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Moola_Bandha
Australia
24 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 11 2013 : 08:26:10 AM
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Hi everyone,
Robert Adams, in his book, Silence of the Heart, Vol. 1, P. 101, instructs the "I AM meditation" in this way:
"Close your eyes... Inhale and say, 'I'. Exhale and say, 'am'. Inhale say, 'I', exhale say, 'am'... If your mind wanders, bring it back again and do the I AM meditation."
Based on the audio file of I AM mantra in AYP Lesson 13, I AM is said in one breath (in your mind). So, for confirmation, is this the way to do it?
Do you guys say it as "one word" in your mind?
Do you say it in your mind while you're inhaling or exhaling?
If you don't link it to your breath, how fast do you repeat I AM? And does it get slower when over time we reach silence?
Sorry if this was asked before, I did a search but didn't find anything.
Thanks! |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2013 : 08:56:25 AM
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Hi Moola_Bandha,
We don't worry about breath, any time we realize we are focusing on the breath or synchronizing breath with mantra, we move our focus back to the mantra.
Here is Yogani's lesson on this:
http://www.aypsite.org/106.html
Q: As I attempt to develop a better habit of meditation- which though fairly new in the process I am enjoying tremendously- Does it matter if I imagine/hear inside myself saying "I" on an inhale, "AM" on an exhale OR if I hear "I AM" "I AM" "I AM" on an inhale and then the same on an exhale, etc...?
A: Some systems of meditation involve using mantra with breath. The approach in these lessons is to not do that. So, no, it doesn't matter if the mantra is with the breath or not. We just let the breath go in meditation and don't mind what it is doing. The reason is we want the mantra to be free to change naturally in speed of repetition and degree of clarity so the mind is free to go to stillness easily. We want meditation naturally leading the breath, not the other way around. If we favor the breath leading the mantra, we will drift into pranayama mode of cultivating the nerves on a less subtle level than the mind will go if given the opportunity in deep meditation. This is a fine point that is easy to miss. It will become clearer when we enhance the mantra, giving it more syllables.
Cultivating the nerves is very good and pleasurable, and we do that in pranayama. But meditation with breath leading is not as deep as meditation without breath leading. In deep meditation when the mind comes to stillness, the breath and metabolism will automatically suspend. We'd like to be free to pick up the mantra on very subtle/quiet levels in the mind without having it habitually tied to breath. If the mantra follows the breath, we don't favor or push the breath out. We just follow the procedure of easily favoring the mantra on whatever level of stillness we are at in the mind. Then we will be going to more stillness and purifying the entire nervous system from deep within with the rise of pure bliss consciousness.
So, pranayama is for cultivating the nerves with attention and breath, and meditation is for letting the mind go deep -- awakening the silent seed of pure bliss consciousness deep within the nervous system. In this approach we do not cultivate and plant at the same time. There is further discussion on this in lesson #43, "Pranayama Q&A -- Relationship to meditation." You will find if you let the breath go in meditation, you will go much deeper into silence, especially if you have done spinal breathing pranayama before meditation.
The guru is in you.
There are many topics that have discussed this, if you do an exact search on "focus on breath" or "breath and meditation" you will find them.
Here are a couple of them:
http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic....OPIC_ID=3117
http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic....OPIC_ID=6817 |
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Moola_Bandha
Australia
24 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2013 : 09:11:19 AM
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Thanks, Shanti! That was exactly my question!
So, how fast do you repeat the mantra in your mind? How many mantras in every 5 seconds?
Also, is there any posts that I can read about YOUR experience of deep meditation? It seems that you've been practicing for some years now. Have you developed PERMANENT inner silence yet? Has anybody by using AYP system actually developed permanent inner silence?
Thank you! |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2013 : 09:43:22 AM
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We go with whatever speed happens that sessions. It will be slow (speed of repetition) some days, some days fast, some days you may be repeating it a lot, some days you may say it once and get lost in the stillness or thoughts or fall asleep. So the idea is to go with whatever is happening that day/that session. And every time we realize we are off the mantra, we come right back to it.
And you are right, I have been here way to long  ... it is kinda hard to find old posts on my experiences. I did pick some of my experiences and posted them in this blog : http://the-journey-inward.blogspot.com/
You will need to start reading it from the end.
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Moola_Bandha
Australia
24 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2013 : 7:34:44 PM
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| Thanks, Shanti. That's very helpful. |
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Yogaman
USA
295 Posts |
Posted - Apr 11 2013 : 11:24:33 PM
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| I too struggle with the mantra being linked to the breath. I came from a breath-focus technique which might be part of it, but also the mantra "I Am" fits too nicely into inhales and/or exhales :) |
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Christi
United Kingdom
4380 Posts |
Posted - Apr 12 2013 : 05:02:54 AM
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Hi Yogaman,
It doesn't take long to un-link the mantra and the breath if you wish to do so. It is advisable because as you get deeper into silence, the breath can slow right down, or suspend at either end for quite long periods of time. I also found in the beginning that I was linking the mantra and the breath, but it only took a couple of days to develop a new habit.
Christi |
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Yogaman
USA
295 Posts |
Posted - Apr 13 2013 : 12:03:26 AM
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| @Christi: it's interesting how when I am off the mantra, I have no problem not linking my thoughts to the breath :) I do try to unlink them, but I feel I may be going against the instructions by spending too much thinking worry about the link. I basically give it a few tries, and if not coming easily I let it pattern itself as it wants to. Usually I end up playing some mental "pattern game" where the mantra just gets syncopated to the breath, which is probably going in the wrong direction. |
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Christi
United Kingdom
4380 Posts |
Posted - Apr 13 2013 : 03:39:07 AM
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Hi Yogaman,
quote:
Usually I end up playing some mental "pattern game" where the mantra just gets syncopated to the breath, which is probably going in the wrong direction.
Yes, that would just count as being off the mantra, in which case, you let go of any thoughts about synchronisation and easily favour the mantra. As you go deeper in silence you will notice the breath less and less as it fades into the background. So it becomes less of an issue with time.
I also found that as I progressed through the mantra enhancements, there is less tendency for synchronisation to be an issue as the longer mantras don't fit so easily into synch with natural breathing.
Christi |
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Shanti
USA
4854 Posts |
Posted - Apr 13 2013 : 6:12:56 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Yogaman
@Christi: it's interesting how when I am off the mantra, I have no problem not linking my thoughts to the breath :) I do try to unlink them, but I feel I may be going against the instructions by spending too much thinking worry about the link. I basically give it a few tries, and if not coming easily I let it pattern itself as it wants to. Usually I end up playing some mental "pattern game" where the mantra just gets syncopated to the breath, which is probably going in the wrong direction.
Hi Yogaman,
I would suggest not playing any games or trying to unsync the mantra and breath. It can become a mind obsession and so if you can't easily come back to the mantra, let the sync stay. Don't consciously sync it, but don't force unsync it either. In time, as Christi says, breathing will slow down and you will move deeper into silence, and sync will become less and less or never go away (I don't think about it, but if I ever do, i find my mantra and breath do get in sync, so I go back to the mantra ).... it does not matter. Just stay with the mantra and go with whatever is flowing naturally now. The mind loves to find something to hold on to... best to not indulge it and it naturally falls away. |
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Yogaman
USA
295 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2013 : 11:50:51 PM
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| Thank you! I've been out with the flu the past few days and could not meditate or exercise, but got back on the cushion again tonight finally. |
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I AM meditation according to Robert Adams
