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mattersend
USA
5 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 24 2017 : 5:33:23 PM
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So I've read a LOT of the posts here about repetition of mantra from way back. I still don't understand. Can there be a a few seconds between each repetition. When I just repeate the mantra, literally back to back without even a moment in between, it's almost manic and not relaxing. It's just IAMIAMIAMIAMIAM.....
I usually repeate the mantra...Iiiiaaaammmm....(a second or two)Iiiiaaammmm....(a second or two). Sometimes the pauses are longer, sometimes shorter, but i'm still repeating the mantra throughout the session. Is this correct? Sometimes the I becomes longer, like iiiiiiiiii and the am becomes longer like, aaaaaaammmmmmm. Is that okay to? |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1730 Posts |
Posted - Oct 24 2017 : 6:02:21 PM
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Hi mattersend
quote:
Originally posted by mattersend
I usually repeate the mantra...Iiiiaaaammmm....(a second or two)Iiiiaaammmm....(a second or two). Sometimes the pauses are longer, sometimes shorter, but i'm still repeating the mantra throughout the session. Is this correct? Sometimes the I becomes longer, like iiiiiiiiii and the am becomes longer like, aaaaaaammmmmmm. Is that okay to?
Yes, that is correct.
You repeat the mantra at whatever interval is comfortable to you. It should feel relaxed an easy. The sounds of the mantra can be longer or shorter. Just let yourself fall into your comfort zone without deliberating about it.
You will relax into it with a little more practice. Give yourself a little space. I guess you've only been doing mantra meditation for a few days?
Relax and enjoy   |
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mattersend
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - Oct 24 2017 : 6:12:01 PM
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Hi BlueRainCoat. Thank you for responding :)
I've been doing it for 8 months, and I've had amazing results. I read a post from someone named Katherine a while back and Yogani responded and it made it sound like i was doing Samyama, and not DM, which made me super angry  so i needed clarification.
I practice the way i described above. I usually start with just a short I AM, with whatever interval in between is comfortable, and then after about 5 mins i go much deeper and the mantra becomes more like Iiiiiiiiiiaaaaaammmmmmm with a few seconds of nothing and then the mantra again. As i go deeper sometimes the mmmm or various parts of the mantra becomes longer. Sometimes it is literally back to back (it's easier to do back to back as the mantra becomes longer and less distinct - you kind of "string them together"). So basically, your response is very much appreciated because i feel like i'm doing it right. I'm just still worried, how do i know i'm not doing samyama? |
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sunyata
USA
1508 Posts |
Posted - Oct 24 2017 : 6:17:20 PM
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Hi mattersend,
Good advice already from BlueRaincoat.
quote:
When I just repeate the mantra, literally back to back without even a moment in between, it's almost manic and not relaxing. It's just IAMIAMIAMIAMIAM.....
This sounds like you are clinging to the mantra.
Deep meditation is a simple and effortless procedure as it says it is. We repeat the mantra and come back to it once we realize we are off it. We do not cling to the mantra. We can have clunky phases in the beginning before it becomes effortless.
I'll attempt to explain it with an illustration. Let's say we are at a busy park reading a book - kids are playing, you can hear the swing sets, some dogs are barking, adults having conversations. You get distracted by those noises but then your realize that you are reading a book. So you go back to reading the book without closing your ears trying to block those distractions.You may continue to hear the background noises as you read your book and at some point those noises may disappear completely. Not because the kids have stopped playing or the adults have stopped their conversations but you have become one with the reading with the simple procedure of bringing your attention to reading the book. So, the book is the "mantra" and the kids,swings, adults are "thoughts".
In the same way, we easily repeat the mantra without analyzing it or trying to dictate how it should or should not be. And just letting the mantra refine the way it wants to. Thoughts about the day, even thoughts about the way the mantra is sounding is still a thought so we easily come back to the mantra. It's even advised to come back to the mantra when we are in Stillness and realize we are off it.
Hope this example helps and does not confuse you further.
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Edited by - sunyata on Oct 25 2017 4:59:45 PM |
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sunyata
USA
1508 Posts |
Posted - Oct 24 2017 : 6:39:42 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by mattersend
I practice the way i described above. I usually start with just a short I AM, with whatever interval in between is comfortable, and then after about 5 mins i go much deeper and the mantra becomes more like Iiiiiiiiiiaaaaaammmmmmm with a few seconds of nothing and then the mantra again. As i go deeper sometimes the mmmm or various parts of the mantra becomes longer. Sometimes it is literally back to back (it's easier to do back to back as the mantra becomes longer and less distinct - you kind of "string them together"). So basically, your response is very much appreciated because i feel like i'm doing it right. I'm just still worried, how do i know i'm not doing samyama?
Sorry to interject. Yes this sounds right and you are practicing deep meditation and not Samyama.
In Samyama, we let sutras/thoughts go in Stillness. It's assigning meaning in Stillness and letting it go. In DM, we repeat the mantra and come back to repeating the mantra when are realize we are off it, even when we are in Stillness and realize we are off the mantra . It's the process of quieting the mind.
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Edited by - sunyata on Oct 24 2017 7:49:23 PM |
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Dogboy
USA
2207 Posts |
Posted - Oct 24 2017 : 8:48:28 PM
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quote:
I've been doing it for 8 months, and I've had amazing results.
If you are seeing results, you must be on the right track, eh? You are not doing samyama, don't worry, here's where you can read up on that: https://www.aypsite.org/150.html
Relax, get to it. |
Edited by - Dogboy on Oct 24 2017 8:50:22 PM |
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Christi
United Kingdom
4381 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2017 : 06:13:44 AM
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Hi Mattersend,
When practicing Deep Meditation, pick up the mantra as a back-to-back repetition and then let it go as it will. Don't hold on the any particular rhythm or speed of repetition. The mantra will find its own rhythm and speed. There is also no need to be analysing how the mantra is being repeated. That is mental analysis, not meditation. So just be relaxed with it and let it happen as it happens, without any mental analysis of the process. Every session will be different depending on the inner obstructions that are present at the time.
Whenever you realize you are off the mantra, pick it up again as a back-to-back repetition and again let it go as it will. That is all you need to do. It is a very simple procedure and becomes effortless over time. The mantra will tend to refine and become increasingly "fuzzy" over time. It can become a continuous vibration or "stream" of sound. You may also find that you are transcending the mantra all together, as awareness moves beyond the objects of the mind. Whatever happens, happens and there is no holding onto any particular result.
In the instructions for Deep Meditation, there is nothing about what rhythm should be used, or what speed the mantra should be repeated at. That is deliberate, because the rhythm and speed of repetition will be different for each practitioner and will change over time. Whatever happens during meditation is fine and it will be what it is, according to what is needed during that session. It is good to relax into it and to trust the process. 
Christi
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mattersend
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2017 : 10:19:35 AM
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| Understood as to all. Thank you everyone. The journey continues. |
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colours
Sweden
108 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2017 : 12:43:35 PM
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Great responses so far! (I learned and got some confirmation out of them also).
Just a thought, and parenthesis: Why we go back to the mantra even when we realize we are not on it in Stillness, I suppose is because we really are not in Stillness (absorbed in it) when we realize "we have been there"... Right? The actual realization is the leaving from Stillness, if I got it right.
But maybe I am just splitting hair.
//colours |
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Christi
United Kingdom
4381 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2017 : 1:02:43 PM
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Hi Colours,
That is an important point. When we lose the mantra into stillness, then we are in stillness and not on the mantra. But as soon as we notice that we are no longer on the mantra, then we come back to it. So "noticing that you are off the mantra", counts as a thought, just like any other thought.
Christi |
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1730 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2017 : 1:04:21 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by colours Why we go back to the mantra even when we realize we are not on it in Stillness, I suppose is because we really are not in Stillness (absorbed in it)
Yes, "I am in Stillness" is a thought.
The relationships between thoughts and Stillness is more complicated than either/or. For the purpose of this discussion let's just say that dropping back into thinking is a signal that it's time to pick up the mantra again.
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BlueRaincoat
United Kingdom
1730 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2017 : 1:05:12 PM
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@Christi
We cross posted |
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sunyata
USA
1508 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2017 : 1:11:09 PM
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Hi colours,
Agree with Christi and BlueRaincoat. Also, we enjoy Stillness after our practices during our daily life.
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colours
Sweden
108 Posts |
Posted - Oct 25 2017 : 2:03:24 PM
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Yes, just wanted to "clarify" or expand upon sunyata's already good posts... 
//colours |
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srirama123
India
2 Posts |
Posted - Oct 30 2017 : 06:49:00 AM
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Hii
Thank you for solving my problem. |
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confused: repetition of mantra
