As explained so clearly in the eastern scriptures the Bhagavad-Gita there is an endless war that wages between the body ego consciousness and the other side, the soul battling for supremacy called The Battlefield of Life.
The purpose of the ego is to keep the souls attention continuously busy with countless enticements and sensations. Instead of throwing the searchlight on God the pseudo soul keeps the soul reflected on the senses keeping the soul in bondage in the slums of the body. That is why the master says the love of your body is nothing but the love of your own jail. Not that we should reject it but do not be attached to your body.
By proper breathing exercises as taught in Self-Realization the heart is rested and controls the life force moving to the five senses. The proper regulation of breath and the strong soldiers of concentration, intuition, calmness, self-control and inner perception can be awakened to fight the forces of the pseudo soul or ego. Here is a great lesson on the comparison of nutrition, the purer the nutrition the less destruction into your cells, the less work for your heart and the more calm your heart begins to beat and automatically you become calmer and calmer into your mind.
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