Lesson 59 - Q&A – Some mantra particulars

From: Yogani
Date: Tue Dec 30, 2003 2:22pm

New Members: It is recommended you read from the beginning of the
archive, as previous lessons are prerequisite to this one. The first
lesson is, "Why This Discussion?"

Q: I have some questions about the I AM mantra. What if I have been
given a mantra from someone else for meditation? Does I AM have the
same effect as OM? Can I use I AM for chanting? Can I use it during
the day while I am at work? Can I use it as I go to sleep at night?
You said don't use I AM during pranayama. What about using a mantra
such as So-Ham with the breath during pranayama? Besides morning and
evening, can I meditate using I AM in the middle of the day too?

A: If you are following another teaching or tradition, and it is
going well, stick with that. That goes for any other mantra you have
been given as well. In that case, just consider these lessons to
be "food for thought." There is no wish here to interfere with
existing systems of practice. These lessons are designed to present
an "open system" of integrated spiritual practices that can be used
by anyone to the degree desired. Beginners can start from scratch at
the beginning and go all the way through with these lessons.
Experienced practitioners can tap in anywhere and pick up a few
pointers. Like that.

If you have decided to use these lessons as the primary source for
your practice, then you would do best to discontinue any overlapping
practices and follow the lessons precisely. There are only so many
things a person can do at once. You can see there are plenty of
practices here to digest. Yahoo willing, there will be many more
advanced yoga practices coming. Keep it simple and go one step at a
time. If this is going to be your primary source, there will be more
than enough to do. We will leave no stone unturned.

The I AM mantra is similar to OM, but not exactly the same, so the
effects are somewhat different. I AM has both linear and circular
qualities contained within it, while OM is circular. "I" is the
linear quality in I AM. "AM" is the circular quality in I AM. So you
can see I AM has something extra. What is that something extra? It is
a polarity. OM is well known to be the sound of kundalini moving
through the body, the nervous system becoming enlivened as sexual
essences circulate higher up and a new biology emerges. Many can hear
it. OM is the sound of Mother Nature in us, and she is ecstatic
bliss. Ahhh…

OM is mother. But where is father? As we become enlightened, a divine
romance occurs in us, a joining. In the I AM mantra, "I" is the
father vibration, and "AM" is the mother vibration. Recall that yoga
means "to join." This happens on many levels in many ways. In
meditation, we are refining the vibrations of the mantra every day to
stillness, to silence, to pure bliss consciousness, over and over
again. Using I AM as mantra, we are cultivating pure bliss
consciousness fully through the nervous system, permeating the
natural polarity that exists within us. We are enlivening both divine
masculine and divine feminine qualities within us at the same time.
This has a direct relationship to the dynamics in the spinal nerve,
and to the dynamics of kundalini. More on that later. The thing to
understand here is that I AM has some special characteristics. This
may sound theoretical, but it becomes very experiential in time. As
your experience advances, you will find that the vibrational quality
of the mantra has a direct correspondence with inner ecstatic
experiences that constitute a consummation of polarities going on in
the nervous system. It is a complex, but automatic, process we
stimulate with our daily practice.

Continue to be relaxed and easy in your meditations. All this theory
means nothing compared to the simple process of meditation. Forget
the meanings when you meditate. If all this meaning comes up in
meditation, just treat it like any other thoughts. Easily go back to
the mantra. Just meditate every day, and everything will come
naturally. In time, you will experience inside what has been
mentioned here.

Chanting I AM is not recommended if you are using it in your daily
meditation. The reason is that we use the mantra for going inward to
stillness of mind and body. Chanting is an outside activity. We want
the habit with the mantra to be going in. In time, you will think the
mantra once and be gone into pure bliss consciousness. Your nervous
system will become habituated to dive into the meditative state at
the drop of a hat – a wonderful ability to have in this hectic world.
If you love to chant, find something else to use. Chanting has its
own benefits and is wonderful, especially in groups. Stick with using
the I AM mantra for going in with the simple but powerful procedure
of meditation. If you like to use I AM at bedtime as you go to sleep,
that's okay, but keep it inside. Keep in mind it can be very
stimulating for some people, especially as we further awaken
kundalini. That could keep you awake. Of course, it is okay to use I
AM in regular conversation. That is fine. That is on the level of
meaning. Meditation is beyond verbal meaning, on levels of inner
refinement of the vibration of thought where there is much more
power.

Thinking the mantra during the day while in activity is not
recommended. When you are in the world, be in the world. When
you are in meditation, be in meditation. Your activity will stabilize
pure bliss consciousness in your nervous system. That will happen
naturally if you meditate twice a day. In general, keep meditation
and activity separate. Both have their purpose. Likewise, we don't
deliberately use the mantra while we are doing pranayama, or vise
versa.

The reason we don't use the mantra in pranayama is because we are
already building many other habits of practice relating to spinal
breathing. Spinal breathing is an advanced practice, and becomes more
advanced as we add on the other things that we do during pranayama.
There are breathing mantras like So-Ham that people use during
pranayama. That is fine as a beginning practice when the attention is
not going up and down the spinal nerve and also building the other
habits that are necessary for advanced yoga practice. Because we
begin with spinal breathing in these lessons, we skip the beginning
practice of breathing mantra. Instead, we do pranayama first and
meditation second. In these lessons we don't do both at the same
time.

Twice a day is the formula for meditation. If morning and mid afternoon are best for you rather than morning and early evening, then do it. Take a good rest when coming out so activity will be smooth. Meditation three times a day may make you cranky. If you have a weekend or holiday, and are removed from responsibilities, you can try three meditations for a day or two. But keep in mind you are using a powerful practice that releases obstructions/impurities in your nervous system. If they come out too fast, it can be uncomfortable. That is why we rest after meditation, and then go and be active to stabilize the pure bliss consciousnes in our nervous system. Find your steady pattern, and make it a routine. Regularity in practice over time is how to progress. Short intense practice for a day here and there won't make much difference. It is what you do day in and day out for months and years that will make the difference. Then the silence of pure bliss consciousness will come up and permeate every part of your life.

The guru is in you.

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