How to
In a space that has been prepared with love, with candles and incense we sit together and focus inward, with eyes closed paying attention to the vibrations we feel in our bodies and in particular in our heart centre in our chest. We relax and we sing the mantra, it is always best to sing, at times we can listen, but the most benefit is derived from actually joining in. We might find at first that the mantra is unfamiliar to us, so there will be a process of learning which involves our thinking mind. Then as the mantra becomes more and more familiar we find that the mantra is almost singing it’s self and we are it’s vehicles. Keeping our attention on the sound that we are producing together and sinking into that sound stills the mind and brings us deep peace. When the mind wanders out of the room or into commentary we bring it gently back to the sound. It takes a while to calm our minds that have been racing at a million miles and hour all day, with all our business. But as our minds calm and the minds of the others in the room calm, the collective thought space deepens, we enter an alpha state of consciousness and together we calm, each one of our minds holding space for the others, going deeper and deeper until we are all feeling this peace.
To deepen the meditation further we can contemplate the meaning of the mantra.
If we are singing one of the names of God from the Hindu religion, Krishna, for example, we can look around the room and think that Krishna is in each one of the people in the room. Krishna is in everything, Krishna is in ourselves, Krishna is the in all sound, every breath, every thought, Krishna is the mantra blessing us to remember this as we sing. Everything is Krishna, this can bring us great joy and deep heart opening and a feeling of great love towards all the people in the room. We can extend this feeling outwards to people we know and those we don’t, letting this feeling of love and this realisation that we are all Krishna spread to all of creation.
Of course we can also think this way about Jesus and develop devotion and gratitude to him for bringing his message of peace and love to the world. We can try to be like him, walk in the world with our head with the angels at all times.
In the same way we can chant Buddhist mantras Like Om mani padme hum, the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, who is also the embodiment of compassion and has 1000 arms so he can help beings everywhere. From a slightly different non-theistic perspective we can contemplate this kindness as we sing, wishing all beings happiness. Wishing ourselves happiness and peace and then looking around the room and wishing this for all our new friends around us. To the cat, to all animals, to all beings. Then we can move into the perspective that Avalokiteshvara is a manifestation in the nirmarnakaya that has risen out of the dharmakaya which is the empty natural state of the clarity of the mind and like Avalokiteshvara everything arises out of this emptiness. All our thoughts are Avalokiteshvara, everyone in the room is Avalokiteshvara, the embodiment of compassion and kindness. Everyone has this seed within them, and if we recognise it within them we empower it. We feel more connected, our hearts open and we can rest in the oneness that is. The mantra it’s self is Avalokiteshvara, all perception arises from the natural clarity of our minds, all phenomena are mind only, and so all phenomena are Avalokiteshvara. We are in the pure land, everything that manifests is Avalokiteshvara and is teaching us, guiding us towards the ultimate goal of enlightenment, freedom from suffering for the benefit of all sentient beings. Every person we meet is Avalokiteshvara and is gifting us an opportunity to recognise this within them and also with deep humility, learn the lessons that they or this situation bring. As we carry this into our daily lives, this holding is in it’s self a great blessing to others, bringing out the best in them.
Then we can bring ourselves back to just the mantra, we can rest in the sound and become the mantra, nothing else exists but this never ending pulsing of energy that is blessing us and all around us.
As the mantra carries on we can rest more and more deeply in these types of realisations, we can also direct the energy to different parts of our bodies. These types of thoughts open the heart and if we bring our attention there this will help with this. We can also focus on different chakras, energy centres, as we sing.
We can bring the energy right down into our base chakra with the intention of helping us to really embody the energy of the mantra. We can ask that the mantra bless our bodies and our lives so that we are living more and more in these realisations. We can ask that obstacles be removed, by Ganesh, or Tara, so that our daily lives are easier and that our needs are met.
We can focus on our sacral chakra and bring great power to the sound, we can use drumming to help bring the energy down and we might find that dancing helps us to embody this. We can ask the mantra or being who the mantra represents to bless our power centre, to transform our sexuality into sacred sexuality, freeing us from our fear and preprogrammed patterns around this. We can infuse our sexual energy with the energy of the mantra and feel and enjoy its power.
Bringing our attention to our solar plexus, energy follows though and the energy rises in our bodies. We can ask this energy centre to heal, clear emotional trauma and radiate out that power, again drumming and dancing, empowering body movements anchor the mantra into us at this level. Affirming the sense of who we are, clearing out insecurity, transmuting old patterns and stuck energy that stop us being who we are. Being confident in who we are, allowing the true power, and greatness that we are out. I am!!
Then we can allow this energy up into the heart centre. Fear, sadness, depression, despondency, grief can be gently soothed by the mantra and allowed to release. The feeling of love and kindness towards ourselves begins to grow and that Love begins to radiate out from us, we feel connected and at peace. We wish all beings happiness. Perhaps the seeds of devotion are planted, we feel grateful for this blessed feeling and we look out of our eyes with wonder at the world and all the beauty that we see around us. We feel all the love coming from the others in the room and ultimately all life.
Focusing on the throat chakra, we bring all this transformed energy up and we can ask the mantra to heal the way we express ourselves in our lives. As this chakra is blessed with the mantra, our voices strengthen and our words become whole, we can now cease negative speech and expressions and we can use our voices to send out messages of love and kindness and unity consciousness. We feel the power in our voices and feel the desire to benefit others with our gifts.
Allowing the energy to rise to the brow chakra, we can invite the third eye to open and to empower our thoughts, we ask that our vision be blessed so that everything we see is the perfection of God’s creation or the emanation of the purity of the nature of the mind. We only see God, we only see beauty, We only see love in all.
And now we are ready to let this energy rise to the crown, and we open ourselves to receive the blessings from above. We connect to all the beings that have been helping us all along from the non physical realm. These blessings pour down on us, down through our whole bodies blessing all of our energy centres. Blessing our brow chakra, our throat chakra, our heart chakra, our solar plexus, sacral chakra, finally grounding in the base chakra and down into the earth. We allow this energy to flow through us down into the earth, deep down into our roots. We are but conduits, hollow tubes, for this divine energy to channel through us down into the earth and to all beings. We feel inspired, motivated to do something, we feel the seed of an idea being given to us from above, now we are ready and we are listening. Now we can move forward and watch this seed grow, always being watered from above, by the blessings of the infinite and our disciplined, steady daily actions that will allow this idea to grow into it’s fruition.
Then the mantra stops….
We find we are in this incredible space which is deep inner silence, thoughts effortlessly stop and we feel deep peace. The mantra or the being to whom we are singing has blessed us and we bathe in this sacred silence and stillness that is it’s gift. We wish all beings could feel this way, all beings could receive these blessings as we have. We give gratitude to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, to the Archangels, to all our relations, to God, to Allah to Krishna to all life and the great mystery.
Then we arise and look at the world in a new way, as we walk things feel different, we feel a new resolve within ourselves to show up more in this way in our daily lives, to carry this peace out to our friends and family and to do our bit to make the world a better place.
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