What are you? What are we humans? Are we only our bodies or minds, or is there more to our being?

The Yogi philosophy teachings are dedicated to our common pursuit of self-improvement, growth, development and unfoldment. Learning to love life. Trying to always do the right thing. Always being kind. Doing our best at everything. This path starts with understanding ourselves, our composition and our true nature.

We usually think of ourselves as composed of our bodies and our minds. The Yogi science teaches that us humans are far more complete. That we not only have a body and a soul, but we are a spirit possessing a soul, and this soul has several vehicles or tools for expression.

The seven principles of man, as known to the Yogi philosophy are:

These several vehicles or tools have different degrees of density and they manifest in different "planes.”

The best way to think of yourself is to realize that the spirit is the real self, and that the lower principles are just surrounding layers. These numerous layers prevent your Spirit’s full expression.

As you advance in development, your consciousness passes from the lower planes to the higher, and you become more and more aware of your higher nature. Your spirit has an unlimited potential, and as you progress in life, you unfold new powers, new qualities, and new abilities.

The three lower principles (Physical body, astral body and prana) are the most tangible and the atoms of which they are composed are, of course, indestructible, and go on forever in countless forms.

The four higher principles (instinctive mind, intellect, spiritual mind and spirit) make up the thinking part of us, the ‘intelligent part.’

The Yogis emphasize getting a clear idea of these seven principles. It will help you understand yourself and the nature of reality. And if you have a better understanding of life, you’ll live a richer, more meaningful existence.

This is the first of a series of emails describing the composition of us humans. I will briefly write about the general nature of each of these seven principles. At the end of this email series, I will send a downloadable PDF file so that you can have them handy to continue studying them and gain a complete understanding of yourself.