reveal the translucent tear of the Apache. The stones bring good luck to those possessing them. It is said that whoever owns an Apache tear drop will never have to cry again, for the Apache maidens have shed their tears in place of yours.

The Apache tear drops are also said to balance the emotional nature and protect one from being taken advantage of. It can be carried as an amulet to stimulate success in business endeavors. It is also used to produce clear vision and to increase psychic powers. Black obsidian is a powerful meditation stone.

The purpose of this gemstone is to bring to light that which is hidden from the conscious mind. It dissolves suppressed negative patterns and purifies them. It can create a somewhat radical behavior change as new positive attitudes replace old, negative, egocentric patterns.

Also See: Apache Tear Drops

(See also: Apache Tear Drop , Magic, Shamanism, Paganism, Wicca)

AURA THERAPY

Every substance in the universe, both living and dead tissue, emits energy and has therefore a radiation pattern. This radiation, termed 'aura', thus forms distinctly different force fields in the case of each item, in the same manner as a fingerprint. The individual auras are in contact with a universal field of spiritual energy from which they draw their power.

Artists and mystics have from ancient times seen and portrayed this effect all over the world. Aura therapists say that although we are usually not aware of it consciously, auras, rather the effect of interacting auras, determine our first responses to people and situations. Developed and understood properly, it is a quicker and more sensitive gauge than more rational faculties. The unease or elation that one feels immediately on meeting another person is thus caused by the auras being in harmony or without it.

The auras of plants, animals and minerals are said to communicate and interact with one another as part of a single living system. Each person's aura is thought to be made up of the radiation from all the cells and chemicals within the body and their interaction. The visible aura, which is much in evidence in all religious texts, is said to be an oval extending from a few centimeters to a meter around the body, sometimes more at the head. The light being composed of seven coloured rays, each associated with particular organs of the body and conveying a distinct message. The variations in shape, colour & strength a reflection of each individual's uniqueness.

Therapists believe that personality and emotions too can be interpreted from auras. One with soft, fringed edges for instance is likely to indicate a person too susceptible to the influence of others. Firm but fluid boundaries would indicate openness but not vulnerability. And a hard, distinct outline belonging to one who is defensive and insecure. Similarly, lots of red within the aura would indicate anger while a predominance of blue would stand for idealism.

Treatment comes in the form of adding extra colours to improve a dull or depleted aura or using complimentary colours to offset to help balance one that is too strong. The therapists only acting as conduits for transferring the universal spiritual energy into the auras of patients, by touching the latter's auras or by using visualisation to transmit energy. However, active patient in the entire process is extremely crucial which involves their becoming more self-aware of their spiritual nature.

(See also: AURA THERAPY , Ayurveda, Ayurvedic Dictionary, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

IMAGINATION

One of the two human magickal powers (the other is Will). Actually the two powers are but aspects of a secret third intelligence that goes unnamed. It is through the imagination, for instance, that healing takes place. A persistent focusing of the attention on the disease or affliction will eventually yield its dynamics and plan of action to the imagination, whereupon it then becomes possible to superimpose one's own healing pattern (also created by the imagination) over the modus operandi of the disease, forcing it to conform to one's own preference. Rather than simply "willing" something to happen, if you can imagine how the happening can occur, you can painstakingly go over each step in your mind until the event takes place.

Wade Baskin suggests that magic possesses but one dogma, which is that the visible is the manifestation of the invisible. Since the part contains the all, any part can control any other part. What you can imagine in sufficient detail you can and will produce. Failure to manifest is simply the failure to follow through in every detail and to give up too soon.

(See also: IMAGINATION , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

BEHAVIOR THERAPY/MODIFICATION: aims at modifying behavior by reinforcing acceptable behavior and suppressing undesirable behavior.

The therapist employs any of various techniques of reward and punishment including aversion therapy, desensitization, or guided imagery.

The learning theory of the psychologist B.F. Skinner and others is the basis for most behavior therapies. In SkinnerÕs principle of extinction, a behavior pattern that is not reinforced, or rewarded, will be extinguished or rendered inoperative. For example, if smoking is made unpleasant for the smoker, then the smoking habit may be curbed or given up.

Behavior therapy is used in private and institutional therapy, in group and individual settings, to treat such disorders as drug addiction, alcoholism, and phobias.

(See also: Behavior therapy & Behavior modification , Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

samsara: (Sanskrit) "Flow." The phenomenal world. Transmigratory existence, fraught with impermanence and change.

The cycle of birth, death and rebirth; the total pattern of successive earthly lives experienced by a soul. A term similar to punarjanma (reincarnation), but with broader connotations.

See: evolution of the soul, karma, punarjanma, reincarnation.

(See also: Samsara , Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)

Definition and meaning of Insurance :

A contract whereby an insurer promises to pay the insured a sum of money or some other benefit upon the happening of one or more uncertain events in exchange for the payment of a premium. There must be uncertainty as to whether the relevant event(s) may happen at all or, if they will occur (e.g. death) as to their timing.

(Source Lloyd's )

Also see these pages: Insurance , Insurance, Insurance Sitemap, Insurance Dictionary - I

Ydromancy

Also known as hydromancy and hydrascopy, it is one of various different methods of predicting the future by means of water or rain. One technique supposedly involved a basin full of water which, at the command of the diviner, is activated by spirits in order to vibrate to a point where it appears to boil and give off meaningful sounds.

Methods of disturbing water (by means of suspended rings or by means of pebbles being dropped into the bowl) are also described as legitimate hydromantic techniques, and some diviners are supposed to read from the reflections on the surface or from the color of water, as well as from the movement of water in fountains or the pattern of ripples formed after an object is cast into the pool. Some of these techniques are Lecanomancy, Pegomancy, Eromanty and Castronomancy.

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

Upadhi (Sanskrit) Limitation, peculiarity, disguise, vehicle; in theosophy, " 'that which stands forth following a model or pattern,' as a canvas, so to say, upon which the light from a projecting lantern plays. An 'upadhi' therefore, mystically speaking, is like a play of shadow and form, when compared with the ultimate Reality, which is the cause of this play of shadow and form. Man may be considered as being composed of three (or even four) essential upadhis or bases" (OG 178).

According to the classification of the Taraka-Raja-Yoga philosophy, man is divided into three upadhis which are synthesized by, and are the vehicle of, the highest principle or atman. These three upadhis are: karanopadhi, the upadhi of the causal or spiritual mind; sukshmopadhi, the upadhi of the higher and lower manas plus the astral vehicle and the life-essence combined with kama; and the sthulopadhi, the physical body, which thus is the general vehicle or upadhi of the six principles composing the human constitution.

Mulaprakriti (primordial physical matter) in Hindu philosophy is the upadhi or vehicle of every phenomenon, whether physical, mental, or psychic. "Matter is Eternal. It is the Upadhi (the physical basis) for the One infinite Universal Mind to build thereon its ideations" (SD 1:280). An upadhi, then, is the vehicle, carrier, or means by which a higher or superior energy of whatever plane is enabled to manifest its characteristics and qualities on the lower plane, out of the substance of which lower plane the upadhi is built.

Sometimes upadhi is interchangeable with vahana (vehicle); thus manas is spoken of as the upadhi or vahana of buddhi. But the more frequent use of upadhi is as a foundation or base. For instance, Blavatsky speaks of hydrogen as the upadhi of both air and water; and of akasa as the upadhi of divine thought. "Cosmic Ideation focussed in a principle or upadhi (basis) results as the consciousness of the individual Ego. Its manifestation varies with the degree of upadhi, e.g., through that known as Manas it wells up as Mind-Consciousness; through the more finely differentiated fabric (sixth state of matter) of the Buddhi resting on the experience of Manas as its basis -- as a stream of spiritual intuition" (SD 1:329n).

(See also: Upadhi , Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body mind and Soul)