We are all well versed by the fact that every adult needs seven – nine hours sleep for a fresh morning. While most of us fail to do so due hundred reasons, here’s why you should make it a daily habit to sleep early and maintain a healthy sleep cycle.
WHAT DO WORLD’S RICHEST PEOPLE THINK ABOUT SLEEPING EARLY?
Some of the most successful people we know of, have a tendency of sleeping early every night, and they expound the benefits of doing the same.
“Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”
– Benjamin Franklin, Founding Father of the United States
“I’m more alert and I think more clearly”,
Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com and the wealthiest man in the world
Some of the other leading lights who hit the pillow at early hours to remain alert and fresh the next morning are Bill Gates (Former CEO of Microsoft, second wealthiest man in the world), Warren Buffet (Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, third wealthiest man in the world) & also the Holy Dalai Lama.
The renowned / popular health and medical information website WebMD suggests that sleeping early can boost your mood helping you avoid mood disorders.
According to American News and opinion website, Huffpost’s ‘9 science-backed reasons why you should sleep early’
“While you snooze, your body is hard at work performing repairs on your heart, blood vessels, brain and other tissues that help keep chronic disease at bay. Skimp on sleep, and that nightly maintenance schedule starts to suffer. Eventually, your parts will start to wear out, setting the stage for major problems.”
Why does this happen and what does Theosophy say about it?
This phenomenon draws from two principles based in theosophy.
- The role of physical elemental.
- Creation and use of Prana, or vitality, through the day.
The physical elemental has a big role to play in the working mechanism of dense physical body during night time and the effect when we wake up.
Keep reading to know more…
What is Physical Elemental?
In simple words, the physical elementals have two important roles
- They keep the physical body tense during day to perform tasks and help them remain alert at all times. This makes sure, that physical body is prepared for action all day long.
- They also help in absorbing Prana when the dense physical body is relaxed and at rest during sleeping hours at night.
Thus, Physical Elemental takes in Prana from the environment and assimilates it into the physical dense body, hence working like a machine throughout.
Now what is Prana and why is it important for our body?
Prana is a life force emitted from the sun that enters some of the atoms in the Earth’s atmosphere. This configuration can be termed as vitality globules.
Prana as described in The Etheric Double by A. E. Powell (Theosophist and Author) is a “Life-Breath”, in every creature.
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, (Founder of Theosophical Society, Author, Occultist and Philosopher.) compares Prana to oxygen that also supports life. In western words Prana can literally translate to ‘vitality’.
Indra Deva, the King of Heavens and a God from Hindu Scriptures says, “I am Prana, and Prana is Life.”
How does a Prana or vitality globule work in our body?
- It holds all cells and molecules in our body together, without Prana our dense physical body would be nothing but independent cells performing scattered tasks
- The formation of Prana happens only during daytime due to availability of sunlight
- It is absorbed through Spleen Chakra in our body and then distributed to other Chakras
YOU MUST WONDER… HOW PRANA IS CONNECTED TO SLEEPING EARLY?
So, this is how…
Like mentioned earlier, Prana comes directly from the sun, therefore its existence is unquestionable during daytime, but what happens when the sun sets and there is no sunlight anymore?
Here’s the answer…
Prana, is at its peak level (highest) during dusk and worn off (lowest) at daybreak. Therefore, all living beings must absorb/assimilate it during its maximal existence.
While the sun is set…
- Prana is maximum in the atmosphere
- But the production is halted
- Every living-being then absorbs Prana
- Dense physical body needs to be relaxed so that our physical elemental can absorb Prana efficiently
The sooner your physical body is relaxed, the more they can assimilate Prana from the atmosphere.
Therefore, your physical body needs to be at rest early. When you sleep early, the amount of Prana is ample for absorption and as you delay your sleep, the amount declines as well. As the night falls, the amount of Prana reduces.
Therefore, when you sleep late, the amount of Prana absorbed is less resulting into low energy when you wake up. During dawn this level of Prana is almost down to zero and therefore there is not enough Prana for Physical Elemental to absorb.
Now can hit the hay early tonight and experience the change yourself.
Tell us how it worked for you!
Share with us your sleeping pattern or ways how you can manifest sleeping early in the comment section below!
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Have you heard that the practice of cremation is considered better than burial? Why more and more people are preferring cremation than other ways of treating a dead physical body?
This educational and spiritual blog will discuss the topic of cremation vs burial from the perspective of the Theosophical school with a background of how dead physical bodies are treated in various cultures around the world.
In this article, we will briefly discuss practices in Christanity, Islam, Zoroastrians, Buddhism and in Hindus, before coming to the theosophical perspective!
Christian view on cremation and burial:
Most Christians practice burial. Although in the Bible there is no clear direction given about treating the dead bodies, burial is practiced by Christians as an age old custom followed by the Israelites and the Egyptians as recorded in the bible.
The Christian believe in salvation and therefore how you treat the dead is given little value for no matter when or how the man dies, he will be resurrected to everlasting life in a new body for an eternal life. During resurrection whether a person’s body has been buried or cremated will not make any difference.
Christians bury the dead of the dear ones to show respect to the body. Even though the spirit has passed on to an eternal destiny, the body of the deceased remains a tangible reminder of how much the person meant to them. Whether burial or cremation expresses that respect appropriately is a very personal decision taken by the family of the deceased.
Coming to the Islamic view on Cremation:
In Islam, cremation is considered to be “haram” or an unclean practice. Muslims are prohibited from taking part in the act of cremation or even supporting or witnessing the event.
Burying the dead is the method prescribed in the divine law of Islam. Muslims believe that the body should be treated with the utmost respect in life and in death. Burning the dead is considered as a form of damage to the body which is forbidden by Allah.
The Quran talks about resurrection after the body is disintegrated. It is believed that during resurrection, Allah resurrects the body from the tailbone. Cremation destroys the tailbone along with the rest of the body which prevents resurrection of the body.
However, it is also believed that Allah can revive the cremated body for resurrection even if there are no physical remnants of the body left. So, cremation does not necessarily prevent the dead from entering heaven or hell. The choice is again in the hands of the immediate family members of the deceased.
Zoroastrians have the following beliefs about cremation and burial:
Zoroastrians strongly connect physical purity with spiritual purity. They traditionally consider decomposition as demonic. The corrupt influence of decomposition is said to be contagious and spiritually dangerous. That is why, Zoroastrian funeral customs are mainly focused on keeping infection away from the community, in which after washing the body, it is moved to the “dakhma” or Tower of Silence.
The dakhma is a wide tower with an open platform. Corpses are left on the elevated platform to be eaten clean by vultures, which only takes a few hours.
In this way the body is destroyed completely before getting corrupted. The corpses are not placed on the ground because it would corrupt the earth. For the same reason, Zoroastrians do not cremate their dead, because they believe it would corrupt the fire.
For Zoroastrians in many parts of the world who have no access to dakhma have adapted burial and sometimes cremation as an alternative method of treating the dead body.
Hindus and cremation:
Hindus believe that the soul is not bound to only one physical body, but number of bodies before reaching the final destination of freedom, or mukti. The death only symbolizes the departure of the soul from the present physical body to the next life.
Hindus are expected to work on freeing themselves from attachments and desires and living a pure life that will release them from the present life cycle in order to reach the final stage.
Hindus give little value to the body. They see the body as a prison for the soul that creates attachments and desires that prevent its progress towards freedom. Their belief in the after-life plays a key role in the practice of cremation. Therefore, in Hindu funerals, the role of cremation is to break the ties of the soul to the body by the holy fire, releasing it to move toward mukti.
Cremation is practiced to detach the newly disembodied subtle body from every attachment and encourage it to pass on to its new journey instead of hovering around dear ones.
What Theosophy talks about Cremation:
The school of Theosophy teaches that after the physical body dies the etheric body begins to disintegrate, eventually followed by other various bodies of the man. Cremation serves as the best practice to handle the dead physical body because burning the body ensures swift disintegration of the etheric body.
Burying, on the other hand, slows down the gradual process of the disintegration of all other bodies.
This makes way for evil spirits or demons to take advantage of the buried physical body or of the etheric body to carry out any malpractices through black magic. Burning the dense physical body destroys the very point of origin of the etheric double.
Next, if the soul of a man strongly desires to return back to his physical body for whichever unfortunate reason, the practice of cremation completely abolishes the unnatural possibility of it. However, the same cannot be said about the burial or embalming of the body.
Even though burial is considered a ‘kinder’ way of disposing the dead body, however, the gradual process of decomposition of the body is not acknowledged which makes cremation a lot kinder practice than burial. Some men die not just from old-age but because of some disease.
What are your views about the practice of cremation?
Do you believe in the practice of cremation or burial?
Do you have any other beliefs apart from the traditional religious beliefs on handling the dead body? If so, share your views with us.
Also, let us know if we missed out on anything in the comments below.
At some point in life you may have heard the famous line “A cat has nine lives.”
When someone survives many accidents, we say he is like a cat, as cats have nine lives and never die easily.
Do you think the saying is true? Do cats have nine lives in reality?
The saying has been carried on from an old English proverb: “A cat has nine lives. For three he plays, for three he strays and for the last three he stays.”
William Shakespeare also refers to the nine lives in his famous play Romeo and Juliet.
How Did The Belief Originate?
In ancient Egypt, cats were considered sacred animals and they worshipped them as gods. Egyptians believed that cats were divine creatures that possess supernatural powers. The idea that they could have multiple lives makes sense with their view of cats.
But why nine lives? No one knows the answer to that. But there are many possibilities.
For example, the Egyptians worshipped their sun god Atum-Ra who gave birth to eight other gods. They believed that Atum-Ra would take the form of a cat on his visit to the lower world. The cat would thus represent all nine lives in one.
Why Do People Believe Cats Have Nine Lives?
Some people believe the nine lives are related to cats’ dexterity and agility and their ability to always land on their feet.
Many believe that the saying stemmed from cats’ ability to survive extreme situations.
Over time, people have witnessed cats survive in situations that would have been fatal or severely injuring to other animals. So people began to believe that cats must have multiple lives.
Dr. Brian Beale, an orthopedic pet surgeon and joint specialist says that, “Historically, cats have been observed to be able to live through events, like being thrown from tall towers or engulfed in fire. Such situations typically would kill people or other animals.”
“I believe that the ability of cats to perfectly balance themselves during a fall is the main origin of the nine lives idea,” says holistic physical therapist Sally Morgan.
“They have flexibility in their bones and ligaments which are required for quiet stealth to attack their prey. That allows them to sustain minimal injury from many types of accidents.”
Theosophical reason
According to theosophical facts, cats are gifted with great amount of Prana (life energy) that makes them energetic and agile.
So what is Prana? And why is it significant?
Prana is the vital energy that all living organisms absorb from the sun. A sufficient amount of Prana is necessary for their existence. It is therefore, said that all living beings, animals, plants, etc. are products of Prana.
H.P. Blavatsky, Co-Founder of the School of Theosophy has compared Prana with oxygen in her book “The Etheric Double”. She compares prana with the life-giving gas – oxygen, the active chemical agent in all organic life.
The fact that cats are pre-eminently endowed with prana has given rise to the popular idea of the cat having “nine lives”. For the same reason it appears to be regarded as sacred in Egypt.
Conclusion:
There is no such thing as nine lives. Cats have one life on this planet like everyone else.
The nature and prana give felines some advantages that allow cats to escape from dangerous situations.
Cats are incredibly intelligent and intuitive. They have super-fast reflexes, incredible dexterity, and quick decision-making skills. Cats have a very flexible spine and they can position their body in a protective manner in time of danger.
The myth that cats have multiple lives exists in many cultures around the world. It’s not always nine lives, though. Some Spanish-speaking regions believe cats have seven lives, while Turkish and Arabic legends claim cats have six lives.
Have you heard of any other myths about cats? Share it with us and gain a theosophical view on them!
Let us know what you feel about the blog in the comments section!
WHY DO I FEEL DRAINED AROUND SOME PEOPLE?
Did you ever feel exhausted after a conversation with someone?
Do you always feel tired after talking to a specific person?
Why do some people carry a negative vibe that ultimately affects the mood of others and drains their energy?
To begin with, feeling exhausted around some people is absolutely normal. You may tend to keep certain distance from them because they give you negative vibes.
Why do you think this happens?
This has something to do with Prana, better known as the Life energy.
What Is Prana?
Prana can be defined as the energy that breathes “life” into us and every living being on earth. It is emitted from the sunlight and grants life energy to all organisms on earth, helping our bodies to function effectively.
Can you imagine our bodies functioning without any energy? That is how essential Pprana is! Without this life energy, no living body can function at all. Life of all living beings – animals, birds, plants, and humans is a product of Pprana. We consume ample amount of Pprana present in the atmosphere everyday for survival.
This blog post will expand your knowledge about the Etheric body and the subject of Theosophy. So read closely!
What is the role of Prana?
Prana is the source of life for every organism on earth and it energizes our body all the time. Helena Blavatsky, the co-founder of Theosophical Society compared Prana, to oxygen. Just as oxygen is an active chemical element necessary for organisms to breathe, so is Prana an important element for all living beings.
How Is Prana absorbed by our Bodies?
According to the school of Theosophy,
Prana is emitted from the sunlight and is present is ample amount in the atmosphere. It forms Vitality Globules in the environment which is absorbed by our Spleen Chakra (force centre) and then distributed to all other parts of the body. Since Prana enters the etheric body through the Spleen Chakra first, it is the most important of all other chakras in our etheric body.
Therefore, it is very important for the Spleen Chakra to function smoothly so that enough energy is absorbed and supplied to the body.
Now, how it is absorption of Prana related to feeling exhausted around some people?
Here’s how…
- Trouble in Assimilation:
Some people are not able to assimilate this source of energy in their bodies because their Spleen Chakra is not functioning properly. This trouble in assimilation causes them to remain low on energy. Such people are often seen inactive and weak.Because of this lack of Prana, they unconsciously tend to draw the Prana from the sensitive people around them. They suck Prana from others, only to make up for their own deficiency! Doing this does not benefit the one absorbing energy as his Spleen Chakra itself is not functioning properly. But the victims of this episode get drained out and feel tired very soon.
That is why we may feel such individuals bring along some negativity. We can call them “energy vampires” as they absorb Prana from others leaving the people exhausted. We avoid coming in contact with them as we do not want to feel low or weary. But the person unconsciously sucking Prana from others is in a poor state himself.
So now you know why you really feel exhausted after coming in contact with some people!
In contrast to the state of energy vampires, a person who is physically fit and healthy is blessed with a supremely smooth functioning Spleen Chakra. This helps him in generating more PranaPrana than what is sufficient for his body. In that case, the remaining Prana is radiated from the individual’s body in all directions.
You may have seen a person who is physically fit, often brings along some good vibes and energy in the room. It is because of the positive life energy that is constantly glowing from their body.
This overflowing energy makes him an excellent source of Prana for those around him. Such positive energy is very beneficial for those who wish to perform healing activities!
- Restoring in the Body
A person can prevent drainage of Prana by creating a protective shield around him using various practices of Pranic healing.Pranic healing may also help in restoring the functioning of the spleen chakraSpleen Chakra of the energy vampire.
Plants and vegetables are known to absorb a lot of Prana that they do not use it significantly for themselves. Trees like oak, pine, eucalyptus obtain high amount of Prana. Sitting under a tree or around highly-charged flora can help a drained person restore his or her Prana.
If you ever had a similar experience let us know what you did at that time!
Would you like to explore more about the topic of Prana or Vitality? The Module 2 from our course is based on the book “The Etheric Double” by Arthur A.E. Powell. Click on the link to visit the website for more details on the course.
Have you ever encountered a paranormal activity before?
Or have your near ones ever shared a supernatural experience that left you shaken?
We all have grown up listening to a number of ghost stories that have shaped our ideas about the existence of apparitions.
But do you think that the horror movies you watch, or the stories you hear, describe well enough, what apparitions really are?
Or like some of you might still think, Do ghosts really exist?
What are apparitions?
Wikipedia explains apparitions as souls or spirit of dead person or animal that can appear to the living. The appearance of ghost differs from an invisible presence, to faint wispy shapes, to realistic, lifelike visions!
Generally described as solitary human-like essences, ghosts are believed to haunt particular locations, objects of people they were associated with in life.
According to a 2009 study by the Pew Research Centre, 18% of Americans say they have seen a ghost.
While there are various types of ghost, in this article we will learn about apparitions associated with graveyard from its theosophical perspective.
Theosophy gives an answer to whether ghosts exist in graveyard along with possible reasons for their existence.
Read further for deeper knowledge about what leads to unrest souls hovering about their graves after death.
According to Theosophy, from the perspective of the Etheric body, apparition is nothing but the detached “Etheric double” of a person whose physical body has died and is slowly decomposing.
What is an Etheric Body?
Every solid, liquid and gaseous particle of our physical body is surrounded with an Etheric envelope. Hence the Etheric Double is a perfect duplicate of the dense physical body. In size it projects about one quarter of an inch beyond the skin.
Here are some interesting facts about the Etheric body –
- The two bodies are so closely connected that whatever happens to the etheric body reflects on the physical body.
- It is especially associated with Vital (Pranic) or Magnetic Healing, and also with Mesmerism, for purposes of healing, anaesthesia, or trance.
- The Etheric body also dies and decays following its physical body.
- At death, the double withdraws from the dense body, forms a violet mist and slowly condenses into a look-alike figure of its dead body.
- A shiny magnetic thread attaches the dense physical body to its double. This thread is snapped at the moment of death, detaching the physical body to its Etheric double.
- After death, when separated from the dense physical body, it is known as the “wraith”, “phantom”, “apparition”, or “churchyard ghost”.
To learn more about the Etheric double, we recommend you our course on the study of The Etheric body by Arthur E, Powell.
So, what happens to the Etheric body before it starts disintegrating? It hovers around its grave, appearing as an apparition to any sensitive person around it!
How can the etheric body turn into a malefic entity?
When the double finally leaves the dense body, it stays in close proximity to its associated physical body, near its grave. It is still waiting to be disintegrated soon after its dense, visible body. In this condition it is known as the wraith.
They extend their lives by obtaining astral and etheric elements from the surrounding. It sometimes appears to those with whom it is closely bound, as a cloudy figure, very dully conscious and speechless.
This wraith/apparition which hovers about its grave is extremely vulnerable to other astral entities, to its own astral body, and even to various thought-forms present in its surrounding.
The separated etheric double is so vulnerable in nature that –
- Even though it has no consciousness of its own, it may obtain other astral matters, or act as a vehicle for astral entities that may take control of it.
- It may become a vehicle for any kind of thought-form.
- It may be controlled by evil people or demonic spirits to fulfil evil purposes such as black magic or causing any kind of harm to others.
A good example of such kind of control can be taken from the apparition movie The Conjuring. As shown in the movie, the demonic spirit of Valak takes hold of the etheric body of the dead old man Bill Wilkins, through whom she creates havoc in the lives of the Hodgson family in the haunted house.
The way a dead body is treated greatly determines such unfortunate possibilities.
Preservation of the dead body by burial, delays the disintegration of the physical body, and makes it possible for the released etheric body to be controlled by someone else. Similarly, embalming also delays disintegration of the physical, visible body, thus delaying the disintegration of the etheric body. This immensely facilitates the unfortunate purposes of evil people.
On the other hand, cremation allows immediate disintegration of the physical body, followed by its etheric body. It entirely prevents any attempt of partial or temporary reunion of the two bodies after death. All of these possibilities are avoided by the wholesome practice of cremation.
This is why the practise of cremation is followed and advised for complete and quick disintegration of the bodies.
For more information about the practice of cremation and its importance, check out our blog on Cremation!
Have you ever seen or dealt with an apparition before? Let us know your experience in the comments below!
References –
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost