Conference hydra::dejavu

    Actually, I prefer Womantras to Mantras!  I don't mind if others
    do not, however.
    
    ;-}
    Richard

    In meditation, our mind runs about in a thousand and one directions.
    We have a tendency to think of our work, our wives/husbands, children,
    our problems, our frustrations in life, etc, etc. The inablity to 
    focus our thoughts on one single object for a period of time is 
    something that needs control of the mind. Meditation is a process where
    we learn to control the mind and bring it to focus. The mantras given
    to us by spiritual masters help us focus our thoughts on a single
    object. That object is defined to you prior to you receiving the
    mantra. Thru the repetition of the mantra, your mind has no choice
    but to focus on that mantra. One very famous mantra given by many
    of the spiritual masters is the sound "OM". OM is like a humming
    sound pronounced as OOOMMMMMMMMMMM in the mind and not verbally.
    The tibetan Masters say that if this mantra repeated by the mind
    and focused at the "eye centre" i.e. between your eye brows..you
    slowly bring your attention inside and experience a sweet bliss and
    soon learn to achieve peace of the mind. This eye centre is called
    the "THIRD EYE". Christ said if thine eye be single, thy whole body
    will be full of light! Perhaps, He was refering to this eye. Could
    it be the gateway to another dimension ie the astral world or causal
    world and finally to GOD? 
    
    what do you think.....try it and find out!
    
    regards
    mohan

    
    Re: Mantras, or Hekau in Egyptian
    
    For those of you REALLY interested in chanting [Mantras, Hekau, or
    Words of Power] I suggest you get the book METU NETER, by Ra Un Nefer
    Amen.  If you won't be offended and turned off by the introduction and
    first few chapters on history, in which the author reveals some
    interesting information regarding the African/Egyptian origins of the
    chanting tradition, you learn things about chanting and meditation
    you've NEVER heard before...I'm not sticking my neck out, I'm being
    honest.
    
    Let me give you a few tidbits from it.
    
    1)  The Kabala, or the Tree of Life, represents a system of emanations
    of life, from the unformed primordial substance to formed and ordered
    manifest life.  The Word of Power/Hekau associated with the primordial
    substance is Ng(K) (ie the G and K are silent alike, Knowledge and 
    Gnosis).  This state is "consciousness of being conscious".
    
    2)	Kether, as the Hebrews call it, is the first manifestation from or
    separation from the PS.  It represents the first thought.  The Word of
    Power/Hekau associated with it is "AU", which was cast into the NG, and
    thus becomes "AUNG/AUNK".  The word sound "OM" is a perversion "AUNG".
    
    3)	There are altogether 50 Words of Power, from which all the
    mantras/Hekau come.
    
    I think you'll find this book quite interesting.  It offers a very
    comprehensive knowledge of the "Egyptian System of Spiritual
    Cultivation".  Which is claimed to be the original from which all
    others derived, from India to China.
    
    Another thing I'd life to share with you:
    
    Between your navel and you privates, or the lower part of the belly or
    stomach, is a muscle of significance.  Try this...if you tighten just
    that part of your stomach it is said that all thought ceases to enter
    to the mind.
    
    Playtoe

    "this is my living room.  these are my friends."  repeat.
    
    karl

               <<< Note 1543.3 by SWAM1::DOTHARD_ST "PLAYTOE" >>>

Thankyou for sharing that.  Have you any idea where one might find this 
book?



Ron

    Yea, Playtoe... thanks... I'd like to read it too.
    
    mary

    Playtoe,
    
    and could you perhaps provide me with the ISBN please?
    (makes it easier to find it here in Austria :-)
    
    thanks,
    Karin

                                                              
    Some insight on 'Manthra'... heard from one who had mastered it.
    
    Manthra's are of various kinds. They are not a poem or a metrical
    piece. Mystical Manthras are a crystallization of the form of a
    Deity in the concentrated consciousness of a Seer. Repetition of 
    a Manthra is said to transform the mind of the practitioner to the
    form of the Deity. The process of repetition is termed 'Japa'.
    
    The efficacy of the repetition is dependent on various factors,
    chief of which are the source of the Manthra, personal purity of
    the practitioner, and regularity of the practice.
    
    Vedic Manthra
    -------------
    The attention is focussed on the meaning of the Manthra during 
    repetition. The 'sense', or 'spirit' of the Manthra is the most
    important part of this type of Manthra. The transformation effected
    by this kind of Manthra is said to be an expansion of 'knowledge'
    in the mind.
    
    Tantric Manthra
    ---------------
    This kind of Manthra places emphasis on the Sound, or the Vibration
    of the seed syllables, technically referred to as 'bija-akshara'. 
    The Vibration itself is said to be a subtle form of a Deity. The
    effect of this kind of Manthra is said to be an increase in the
    mind's 'lustre', and a purification of the channels of bio-energy
    flow.
    
    Ritualistic Manthra
    -------------------
    The attention here is on the Sound and the ritual. The effect is
    said to be an actualization of the desire for which the Manthra
    is repeated.
    
    Ajapa japa
    ----------
    As the name suggests, this type of Manthra does not involve a
    repetition of syllables. The focus of attention is on the incoming
    and outgoing breath. Repeated practice is said to confer spiritual
    awakening.
    
    ------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    And finally, the practice of Manthras is said to lead to development
    of mystical powers in the mind. But no master of any worth is known
    to have cared a rap for any of those powers. Those powers are said
    to have absolutely nothing to do with spiritual awakening.
    
    Rather than 'create reality', they 'destroy delusion'.
    
    Jana
    

    RE: 5
    
    At this point it'll probably be found mainly in Black book stores.  The
    author is a black native Egyptian, and a priest of 20 years, who writes
    from an Afrocentric Perspective, and he seeks to refute many
    Eurocentric ideas which may make him unpopular for B Dalton's.  Like I
    said once you get past the first few chapters on history, he gets into
    the Kabala, the Tree of Life and more universal concepts...very good
    stuff.
    
    I'd venture to say, no other book I've read has presented such ideas
    with such supports as this author has done...he really seems to know
    what he's talking about...
    
    Playtoe

    Re: 7
    
    Yes, I'll get that for you.
    

    RE: 7
    
    The book Metu Neter, by Ra Un Nefer Amen, ISBN 1-877662-03-8.

There is a very powerful Mantra , which when recited 5 times, before going
to sleep, or first thing in the morning or whenever you feel very stressful,
will give peace to the mind.

It is called the Gayatri Mantra.  This mantra is also recited in the beginning
of any Hindu ceremony.  Whenever I have a bad day, or during any personal
grief (during my father's illness and subsequent death) I take solace in this
mantra.  If one believes in its power than one feels very peaceful.

Here it is :

				GAYATRI MANTRA

	AUM  BHOOR  BHUVAH  SWAH  TAT-SAVITUR-VARENYAM
	BHARGO  DEVASAYA  DHEEMAHI  DHIYO  YO  NAH  PRACHODAYAT
					(to recite 5 times)

			OM SHANTIHI SHANTIHI SHANTIHI	
				(May be peace with you)
    
    
    girish

    re .11
    
    Thanks for the info!
    
    Karin :-)

    One of my favourite mantras for spiritual guidance and finding
    ones higher purpose (from Siri Singh I think ...)
    
                   GURUR GURU WAHE
    
    		   GURU RAM DAS
    
    Karin

    Hi,
    
    I've been looking around for A Course in Miracles books lately, and I
    know there's a person surnamed Singh who has written a number of things
    about the ACIM materials.  I wonder if it's the same person.
    
    I do TM--the MacDonald's of meditation, some say.  The mantra I was
    given is pronounced somewhere between *I'm* and *ah-eem*.  They told
    us never to pronounce it out loud after it was given to us, but they
    said nothing about phonetically spelling it out for people. 
    Theoretically, that mantra fits my physical or personality type in some
    vibrational way that I don't understand.  Their directions are to pick a 
    quiet place where you won't be disturbed for about 25 minutes, and sit in a
    comfortable position.  Close your eyes and relax for about 30 seconds
    or so.  Then start repeating the mantra to yourself silently.  Your
    mind will repeatedly wander off to other things, but don't fret about
    that.  When you notice that, just easily and effortlessly bring your
    mind back to focus on the mantra.  Determined concentration is not the
    goal.  They say that when you close your eyes, thoughts come to mind
    with no effort at all on your part--that is the way to think the
    mantra, with that same effortless ease as any other thought.  They say
    that you may notice the mantra subtly change as you use it--don't worry 
    about that either, just go with it.  They want you to have a clock or
    watch nearby, and when you think 20 minutes have gone by, glance at the
    clock to check.  If it has, stop repeating the mantra in your mind. 
    Just sit quietly for another 2 full minutes or so with your eyes
    closed.  Then you're done.  Do this once in the morning, and once in
    the late afternoon or early evening.  Don't do it for 2 full hours
    after you've eaten--the body is busy digesting, and you won't get the
    full benefit.  Don't do it at or near bedtime; they say it will
    interfere with your normal sleeping.  They say that if you fall asleep
    while doing it, and then wake up, that's ok.  You needed the rest. 
    Just continue doing the mantra for about 5 minutes after you awaken,
    and then stop the way you would normally stop a meditation period.
    
    I don't do the meditation twice per day, generally, and seldom on
    weekends.  I've been doing it for about 20 years now.  Even after all
    this time, I still notice myself working on not involving effort in the
    process.  I hold physical tension in my body and face, far more than
    I'm usually aware of.  I still look for the best way to coordinate
    thinking my mantra with my breathing so as to be as relaxed and
    effortless as possible.  I watch for my tendency to try to hurry up and
    relax.  Sometimes it seems to work to watch the images that come to
    mind and gently name them with my mantra.  Sometimes it seems more
    peaceful if I wait about 5 minutes after first closing my eyes before I
    start saying my mantra.  Sometimes it seems best if I think my mantra
    in the space between exhaling and inhaling.  Sometimes it seems best
    when I think of the mantra as coming from some tense spot on my face,
    usually around my eyes--the tension seems to diminish.  I find it a
    strange sort of effort to do something effortlessly.  Absolutely
    everything else that I consciously do in my life requires some sort of 
    effort on my part, or so it seems.  If you've never done something like
    this, and you try it, you may be surprised to how much subtle, and not-
    so-subtle physical tension you carry around unawares.  Lately I think
    that EVERYTHING that I upset or distress myself about involves
    physical tension of some kind, so that's part of my enduring interest
    in periodically removing as much as I effortlessly can.  The "mental"
    side of that is that I find it very difficult to physically relax
    unless I'm focusing my mind on things that are peaceful to me.  TM
    seems to combine both, with the "effortless" mantra.
    
    Sometimes I get a stillness of mind that is unlike my usual thing.  I
    feel what I think the term 'centered' means.  That is what I would like
    to happen as often as possible when meditating.  It seems like that is
    who I really am, when I'm not distracted by some worry or concern.
    
    When I was in college, long ago, they mentioned a type of psychological
    therapy called 'systematic de-sensitization'.  The idea was to teach to
    client to thoroughly relax at will, and then consider or confront the
    threatening agent in a very gradual way, over the course of a number of
    sessions.  The idea was that gradually the client could confront the
    full blown problem, or fear causing agent in a fully relaxed way.  I've
    always thought that TM does something like that, amongst other things.
    I find myself thinking about something diisturbing, then notice I'm not
    on the mantra and get back to it.  If I keep going back and forth
    between the mantra and the disturbing thoughts, the meditation won't be
    as peaceful as it could be, but I will have formed more of an ability
    to think about that disturbing thing more peacefully than I would
    otherwise.
    
    Lunch beckons.  Maybe I'll go to MacDonald's!
    
    Mike
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    
    Re.15
    
    Mike,
    
    I believe the person who writes about ACIM is Tara Singh, and is not
    the same person mentioned in .14.
    
    Cindy

    Pardon me.
    
    I was looking through this conference backwards and posted the last
    note before I saw the TM topic, where it  belongs.  So, I'm going to
    repost it there.  If the moderator(s) want to delete this note, and the
    previous note, that would be good.
    
    Thanks,
    
    Mike

    Re .17

    >If the moderator(s) want to delete this note, and the previous note,
    >that would be good.
     
    It is possible to delete your own notes. Just position yourself over
    the note, in this case type 1543.17 then type DELETE/NOCON and the note
    will be removed from the file.

    Jamie.