Spiritual Portal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7jeX5MyR3I&t=3s

The concept has already been discussed in this forum but I cannot find the thread. So I'm creating a new one. We'll make reference to the above masterful talk by Anandamoy: Your thoughts can change your life'.

Speaking about God and creation, how creation needs contrasts and so God had to create good and evil, light and darkness. We arrive at time 2:54.

"And in order to have this complex creation, he created these vast spheres of thought, different kinds of thought, just like radio waves. You have different vibrations, isn't it? Different frequencies"

Then he goes on reporting the words of SY in the Autobiography:

"And so, likewise, this is why Sri Yukteswar says: Thought is universally rooted, not individually. In other words, if we are thinking any kind of thought, we are not creating that thought. God has already created that."

The above words constitute a very deep metaphysical concept. Anandamoy uses that to affirm that the ultimate responsibility of our clinging even to bad thought and actions is God's because he created all types of thoughts, good and evil, all the vast spheres of thought that make up the repository of human conceivable insights and mistakes.

Eminent mathematicians like Paul Erdos and Roger Penrose have clearly stated that mathematics is not a creation of the human brain, it's rather a concept, an assemblage of ideas, a repository, which si already objectively existing, an ensemble of ideas, of spheres of thoughts, which si waiting to be grasped.

So, some of the greatest scientists and mathematicians are adhering to the model of the spheres of thought, like exposed by Sri Yukteswar and Bro. Anandamoy.

Such a model can be applied to everything in the universe. any thought, any vibrations.

A concept can be wrong, that is, it belongs to a wrong sphere of thought, which has nevertheless been created by God. Wrong is not even the right word, rather dark, evil, with low vibrations. Wrong is a thought which related to darkness, in all its manifestations. A contrast, something which had to be there because creation needs duality.

Ah yes yes thanks mccoy. It makes it easier to embrace it that way; that all the things we may disagree with are nevertheless part of Gods creation. Can we yet also assimilate why it must include such painful truths that put others in harms reach? This is not so easy but a concept or a vibration,if you will, of theodicy, asks such questions. We are told by the ancients and the yogis it is more important to rise above such dualities, nevertheless still being affected by them until we have the awesome perspective of for instance of Babaji who said that by only a little bit of this practice- Kriya yoga- we would be saved from dire fear and colossal suffering.

I will be listening to this soon but for now I also remember B. Anandamoy saying there will always be ‘rascals’ disrupting dharma even in the higher ages to come. Dharma being the perfect plan or thought sphere for us to embrace to tunnel us out of sane existence into and beyond thought; free of all duality. I ‘think’ Eric is touching on this concept also when he eludes to the fact he would rather avoid such clashes of thought or duality in our thought exchanges over politics.

Having such a detached attitude I saw in Anandamoy was part of what I see as a rather distant or seemingly uncompassionate outlook to the life struggles of others. None the less; embracing good and evil because they were both made by God.

‘I the Lord did all these things; I created light and darkness. I created good and evil.’ ~ Isaiah

We are not responsible for the evil in this world. God is. But it makes all the difference in the world what sphere of thought we are attuned to’ -~ Anandamoy

Psalm 130 1
If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.

You know your thoughts can change your life ~ Anandamoy

I’ve heard the talk before Lucca, but not quite like this time.. thanks 🙏

Steve, this is an occasion for me to review attentively the talk, I've been watching the video with captions, sentence per sentence, and was about to comment on the one you started out with.

We are not responsible for the evil in this world. God is. But it makes all the difference in the world what sphere of thought we are attuned to’ -~


For example. I'd say, the sphere of destruction. Mr. Putin and his buddies seem to be perfectly attuned to it.


In the Palestinian conflict, I saw both parties well attuned to the particular sub-sphere of destructive retaliation, with innocent people drawn into the deadly vortex of mass karma.

We may also be convinced that we are attuned to some positive sphere of thought, whereas we are attuned into a negative one. This is because, as unenlightened human beings, our discrimination is imperfect.

I see two spheres of thought when it comes to the Ukrainian/Russia issue. One is the collective and the other the individual. So we have people in countries who want to be more isolated and separate in their identities. Eric and I touched on this issue when we chatted about people having their own path and dharma. As you see though I am using an international example here. The question starts arising when two dharmas or paths cross at an intersection. What happens? Do they merge ideas or come in conflict? Is it even possible to merge different spheres of thought without conflict and at times war?

XI and his communist buddies have tortured meditators in that country… the Falun Gong . I believe we must prove we can no longer take a chance letting other nations invade their neighbors, especially those who consistently torture and murder opposition. If we do we will only encourage the Chinese to do the same to Taiwan.

This concept of God's vast spheres of thought keeps fascinating me. I try and imagine how the vibratory thought-spheres have been created, perhaps in an explosive fashion of conceptual fireworks, in analogy to the big bang which is the inception of the (or this) universe.

I also try and gain some deeper insight, to apply pragmatistically in life. Grasping the subtleties of some spheres can be of great help. This is a process which takes years or lives at times if done the traditional way (study). By intuition, it may take seconds.

As usual, you're able to see black & white. As McCoy pointed out before, one's own intuition might well go wrong, even if one is considered 'spiritually advanced' or a comprehensive idiot by others or ourselves, as we humans usually fail to comprehend God's (or the Universe's) laws and sphere's of thought - much less attribute positive or negative values to such spheres.

Here's an easy primer (not only for you, Steve) but for all advanced thinkers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLNhPMQnWu4&t=132s

Yes mccoy I believe there are many spheres of thought some exchanging views and shades of grey as well as those taking a strong view that everyone else that doesn’t have their view is tantamount to being a paranoid schizoid. No situation is all one way or another as all left all right. We may take on the views of others in many ways. However it is difficult to have such conversations when a neighbor breaks into your friends house or blatantly invades a neighbor’s country.

The cases you cited are cases of attunement to the wrong spheres of thought. In that case of course we won't engage in a metaphysical discussion with the invader. What we should do though is to devise the best defense strategies, according to the proper spheres of thought.

In the case of Russia, Putin and most nationalists are attuned to the sphere of thought of government-seizing and highly destructive war. The western alliance was not able to attune to the diplomatic sphere of thought and avoid the war. That's a serious drawback in a way. However the NATO alliance attuned to other spheres of thought which were not brutally destructive, like economic sanctions and financial and military aids. This sphere of thought was only partially successful, since economic sanctions, like many foresaw, have had little effect, whereas the military and financial aid are very useful but didn't stop the war which is dragging along.

Going back to our daily lives, it is evident that very fine attunement to some spheres of thought may be gained by some individuals, but in some cases, especially so today with the internet, we may study the concepts exposed by such individuals and gain ourselves attunement in that specific sphere.

One example is the sphere of thought of nutrition and lifestyle. Which is the best food to eat for health and longevity and what is the best lifestyle?

I've been pondering this sphere of thought for decades now and only lately I started to gain some attunement. The most credible researchers in this field are confirming today what the masters of raja yoga and kriya yoga already knew. They are expressing their thoughts in finer detail and using the advancements of Dwapara but the basic concepts remain the same.

Sri Yukteswar in a few words expressed his attunement in his book the Holy science. The most suitable food for man, as his anatomy belies, is plant-derived. Other food is good as well though, like fresh dairy products. The best diet is also a function of individual genes polymorphisms, activity, habits, tastes, purposes and so on.

The best diet for meditation has been outlined in the SRF lessons.

The rules to follow to attune to God's sphere of nutrition is to eat moderately and according to our digestive power in the specific day or moment, to eat mainly unprocessed plant-derived food: fruit, vegetables, mushrooms, whole grains or flowers, nuts, dairy products, eggs, maybe for some people modest amounts of fish or meat.

The above is not enough to attune into God's sphere of prolonged life in healthy conditions. We need to get proper exercise, sleep, emotional balance through meditation and stress management, a purpose in life through meditation and other noble endeavours.

Last but not least: the sphere of though of nutrition gives us attunement as to the best fuel for our body. Then we should forget about the fuel and start driving the car/body and act in attunement to other constructive spheres of thought.

On spheres of thought:

Julian Assange may appeal again against extradition to the USA. (https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/mar/26/julian-assange-granted-permission-to-appeal-against-extradition-to-us)

Has anyone already mentioned the parallels between Navalny and Assange?

Eric, in the case of Navalny the sphere of thoughts of brutal dictatorship and autocracy applies. After his death I came to know that he had developed an efficacious strategy to gather votes in favor of Putin's opponents. He himself was the main political opponent. Then, I understood why he consigned himself to the tyrant: simply because the tyrant, being attuned to this specific sphere of thoughts, would have never relented in his pursuit to eliminate his main and ingenious opponent. Never.
So, plausibly Navalny renounced his freedom to protect himself and his family from future, inevitable assassination attempts, well knowing that anyway he would have probably found death in the jails.

In the case of Assange, I don't know the events very well to judge. America is not a brutal dictatorship, so different spheres of thought apply. The spheres of thought of factions and agencies behind the scenes of democracy, maybe.

Another example of a specific sphere of thought is mental illness. Also, this sphere includes diverse sub-spheres, each with its conceptual characteristics.

I've been making an effort to attune into this sphere to gather practical info to deal with my autistic son. I did this by reading treatises of psychopharmacology, by reading specific medical articles and listening to experts talking in podcasts and meetings. At the end, I discovered that there are not so many specialists attuned to the field of low-functioning, aggressive autistic individuals. The ones more attuned were the ones who had first-person experience with this sphere of thought, having worked in institutions and having treated many patients with similar disorders.

First of all, my name isn't Eric. I'm Hummtydumbty. Nice to meet you.
Second, the US of Ars..oles are ruled by a league of capitalist oligarchs, and so is the whole West. Cruel they are, indeed. Insofar as they walk on the bones and ashes of those exploited and killed by them, including Mother Earth herself being exploited to the utmost.
Julian Assange may even face a death penalty when delivered to the US. Apparently no-one in the West really cares, the hypocrites there only care about who they can point their fingers at (Russia, China, the usual suspects we all know).
NO-ONE REALLY CARES except for their own pocket money. And no-one really looks behind the false media narratives spread by the Western oligarchies, as everyone enjoys their censorship. Duh..

I rest with John Cleese (see above).

I am not here to defend mccoy, I am not sure why he thought you are Eric. But let me tell you this please. We do not accept vulgarity in or on this site…. Especially  from our members. Secondly and perhaps more importantly, it is quite obvious who ever you are you have not read many threads here. I have put up countless threads about for instance Julian Assauge and Snowden as well as many other atrocities and violent acts committed by this country THAT I AM A CITIZEN IN. Need I mention the assassination of the two Kennedy brothers. Or the cover up of UFO reports.  Or perhaps the underhanded covert tactics to undermine the government’s of nations in central and South America.

So your comment about pointing the finger at Russia and China are weak if not a redirection to absolve such countries of so many human rights abuses that I am unable to even begin to to elaborate on them in my short response to your comments. However with the latest revelations I have provided here in my thread about Putin and his interference in elections in free loving nations, and my threads about the atrocities committed by the Chinese Communists to the Falun Gong meditators in China, I believe that is sufficient evidence to suggest that perhaps ‘Humpty Dumpty’ here may be a Putin and XI agitator to attempt to take down this site;  Which we have had plenty of in the last couple of months.

Lastly we can be grateful for much wisdom that has come out of China in many other threads I’ve created. And we can be grateful for such men as Gorbachev and Navalny who I’ve also shared much of my admiration for who came out of Russia. In light of what I have just expressed your comments lead me to wonder just how much you know about any of us here at the portal and whether you have any interest at all in the main thrust of this site, which is meditation and psychic awareness as well as the concept of mindfulness which applies to what I have just said about most of our topics. For example… please look at the topic heading of this thread. Let us be redirected to the interesting and helpful ideas Anandamoy has brought to us here…. Which Mccoy, through his devotion and admiration, thankfully brought us this subject.

Jitendra Hydonus

LOl, whenever I see a new, elaborated name, I think that's Eric.
Sorry central scrutinizer, and thanks for scrutinizing my comment, again I dare not venture into the issue of Assange because I really don't know it.
What I'm pretty confident about is that America so far did not attune to the sphere of thought of dictatorship, but rather to the sphere of thought of a superpower with a moral duty to support global democracy.

Thanks 😊 so much dear friend. Your energy is often from this higher sphere. It can be seen in your kindness. And tuning into these higher spheres is often like tuning into an exalted beauty and genius. It lifts the human spirit on wings to fly.

I recall Anandamoy saying he would ask the Guru ‘but when will you give me samadhi’ and Paramahansa Yogananda would respond; “Soon now Soon” and Brother told us that ‘we always think it’s all this way’ pointing to himself. As you know Brother Lucca from sacrificing much of your life spiritual practices for your son. It is not all one way; ‘Our way’ There is so much beauty in sacrifice and compassion that you inspire. It is a sphere of beauty higher than our little lives. It is a causal frequency well worth following and inspiring for all of us.

🙏

I’m sorry to say that recently this country ( the United Clones) has let the forces of darkness drown out support for global democracy and embrace the slow deterioration of freedom loving people. Please see my thread under dharma and history; ‘ The United States responsibility in Democracy.’

mccoy and I have been discussing this topic under Brother Anandamoy, although he has brought it to our attention through spirituality the idea has been around for some time.

The concept below helps to bring together various ideas and thought patterns together…

Abstract: The act of thinking produces different views or spheres of thought. These spheres may be convergent or divergent with each other, but they always can be integrated within a broader or more holistic sphere that comprises formerly antagonistic views. All the relative spheres may be finally embraced within the absolute sphere of fundamental unity.

Many of us, including myself are so immersed in the process of living day to day and hopefully with an appreciation of what is happening in the moment, that we seldom think beyond the obvious things that are happening in our daily life and the subjective feelings of the demands they place on us.

I have found though when observing people in my life and their actions that show differences in the way they approach relationships and the world around them it is an important to recognize that they are functioning under a sphere of thought, and what that means in a relationship with them.

As an example; since mccoy brought this topic to our awareness in this video with Brother Anandamoy speaking….

https://youtu.be/P7jeX5MyR3I?si=lpeCZ_2VocaancR8

And this is a more general link about spheres of thought…

https://www.hyponoesis.org/Content/pdf/Spheres_of_Thought.PDF

Steve, please put up with my summary of this conceptual model mentioned by bro. Anandamoy (After Sri Yuksteswar's remark reported in the AOY).

God created the cosmos, first in its causal layer. The causal universe. Plato's world of ideas. The essence of creation was merely concepts, thoughts, and ideas. From such a conceptual universe, the energy and matter universes condensed.

So, the primordial creative act of God created ideas, thoughts, which are universally, not individually rooted.

Whenever we believe some thought has originated from our brain, we are wrong. Such a thought already existed in creation.

So, when we think a thought, we merely attune to an already existing thought, originated by God. Such primordial conceptual entities have been called by Anandamoy God's vast spheres of thought.

whenever we think something, attune to such an idea and then put it into action, we draw from one of God's spheres of thought.

Very important: such spheres of thought (henceforth abbreviated to SOT) can have all the gamut of vibrations, from highly spiritual, to neutral, to demonic. This is the way God created the universe. Light and darkness, a metaphysical necessity, otherwise, as we are told, the creation would not be possible.

To be continued later....

So far I am listening to your view of what the Brother had to say. I find it interesting that you correlate his SOT (sphere of thought) with Plato’s view of an ideal world and his philosophy. I apologize if I haven’t responded to what you have said. I do not see any specific question so it sounds like you are mulling this over in your own mind, while at the same time helping us in your thoughts. My thought is that his lecture was quite informative in attempting to understand how different thought forms affect world views and even personal opinions and views.

You may want to know, that while I heard Anandamoy speak many times at services and in person he was not one of the monks I really connected with as you did. I suppose I could attempt to explain why but really don’t know that it is important. The point is that many people did and sometimes I was quite immersed in his anecdotes, especially since he had so many encounters with the Master. I remember once going to the Pasadena (it is now Glendale) temple and walking across a large empty room and he was sitting in a chair alone, next to the wall, at a distance from me. He kept staring at me as I crossed the room. I had come to hear what I thought would be another Brother (Sarvananda) that morning but instead Brother Anandamoy was speaking. Did he pick up on my thought? Possibly. Yet I determined that I was going to listen to him speak so went to the sanctuary and meditated before the service. I suppose anyone should feel good about being noticed although at times we may wonder; Why? It is strange but even today I can remember him staring at me. I always wondered about that encounter. As most people, I’ve at times had people that were part of my life take a long stare at me. I have often wondered what it meant and why they did it, and their thoughts at the time. Quite often I’ve thought of such encounters as a type of standoff, between two different ways of ‘seeing’ things.

Yes, sorry, I'm pondering and also putting some order in my thoughts about this model, trying to come up with a clear and reasonable conceptual framework. There is really not too much previous material to elaborate. Unless perhaps we read Plato?

Plato was the first person to really introduce the ideas of the psyche. In his early works, this is also translated as “the soul.” The philosopher believed three things about the psyche:

“The rational soul seeks the truth through logic, facts, and reason.

The spirited soul uses emotions to make decisions and take action.

The appetitive soul covers physiological needs, like food and sex.”

https://practicalpie.com/consciousness/

While Plato’s views seem to be able to explain some of Anandamoy ‘s  views in this lecture…we have another descriptive approach in the term ‘stream of consciousness’ or stream of thought…

What Is Stream of Thought?

The “stream of thought,” also known as the “stream of consciousness,” refers to the constant movement and appearance of thoughts in the conscious mind. William James is said to be the first psychologist to use the term. “Consciousness” refers to the awareness of what is happening in and around us.

One distinction between the Buddhist mind-stream and James’ stream of consciousness is that the mind-stream travels from one life to another. Buddhists believe in reincarnation, or the existence after one’s death.

Another concept within Buddhism proves to be useful today, especially as it makes a comeback in self-help books and fitness studios. Through mindfulness, Buddhists believe that one could better understand their mind-stream and become more knowledgeable. While today’s experts rarely connect mindfulness to reincarnation, many agree that mindfulness has its benefits. Mindfulness meditation, for example, can help to lower stress, boost your mind, and increase focus. When it comes to stream of consciousness, mindfulness can help you “slow down” the stream or make it more clear. As you become more mindful, you will be able to identify your feelings as they arise, “navigate” the stream, and even change its direction more efficiently.

https://practicalpie.com/stream-of-thought/

I didn't realize there is some definition of sphere of thought in the web!

The rumination goes on.

The causal world, the world of ideas or thoughts, of conceptual frameworks, is the blueprint of the material world we know.

By tuning into any specific sphere of thought we would be able to understand how God designed the architecture of that specific issue.

For example, today's there is ample speaking about longevity and how, if possible lengthen human life or even reverse aging. This is a hypercomplex issue. Nobody understands it yet. Soeme people have started to grasp some small parts of this sphere of thought, some underlying mechanisms. The whole framework is still eluding every bright scientist and Noble prizes. Whosoever would be able to fully tune into this sphere of thought, would have discovered the secret of longevity. I doubt that God will bestow this knowledge to anyone soon.

Infinite wisdom and understanding can be achieved by tuning into a specific sphere of thought with all its subtleties. But I firmly believe that human brain in its present state of evolution is not able to do that. Maybe only higher intelligences in the astral and causal worlds are able to. We must be happy if we understand small parts of some vast sphere of thought.

While listening to many lectures of Yogananda’s monastics I often heard these terms used in a conceptual basis of understanding the make up of a human being and since we are talking about ‘spheres of thought’ and the topic keeps coming up here, I thought I would mention some of these spheres of thought. I specifically remember Ananadamoy speaking about certain features of thought in other lectures. Although in this video mccoy presented here, there was much more entertainment. One would have to consider the fact that Brother knew he would be being filmed and presented on a public platform that may record him for hundreds of years to come. And though his sermons for a smaller audience did not have so much ‘entertainment’ people did come to see him just to hear his anecdotes and testimonies of his experiences with Paramahansa Yogananda.

Now some of the causal realm ideas I heard Brother and other monks speak of in other sermons/lectures For  instance below is listed the three body types and the traits of them or;  Prakrita

Prakriti: Constitutional Traits that create body types.

Each of us has a unique combination of vata, pitta, and kapha that make us unique in the way we develop and in the way we interact with the world around us.

And in the SRF lessons these qualities are elements are mentioned and they are found to different degrees in the doshas ( see links below.)

There are five elements in Ayurveda: ether, air, fire, water, and earth. Rather than being chemical elements, these are better understood as conceptual representations of universal forces or ideas. Each element and their fundamental qualities* are described simply below:
Ether - the concept of empty space (Qualities: subtle, light, unstable)
Air - the concept of movement (Qualities: mobile, dry, light)
Fire - the concept of transformation and illumination (Qualities: hot, light, sharp)
Water - the concept of cohesion (Qualities: moist, flowing, heavy)
Earth - the concept of solidity and stability (Qualities: stable, heavy, dense)

https://www.intrepidayurveda.com/post/doshaguide

https://simplehinduism.com/chapter-14-the-three-modes/

I also recall Brother speaking about A jīvanmukta, literally meaning 'liberated while living',[1] is a person who, in the Vedānta philosophy, has gained complete self-knowledge and self-realisation and attained kaivalya (enlightenment) or moksha (liberation), thus is liberated while living and not yet died.[2][3] The state is the aim of moksha in Vedānta, Yoga and other schools of Hinduism, and it is referred to as jīvanmukti.[4][5][6]
Jīvanmuktas are also called ātma-jnāni (self-realized) because they are knowers of their true self (ātman) and the universal self, hence also called Brahma-jñāni. At the end of their lives, jīvanmuktas destroy remaining karmas and attain parāmukti (final liberation) and become parāmukta. When a jīvanmukta gives his insight to others and teaches them about his/her realisation of the true nature of the ultimate reality (Brahman) and self (Atman), taking the role of a guru to show the path of Moksha to others.

Some of the above was taken from; Wikipedia

I believe this is the strongest causal idea that I resonate with and it motivated me to practice Kriya yoga.

Plato’s view and idea of the transmigration of the soul.

Plato. The importance of transmigration in European thought is due in no small measure to plato's concern with the doctrine. He became interested in it after his first journey to western Greece (Long, 69–73), and described it in a number of striking passages (Meno, 81A–D: Phaedo, 70A–73B, 80A–84b; Rep. 10.614B–end; Phaedrus, 245C–256E; Tim. 41D–42E). These passages are fundamentally consistent, although there are variations of detail among them; the details are usually similar to or identical with those found in Herodotus, Pindar, and Empedocles (Long, 85). The purport of these passages is as follows: Human souls were originally created by the Demiurge out of Existence, Sameness, and Difference, and placed each upon a separate star, from which they were shown the nature of the universe and the laws of destiny. All of them are, at various times, incarnated as humans. They die, are judged, experience punishments or rewards for their deeds in life, and after 1,000 years are again incarnated. They choose their own new bodies, and this choice is of crucial importance; but it is governed partly by the necessities of their own nature. A soul that has kept itself free from bodily taint for three lives is released completely from the cycle of births; most souls must live ten earthly lives—spread over 10,000 years— and then they rise again to the region of the gods and a vision of Truth. According to the Phaedo (81E–82B), incarnation is possible into animals, birds, or even insects, but some Neoplatonists insisted that Plato was here speaking allegorically. Since the concept of orthodoxy scarcely existed in Greek religion, Plato or any other philosopher was free to borrow details of any doctrine from various sources, combining them to produce the sort of synthesis he wished. Plato gave us a doctrine of transmigration that is constructed to emphasize in particular the divine source and nature of the soul and that encourages righteousness to the end that the soul may return to its proper divine status.

Hebrews 11:3 in the Bible states, "By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible". This verse means that the world was created by God's word, and what is seen was created by something that cannot be seen…. from other dimensions like the causal realm of ideas.

Yes, Plato and other Greek philosophers seem to have been influenced heavily by the Hindu philosophy, perhaps without having a direct, deep knowledge of it. It may also be that they developed an independent and converging opinion, having been able to tune into the right sphere of thought, the cosmic model of soul reincarnation.

Back to the sphere of thoughts, I often mull over the topic, sometimes while driving around.

There is, I believe, a hierarchy of spheres of thought.

The higher level is made up of the vast spheres of thought of basic ideas which encompass the great dualities and myriads of sub-spheres within them. For example, the spheres of peace and war, of good and evil, of health and sickness.

All these dualities are created by God, so we might think that no matter which sphere we choose to tune into, that's the same since their original source is God.

Well, that's wrong, as Anandamoy is ready to underline. Every sphere has a guna quality that influences our spiritual evolution. In God's plans, we must choose the higher, spiritual, sattvic spheres, and abandon the tamasic ones, the ones related to evil, war, greed, sense indulgence and so on.

The wrong choice, that is, choosing the wrong sphere of thought, will bind us in matter, and vice versa.

I think your view of satvic verses tama’s is in line with what I’ve seen in spiritual experience as opposed to a random view of life and it’s events. Perhaps for some this brings an evolutionary perspective to such terms as peace and war, love and hate and other duality’s we witness around us. It may be seen as a line of thought that transforms and transcends such opposites. Although,  it is not just a view, but an experience of life from a different perspective.

That is the thought that everything is based on a mirror of reality of what lies within us, a type of synchronous universe in contrast to the view that has existed so long here in the U.S. and the west; a haphazard reality with everything seen as coincidental.

As an example; we see autocratic and imperialist regimes in Europe and Asia. They are mirrors of forces attempting to thwart democracy and freedom of expression here in America. We also see leaders and people attempting to dominate nature and others in contrast to those who are living in harmony with nature and attempting to nurture and support nature and other people.

I realize that there is a mistake in my previous post, where I wrote 'every sphere has a sattvic quality...', No, it should read 'Every sphere has a guna quality', since it may be sattvic, rajasic or tamasic, or a mix of the three.

Yes thanks for the clarification; My post above still stands mccoy. We have an activating energy in Rajasic qualities. I see most people in that category herein the states; always having to do something. Usually a very restless state. Good to get material things done but no understanding of what meditation is all about. Their meditation is playing golf or fishing.

We cultivate sattvic qualities by meditation and practicing the presence at all times. Tamasic qualities are backsliding for the spiritual aspirant. Constantly looking for pleasure, indolence and unethical behaviors. Rajasic can be constructive if activating behaviors bring happiness to others and develop a positive relationships and helping Mother Earth and her inhabitants.

I attempt to have a sattvic mind and attitude but much of the time find myself in Rajasic activities because the mind is still restless with activity even though the struggle to calm it has become a part of every moment of my waking hours. This challenge involves the constant attempt to focus on what I’m doing, practicing the presence, meditation sessions at various parts of the day and nite and attempting to integrate my activities into a routine that brings my life into divine order. While at the same time recognizing the cultural attempt to involve the consciousness in constant pursuit of activating energy which can easily put the mind in turmoil and the body in backsliding into Tamasic consciousness..

Steve, I cannot but praise your laudable efforts; such a strategic planning of spiritual pursuits constitutes a sphere of thought by itself. Whatever strategy is actually a concept, a thought or a concatenation of thoughts and possibilities and degrees of probability that already resides in the causal realm, it has already been created by God. In your case, I think you are approaching the right sphere of thought, with aimed reasoning and purposeful actions.

Another aspect of the complexity of the spheres of thought is that they are not always univocally determined.

For example, the sphere of war is certainly and usually a wrong sphere of thought. We have a blatant example under our eyes, nations like present Russia ruled by Putin, it has factually been an invasion with the purpose of subjugating another country and population to the territorial greed of another nation. Or, to be very good, an overreaction to an illusory, expected danger from an enemy (NATO troops) that doesn't actually exist.

Sometimes though war can be the right sphere of thought. Steve, in our recent phone call, described me as Abraham Lincoln chose to go to war with the confederate states, although he knew that it would have cost dozens of thousands of lives (60K only in Gettysburg?).

However, the war was necessary to overcome the abomination of slavery, which the southern states, for economic and traditional reasons, did not want to relinquish.

So Lincoln adopted the right sphere or thought, going into an inevitable war to overcome a major secession, with one of the factions legally maintaining human beings in slavery.

I also believe that in God's plan USA had to remain whole and the secession would have jeopardized some future strategy in the chessgame between God and the legion of evil spirits.

Who could say it more eloquently? Some spheres of thought have been around for years if not ages. Yet I believe Lincoln was a great yogi in other lifetimes in the Himalayas as Paramahansa Yogananda has said and he was meant to play a role on the world stage here. Therefore he tapped into his role and a sphere of thought proceeding his life mission here. Consequently there was a reaction against him even by his own Republican Party who wanted an stop the violence, and let the south have their slaves, just to end the war. But Lincoln apparently was adamant that for all time he should set a precedent. It was as though he himself was a spearhead for a new dispensation.

Well thought out mccoy and yes it was a devastating war.

For more than a century, the most-accepted estimate was about 620,000 dead. A specific figure of 618,222 is often cited, with 360,222 Union deaths and 258,000 Confederate deaths.

https://www.history.com/news/american-civil-war-deaths#

I am daily pondering the concept of spheres of thought. Such a concept, by now it shouldn't surprise us, is by itself a sphere of thought.

What I previously just grasped by intuition, I am now trying to understand at deeper levels. I am trying to apply the model of the spheres of thought to everyday life. For example, the strategic planning related to my job. That's a sphere of thought, it exists in the causal world, I have but to attune into it and I'll be able to optimize my work and increase my efficiency.

Also domestic chores are a specific sphere of thought and they can be carried out with full efficiency and more quickly according to the rules of optimization as stated in such spheres.

It is interesting and advantageous to view everything as a sphere of thought, to construe reality as a reflection of its causal blueprint.

Usually, such attunement comes just empirically, often after a life of specific experience

What I see happening here mccoy. Is that you are seeing these spheres of thought in relation to some of your personal life experiences. Please correct me if I am in error about this. Or join me in helping understand what I may be missing in my own view of this video and it’s ideas.

I find no reason to disregard your ‘thoughts’ on this matter. I just am attempting to include my own and the reason for them. In my experience - even here at the portal - I have found that people who have come and gone, and at times have come back, have tuned into a certain thought wave, or as you have called a sphere of thought. This may also be some what of an emotional wave form, since thoughts and emotions often intertwine. I have found that often these wave forms diminish or increase depending on whether they meet confrontation or harmonious interactions. If harmonious interactions occur they may last for long periods of time. If confronting currents take over, there can be separation and in the most challenging differences; confrontations. It often requires some quantum leaps to overcome such clashes and find some meeting of the minds, or spheres of thought at a higher level of resolution.

This can be observed as you may look at weather changes and different air currents coming into play as they meet and commingle and then combine or separate. Or create storms and turmoil. All the time we may attempt to navigate these conditions in a harmonious way by meditating and praying and using various precautions to find a path that seems beneficial for our own personal happiness and those who we have encountered with similar weather patterns along the way.


Yes, and I may need to listen to the video again to see it quite from the influential standpoint you have reached in its perspective. I see you and I as on a similar sphere of thought… that’s is …..

While other people are living on the surface of life we’ve been digging deep inside attempting to understand it’s purpose.

That's correct Steve, I'm trying to relate the concept of spheres of thought to everyday's life and to take advantage, as it were, of such a concept. That, is, there is a right sphere of thought for some specific aspect and understanding. That sphere right sphere will guide us in practical and spiritual matters, in a few words, it will solve problems.

In your example above, you have been pondering the sphere of thoughts related to interaction with other individuals. It is a very complex sphere of thought, the rules related to attitude and behaviour, the rules related to how to rein our (negative) emotions, and so on and so forth.

Lately I've been pondering different types of spheres, some apparently trivial, like how to optimize domestic chores, others less trivial, like how to optimize work, others apparently more important, like the structure of spheres of thoughts.

Anything we can think about has its own sphere of thought by definition, and anything has its right sphere of thought, that is anything can be done in the best and more correct way if we attune to the right sphere, or in the worse, useless or even destructive way if we attune to the wrong sphere.

I think what is passed off as a sphere of thought can also be mindfulness, or awareness. I will give an example; Say you have difficulty with absent mindedness. It may be helpful to tune into a sphere of thought helping you with keeping track of things. Or Buddhists would say being mindful.

I would also say that absent-mindedness is a concept/thought (with its own sphere), mindfulness is another, adopting the sphere of thought of concentration and mindfulness would avoid absent-mindedness.

Anandamoy talked about 'the vast spheres of thought of God's creation'. Hence we must presume there are regions of thoughts, or vast sets or clusters of thought, similar one to another, yet not identical, part of the same ensemble of concepts.

Yes, like ‘radio waves’ and ‘different frequencies’ , at times we can pick up on the different wavelengths from others around us and attune our selves to their sphere of thought, just by a few words, a look or body language.

I still remember bringing my mother to listen to a speaker at the LAKE SHRINE, it was decades ago when Brother was still alive. Brother Anandamoy was speaking that morning. When we left he blessed us, which was typical at a small gathering in those days. My mother was very intuitive about people and as we walked to the car she said to me….

“That man is so handsome.” But then she said; “And he knew what I was thinking. He could read my mind.” Well I wasn’t so sure how to respond, but was happy she had occasion to meet him and listen to the lecture he gave that beautiful Sunday morning in the Windmill Chapel at the Lake Shrine. She apparently had some type of connection with him when he blessed her. She was surprisingly open and honest about her experience that morning. In fact I do not ever recall her ever telling me anything so intimate about another man except perhaps my father.

Very interesting story, I had an interview with Anandamoy back in 1992 during the convocation, but apparently he didn't read my mind. He offered to be helpful if I decided to move to LA and attend the SRF circles. What I remember is that he seemed to feel an attraction to me, for some unknown karmic reasons. That was the first and last time I spoke with him. My karma brought me back to Italy.

Yes a number of things happened to me when I was in Los Angeles that I am not sure how to explain them rationally. Especially with Brother Bhaktananda. I mentioned my experience with my mother visiting the Lake Shrine.

I also took her to the Redondo Pier later. I believe it may have been the same day since we went to the service that morning. When we were at the pier it was in the summer and there was a huge crowd of people, shopping and going to all the various shops and restaurants there. We used the crowded restrooms and when I got out I could not find her. For sometime I walked around aimlessly wondering how I would find her in the crowd. As usual I would ask for help (of a spiritual nature) and after feeling as though I wouldn’t find her, I suddenly clearly heard her voice ( with its distinctive inflection) in my head saying ‘Steve’ I followed the inner prompting and then found her. To this day I believe that she actually communicated with me telepathically and that is why I found her, there was such a huge crowd there and I did not know if she could find her way back to the car. Los Angeles could be that congested with people.

Brother Bhaktananda was another anomaly that over the years I had noticed about true Masters. And I believe, because of personal experiences, that both Amma and Bhaktananda are Masters. Bhaktananda had this uncanny sense of saying things that seemed to not fit the context of the lecture or conversation you’d be having with him. He was sometimes totally spontaneous and make comments that seemed to address personal matters other people may have had. I had witnessed it many times. However this time I will mention an incident that another Kriyaban friend told me that he had witnessed.

Brother was giving a lecture on a Sunday morning and suddenly he said that if the Chinese were to invade us that the aliens would intercede to help, if we were overwhelmed. I remember it clearly because the devotee also was told that Mother Center asked him to please not make such statements in a sermon. Obviously 🙄 if anyone was a visitor such statements would appear somewhat eccentric. However my friend said that he came back to a service on another occasion and Brother Bhaktananda again stated the same thing. It would have been hard to believe accept for the fact that I personally saw and heard him say things that clearly indicated he knew much more or was guided to say things that didn’t always jive with what seemed appropriate in context with the topic or that had a significance beyond the subject matter.
 
Once I remember him giving a sermon and suddenly blurt out; “And for those going to Master’s crypt at Forest Lawn. Please consider the length of time you spend there, because we do not want to make it difficult for the owners of the Mortuary.” Well I happened to be one of those fellows who loved to sit in front of Masters crypt for hours. I’m telling you, at first I felt guilty, but now I can laugh over it. Even though I believe he meant what he said, I also found he had a tremendous sense of humor in his humility and approach to matters and guiding us on the spiritual path. I’m afraid that just taking me aside and telling me that, would have been quite a scolding. But he also had a gentle loving approach that was the mark of a truly incredible human being.

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I had an unusual experience this morning mccoy, upon awakening I recalled a dream in which I was reviewing a sphere of thought that was brought into the portal. And I wanted to make an observation about it. But when I came on this morning I recognized that there was no such sphere of thought provided accept this thread that I am now posting on. So I believe that my dream was indeed leading me to this topic. Ofcourse I could also question the legitimacy of the dream I had, which also is a sphere of thought. Or the whole notion of spheres of thought.

Having said that, what is the sphere of thought that Anandamoy is bringing to us and that most of us that have stayed on the portal for any amount of time are accepting as reality? Is it not that our thoughts create our reality and that the reality we find ourselves a part of was created by ourselves from this life and all previous lives? This has brought us to the situations we have found ourselves in and a progressive future out of this material reality by practicing a meditation technique called Kriya that will make it eventually possible to not return here. Isn’t that what we are to believe? Anandamoy has also conditioned us to believe such a pathway of thought that includes a God that is somewhat responsible for us being here and in the predicament we find ourselves in. Yet we can help him and ourselves by making the effort to get out.

Now from an objective standpoint the notions we have had as a human race have notably changed dramatically from accepting slavery, making Gods out of people, atheism, agnosticism, to having for instance Sun Gods or believing we evolved from apes. So it is only natural to wonder if the current paradigm we accept that Anandamoy has given us applies for all time. Furthermore questioning our own spheres of thought or assumptions is also an approach which can be considered a sphere of thought. Being around Anandamoy for many years, it is easy to see that he was completely under the influence of Paramahansa Yogananda and a willing servant of his ideas. It appears as an admirable quality to us.

But obviously the majority of the population do not even accept such loyalty to another ‘human being’. Is this spirit of skepticism a sphere of thought that can entangle people such as myself in a lower vibration or a sphere of thought not helping myself and others? Or can we not accept the idea that a reasonable doubt or empirical proof should or can be applied? Paramahansa Yogananda’s response to that was that we should go into the laboratory of our own meditation and use the test tubes of our meditation techniques to determine if they have validity. But would this be an acceptable proof for the scientifically minded who seeks consistency and verification? Or has science itself become obsolete in the subjective experience of meditation? While science maybe able to prove certain biological and physiological phenomena, it is unable to currently verify subjective experiences and states of consciousness that someone meditating describes.

Steve, it would appear that you are plunging fast into the deepest rabbit-hole!

I think maybe I can simplify at least the last part of your post, the sphere of thought related to the existence of God, a sphere around which you can find many interesting verbal duels by eminent philosophers

😂

One can only hope
Hope springs eternal!

There are so many spheres of thought that you’ve shown me here, Brother Mccoy that I followed your example and found this rabbit 🕳️ hole where you appeared to lead me. Now I know how Hamlet felt. But hope gives me pause to peep outside the rabbit hole for only a momentary glimpse around to see my soul shadow and then return to inner sanctum.

😜

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy”

~Shakespeare

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/xu442PvCK2KkLfdG/?mibextid=0r8j9z

We may use a mathematical term to define the spheres of thought as 'sets', vast sets of thought, or ideas, which include so many subsets, the various aspects and layers of one specific concept or family of concepts.

For example, the sphere of thought of the existence of God. This sphere is purely logical. No material evidence is possible. This set is totally outside the scope of physical science, since it is a metaphysical sphere, it only resides in the causal realm. This is a sphere of thought which has no or little projections into the material world.

This sphere of thought can only imply discussions based on logical arguments. This is one of the fields where philosophy rules, since science, being limited to the material world, is powerless.

The wrong sphere of thought is the sphere of atheism. Scientists have developed so many arguments against the existence of God, some of them imply a leap of faith which is similar to religion, so such scientists do not realize that in the effort to negate the existence of God they created an alternate religion.

The interesting thing which Anandamoy has implied in his fleeting hint at the sphere of thought, is that such arguments against the existence of God already exist as ideas, belonging to the set or sphere of thought of atheism, emanating from God itself. We can choose the right sphere of thought (acknowledgment of the existence of God) or the wrong one (denial of the existence of God), but such spheres are already there, we created nothing.

There is also a subset just astride atheism and theism, which is skepticism and agnosticism, this is maybe an intersection of sets, or spheres.

Steve, of course the above is highly simplified.

My mind often goes through spheres of thought while meditating. At some point it goes beyond thoughts of this small entity called Jitendra and recognizes a sphere of thought beyond this time and space where this entity inhabits. 700 years from now there will be nothing of this thought and appearance. Yet most people do not get beyond the thought of their present needs and desires. Their present identities and aspirations. Not to mention that true meditation goes beyond all spheres of thought and is an experience beyond such concepts.

It is not a common experience for most people that meditate. But it is possible and this one has experienced it. I say this one, because the moment one recognizes what they are experiencing, if there is any thought of identity the experience evaporates. And here left with the experience, there can really be no way this material world can be seen as the same again.

Recently I’ve been attempting to understand other people’s sphere of thoughts. There is often resistance or sometimes tension with others because we do not sufficiently understand their spheres of thought. We must also recognize that it is often not possible to explain or necessary to explain our thinking and attitudes to others.

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I agree that, from our side, it is not possible, or necessary or advisable to explain the spheres of thought we adopted.

On the other side, I think that sometimes we may try to understand which spheres of thought other people have chosen. Those spheres of thought already existed in the causal world, so, if not too far-fetched, we may be able to grasp what they mean and if they adopted a right or a wrong sphere. It is an issue of discrimination. For example, should I listen to an expert explaining nutritional stuff on youtube? Did he or she usually adopt the right or the wrong sphere of thought? if we are able to discern if the expert is able to choose the right spheres, with a high degree of probability, then we can follow his or her suggestions. If they contrary, that's someone not to follow.

Also, in some instances we may recognize that is is useless and time consuming to discuss with someone who adopted a very wrong sphere of thought. For example, most conspiracy theories rose from the wrong spheres of thought in the realm of ideas. Spheres which are able to mesmerize the people who adopted them.