within
the beauty
of the
dance
and the love
of the
dancer
is you
Meditation
Meditation gives us something that nothing else can, which is awareness and direct knowledge of our wholistic self. Through developing concentration and calming down the breath, we can calm down the conscious thoughts. Once we calm the conscious mind, we can become aware of the subconscious thoughts. Calming down even further, we can become aware of the superconscious mind.
To attain happiness and other life goals, we need to take control of our life and develop Will Power. To become this master of our destiny, we use discipline to focus and direct our mind. Quieting the mind does not mean to empty it. To quiet the mind means to focus and concentrate on what we choose. There are many types of meditation. There are meditations on mantras (words) and yantras (images); meditation on theologies, on objects, and on holy ones. However, there are really only three subject matters of meditation.
The first of these subjects is the “freedom from.” This is freedom from our mental and emotional conflicts, freedom from stress, freedom from that which distracts us. It is freedom from the diseases or the eight meannesses of the human condition (hatred, fear, grief, shame, condemnation, race prejudice, narrowness of thinking, and pride of pedigree or tribe). These lie within both the conscious and subconscious mind. Meditation on the conscious mind is about what we want to resolve, create, think, and do, or what we want to go beyond. In order to have meditation on the inner subconscious mind, we first have to quiet the conscious mind.
The second subject matter of meditation involves our “awareness of” our concepts, ideas, and belief systems, both positive and negative. This includes any fears and issues that may have come from childhood. Something may have happened in the past that prejudiced or distorted our view of our self or life. By quieting the conscious mind, we get to the subconscious mind and can begin to work on these samskaras (beliefs) that are standing in the way of our enjoyment of life. As purely a physical example, we may be aware that we have a sliver in our hand, but that awareness doesn’t heal the hand, the sliver must also be removed and the wound cleansed and disinfected. When we discover an unresolved issue in the subconscious, our awareness of it doesn’t heal the wound. We have to address it by letting go of it (non-attaching), or resolving (healing) it.
The third subject of meditation is the greatest of all. It is the exploration of our wholistic life and the “freedom into” our nature. It is how to live in love, joy, harmony, happiness, and freedom. This will happen when we are free from our conflicts and issues, and embrace life with an open heart and an open mind. The process of developing a relationship with our wholistic self is not going to be instant. However, when we make consistent and steady efforts, it will be an ever-expanding enjoyment of life. Coming to our self will be a continuous evolution, and an enjoyable learning and growing revolution.
How Do We Meditate? The simplest way is to work with our nature. We have already established that the most important nutrient is breath, because of the oxygenation and detoxification that occur with the breath. It is also one of the most basic rhythms we have in our body. Thus, it is natural to base meditation on the breath. We use a mantra[1], which is a word or sound that helps us to concentrate, and link it to our breath. The mantra to begin with is So Hum.
So Hum is the actual sound of the inhalation and the exhalation. When we breathe in gently, deeply, and diaphragmatically through the nostrils, we will discover the sound of the inhalation is So. As we exhale gently and completely, the sound will be Hum. This mantra means “I am this, I am that.” We are the sum total of our awareness on the inhalation and exhalation. The mantra then comes to mean “I am this, I am that. I am aware of this about my self, and I am aware of that about my self. I am aware of this about life, and I am aware of that about life.”
Concentrating on the breath and the So Hum, we are able to get in touch with and stay focused on one of the most basic rhythms in the body, which is the breath. This will help us to be calm and relaxed and in touch with our body. We listen and mentally repeat the sound of the mantra. So on the inhalation, and Hum on the exhalation. While we are paying attention to our breath we also pay attention to what we are feeling and thinking and what we are experiencing. Can we feel the energy, calmness, and joy?
It is the conscious mind that will hear the truck going by or the noise in the kitchen. It is the conscious mind that will think about work or things to do. If these are nonessential to our happiness or survival, we can let them go during the time we have set aside for meditation. By calming down and focusing on the breath, we can let go of the nonessential conscious stuff. Once this happens, we will become aware of more subtle thoughts, feelings, and ideas from the subconscious. At this point, we have two choices. We can continue to calm the mind further to have even more subtle experiences, or we can evaluate the issues in the subconscious for a while. We can evaluate these subconscious thoughts, or we can also make note of the thoughts, to evaluate at a later time.
“Freedom from” is a term that has to be understood. It is not suppression or repression. “Freedom from” means something no longer affects or impacts our life. We no longer believe something to be essential to our happiness. “Freedom from” means there has been a resolution or ending to the issue or thoughts. We need to become aware of what is in the subconscious because it is part of our beliefs, and it is our beliefs that help to define who we are. Every thought coming in is telling us something about our self. This insight into our thoughts, ideas, philosophies, fears, insecurities must be addressed, either in meditation or outside of meditation. If they seem nonessential at the moment, we can choose to continue meditating on the breath. The So Hum mantra helps us to quiet the breath and experience freedom from these distractions or conflicts. This allows us to be aware of our wholistic nature, thereby freeing us into the exploration of life wholistically.
Beginning to Meditate
The first step of meditation is pranayama, or breath control. Without regulation of the breath, there can be no concentration of the mind. If there is no concentration of the mind, there can be no meditation.
The first step of meditation should be the simple inhalation and exhalation of the 1–12 pranayama technique. This is inhaling to the count of 12 and then exhaling to the count of 12, to make the breath even. It is a deep, calm, even diaphragmatic breath. This should be done until the breath is quiet, relaxed and rhythmic, 5 to 10 minutes. Then we add the So Hum technique. As we inhale, we listen to the sound of our breath, the sound of the inhalation is “So.” As we exhale, we listen to the sound of our breath. The sound of the exhalation is “Hum.”
Then we add the So Hum technique as we are listening to the sound of the breath while mentally saying So on the inhalation and Hum on the exhalation. We are focusing on the breath. We pay attention to all the thoughts and distractions that come. We are not letting them keep us from focusing, but neither are we ignoring them. These thoughts or distractions are telling us something about our days, something about us. We can choose to either evaluate them or not during meditation. We are just paying attention.
The deeper we dive into the So Hum, the deeper our meditations will be. We will begin to transcend the mind and areas of mental activity. Once we begin to do that, it is time to go to the Om technique. Instead of using the So Hum mantra, you now use the Om mantra.[2] We now mentally say Om on the exhalation and listen to the sound of the breath on the inhalation. When we attune to the Om, we will be attuning to all life, and we will then begin to feel our self expanding out beyond our limited identities. We will experience our self expanding out into the rest of life.
This meditation of deep and even 1-12 breathing, the So Hum technique, and the Om technique should be done on a daily basis. This meditation should be done for approximately 24 minutes in the beginning. This is one minute for each hour of our day that we will commit to getting to know our self.
Meditation is simple. In each meditation, you should have awareness or focus on your self and come away feeling energized. You should feel calmer and more relaxed while doing the deep breathing. You may also feel energized while you are doing the breathing techniques. You should have more self-awareness while doing the So Hum mantra. You should feel more expanded into the rest of life, with the Om mantra. Although this awareness may be subtle in the beginning, with each meditation, you have the opportunity to experience all these things.
It is recommended that you have one meditation at the beginning of your day and the second one at the end of your day. These times correlate with the two transitional times of your day, one when you leave the sleep state and move into the awake state, and the other when you are preparing to leave the awake state and move into the rest state.
Meditation Techniques
Meditation is the process of calming the mind, breath, and ego for the purpose of realizing one’s wholistic nature. Meditation is a very simple and gentle process and should be practiced with a gentle yet firm discipline. Concentration leads to a quieter and deeper meditation. With consistent deep breathing, concentration, and meditation, we will be able to get to the part of our nature that is beyond stress and conflict and is filled with joy. When we are doing this daily, it becomes easier to deal with everything in the subconscious. As we remove the issues and insecurities, we will have greater freedom from the small conflicts that keep us from living within our nature of happiness.
Posture
Sit in a relaxed, upright position with the head and spine straight and erect, but not tense. Sitting on a blanket or pillow against the wall or sitting upright in a chair are both acceptable. Sit upright with the eyes and mouth closed. A small pillow for the lower back is fine. Maintain this posture throughout the meditation. Your posture should be one that is comfortable for a 30-60 minute sitting.
1–12 Pranayama Technique
Inhale a full diaphragmatic breath through both nostrils while counting from 1 to 12, and then exhale through the nostrils to the same count. The mental counting should be calm and even. The count need not be to the full count of 12, but does need to be the same count for both the inhalation and the exhalation. For example: Inhale to 12 then exhale to 12, or inhale to 6 and exhale to 6.
Hrim Technique
The Hrim mantra is done audibly. It is pronounced “HUH-ree-mm” and it means “I invoke the indwelling energy.” Five to fifteen minutes of doing this technique will allow the mind to become relaxed and focused, and at the same time bring energy into your life. To do the Hrim, you begin by taking a full diaphragmatic inhalation through the nostrils. As you begin to exhale through your mouth, contract your stomach muscles slightly, and audibly (with force) say “Huh.” You then continue the exhalation with an audible “reeee,” ending with “mmmm.” Then you again inhale through the nostrils. All three parts of this mantra are done on one exhalation…HUH…reeee…mmmm.
So Hum Technique
Breathing through the nostrils, take a very gentle, slow and full diaphragmatic inhalation while mentally saying “So.” After inhaling completely, exhale gently through the nostrils while mentally saying, “Hum.” Repeat.
While mentally repeating this mantra, listen to the sound of your breath. The natural sound of the breath will be So (inhalation) and Hum (exhalation).
Om Technique
Take a full diaphragmatic inhalation through the nostrils. Then, while exhaling through the nostrils, mentally say, “Ommm” for the full exhalation. Feel the Om vibration during each exhalation. Repeat.
All mantras should be done calmly, with concentration, and in harmony with the breath. Remember that the mantras are a vibration we use to help re-identify with our wholistic self through the calming of the mind and breath. You can pay attention to any thoughts that come in. Then, gently bring your focus back to the mantra.
Properly doing the techniques will bring a calming of the mind and breath. With a calming of the mind and breath, a greater awareness of our thoughts and feelings will come. With more awareness of our thoughts and feelings, both conscious and subconscious, we have greater self-knowledge of our weaknesses and strengths. With this knowledge, we can now direct our efforts towards a transformation of our life, towards the attainment of happiness and other life goals.
