Harnessing psychic power – Preparation

Going through some of the websites about psychic power, I realize that there is a sea of information on the topic, and many of them are categorized under the “new age” topics, as if taking a dip is something new to this age. No, it is not; it is as old as many of our civilizations. Even today in the remote corners of the world, we see men and women who are masters in harnessing the power of the human psyche, but this art had taken the form of a cult, and so traditions have not handed over the ancient wisdom to the subsequent generations. That is the reason why many of us find it hard to even understand that there is a tremendous power locked up deep within ourselves. Once we believe in the power, which we can name it also a spiritual power, we are ready to prepare ourselves for a dive.

One of the finest ways of preparing ourselves to harness the psychic power is to become familiar with ourselves, our bodies and the operation of our minds. Needless to say, most of us do not know our bodies sufficiently well. How many of us know where all we have moles in our bodies? Where do we have cut marks, and what are the distinguishing marks in our bodies? Believe it or not, we are all too shy to look at our bodies, like some of the ancient saints who refused to look at their genitals, for fear that should remind them sinful thoughts. If we are not familiar with our bodies, then it would be hard to harness the power locked deep within them.

This implies that we observe both the internal and external form, shape and texture of our bodies; it would take days to really explore the different parts of our bodies, and understand the complexities they impose. There should not be anyone who knows my body better than myself. We can practice a closer familiarity with our bodies, when there is a pain in a particular part of the body. Instead of saying my body aches, can I specify where exactly it aches? Instead of saying my body aches, can I specify that it is the second vertebra which is paining, or that the seventh? This implies a closer scrutiny of what is happening within our bodies. Once we start narrowing down the pain or ticklish feeling, we will get used to them.

The second thing that requires tuning and training is the human mind, and one of the excellent book which may help us to acquire the basic tenets of mind reading is Echkarte Tolle’s The Power of Now. It is a wonderful book which helps us to discard the many misconceptions and prejudices and help take control of the mind. If we can freeze the processings or the “noise” of the mind, then we would be in a better place to enter into the dynamics of it. But to freeze the thoughts which endlessly pour into our mind, it would take quite an amount of time and energy, but the trouble is worth. If we can enter into the “thoughtless” stage of the mind, which opens up for “silence”, we are entering into the domain of the divine, and that is also the domain of immense psychic power.

Focusing and concentrating on what is happening in me and around me is yet another important requisite in order to harness the psychic power. It is only the persons who are aware of how the body or the mind or the spirit is operating can really evaluate their operations. We need to listen to slightest noise that our psychic self makes; we should focus on even the slightest movement of our hearts, so that we may be able to harness what lies beyond promptings. One of the easiest ways of arresting pain or infirmity is to recognize where it is starting from, and where it is leading one to. Most of the doctors cannot diagnose the disease and so would require many tests, before they could make a few assumptions, often they also could go wrong. Once we are sure of the movements of our bodies, and know how to bring the mind to the stillness, and know how to focus and concentrate, then we will be able to enter into the actual harnessing of it.

Harnessing psychic energy

I believe every human person has a tiny bit of Godliness in him/her; I like the Greek notion of the human beings as ‘demi-god’ (tiny god), because that says that we have the qualities of God. This necessarily implies that to a certain extent we have the power that God has and exercises. The common sensical attributes of God as omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-capable), and omnipresent (present everywhere) can also be attributed to the human beings, though only in a limited way. It is my belief that the power that we inherit as “children of God” is ever-present and available in ourselves, and very seldom do we recognize it and tap it. If only we recognize the power that lies deep within ourselves, then the medical practitioners may become unemployed.

What do I mean by this? We have immense power and potentiality deep within us that there is no disease or infirmity that we cannot heal by ourselves. The psychic power (later in a different blog, I will come to talk about another power, the cosmic power) unfortunately, is a mine of precious resources, which lies unexplored, untapped. Now why do we not realize and recognize this psychic power deep within ourselves? One of the reasons which comes to my mind is that it requires certain disciplining of the mind-body-spirit, in order to recognize the depth, width and height of this mine. There had been individuals even in our own times who do wonderful works of healing and reconciling persons, using this psychic power. Over the next couple of blogs, I would like to explore ways of tapping the rich healing power that it is capable of.

It may be necessary that I define what I mean by psychic power! It is a power that every human person is endowed with, by the very fact one is a human person. We might find several justifications for the power we have been given, if we fall back on the creation narratives of the conventional religions or the creation myths of different tribes. As believers, we can easily understand that God created us in his own image and likeness, and after creating breathed his own spirit into us. Is it not a wonderful thing for God to do? He is sharing not only his image and likeness, but he is also sharing his life spirit; in other words, he is sharing with us his power and qualities with us. If we fall back on the Bible, there is no question that God shared his very self with us.

We often come across weak and fragile human persons at a spur of a moment achieving impossible and unimaginable works; for instance, it is said that if a baby is about to be run over a moving vehicle, and if the mother of the child were to notice it, she would be able to push the speeding vehicle and save the child. Now where does she get the strength to do this impossible feat? Of course this is the psychic power. Sometimes we wonder how certain persons, so simple and may even be just illiterate, can do some impossible wonders, and they may not be able to explain how they were able to do by themselves, but everyone would know that this is not possible under normal circumstances. These are the illustrations for the use of psychic power.

Now what can we do with this psychic power? There is nothing which we cannot do with the psychic power that we each one of us have; this is like the power which is convertible into any form we may want. You want to build self-confidence, the psychic power can help you; you want to find a suitable job for you or your partner, this can help; or you dream of a home for yourself and your family, but find it hard to find the means, then the psychic power can show you the way to attain your goal. It would be wrong to imagine that using the psychic power we can achieve material benefits instantly. We could look at it as a prescription for the diseases we suffer from. Just looking at the prescription is not going to cure the disease, we will have to purchase the medicine and take them, and that can bring healing. But that requires a special preparation of the body-mind-spirit.

Song for the Seniors

After visiting the ‘home for the aged’ for quite a few times, and interacting with the so-called senior citizens, I feel that one of the greatest and most ominous curses of not only this civilization, but also of the entire human race, it is the practice of the home for the aged. Luckily in many cases, these homes truly home away from home, and if it is being looked after by nuns, one should thank one’s stars for such a privilege. But does our civilization require homes for the aged? Are not every individual is condemned to become aged at some time or other? Why do we not keep our aged with us at home, and hurry up to keep them as far away from their children as possible? I feel sad when I listen to the stories of these aged men and women, they have too many tears to shed than words to utter.

Take for example, this senior citizen, who even past his seventy fifth year, is as agile and normal as a forty year old! Today he came on an official work regarding an exhibition; he is allergic to the hot sun, and so preferred the evening hours to engage in some work, but his memory is as fresh as ever, and no one can ever think that such men should be relegated to homes. He would not like to go, for sure, but on our side it would be a cruel thing to send them much against their wish, to the homes for the aged. I do understand some of these homes have become yet another form of commercial centers, where people could mint money on the gullible filthy rich children, who want to get rid of their parents because they would only be burdens to their private life.

I have come across several senior men and women who contribute more to their families than their children; it is true, the aged men and women are more susceptible of age-related diseases and illnesses, and may require constant medical care; but if they are well taken care of, one may not come across people who are as caring and loving as these are. Traditional rural families cannot think of giving up the elderly, because they are not only precious assets to the community and families, but they are also the one’s, who direct the destiny of the communities. Their wisdom and knowledge is something that even the most erudite of the community cannot equal to. After about sixty, one’s life cycle reverses, and the elderly become like children, and that is why they also behave like little children.

I was not fortunate to live with my grandparents; both my maternal and paternal grandfathers expired quite early in life, one when I was about seven, another when I was some twelve years old; my paternal grandmother died after she began to live alone after the property was divided between the sons, and since our family was not close to her, we had very little feelings for her. However, I had fond feelings of my maternal grandmother who lived up to about 90 years, and had tender feelings for her; even when she could hardly see, she would try to cook for me, and she was so proud of her grandson that she would talk about him to all the people of the neighborhood. I felt what it means to have the affection of grandparents.

If only we realize that grandparents are the treasure house of not only traditional wisdom and knowledge, but also of love and concern for the family, they would be better treated by the present day generation. We might have long abolished the system of homes for the aged, and on the city highways and in trains we may not be able to see the senior citizens begging for food. If this is what we are subjecting our aged parents to, then worse things are in store for us, and it is time that we remedy the situation and bring back the aged to our homes, so that their footprints may sanctify our households, their voices may sweeten the air, their sight may colorize our vision, their touch may make soil into gold cakes, and life will not be the same when they are around. They are our treasure, and it is time that we honor them for what they are!

Security of the Insecure

Walking through some of the main thoroughfares of the city and coming across several people living on pavements along streets, I was wondering what the security of these insecure people is. I have seen the people who are living for almost three generations just in front of one of our houses, look for cover as soon as the rains started pouring, or as soon as stormy wind begin to take their rooftops forcefully. Everyone knows how the families living on pavements with small children suffer during the monsoon, when the members lose their jobs, and have very little to eat. I would like to think aloud about the security of the insecure. I am all the time conscious of my security, be it material or moral or social or cultural, or even spiritual. But what is the security that the people who live on slums and pavements or railway platforms experience?

If I were to take a survey about how the so-called insecure people living on the fringes of the society themselves feel about life, I should be prepared for some startling facts. One of the facts which I hardly ever take into consideration is their happiness quotient. I would think that these insecure people would strangely rank much higher in the happiness quotient than the so-called secure people, you and I, or in that case all those who are living in palatial buildings. No amount of natural disaster or human-made calamities can take away the joy and happiness of these people, and even in the worst of privations, there would still be meat being cooked. What is the secret of the high ranking of the happiness quotient of these people?

We would be surprised to observe that these people have no bank accounts, no savings for the future, no gold and silver jewels, no extra-ordinary electronic gadgets (they hardly burn candles or kerosene lamps, thanks to the street lamps, and how can they use any electronic gadgets), and yet they are happy about life, and nothing seem to stop their zest for life. This is a riddle for which we may have no answer, and even these people may not have any satisfactory answer. Living on the third floor of a building I used to look down on these people often, and they seemed to be having more peaceful sleep with all the noise and pollution than I with less noise and pollution. But I feel my search for an answer to the high rate of happiness quotient in these people is finally arriving at some sort of an orientation.

It may sound again like a riddle, but the security of these people is in their insecurity; I am reminded of a proverb in my mother tongue, which says, why do you need a scarf for a person who had got wet completely. If I am wet thoroughly, I don’t need to protect my head with a scarf; and if we are to apply this theory to the insecure people, we will realize that they have lost almost all the greatest pleasures of life, such as money, possessions, influence, muscle-power, and like Maurya in Riders to the Sea says, there is nothing the sea can take from me, these people could look at the world around and with a beaming smile say, there is nothing you can take away from us. That is where their security lies, and that calls for a serious questioning our so-called securities.

If we dare to learn a lesson from these people, then it is obvious that whatever we consider as the harbingers of true security do not in fact make us secure. This implies that the more we give up and welcome insecurity in life, the more secure we become, and that is when we begin to be happy, and the happiness quotient slowly rises. Is it possible that the haves will ever dare to give up their much hard-earned money, wealth, riches and power to go in vain? It may be painful for someone to give these up, especially if one had risked one’s life and earned it with sheer sweat, but ultimately what matters is not to perish with the riches and welcome an untimely death; those who dare to slowly detach themselves from these worldly securities are sure to gain something far more enjoyable and lasting, true security and happiness.

Singing with the Spirit

It was so very wonderful to hear about one of my friends share her experiences, while attending a workshop for her sisters on planning for the early formation in their congregation. She shared with me on how different persons had to make adjustments in order to bring the discussions to fruition. Each person had something to share, and she had a greater share to contribute, thanks to her far-sightedness and down-to-earth experiences with girls at early stages of formation. The coaxing and prodding of one of her friends to go deeper, had also helped her to think differently, positively and innovatively, which had added color to their discussions.

I believe every one of us has got something to contribute to common meetings and deliberations, but often we come across persons who may not dare to open their mouths, and it may be quite annoying for the organizers to find such persons in big number. There may also be persons who feel shy to speak out what they feel deep within, and therefore keep their insights locked up within their selves. There are others who feel that their viewpoint would be quite sub-standard in comparison with others, and so would not dare to speak out in public meetings and discussions.

I feel that if a person is not able to speak out in meetings or deliberations and contribute his/her view points, that person is not being faithful to the Spirit which moves him/her. No one can say that he/she has got nothing to say about any point whatsoever. It may be possible for a person that it is not easy to grasp the content being discussed, but in that case one can at least say that he/she finds it hard to grasp the content. But keeping mum can only mean that one is closing one's heart to the promptings of the Spirit.

We also come across persons who know how to divert the discussions to the areas they are comfortable with, and thus hijack the entire discussion. It is my practice not to speak more than what I should, even when I know I have more important things to contribute, unless I am specially invited to voice my opinion. There is a tendency in some to parade their knowledge and erudition by intervening too many times during meetings and deliberations, much to the annoyance of everyone else. I need to know how much I should contribute, and should not think that I am the only person to contribute towards the fruition of the discussions.

The people who are overly smart and over confident may be tempted to divert the discussions to areas which are different from the one primarily aimed at, and it would do good if these persons sometimes deliberately keep quiet, and let the spirit move other members of the group. Thus it is not necessary for me to talk, every time I feel inspired; the Spirit too may require some moments of quietness and silence. This would also give me time to realize that I should not hijack even the Spirit, or speak in the name of the Spirit. The Spirit can move anyone in the group to bring home vital points for discussion, and we have no right to tamper with the movements of the Spirit.

Trip through Grace History

It is a wonderful experience to go through the Grace History of each one from time to time; unfortunately after the initial stages of formation at religious life, most of us do not revisit our Grace Histories; some of us may be fortunate to revisit them when we attend some sort of refresher courses. But luckily our Grace History continues in wondrous and mysterious ways, sometimes we may not even pause to take stock of the ways how we are led by God. We are sure to find the footprints of God in every Grace History, and therefore every Grace History is sacred, not only to the persons concerned, but to everyone, who believe in God. It is part of the Universal Heritage that we leave for generations after us.

Maybe I should explain what I mean by Grace History. This is a ‘narrative’ of each one’s journey in faith, how we had been led by the powerful hand of God through thick and thin, and to realize that we are safe under his wings, to borrow a phrase from the Psalmist. Thus every one’s life story is a Grace-story, and we can be proud of our stories, with all the joyful and sorrowful moments. If we look at the most important and significant moments of our life’s journey, we will realize that there had always been an invisible, powerful hand protecting us from all the dangers we had been subjected to, by our own follies or by the vile plans of others. Grace History in other words shows us our road map, the path we had trodden, and that gives us strength to walk forward.

I wish we get more opportunities to visit our Grace Histories more often, not necessarily to find fault with the people who make our life miserable, nor to blame ourselves for the opportunities we missed, nor to regret for commissions and omissions. I remember some years ago we had begun in our Province, what was called ‘live-in’ meetings, and these were wonderful moments for us. Similar age-group men met together for a heart-to-heart conversation; as we reviewed our journeys, we realized that many of our paths intersected at several points, and we felt deeply moved by the histories of several of our friends, and that brought us closer to one another.

I remember there were times, when some of our friends were sharing their Grace History they were on the verge of breaking down. Narrating our Grace Histories is also cathartic (remember the Greek notion of Catharsis, meaning purging), and it purges us of the impurities, short-sightedness, and help us to remove the dust out of our bright spots, and let the light shine. However it is painstaking to enter into a serious and sincere narration of our Grace Histories, because it involves our own failures and successes, pain and agonies, joys and ecstasies, the role of self and others in the course of the journey. Therefore my Grace History is a tiny bit of the history of this world, history of humanity.

Often in life, we have a tendency to only look at the dark spots of life, and refuse to take note of the bright spots, the spots which had been giving light to our journey forward. Though the dark spots are integral to our journey, they alone cannot make our journey; the light and the shadows together make our Grace History. The dark spots may show to us our action, and the bright spots the action of God, and that is sure to help us realize that we are led forward according to a divine plan, and not merely by chance, as agnostics and atheists might claim. It is a great consolation to realize that I have a Grace History that I can share with others, and that our histories intersect, helping us to walk forward hand in hand.

Journey through Darkness

There are very few people who have access to the interior alleys of my life, especially of my past. It is so very frightening to let people walk through the narrow corridors of my tainted life, gathering moss all around, and smelling of filth and decay. My real self is so very different from the one which I pose before people, and there would be very few people who would be willing to accept my true self. Even some of my very close friends dare not walk through the dark alleys of my life, for fear they may have to look at me as someone very different from who they were used to, and that would be too frightening for them to believe, leave alone accept. Thus in most cases I would like everyone around me to believe that my true self is an exact copy of my exterior self. That is how I cheat the world around me.

I know that I have to keep doing this “cheating” for the sake of survival. I cannot afford to wash my dirty linen in public, what will others think about me? The world likes people who are fair-skinned, and it does not even mind people with colored faces; the world cannot accept people who are uncouth, rustic, who are closer to the earth. The world we live in cannot think of the heart of darkness or the darkness of the heart. It is amidst the thick darkness of the heart that I treasure some of the most precious secrets of my life, which is inaccessible to everyone I know of. Even some of my thick friends may not have access to this corner; it may be too frightening to visit this place, because here they might encounter the raw, natural I, and they may not even recognize me.

Yesterday as I was walking along the prestigious Park Street, on my evening brisk walk, I spotted one of the nuns, who was known to me. I went close to her and wished her, but she could not recognize me for quite a while, because she had seen me in my T-shirt and shorts, and she could not believe it was me. After a little while she recognized me, and said that I looked very different. And she was right, I looked very different. If this is the case for people to recognize me, how difficult it would be for them to recognize my real self? How would they respond were they to come to know the darkest secrets of my life, which of shrouded in mystery? Will they be able to accept the unholy, filthy, corrupt self of mine, which is far from the image I had been projecting to them?

There are just one or two people who were able to enter into the secret corners of my heart and have befriended the demon who bears my name; they have realized that this ferocious demon is not as cruel and horrendous as they thought it to be; there is a human heart to it, and it may be more human than several other human persons they know of. It is thanks to their presence that I am able to walk out even without putting on the cloth of a genteel man, who has been tamed by nature to be one of the finest of civilized men. But I cannot forget what had happened in the early years of my life, the different persons who had shaped me and molded me.

It is hard to safeguard the most treasured secrets of my life; I know that I cannot safeguard them all my life, though I had striven earnestly to protect them from men and women who really did not share my vision of life, and who did not want to share my life. But I don’t know how long I could do that, but one thing is for sure, soon I may lose control over these secrets, and they would become annals of every household, and I would see both praise and brickbats for my words and works. If someone dared to cut me into pieces and find my heart, he/she would realize that I had a heart which is so very human and tender, which cries for life, for a clear sky, for the full moon light, for the golden rays of the sun, for the unpolluted air of countryside, for clean waters of the stream… Life is wonderful really!