Scientific Healing Affirmations: Theory and Practice of Concentration [Hardcover]

Paramahansa Yogananda (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1957

Long before the use of affirmations was embraced in mainstream settings as diverse as hospitals, recovery programs, sports arenas, and corporate suites, the renowned mystic Paramahansa Yogananda - author of the spiritual classic, Autobiography of a Yogi, - understood and taught the deep spiritual principles that make this ancient scientific tool so powerfully effective. Scientific Healing Affirmations reveals the hidden laws for harnessing the power of concentrated thought - not only for physical healing, but to overcome obstacles and create all-around success in our lives. Included are comprehensive instructions and a wide variety of affirmations for healing the body, developing confidence, awakening wisdom, curing bad habits, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Born in India on January 5, 1893, Paramahansa Yogananda devoted his life to helping people of all races and creeds to realize and express more fully in their lives the true beauty, nobility, and divinity of the human spirit. After graduating from Calcutta University in 1915, Sri Yogananda took formal vows as a monk of India's venerable monastic Swami Order. Two years later, he began his life's work with the founding of a how-to-live school since grown to twenty-one educational institutions throughout India where traditional academic subjects were offered together with yoga training and instruction in spiritual ideals. In 1920, he was invited to serve as India's delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals in Boston. His address to the Congress and subsequent lectures on the East Coast were enthusiastically received, and in 1924 he embarked on a cross-continental speaking tour. Over the next three decades, Paramahansa Yogananda contributed in far-reaching ways to a greater awareness and appreciation in the West of the spiritual wisdom of the East. In Los Angeles, he established an international headquarters for Self-Realization Fellowship, the nonsectarian religious society he had founded in 1920. Through his writings, extensive lecture tours, and the creation of Self-Realization Fellowship temples and meditation centers, he introduced hundreds of thousands of truth-seekers to the ancient science and philosophy of Yoga and its universally applicable methods of meditation. Today, the spiritual and humanitarian work begun by Paramahansa Yogananda continues under the direction of Sri Daya Mata, one of his earliest and closest disciples and president of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India since 1955. In addition to publishing his writings, lectures and informal talks (including a comprehensive series of Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons for home study), the society also oversees temples, retreats, and centers around the world.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 139 pages
• Publisher: Self-Realization Fellowship (September 1, 1957)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0876121458
• ISBN-13: 978-0876121450
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #867,686 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hailed as "the father of Yoga in the West," Paramahansa Yogananda - author of the bestselling classic "Autobiography of a Yogi" - is regarded as one of the great spiritual figures of our time. Born in northern India on January 5, 1893, he devoted his life to helping people of all races and creeds to realize and express more fully in their lives the true beauty, nobility, and divinity of the human spirit. After graduating from Calcutta University in 1915, Yogananda took formal vows as a monk of India's venerable monastic Swami Order. Two years later, he began his life's work with the founding of a how-to-live school since grown to twenty-one educational institutions throughout India where traditional academic subjects were offered together with yoga training and instruction in spiritual ideals. In 1920, he was invited to serve as India's delegate to an International Congress of Religious Liberals in Boston. His address to the Congress and subsequent lectures on the East Coast were enthusiastically received, and in 1924 he embarked on a cross-continental speaking tour. Over the next three decades, Paramahansa Yogananda contributed in far-reaching ways to a greater awareness and appreciation in the West of the spiritual wisdom of the East. In Los Angeles, he established an international headquarters for Self-Realization Fellowship, the nonsectarian religious society he had founded in 1920. Through his writings, extensive lecture tours, and the creation of Self-Realization Fellowship temples and meditation centers, he introduced hundreds of thousands of truth-seekers to the ancient science and philosophy of Yoga and its universally applicable methods of meditation. Today, the spiritual and humanitarian work begun by Paramahansa Yogananda continues under the direction of Sri Daya Mata, one of his earliest and closest disciples and president of Self-Realization Fellowship/Yogoda Satsanga Society of India since 1955. In addition to publishing his writings, lectures and informal talks (including a comprehensive series of Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons for home study), the society also oversees temples, retreats, and centers around the world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CLEAR AND COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO AFFIRMATION, May 17, 2003

By 

Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Scientific Healing Affirmations: Theory and Practice of Concentration (Paperback)

The practice of affirmation is very ancient and includes the discipline of Sanskrit Mantra. This classic on the power and uses of affirmation explains the laws for harnessing the power of focused thought. The first part reveals the relationship between matter/energy and mind and how one can set in motion the healing power of spirit. It also explains consciousness and matter/energy as vibratory expressions of spirit. This section on the theory of healing includes the chapters: Why Affirmations Work; Life Energy Causes the Cure; Healing Body, Mind and Soul; and, Nature of Creation. It is emphasized that thought needs soul conviction in order to yield the best results. Part Two is titled Methods Of Practice with the chapters Technique of Affirmation (with two photographs - one demonstrating the posture for affirmation and the other for that of meditation, and Scientific Healing Affirmations, which includes specific affirmations for various physical, mental or spiritual needs. Some of the purposes/conditions for which affirmations are provided include general healing, guidance, wisdom, material success, spiritual success and eyesight, stomach, teeth, purity, curing bad habits, freedom. There is an index, plus a short biography of the author plus a portrait. This title has been in print for many decades and it's easy to see why - it is a very authoritative but easily understood guide to this ancient practice. Free of esoteric jargon, it explains all aspects of the discipline clearly and comprehensively. For a very different approach to the subject, I recommend Stuart Wilde's book Affirmations. Reading both Yogananda and Wilde will tell you all you need to know about the power of affirmation and how it can improve your life.

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect unity, April 15, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Spring Hill, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Scientific Healing Affirmations: Theory and Practice of Concentration (Paperback)

I'd misplaced this book, and am reordering it because it gives me strength and spiritual guidance. During illness, it is necessary for the mind to transcend the agony of the physical affliction. Doing so, the mind can concentrate its powers on God's perfection, and devine healing. In so doing, oftentimes fear subsides, and the positive affirmations create a healing force that can produce miracles. When I look upon the author's face, I see perfection of mind and body. His wisdom and insight are truly comforting. Read it and meditate upon his words each night before sleep, and upon awakening, to instill within the body the healing powers.

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A systematic start to tapping your mind power, November 23, 2003

By 

richardpinneau.com (Colorado) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Scientific Healing Affirmations: Theory and Practice of Concentration (Paperback)

I spent years as a biofeedback therapist, helping individuals harness the power of their mental and emotional states to effect healing for chronic pains, illnesses, and addictions. Over time it became clearer and clearer that the most powerful healing effects had little to do with expensive biomedical biofeedback equipment and everything to do with basic mind-body-breathing techniques that have been known to thousands of years to advanced yoga practitioners.

Yogananda's little volume is an extremely powerful tool for beginning your self-healing. He guides you to the various approaches that might work best for you depending on your personal temperament.

Reading the book is extraordinarily inspiring, but it takes *practicing* the methods to experience the healing. They are skills - and they become powerful with practice. If you add regular meditation to your life routine you will also find that your inner INTUITION develops and that you can sensitively customize the suggested affirmative and healing practices to your own circumstances. My own survival of life-threatening illness is testimony beyond what I have seen in my clients.

You have power within you that is hard to conceive. If this little introduction fails to persuade you, read Yogananda's Autobiography (ISBN 0876120796 ).