DirectingLife.com      

An exposé of the inner powers that manifest the yearning of the Soul.

A Revived Ancient View of Aging

If aging is believed to lessen the life experience, then there must be no purpose to that life other than existing as part of the natural food chain[1]. If on the other hand, aging results in an increase in the life experience, then there must be a fundamental purpose to that life which becomes god-like. That the average person has lost an understanding of the purpose and power in life might be evidenced in comparing ancient adages to modern. Why is it that in the modern world aging is reviled, whereas in the ancient world it was venerated? Why is aging equated with becoming increasingly limited in our modern world, whereas the ancient world generally considered aging as liberating?  

The Inner Power of Socrates

Perhaps one of the most comprehensive discussions of aging was given by Socrates over two millennia ago quoted by Plato in his Phaedo. Seventy-year-old Socrates is finally forced to choose between taking poison or recanting his teachings about using his inner god to find Truth. Socrates was accused by Meletus of creating his own inner god called daimonion instead of worshipping the approved heavenly gods.[2] (This stand of Socrates is quite similar to what science is doing today as will be described.) The arguments of Socrates can be summarized as teaching of two separate concepts. The first, which was generally accepted throughout most ancient cultures, was that one has a power in the inner heart which directs one’s life. His other universal concept was that there is an inner power, daimonion, (later called the genius (meaning creative god) of Socrates, from daimon: the power of individual gods or goddesses) which controls the steps through life.[3]^,[4] The inner power can be directed by what is in the heart to produce either goodness and pleasure or badness and suffering. (Since daimon is known today as ‘demon’ which is considered to be a source of suffering, it suggests that somewhere in the past, the control for pleasure in the heart has been lost.) 

Aristotle in his Nicomachean Ethics also teaches that pleasure is opposite to pain and cannot exist in the presence of pain. Like his teacher, Plato, Aristotle emphasizes that it is what has been placed in the heart which determines the experiencing of joy or pain. This is of course quite different from the modern view of looking for pleasure obtained by satisfying the desires of the brain rather than the yearnings of the heart.  

I must confess, however, that it took me a long time to fully understand the teachings of Socrates. For one thing, the meanings of the words ‘good and bad’, ‘heart’ and ‘inner power’ or daimonion that Socrates describe have been severely altered over the past couple of millennia. It was only when I read an ancient Sanskrit document[5] on the same subject that the original concepts became clear resulting in a retranslation of the original Greek words.  Briefly, good and bad are creative or destructive powers normally associated with a god; heart is in the belly and is the dwelling place for the soul;[6] and the inner power is the acquired or absorbed power from a higher universal god or power.[7] This radiated power was universally likened to the radiated warmth of the sun where the heat of the sun mysteriously reappears in the object being radiated.[8]   

Since the shift in the ancient meanings of the terms seemed quite deliberate, a very important question arose as to why? It seemed that Plato had foreseen such changes in his writings as he described how rulers do not want their subjects to know about their heart or inner power so that their subjects remain subject to the dogma of the ruler placed in their brains rather than what rises up from their own hearts.[9] He also stated that rulers need to use falsehood and deceit for the good of their subjects.[10] 

The Author and the Background

I have found that I have had some unique gifts in reviving the ancient wisdom of aging. Firstly I am nearly 80 years of age which allows me to finally perceive many of the falsehoods and deceits of the various rulers who have controlled my past life. I am also a physicist who spent many years researching the conversion of common heat energy into electrical energy, a much higher form of energy.[11] I became interested in another mysterious conversion process in the human body where food energy somehow turns into an energy that can be used for bringing forth ‘goodness’ through its interaction with intelligence for the creation of new concepts and then using them to change the world. Understanding this power finally forced me to accept the ancient idea of god-like powers existing within individuals.  

I have the advantage of having two colleagues, L. Cassinari and C. Gavlick (who coauthored three books with me) who had personal experiences in converting their own basic food energy into higher energies as well as teaching and working with others to do the same. In researching the validity of the ancient claims for increasing the inner energies, I found that my skill in reading foreign technical languages has allowed me to add to the classical interpretations of ancient Greek and Sanskrit writings. This importance of reading the technical content of ancient writings needs to be explained. The classical translations of ancient documents were influenced to a large degree by the strong bias of translators who assumed that the writings were pagan and pantheistic without any modern moral or scientific support.[12] This bias became obvious to me as I was finally able to understand the underlying science in the original ancient writings.  

My confidence into the search for higher powers within individuals was supported by the research of the founder of Humanistic Psychology, Abraham Maslow,[13] who briefly studied supernormal people or those who evidenced inner powers and managed to change their world. Maslow made the supporting distinction that these people were self-actualized instead of being controlled by the pressures of society etc. One of my professional heroes, the Nobel Laureate Erwin Schrödinger, described another method of looking at the inner power. In his book What is Life? he presents his body and mind as being like a city and his soul as a ruling mayor or god. This reminded me how as a child I viewed myself having many different pieces and forces. Some of the interactions between these pieces and forces I was able to control, but many were uncontrolled.  

One of the problems in reading ancient writings is that they typically start with what are called first principles or metaphysical descriptions which are deductions about unseen causes that produce physical effects. I finally managed to understand this early practice when I became aware that both science as well as religion has spent considerable effort to hide metaphysics. As an example of how metaphysics has been lost, consider one of the largest debates going on about the nature of the creation of the universe. Religion states that God created it while Science says that energy and Physical Law caused it (through the Big Bang). Religion eliminates the majority of the metaphysical steps of creation by jumping directly from the Law of God to the manifest, while Science considers only the final physical stages and ignores the metaphysical origin and nature of both energy and the controlling ‘Natural’ Law.[14] 

Science further hides the metaphysical within the separate objects and forces of physics by calling them proclivities or propensities while Religion hides the metaphysical as hidden in the powers of heaven and hence has no explanation of how things interact. Science, on the other hand has problems in describing the source of proclivities etc. and further hides the metaphysical (or the unseen cause of physical effects) in its usage of metonymies which use different words to describe the same thing, such as gravity is what makes things heavy or one loses hair because of alopecia.[15]  

The Hidden Power of Hormones

Surprisingly, I found that the advances in science during the last 50 years provide support for the existence of metaphysical inner powers. Modern medicine, which has become synonymous with external control of the body and its health, has perhaps the most convincing evidence of the existence of a higher creative form of energy within the body that is also quite compatible with the ancient descriptions.   

Consider first the discovery of one of the chief sources of inner control which almost everyone is well aware of called hormones (from Greek orme meaning ‘onrush’).  Hormones are now accepted as unlocking inner responses responsible for the actions of heroes, leaders, geniuses and lovers as well as of murderers, liars, terrorists and maniacs.  

Hormones can be well introduced by considering how their discovery came about since it also exemplifies the power of hormones. The Nobel Laureate Otto Loewi offered proof that hormones consist of chemicals secreted into the bloodstream which can then unlock and unify many separate and simultaneous functions of the body. This unified response is then able to completely override or modify normal neural responses or thoughts. Loewi’s discovery also illustrates the extremely important power of the heart to direct one’s path which controls the body after it overrides the normal controls. Loewi told of being driven by the deep desire in his heart to find how the organs in the body communicated together. His heart finally responded through a vision offered in a repeated dream instead of by the normal routine of scientific methodology.[16] Loewi also exemplified the required integration of the mind and body with the manifesting of the dream as he dashed to his lab at 3:00 AM after his second dream to set up his highly creative experiment in which the rhythm of one frog’s heart was found able to change another frog’s heart when placed in the same solution.  

An even stranger phenomenon is being reported about the recently discovered hormone oxytocin. When this hormone is secreted within one person’s body it is able to stimulate oxytocin secretion in another person’s body in close contact, similar to Loewi’s experiment of two frog hearts coupled together in a solution. This may provide proof that some emotions are contagious as they induce similar hormones in those who only observe the emotional person. 

Controlling Hormones

Everyone is aware of how the release of hormones can be stimulated by sudden threats or demands, but is not aware of the ability to inwardly control hormones to perform some particular action. Modern medicine, however, gives dramatic proof that hormones can be controlled by the heart rather than the head during the testing of new drugs. Medicine fully describes the near miraculous powers of their new drugs, yet seldom tells that a simple dummy placebo used for comparison can stimulate the same function without side effects. Somehow up to 30% of individuals, when told in sufficient detail what a placebo or sugar pill will do, will manifest what they are told.   

That aging improves the ability to control hormones is reflected in the US Vital Statistics. The clearest evidence is perhaps found in the statistics of 1900 since this was before modern sanitation and medicine. The statistics of this year are often quoted because of the high death rate of infants (white males) and that only half would live to be 48. However, the same data also demonstrates that the older one was the more likely one was to live a much longer life than those younger. For instance, half of 80 year old white males would still be alive at 86. This can only be explained by the development of anti-pathogens with age. The most recent Vital Statistics is interesting since the average 80-year-old today lives only a few years longer than one in 1850, indicating that the basic life span of people has not significantly increased (even beyond the Biblical fourscore years.[17]); however, the longevity of younger individuals has increased quite significantly such that half of the infants are expected to be alive after 75 years, which can be explained by increased improvements in sanitation, life styles and medicine, probably in that order. 

Describing the Inner Powers

The world has always faced the problem of describing the hidden indescribable metaphysical forces that cause physical and describable phenomena. Energy is perhaps the very best example. What is the hidden unseen and metaphysical power in a lump of coal that is able to produce heat which then produces electricity which in turn produces light and sound? Modern science calls it energy and the ancient world called it phlogiston, yet neither knows at all what it is, much less how to describe it other than describing what it changes into. Consider as an example, the energy in wood can only be determined by burning the wood and then noting how much water can be heated by it. Similarly, the energy in heated water can only be determined by noting how much it causes molecules to move such as in thermometer where their increased motion causes the materials in the thermometer to change which in turn causes… 

It now needs to be noted that it is not common to speak of the energy in hormone induced reactions, such as Loewi’s dream, genius or heroism because the energy in an emotion or reaction cannot be directly measured. The energy of the reaction can however be indicated by either the amount of physical change that results in the world or the individual or by the amount of energy which was consumed during the reaction (since energy cannot be created or destroyed). An opening example leading to the following discussion is the noted mental and physical change which can occur in twenty minutes or so of intense sobbing which is obviously some energy conversion indicated by the contortions of the body and breath.   

The modern world describes the manifesting of genius or heroism from the excitation of ‘hard wired’ response centers which cause all of the necessary parts of the body to respond together in parallel and in sequence. It must be remembered that the centers do not exist as such and are strictly allegorical attempts to give a model of how the autonomic control system of the body operates. Since the locations, natures and differences between the genius and heroic centers are not known, the allegory is not very useful.  However, the ancients did develop excellent allegories to describe hundreds of the autonomic functions of the body. In fact, the general populace tends to use the same kinds of allegories. In describing the attributes of a genius everyone understand immediately what the reference is to if the trait is described as being like Einstein. Obviously the ability to paint would be related to Picasso or a music composition to Mozart.  Similarly, in describing beauty it is common to compare it to some beautiful well known actress. Endocrinology research has at least anthropomorphized the descriptions of hormones as they speak of the ‘fight or flight’ hormones or one the most recently discovered hormones, oxytocin, as the ‘cuddling hormone’ because of its mysterious power to bring individuals close together.   

Hesiod[18] and Plato attempted to teach that philosophers created allegorical gods to describe human metaphysical reactions as did Trismegistus[19]. There are several reasons why they used gods. The first is that there is often a radiated metaphysical power which accompanies an emotional outbreak that is easy to attribute to a god rather than to a mortal. The second is that a god can be described in exaggerated detail to symbolize some trait which can then serve as a standard. The use of a god also requires a study of what provokes or activates that god, which is of basic importance in studying and controlling a human reaction. Historians point with astonishment at the hundreds of gods referred to by the ancients without understanding that each god was an allegory for a particular human reaction.  

It should be mentioned that there is a problem with those who do not understand allegories and take them literally. One ancient koan illustrates this with the simple statement, “the finger pointing at the moon”, in which that which points to a truth is worshipped instead of what is pointed at. Socrates is a good example of the problem, since one of the chief reasons that he was forced to take poison was that he didn’t properly worship the accepted gods and even had the temerity to invent his own.[20]    

The Heart[21]

The power and nature of an individual is directly related to the state of the heart but as important as this organ is, there is much confusion about it in the modern world. It is therefore essential that the ancient view be presented and clarified. Homer’s Iliad describes the ‘placing’ of the heart and soul into individuals to make them heroes and how the heart rises up like smoke. The Egyptian Book of the Dead describes the heart-soul as one organ and also connected to the spirit-soul of the outer higher powers. Later Western writers describe the soul as living in the heart, placing yearnings in the heart and then describe various locations of both the soul and heart. Plato for instance, places the soul near the liver. Aristotle in his Youth and Old Age describes the soul as placed in the heart in the center of the body. The painting by da Vinci of the Vitruvian Man stretched out in a circle can certainly be perceived as illustrating the center or heart of the body to be located in the navel of the stomach. However, if the Vitruvian Man had been standing on his tiptoes, the center would have dropped to the sacrum at the end of the spine where many ancient philosophers would have placed it. The sacrum even looks as if it could fit the requirements for being a control center because of the eight large holes that allow the entrance and exit of many nerves. The name of this bone even suggests that our ancestors saw powers connected with it since sacrum is derived from the early Greek name for this bone, hieron osteon, or ‘sacred bone’. If this bone is considered to be the actual center or heart of the body, the ancient symbol of the heart comes rapidly to mind since the outer curves of the heart symbol are suggestive of the curvature of the pelvic bones that contain the sacral heart.  

There are ancient Sanskrit writings that describe the location of the heart as existing in-between the thighs.[22] Much of early Indian physiology describes the center between the thighs as the root for creative knowledge and expression;[23] however, unlike the modern West; the heart can be intentionally physically stimulated either from within or without (based upon the stimulation found in strong emotions).   

One question which is also seldom clarified is what is the difference between the heart and mind? In general, older writings seem to relate the heart to feelings and intuition in the belly and the mind to thinking and analysis in the head. Modern physiology considers that the heart (not the beating heart) is an allegory for the hidden controls of the autonomic system while the mind is an allegory for the central nervous system controls.  

Another organ of the body which needs to be discussed since it is known to stimulate the heart is the breast. Even in modern translations, the breast is associated with compassion and compassion and is manifested through the heart. However, like the heart, the nature of the breast and nipples (for both females and males) as well as their location and powers has been quite distorted and lost over the millennia. It is therefore necessary to explore this important organ which is seldom referenced much less described in modern usage as well as ancient translations.  

Perhaps the easiest way to revive the ancient descriptions is to consider how widespread the suppression of nipples has become. When pre-pubescent girls have to cover their nipples and boys do not, it directly suggests that nipples are related to some forbidden or repulsive act which females do and males do not. In terms of classical literature, breasts seldom appear other than in references to nursing and the word nipple appears even less. Since there is certainly no scientific reason or even religious reason for suppressing nipples, why are they so hidden? 

Plato’s Symposium, as mentioned, before explains how rulers suppress the inner power of their subjects which furnishes the obvious answer for suppressing knowledge about the breasts and nipples. There is only one ancient surviving reference in Western writings that I know of which suggests the use of nipples and breasts. This is in the condemnation of Dionysian women who nursed wild animals rather than their own infants.[24] (Dionysius, according to Plato, was the allegorical mediator between the powers of heaven and individuals and belonged to the triad of Apollo, (the power of the sun), Dionysius and the Muses (the goddesses of manifesting inner powers)[25]. 

That a cover-up took place is also indicated by the changing of the location of the heart to the ‘chest’ or beating heart and the source of compassion also being moved to the chest without reference to the breasts and nipples which were recognized by the ancients as the sensors of emotions and the union with others (no doubt due to oxytocin). As this article is not the place to discuss how the nipples were used, but rather only their basic nature, see reference.[26] 

The lower heart is programmed in children to automatically respond to authority and duty, while the conscious brain is trained to continuously judge obedience to external programming and dogma. It was this training of children that allowed complex interactive societies to evolve such that individuals could be trusted to carry out their tasks. It is only in aging that one may start to question the programming when one asks, “Why should I care what THEY think?” There is also the questioning of authority arising with an awareness of an inner knowledge which leads to such insights as: “I think I have more of an insight into this matter than do the authorities.”   

It should also be noted that the programming of individuals includes the opposition to feeling sensual or, even worse, voluptuous. Consider the conditioned reactions upon feeling ecstasy or the flow of an inner quickening power. There is an induced fear in such experiences because of the common belief that one may be sexually deviant or have to pay for it later in some form of suffering. Rulers can destroy individuals or groups who oppose their political correctness by branding them as sexual deviants, hedonists, drunkards and liars. Consider the common view of the Dionysians, Gnostics, the early ‘Arian’ Christians and the Indian Tantriks as excellent examples.[27]   

Individuals are also encouraged to be sexual and procreative which results in increased population and increased power to rulers. The sexual act is taught as being the highest expression of the heart and one of the most important validations of self-worth. The lessening of the drive for sexual orgasm in aging can be replaced with an opening of the heart and breasts for seeking increased sensuality within the self and with others. This may then lead to the increased appreciation of what can be called metaphysical beauty and of more importance, its source. An increased awareness of sensuality of one’s body can then open to the exciting observation that there seems to be no limit of the increasing pleasure and joy as the inner hormones and forces are allowed to develop. It should also be noted that even more joy can be obtained in a close union with another evolving person.

Changing the Heart

Changing the content or nature of the heart consists of three steps, opening the heart, cleansing the heart and then imprinting the heart. The open heart is associated with early childhood with the ready acceptance of new concepts and ideas. The closing of the heart becomes obvious during adolescence as teenagers gradually close their hearts and cling instead to the acceptance and conformance of their particular peer group or their idols. The next stage is poetically known as the hardening of the hearts when one’s beliefs and life styles become rigid and unchanging. This is obvious when one’s thoughts and actions are directed to survival and maintenance of family and life style.  

Perhaps the best examples of opening the heart are given in the stories of those who manage to use their mid-life crisis as a turning point in their lives. Perhaps most crises result in the deciding whether to blindly continue to follow the same life of doing one’s duty or to find something that one would want to do. This could be restated as choosing to let the hardened heart rule or to open the heart to a new world and life.  

The full opening of one’s heart or the acceptance of changing one’s life is generally delayed by trying the advertised various quick fixes for self-improvement, self-mastery, faith, happiness etc. However, many start to realize that despite gaining new skills, outlooks etc, they recognize that their heart remains closed and that the inner turmoil of fears remains. The conclusion is that the heart cannot be changed piece by piece or by trying harder. The heart must first be cleansed of its conditioned image of the self and world.  

Cleansing the Heart

The ancients made the simple statement that the goal of aging should be the liberation and total union which open the doors to ecstasy and perfection. The modern world, however, does not understand either this type of liberation or union and in general both are consequently diminished as one ages. Consider first liberation. Immanuel Kant described liberation very well as, “the inward freedom to release himself from the boisterous importunity of inclinations.”[28]  This is far more than doing what you want to do, since doing what you want to do is certainly a ‘boisterous inclination’. David Hume added to this that liberation requires the ability to perceive the self in the light of reason rather than being concerned with doing what is right.[29]  

Cleansing the heart is the controlled removal of all forces which bind you to some role or existence and the preparation of the heart for accepting another role or world. Again the perception of bondage becomes apparent to many people in middle age as they are able to identify the bondage as duty.  For example, a father may feel that it is his duty to put in long hours at his job to properly support his family. Even though he may realize the bondage he is generally unable to change the job because of fears, self importance, future promotions etc. Similarly he is unable to change his actions away from his job because of the possible interactions with duty. 

One manages to cleanse the heart, at least for a time, when stepping into a dream which can serve as an excellent model. This generally consists of the clearing of any thoughts or feelings about the outer world which is generally done by becoming fully conscious of feelings and then letting the feelings override the concerns of the day. These feelings can start with such feelings as sinking into the warmth of sleep or the wonderful sensuous feelings of being fully relaxed on a soft bed. Various visual stimulations can become intriguing as one sees deeper and deeper into some shifting panorama of color, shapes and forms. The classical opening methods of hypnosis offer a simple model of quieting the conscious thought process.   

A nearly universal ancient model for cleansing the heart and stepping into a new role is described as becoming like a child. For this model to make sense it must exclude childish behavior etc. and include only the positive aspects of a child as he or she finds wonderment and curiosity etc. in the outer world which leads to the child changing their direction in life. In essence, then this verse says that one must take on the nature of the perfected child or more simply take on the nature of a god who is the allegory of a perfected child. There is a double purport in this since this cannot be done if one cannot take on another defined role or can only change single characteristics. Once one is filled with the perfected child god, then the opening of their heart can be experienced as the inner god is allowed to take on the feeling and reality of being released from duty such as doing household duties and then able to run out the door to play with friends. The opening of their heart can then be perceived with experiencing what that god does between duty and play.[30] 

The first typical step is with a strong exhalation which feels as if the exhalation is washing the old world out of the system. Expectation then arises first mentally and then physically as the hormones shift to meet the new demand. This is reinforced with energizing the body with such actions as shouting, laughing, or rapid deep breathing commonly described as panting with desire. By the time you reach your friends, your heart is cleansed of the horrible existence you just had and you are now ready to play. Children as they age reach a point were playing games becomes difficult because of self judgment and the attempt to be important. Consider the difference as a parent and as a grandparent in playing with children.  

Placing Something in the Heart

I know of no ancient Western writings which describe the method of placing something in the heart, yet many of course tell of the importance and care of what is placed therein. Children are again used as a model for being open to new concepts, but how is this done?  I did find, however, one ancient Eastern document [31] which describes briefly how this is done. That which is to be placed in the heart “Must be a perfect remembrance of what is gone by but yet not arrived and in complete harmony fulfilling the original purpose of what is being strived for.” It then adds that, “Perfect remembrance comes forth as having the form of a departed god”. My interpretation is that whatever is placed in the heart must be supported by the past and also by what is to be. It must also be as defined as a god and with the power to overpower any lesser forces. I would further compare this with the underlying feelings and definition of a dream where one can step into the midst of it and still be an integral part of it. I have yet had to ask anyone about what is going on as I step into the most complex of dreams.  

Age assists greatly in being able to integrate what is desired with the past and future and then making it manifest in the present. Consider as an example a grandparent (not as a responsible parent) who views children playing a game. Before the grandparent can join in the game as a participant, a role must be chosen that fits into the past of the game as well as where the game is going. The grandparent must then define a role in the heart which overrides any other considerations (such as responsibility or duty) that can place the grandparent into the future manifesting world.   

One of my favorite poems that I remember when facing a new world such as confinement is Robert Louis Stevenson’s Counterpane. This poem describes the creation of an imagined world on the covering of the bed in which the toys and plot must first be able to exist with the peaks and valleys of the cover. Many individuals have learned to get ready for the next day or next challenge in life as they integrate what they want with what they have and what is in their outer world. Most people have done this to some degree as they define their upcoming day as being one of those days where everything goes badly and lo and behold it does.[32] Yet why do they then not believe in the inner transformational power of the heart?  

Learning to Feed or Energize the Inner Gods

A good example is the process of becoming as a child ready to go play. You might be able to envision the perfect child, but completely unable to make the god real and alive within yourself. This can be explained that there is no nourishment to sustain the child god. As you try to imagine running and shrieking, for instance, your imagination fails because you have lost the feelings associated with running and shrieking.  

The physician Arnold Kegel found that people who live under constant tension lose both the muscle tone and control of the perineal muscles which he reported results in incontinence. As people age they also lose the lower muscles of the belly which are necessary for shrieking or deep exhalations which stimulate the heart and vitality of the body.  

There is, however, an advantage that aging has in that at some point in life, one can actually try deep exhalations or working the perineal muscles used in urinating without worrying about what someone might think. With a reason for exploring the lower body, one can also experience the rising feelings of pleasure (over many weeks, not hours) as one plays with the lower body. The seniors may have also stumbled upon the childish release of one world and the entrance into a new one with intense sobbing. Sobbing requires the very undignified and the politically incorrect actions of rubbing the breasts, bouncing up and down on the perineum, rocking and letting the sobbing churn the entire belly. But wow what marvelous results! 

The explanation of generating the food of the gods or ambrosia is lost in the West, but can still be found in some of the original Sanskrit writings of the India which describe generating amrita (‘not dead’, or ‘vitalized’ the same meaning as ambrosia).

Seniors may also recognize the above feelings and actions as having been experienced in the past as they experienced similar feelings and effects as they faced some emergency or demand and felt the upper rush of adrenaline similar to the ancient rising ambrosia or amrita. Endocrinology is well aware of this awakening of the inner forces which is known to start in large part by the secretion of hormones from the lining of the intestines. Unfortunately, the modern world does not know how to directly control the inner hormones or powers other than by administering a drug which either functions like, or is, a hormone that naturally turns off the guts and the inner forces. Since there is considerable profit and employment in drugs, there is little interest in reviewing the ancient ‘pagan’ writings. 

In closing, I apologize for not elaborating upon the old practices but felt that I had my hands full in attempting to convince the modern reader that wisdom has been lost over the last two millennia and that an individual has far more inner powers to change one’s life than any outside forces. This is certainly starting to be admitted by many physicians and therapists even though the inner forces are still not understood.

Bibliography 

An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Hume, D.

Creating Heaven on Earth, Peck. R.

Critique of Practical Reason, Kant, I.

Dionysiac Mysteries of the Hellenistic and Roman Age, Nilsson, M.

Directing Life, Peck, R., Cassinari, L., Gavlick, C.

Euthyphro, Plato

Finding Power, Peck, R.

Greek-English Lexicon, Liddell & Scott

Hathayogapradipika, Svatmarama

Joy and Evolution, Peck, R., Cassinari, L., Gavlick, C.

Laws, Plato

Monier-Williams Sanskrit to English Dictionary

Paratrimshika

Phaedo, Plato 

Power for Change, Peck, R.

Republic, Plato

RigVeda Samhita, Sarasvati, P.

Symposium, Plato

The Child’s Garden of Verses, Stevenson, R.

The Committee of Sleep, Barrett, D.

Thermogalvanic Cells and Ionic Semiconductors, U.S. Patent, Peck, R.

The Third Force, Goble

What is Life?, Schrödinger, E.

DirectingLife.com presents data supporting the existence of creative inner powers within individuals that have been largely suppressed over the passing millennia. Most modern individuals are far more controlled by what they believe others will think of their actions than what they inwardly know.

Because of the large volume of writings on this subject, DirectingLife.com is limited to Western history and views on personal inner powers. If Eastern views on personal inner power are required, visit our sister website, www.findingpower.com .

Much of the material presented herein is included in the books Directing Life, Creating Heaven on Earth, Joy and Evolution and others which are further described and can be purchased directly from the publisher at www.personaldevcenter.com.

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