Ancient Indians had an innate belief in the preponderance of mind over matter. The austerities and penance they practised were all part of an eternal quest to achieve the objective of conquering the mind. By conquering the mind which according to modern science resides in the 'higher centres' of the brain, the ancient rishis were able conquer the body. They were able to endure extreme privations including heat and cold, pain and hunger.
We once scoffed at the ‘tapas’ which was their means of achieving lofty spiritual attainments. Isn’t it ironical that we are re-importing the essence of it repackaged as ‘yoga’, as a means to still the mind agitated by the rigours of modern life?
Choa Kok Sui’s ‘Pranic Healing and Arhatic Yoga’ is one such system for healing the mind and body using "life-energy". In the system, the healer is trained to mentally pass energy of various colours - the colours depending on the site of ailment – to heal! The system works on the spiritual attainments of the healer – the greater the attainment, the greater the healing power. Mysterious as it may seem, it has been known to work in many chronic ailments not amenable to modern science.
In its May 2009 edition, 'Wired' published the results of a scientific study conducted by Professor Garret Moddel of the University of Colorado, Boulder in 2007. The experiment, very similar in concept to ‘Pranic Healing and Arhatic Yoga’, was to verify the power of mind over matter. In it Professor Moddel aimed a beam of light at a glass slide and asked his test-subjects to mentally increase the amount of reflected light. With a baseline of 8 percent, the subjects were able to successfully increase the reflection of the beam by .005 percent, and showed a similar success when asked to mentally decrease the amount of reflected light.
The concept ‘success in life’ is highly individual and depends on how one defines it. It can take many forms: artistic, literary, material, political or spiritual. However, it is now widely believed (nay, it is true!) that mere talent is not enough to achieve success in life in today’s highly competitive world. The development of ‘soft skills’, modern slang for skills such as positive thinking, communication, interpersonal relations, managing others or leadership etc., is the key to personal development - and success in life.
The approach of articles published in this blog is not to replicate material that the readers / viewers may be able to access in newspapers or in success manuals. This does not however mean that there would be no references to published material at all if the situation warrants but to approach issues, as far as possible, based on personal experiences. If published material is used it shall be properly referenced and a list of articles, books for further reading shall be provided where possible. Yes, a touch of humour is attempted to make the pieces a pleasure to read.
Finally, this is a readers’ forum. Readers / viewers can contribute anecdotes on development and mentoring. Readers may post their comments on articles / replies on the blog.
Good Luck and God Speed your ‘SUCCESS in LIFE!
When this blog was originally mooted it was intended to cover purely personal development topics. But then it was decided to extend it to other management topics. And rather than waiting for topics in a particular order, to post whatever is at hand!
