Tag: Ethics

• February 5, 2026

  Jeffrey Epstein, Alas, Had Thought Power

  I don’t recall Swami Sivananda discussing perversions of thought power in his book Thought Power, at least not at great length. It’s clear that he’s aware of the possibility of a yogi abusing thought power, and it would have been obvious to him that ethical practices (such as the yamas and the niyamas from Raja…
• February 3, 2026

  A Minimum Viable Metaphysic For Thought Power

  In order for thought power to make any sense, you’ll have to go beyond “mere technique” as well as “mere psychology.” You’ll need a minimum viable metaphysic. To render a first sketch of this metaphysic, let’s begin by distinguishing between what’s inside of me and what’s outside of me, what’s internal and what’s external. Start…
• January 30, 2026

  How Did You Sleep?

  Innocent questions can be loaded guns. When a loved one asks you, “How did you sleep last night?,” don’t dig in and say, “Oh, you know, I slept all right. I fell asleep easily, but in the middle of the night my mind was racing. I fell back asleep ultimately but I feel a bit…
• January 27, 2026

  Can ‘My’ Thoughts Hurt You?

  What might be our standard picture of thought? And what, indeed, might be wrong with this picture? I see three basic propositions: In Thought Power, Sivananda (it can be surmised) takes all three propositions to be false. What would be his counters? If this new, albeit quite unorthodox picture of thinking is correct, then it…
• January 21, 2026

  Can ‘My’ Thoughts Color Your Experience?

  In his marvelous book Thought Power, Swami Sivananda argues that “thought moves,” “thought is a force”–indeed, is a “vital, living force.” This claim is by no means obvious. For many of us, a thought seems almost like a pastime. It’s fun to think about geopolitics, but what effect, apart from entertainment, does such a thought…