The Power of So Hum Mantra

A mantra is a meditation technique that helps you to take your mind to quieter, calmer levels of thinking. Mantras are often referred to as vehiclesfor the mind because with focus on the repetition of a mantra, other thoughts swimming in the mind dissipate and the mind shifts toward mental clarity and stillness.

The So Hum is the greatest of all Mantras. It is a simple but powerful technique that uses the breath and the repetition of a mantra to quiet the mind and relax the body. It is one of the most important mantras in tantrism and Kriya yoga. This Mantra comes in the Isavasya Upanishad: "Sohamasmi." 

So Hum has a special meaning in Vedic philosophy, It is a phrase comprised of two Sanskrit words. The literal translations are:

So: “That”

Hum: “I”

Therefore, the translation of So Hum is “I Am That.” 

Here, "that" refers to all of creation, the one breathing us all. This contemplation meditation is an opportunity to focus "thinking mind" on the mystery of being and to reflect upon the interdependent nature of all phenomenon revealed by the sages and confirmed by contemporary physics.

How To Practice "So Hum" Meditation

Choose a place where you won’t be disturbed. 

Find a comfortable posture for meditation (seated on a cushion or blanket, in a chair or against a wall). 

Close down your eyes, relaxing the muscles around them, as well as the crown of your head, your forehead and your jaw. Feel your shoulder blades melt down your back. The more the body is relaxed, the more the mind is able to relax into deep meditation.

Now take a slow, deep breath through your nose, while thinking or silently repeating the word So.

Then slowly exhale through your nose while silently repeating the word Hum. 

Continue to allow your breath to flow easily, silently repeating So . . . Hum . . . with each inflow and outflow of the breath.

Whenever your attention drifts to thoughts in your mind, sounds in your environment, or sensations in your body, gently return to your breath, silently repeating So . . . Hum.

Keep repeating the mantra for 5-10 minutes.

When you are ready, gently stop repeating the mantra and take a couple of minutes to relax, keeping your eyes closed.

Open your eyes.

Do this process for a few minutes when you’re first getting started, gradually building up to half an hour. 

Benefits of Meditation

The popularity of meditation is increasing as more people discover its benefits.

You can use it to increase awareness of yourself and your surroundings. Many people think of it as a way to reduce stress and develop concentration. People also use the practice to develop other beneficial habits and feelings, such as a positive mood and outlook, self-discipline, healthy sleep patterns and even increased pain tolerance.

Reduces stress

Stress reduction is one of the most common reasons people try meditation.

Controls anxiety

Less stress translates to less anxiety.

Habitual meditation helps reduce anxiety and anxiety-related mental health issues like social anxiety, phobias and obsessive-compulsive behaviors.

Promotes emotional health

Inflammatory chemicals called cytokines, which are released in response to stress, can affect mood, leading to depression. A review of several studies suggests meditation may reduce depression by decreasing these inflammatory chemicals

Research shows that maintaining an ongoing habit of meditation may help you maintain these benefits long term.

Enhances self-awareness

Meditation can help you "know yourself." This can be a starting point for making other positive changes.

It teaches you to recognize thoughts that may be harmful or self-defeating. The idea is that as you gain greater awareness of your thought habits, you can steer them toward more constructive patterns

Lengthens attention span

Focused-attention meditation is like weight lifting for your attention span. It helps increase the strength and endurance of your attention.

Meditation may even reverse patterns in the brain that contribute to mind-wandering, worrying and poor attention

May reduce age-related memory loss

Improvements in attention and clarity of thinking may help keep your mind young.

The improved focus you can gain through regular meditation may increase memory and mental clarity. These benefits can help fight age-related memory loss and dementia.

Can decrease blood pressure

Meditation can also improve physical health by reducing strain on the heart.

Blood pressure decreases not only during meditation, but also over time in individuals who meditate regularly. This can reduce strain on the heart and arteries, helping prevent heart disease.

May help fight addictions

The mental discipline you can develop through meditation may help you break dependencies by increasing your self-control and awareness of triggers for addictive behaviors

Research has shown that meditation may help people learn to redirect their attention, increase their willpower, control their emotions and impulses and increase their understanding of the causes behind their addictive behaviors.

This can help you recover from addiction, lose weight and redirect other unwanted habits.

Helps control pain

Your perception of pain is connected to your state of mind, and it can be elevated in stressful conditions.

For example, one study used functional MRI techniques to observe brain activity as participants experienced a painful stimulus. Some participants had gone through four days of mindfulness meditation training, while others had not.

The meditating patients showed increased activity in the brain centers known to control pain. They also reported less sensitivity to pain (40).

Improves sleep

Nearly half the population will struggle with insomnia at some point.

Becoming skilled in meditation may help you control or redirect the racing or "runaway" thoughts that often lead to insomnia.

Additionally, it can help relax your body, releasing tension and placing you in a peaceful state in which you're more likely to fall asleep.

Boosts sex life

Stress, confidence, over-thinking and fatigue can impact on your love life. 

Stress kills desire. In women, levels of the stress hormone cortisol can rise so high that it makes orgasm physically impossible to achieve. 

Regular meditation quiets the overactive mind, which is one of the major causes of anxiety and stress. 

And it not only decreases levels of cortisol, it increases levels of dopamine and serotonin, ’happiness’ chemicals that improve the frequency and intensity of orgasm.

Also read:

• Energy cultivated by meditators: it’s science
• Binaural Beats: how these otherworldly sounds can alleviate stress and improve overall health
• Is meditation key to a youthful mind? Meditation could help brain become 7 years younger
• Harvard study shows meditation rebuilds brain's gray matter in 8 weeks

Binaural Beats: how these otherworldly sounds can alleviate stress and improve overall health

The physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits of meditation have been well documented for thousands of years. Many studies have proven its countless benefits. 

Meditation improves overall brain function, helps you to achieve intense focus increases your ability to relax and lower stress. It can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit both your emotional well-being and your overall health. 

And these benefits don't end when your meditation session ends. Meditation can help carry you more calmly through your day and may help you manage symptoms of certain medical conditions. It is a simple practice available to all. Learning how to meditate is straightforward, and the benefits can come quickly. 

Meditation is an umbrella term for the many ways to a relaxed state of being. There are many types of meditation and relaxation techniques that have meditation components. All share the same goal of achieving inner peace.

But there’s a type of meditation that’s gaining traction with both medical professionals and wellness practitioners. It’s called binaural beat brainwave technology, and with this style of meditation, there’s no silence allowed.

The Chicago SunTimes published an article on the benefits of binaural beats:

“Binaural means two frequencies coming in through the ears, one in each side,” said Dr. Trupti Gokani, a board-certified neurologist and founder of the Zira Mind and Body Center in Glenview. “How it works, is each side of the brain gets stimulated with a certain sound or beat. The difference between the frequencies creates an imaginary beat that takes the brain into the theta range, which is where you are calm and coherent.”

Like most meditations, you can do the binaural beats anywhere, anytime. There are apps and Youtube videos that specialize in just this type of sound therapy. But you do need a set of headphones to get the full effect of the treatment, said Gokani, because otherwise the sounds won’t alternate from ear to ear, which is the trick to getting the binaural benefits. Activating each side of the brain can also release unhealthy belief systems and patterns, Gokani said.

“The brain can get dominant on one side so when the programs that are negative, such as the sabotaging ‘The world is out to get me,’ start to run, that’s usually the left, more logical, analytical, fact-based side of the brain. When the brain gets more in alignment, it can stop the pattern of negative thinking, which is a beautiful thing,” Gokani said. “We need to stimulate the right side, which is the creative, more spiritual and connected side, and these modalities can start that process.”

Gokani said the brain connectivity process can even make things “more harmonious” for the physical body. “When the brain is connected, our physical body feels better. If the brain is having symptoms like anxiety, fear, depression, anger, it’s because the brain is operating in kind of an incoherent, non-synchronistic way. I’m actually trying these different rhythms with my migraine patients right now. Hemi-Sync is another one I’m trying.”

Hemi-Sync is a process using binaural beats and audio guidance technology that was created by Robert Monroe after decades of studying sound patterns on human consciousness. While Monroe died in 1995, his research lives on through courses and audio meditations through The Monroe Institute in Virginia.

“You can hook someone up to an EEG and actually see that there’s a physical response happening in the brain because it takes your consciousness and focuses it like a laser beam,” said Garrett Stevens, chairman and president of Hemi-Sync. “Some of the people who have come to the Monroe Institute over the years have been Buddhist monks, and lots of them say ‘I wish I’d known about this earlier’ because to achieve states of consciousness that might take years of sitting on cushions some people can achieve in eight minutes.”

Binaural beat and Hemi-Sync meditations vary in length (a few minutes to an hour) and type (guided with speaking, un-guided with no speaking.) Stevens’ Hemi-Sync site has even catalogued the meditations by category.

“Bob Monroe created these recipes some time ago through hundreds and thousands of trials,” Stevens said. “The general recipes are sleep, relaxation, wellness, creativity, manifestation and meditation.”

Binaural beat technology has also been proven to help with soldiers suffering from post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“There was actually a study that was done in 2017 that was funded by Walter Reed National Military Medical Center that focused on treating vets with PTSD using binaural beat technology and it produced statistically significant positive results on all four factors that were measured,” Stevens said.

Patty Avalon, who has been a teacher at the Monroe Institute since 2000, said participants have also reported an increase in their intuitive and creative abilities after using the meditations.

“The left [brain] hemisphere and the right [brain] hemisphere basically offer very different gifts,” Avalon said. “In our culture we don’t use the right hemisphere in our everyday lives because we live in a culture that has us get up at six in the morning and we go to work and it’s very regulated. So if you can get a technology like this that helps to activate both sides of the brain simultaneously — you have access to your more creative and intuitive self.”

You can find Robert Monroe's Audio CD 'Eternal Now with Hemi-Sync' on the right bar of our site.  


Also read:

• Energy cultivated by meditators: it’s science
• Is meditation key to a youthful mind? Meditation could help brain become 7 years younger
• Harvard study shows meditation rebuilds brain's gray matter in 8 weeks

Hatha, the Union of Sun & Moon

A student of the great Indian poet Kabir once asked him, "Kabir, where is God?" His answer was simple: "He is the breath within the breath." To understand the profound implications of Kabir's reply, we need to look beyond the physical components of breath—the oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other molecules that stream in and out with our every inhalation and exhalation. Beyond this breath—yet within it—is prana, the universal vital energy that is quite literally the stuff of life.

For those of us who practice yoga, the challenge is to harness this energy so it can fuel our physical, mental, and spiritual development. To do this, we need to look deeply into the mysteries of the mind and the subtle body. Fortunately, the early practitioners of Tantra voyaged into this inner landscape, mapping the many ways energy circulates within us. Among their most important discoveries were the nadis, the vast network of energy channels that makes each individual an integrated, conscious, and vital whole.

The Sanskrit word nadi derives from the root nad, which means "flow," "motion," or "vibration." The word itself suggests the fundamental nature of a nadi: to flow like water, finding the path of least resistance and nourishing everything in its path. The nadis are our energetic irrigation system; in essence, they keep us alive.

According to many Tantric texts, the human body contains 72,000 nadis that channel prana to every cell. Some are wide and rushing; others are a mere trickle. When this system flows freely, we are vital and healthy; when it becomes weak or congested, we struggle with poor mental and physical health. The practices of hatha yoga are so effective because they strengthen the flow of prana in our bodies, invigorating the current so that it carries away obstructions that block the free flow of energy.

Because nadis—like the chakras (psychoenergetic power centers), prana, and other aspects of the subtle body—don't show up under microscopes, medical science has relegated them to the realm of the merely metaphorical. But traditional yogis believe that the subtle body is real, and that understanding it and working with it complement and counterbalance the emphasis on gross physical anatomy that predominates our current yoga culture.

Three nadis are of particular interest to yogis. The sushumna (most gracious) nadi is the body's great river, running from the base of the spine to the crown of the head, passing through each of the seven chakras in its course. It is the channel through which kundalini shakti (the latent serpent power) rises up from its origin at the muladhara (root) chakra to its true home at the sahasrara (thousandfold) chakra at the crown of the head. In subtle body terms, the sushumna nadi is the path to enlightenment.

The ida (comfort) and pingala (tawny) nadis spiral around the sushumna nadi like the double helix of our DNA, crossing each other at every chakra. If you visualize the caduceus, the symbol of modern medicine, you'll get a rough idea of the relationships among the ida, pingala, and sushumna nadis. Eventually, all three meet at the ajna (command) chakra, midway between the eyebrows.

The ida nadi begins and ends on the left side of sushumna. Ida is regarded as the lunar nadi, cool and nurturing by nature, and is said to control all mental processes and the more feminine aspects of our personality. The color white is used to represent the subtle vibrational quality of ida. Pingala, the solar nadi, begins and ends to the right of sushumna. It is warm and stimulating by nature, controls all vital somatic processes, and oversees the more masculine aspects of our personality. The vibrational quality of pingala is represented by the color red.

The interaction between ida and pingala corresponds to the internal dance between intuition and rationality, consciousness and vital power, and the right and left brain hemispheres. In everyday life, one of these nadis is always dominant. Although this dominance alternates throughout the day, one nadi tends to be ascendant more often and for longer periods than the other. This results in personality, behavior, and health issues that can be called ida-like or pingala-like.

Ida-like individuals have lunar, or nurturing, qualities but may lack the verve to sustain a strong yoga practice. They are full of potential, but unless they develop their pingala side may never manifest that potential in either worldly affairs or spiritual development. Pingala-like individuals have solar qualities: type A personalities, lots of creativity, abundant vitality. But unless they develop their ida side, they may lack the quietude, introspection, and receptivity necessary to yield to the grace of spiritual awakening.

Creating Equilibrium

Bringing ida and pingala into equilibrium is a major focus of hatha yoga—so important, in fact, that the term hatha symbolizes this balance. Although the word hatha literally means "forceful" in Sanskrit, it is composed of ha and tha, two esoteric bija (seed) mantras that have arcane meaning and power. Ha represents the solar qualities, the vital force, of pingala; tha represents the mind and the lunar qualities of ida. Balancing sun and moon, or pingala and ida, facilitates the awakening and arising of kundalini, and thus the awakening of higher consciousness. In fact, some yoga teachings hold that as long as either ida or pingala predominates, sushumna stays closed and the power of kundalini lies dormant.

The most powerful method of balancing ida and pingala is Nadi Shodhana, alternate-nostril breathing. (Literally, the Sanskrit means "nadi cleansing.") This practice is effective because the ida nadi is directly connected to the left nostril, and the pingala nadi to the right. A few rounds of this basic Pranayama technique at the end of an asana practice are an excellent way to help restore equilibrium between the two nadis and to compensate for any imbalance you may have inadvertently caused during your practice.

To practice Nadi Shodhana, sit in a comfortable meditative position. Make a fist with your right hand, then partially reextend your ring and little fingers. Lightly place the pad of the thumb on your nose just to the right and below the bridge; lightly place the pads of your ring and little fingers on the corresponding flesh on the left side of your nose. Gently pressing with the ring and little fingers to close the left nostril, exhale fully through the right. Then inhale fully through the right, close it with the thumb, release the left nostril, and exhale through it. Inhale through the left nostril, close it with the fingers, release the right nostril, and exhale through it. This completes one round of Nadi Shodhana.

In addition to using Nadi Shodhana, you can experiment with using the asanas themselves as a method of balancing ida and pingala. At the beginning of a practice, sit and observe your breath to see which nostril—and, hence, which nadi—is dominant. (If you can't tell, try a few rounds of alternate-nostril breathing—it should be immediately clear which side is freer and which feels more inhibited). If the left nostril dominates, ida is in charge, and you might consider focusing your attention on invigorating asanas—such as backbends, standing poses, inversions, and twists—to engage the pingala nadi. If the right nostril dominates, the cooling, calming energy of seated poses and forward bends might be most beneficial.

You can also bring awareness of ida and pingala into any asana practice by pausing between poses to notice which nadi dominates your breathing. Notice your mind-states as well; you will find they closely correlate with which nadi is ascendant. Are you agitated and active (pingala-like) or calm and receptive (ida-like)? Through this checking-in process, you can begin to identify which poses activate one nadi or the other, and which are particularly effective—for you, at least—in creating physical and emotional equilibrium. You'll also be developing your awareness, deepening your practice, and clearing the way for your spiritual growth.

Also read:

• Science finally proves meridians exist
• Energy: Grounding, Centering, and Shielding

Chöd: The Dreadful Mystic Banquet

Chöd is a spiritual practice found primarily in the Nyingma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism (where it is classed as Anuttarayoga Tantra). Also known as "Cutting Through the Ego," the practices are based on the Prajñāpāramitā or "Perfection of Wisdom" sutras, which expound the "emptiness" concept of Buddhist philosophy.

According to Mahayana Buddhists, emptiness is the ultimate wisdom of understanding that all things lack inherent existence. The chod practitioner seeks to tap the power of fear through activities such as rituals set in graveyards, and visualisation of offering their bodies in a tantric feast in order to put their understanding of emptiness to the ultimate test.

The first Western reports of Chöd came from a French adventurer who lived in Tibet, Alexandra David-Néel in her travelogue Magic and Mystery in Tibet, published in 1932:

Chöd is a kind of "Mystery" played by one actor only... and it has been so cleverly devised  to terrify the novices that one hears of men who have suddenly gone mad or died while engaged in its performance.

A cemetery, or any wild site whose physical  aspects awakens feelings of terror , is considered to be an appropriate spot. However, the place is thought even more suitable if it is associated with a terrible legend or if a tragic event has actually happened there quite recently.

The reason of this preference is that the effect of chöd , or kindred rites, does not depend solely on the feelings aroused in the mind of the celebrant  by the stern words of the liturgy, nor upon the awe-inspiring surroundings. It is also designed to stir up the occult forces, or the conscious beings which - according to Tibetans - may exist in such places, having been generated either by actual deeds or by the concentration  of many people's  thoughts  on imaginary events. 

It follows that , during  the performance of chöd , which I have  compared to a drama  enacted by a single actor, the latter may happen to see himself suddenly surrounded by players of the occult worlds who begin to play unexpected roles.  Whatever part autosuggestion and visualization may have in the production  of these phenomena, they are deemed excellent for the good result of the training; but the test proves too hard for the nerves of some apprentice naijorpas and it is then that the accidents that I have mentioned occur: of madness and death.

Like any other actor, the man who wants to perform chöd must first learn his role by heart. Then he must practice the ritual dance, his steps forming geometrical figures, and also turning on one foot, stamping and leaping while keeping time with the liturgic recitation. Finally, he must learn to handle, according to rule, the bell, the dorjee, and the magic dagger (phurba), to beat rhythmically a kind of small drum (dammer) and to blow a trumpet made of a human femur (angling).

A "Naljörpa" performing the rite of chöd in a forest said to be haunted by evil spirits

The task is not easy; I lost my breath more than once during my apprenticeship.

Lack of place prevents me from giving a translation of the text of chöd, in extenso... However, the essential part of the rite consists in a banquet which may be briefly described as follows.

The celebrant blows his bone trumpet, calling the hungry demons to the feast he intends to lay before them. He imagines that a feminine deity, which esoterically personifies his own will, springs from the top of his head and stands before him, sword in hand. 

With one stroke she cuts off the head of the naljorpa. Then, while troops of ghouls crowd round for the feast, the goddess severs his limbs, skins him and rips open his belly. The bowels fall out, the blood flows like a river, and the hideous guests bite here and there, masticate noisily, while the celebrant excites and urges them with the liturgic words of unreserved surrender: 

"For ages, in the course of renewed births I have borrowed  from countless living beings - at the cost of their welfare and life - food, clothing, all kinds of services to sustain my body , to keep it joyful in comfort and to defend it against death. Today, I pay my debt, offering for destruction this body which I have held so dear.

"I give my flesh  to the hungry, my blood to the thirsty, my skin to clothe those who are naked, my bones as fuel to those who suffer from cold. I give my happiness to the unhappy ones. I give my breath to bring back the dying life.

"Shame on me if I shrink from giving my self! Shame of you , wretched and demoniac beings, if you do not dare to pray upon it..."

This act of the mystery is called the "read meal." It is followed by the "black meal", whose mystic signification is disclosed only to those disciples who have received an initiation of high degree.

The vision of the demoniacal banquet vanishes, the laughter and cries of the ghouls die away. Utter loneliness in a gloomy landscape succeeds the weird orgy, and the exaltation aroused in the naljorpa by his dramatic sacrifice gradually subsides.

Now he must imagine that he has become a small heap of charred human bones that emerges from a lake of black mud - the mud of mystery, of moral defilement, and of harmful deeds to which he has cooperated during the course of numberless lives, whose origin is lost in the night of time. He must realize that the very idea of sacrifice is but an illusion, an offshoot of blind, groundless pride. In fact, he has nothing to give away, because he is nothing. These useless bones, symbolizing the destruction of his phantom "I", may sink into the muddy lake , it will not matter.

That silent renunciation of the ascetic who realizes that he holds nothing that he can renounce, and who utterly relinquishes the elation springing from the idea of sacrifice, closes the rite. 

Some Lamas undertake tours to perform chöd near a hundred and eight lakes, and a hundred and eight cemeteries. They devote years to this exercise, wandering not only in Tibet, but also in India, Nepal and China. Others only retire to solitary places for the daily celebration of chöd for longer or shorter time. 

Find the book Magic and Mystery in Tibet by Alexandra David-Neel on the right bar of our site.



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• Interesting Day of the Dead Facts
• How Sacred Rituals can transform your daily life

Brain scans of spiritual retreat participants revealed changes in the brain

Spiritual retreats DO work: Study reveals just one day of meditation rewires your brain enough to reduce tension by almost 10%

Brain scans of spiritual retreat participants revealed changes in the dopamine and serotonin systems of their brain, which are part of our reward and emotional systems. 

The research also revealed that people who returned from retreats reported improvements in their physical health, tension levels and fatigue.

Brain scan images of a person who went on a 7-day spiritual retreat. The scan on the left shows the brain before the retreat, and the scan on the right shows the brain after. It shows the regions of interest used for the analysis as well as the overall reduction in neurostransmitter binding (reduced orange/red coloring) when comparing the pre-retreat (left) and post retreat (right) scans. The researchers observed decreases in dopamine transporter (5-8 percent) and serotonin transporter (6.5 percent) binding, which could make more of the neurotransmitters available to the brain. This is associated with positive emotions and spiritual feelings

'Since serotonin and dopamine are part of the reward and emotional systems of the brain, it helps us understand why these practices result in powerful, positive emotional experiences,' said Dr Andrew Newberg, M.D., Director of Research in the Marcus Institute of Integrative Health and lead author of the research. 

'Our study showed significant changes in dopamine and serotonin transporters after the seven-day retreat, which could help prime participants for the spiritual experiences that they reported.'  

The researchers, based at the The Marcus Institute of Integrative Health at Thomas Jefferson University, studied 14 Christian participants ranging in age from 24 to 76. 

The participants attended an Ignatian retreat, which is based on the spiritual exercises developed St Ignatius Loyola, who founded the Jesuits. 

The participants began each day with a morning mass, followed by spending most of the day in silent contemplation, prayer and reflection. They also attended a daily meeting with a spiritual director for guidance. 

Before and after they completed the seven-day retreat, the participants were given psychological surveys to fill out. According to the researchers, these showed that the participants reported perceived improvements in their health as well as their fatigue and tension levels. 

Researchers also took brain scans of the participants before and after the retreat. 

The post-retreat scans revealed decreases in dopamine transporter (5-8 percent) and serotonin transporter (6.5 percent) binding, which could make more of the neurotransmitters available to the brain. 

This is associated with positive emotions and spiritual feelings. 

In particular, dopamine is responsible for mediating cognition, emotion and movement, while serotonin is involved in emotional regulation and mood. 

Participants also reported greater feelings of 'self-transcendence'  - the overcoming of the limits of the individual self and its desires in spiritual contemplation and realization.

This feeling of self-transcendence was correlated to the change in dopamine binding found in the brain scans. 

'In some ways, our study raises more questions than it answers,' said Dr Newberg. 

'Our team is curious about which aspects of the retreat caused the changes in the neurotransmitter systems and if different retreats would produce different results. 

'Hopefully, future studies can answer these questions.'

The findings of the study were published in the journal Religion, Brain & Behavior. 

Also read:

• Energy cultivated by meditators: it’s science
• Harvard study shows meditation rebuilds brain's gray matter in 8 weeks
• Is meditation key to a youthful mind? Meditation could help brain become 7 years younger
• How Sacred Rituals can transform your daily life

How Sacred Rituals can transform your daily life

By Azriel ReShel

Traditional Cultures have always known the benefit of Ritual

Today Indigenous people are still deeply connected to rituals as an inherent part of their daily lives. This connection brings a sacredness and power to even the most “mundane” aspects of existence and it imbues basic tasks with love and connection.

I’ve experienced this while sitting in circle with Aboriginal elders, singing as the women prepared food together. The coming together in song and community brought a reverence and intimacy that made the chopping of the vegetables a complete joy. The simple ritual of food preparation became a celebration, an opportunity to be with each other and enjoy the abundance of life. Another memory of the power of ritual I have is sitting on the land in circle, in the Andes preparing a Despacho (sacred offering) with shamans.

Being out on the land in this way, remembering Pachamama (mother earth) and all she gifts us with; water, air, food, life itself, felt so right and so good to have the opportunity to express my gratitude in a tangible way. Other potent memories of ritual include the sacred devotional offerings I’ve been taught to perform by my teachers in India and have shared in, during sacred rituals in the moist, balmy temples of this land still so connected to the sacred. I love the bhakti of Puja, where we offer symbolic items honouring the Divine, or the rituals of purification, dance and chant, that are outwardly different, but inwardly the same, across the planet.

These are really special rituals I’ve been blessed to take part in, but you don’t need to travel to the Andes, Ganges or Uluru and other sacred places, to perform rituals. Certainly Indigenous Elders bring an extra power to the rituals they perform, as they are part of an unbroken lineage of spiritual connection and ritual, and any opportunity to learn from Indigenous teachers is very precious. Their rituals are a vital part of their everyday lives and they have an expanded consciousness and connection to the land and Great Spirit. But you and I can imbue our own lives with greater potency, peace, and joy, through embracing some simple daily rituals.

In essence a ritual is about bringing sacredness into your life, and about honouring something greater than you and I. It is about honouring the mystery, and the bringer of life in all things, from the flowers, to the trees, to the birds, the tiny caterpillar glistening on a fresh leaf, or the waking sun, and the moonlight. There is a divine force that moves through all things, like a river, enlivening all of life. It is the same force that moves the plant to flower, the wolf to howl, or lights up a baby’s face. As we become more aware of this higher force moving in our lives and express our gratitude for it, it expands and colours daily life with a radiance and light that connects us to all living things.

The science behind rituals

Associate Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Scientist, Christine Legare has studied rituals for many years and has discovered there are a few key ways in which people trust rituals. What makes a ritual feel effective, is the same from ancient Egypt to modern-day Brazil. Christine says that rituals reflects how our minds work. “We don’t actually know how most things work,” she says, “so we do a lot of imitating.” According to Legare, in a chaotic world rituals offer us the illusion of control over what we want to happen.

A series of investigations by psychologists have revealed interesting new results that are not surprising. Their research demonstrates that rituals can have a causal impact on people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Other experiments by psychologists, into grief and ritual, showed that people who engaged in a ritual after the death of a loved one or loss of a close relationship, felt less grief about the loss.

Rituals, like birthday celebrations, weddings, funerals, coming of age parties, are an important way we gather together with our communities and loved ones. Today rituals have become more secular and materialistic, but essentially the desire behind them is the same, to connect, celebrate, and be grateful for life and its expression. Increasingly ancient rituals are returning and finding a place in modern society: rituals such as blessing way ceremonies for mothers before they birth their child, or rituals for girls as they enter womanhood and start menstruating.

Today there are camps or outdoor activities for men and boys, Women’s Healing Circles, Full Moon circles, Earth Healing Circles, and so many more beautiful ritual gatherings that are evolving as we acknowledge our primal need and desire to be together in sacred ways that are healing and transformational for us. Yoga, at its roots, a deeply sacred practice, and preparation for higher connection and communion with the Divine, may start off as exercise for many, but quite soon becomes something sacred that nourishes the spirit as well as the physical.

Simple rituals to practice

There are some very basic rituals you can add to your life that will greatly enhance and transform your outlook, and over time, your life. Yogic wisdom says that thoughts lead to actions, your actions become habits and your habits determine your character, and ultimately your character determines your destiny. As the late Wayne Dyer said:

"You do not attract what you want, you attract what you are."

Rituals put us in contact with the forces moving the universe, that energy that is within all life. We are said to have about 25,000 mornings as an adult. How will you start your day? Will you start with sacredness, with a ritual that sets your day as an amazing opportunity to be alive and connect with other people and animals, an opportunity to express your creativity and enjoy this beautiful planet, or will you drag yourself out of bed going: “Oh God, another day of work!” Starting your day with a simple five minute ritual can change the way you experience life over time.

Rituals like: Space clearing, Gratitude, Blessing your food, Prayer, or Chanting can greatly enhance your life. Being in nature is one of the most blessed resources we have. I love to sit in nature and reflect. To listen, to be with myself, on the ground, at one with all of life. Watching the wind move through the leaves, or the first rays of light shoot forth into the sky, sitting under the stars, walking in the local national parks, or being beside a river in the rain forest, is deeply restorative. Nature helps us reset. By bringing in regular mindful times in nature you can truly transform your life. Just sitting, being and listening in nature can bring forth insights, understanding and answers. Problems are solved and life resets itself, the pieces naturally falling into place.

Space Clearing

Creating a sacred space in your home is one of the most beautiful and health giving rituals you can do. Creating some sort of an altar where you can place images of loved ones, masters, elements of nature, crystals, or whatever you are inspired by or that connects you to Source, instantly elevates your space to something more sacred. Sitting at your altar and feeling gratitude, or meditating, is a great way to connect to your heart and to all of life. Temples and sacred places around the planet were made sacred by the devotional practices and rituals that took place within them. Your home and your body can become temples if you treat your space with reverence. You can sanctify the space in your home through conscious cleaning and space clearing. Regular smudging or use of sound, sacred music and chants, and burning incense can keep your home a sacred space that will nourish and support you.

Self healing rituals

Rituals are habits that support you during challenging times. A regular ritual, such as a meditation or yoga practice, brings the inner resilience and pathways of neural calm so that you are resourced when you are faced with potential derailment from life’s road trains.

Rituals bring relief when everything is falling to pieces. Having a daily sacred practice of some sort holds you together when things fall apart. Because relationships do break up, jobs end, friendships have bumpy bits, people die, illness hits, and the unexpected happens. And it’s at these times, that we need an inner resilience, something that can help us navigate the foggy territory of human suffering. While yes, sometimes we need to fall apart, it is helpful to have something to fall into, a cushion that will break your fall and support you to eventually get back up again.

Chanting

There are many sacred chants in ancient seed languages, or light languages of power, such as Sanskrit, which carry more potency as they are closer to the source. Words can divide and words can be a pathway to divinity. Sacred chants alter your physicality and your surroundings. You can do it while cooking, cleaning and driving. You can also chant a powerful mantra internally as a way of purifying an atmosphere when you are in a difficult or potentially explosive situation, such as conflict.

Keys to creating rituals

• Start small
• Make it a daily commitment.
• Do something you enjoy.
• Be kind to yourself if you forget or don’t do your ritual.

There are so many rituals to choose from. The best is to create your own ritual that suits you and your life and your spiritual beliefs. Basically a ritual must evoke something greater than yourself. It must bring you peace, and help you to experience your true nature

Also read:

• Superhuman energy cultivated by meditators: it’s science
• Shinrin-Yoku: Forest Bathing Therapy
• The Science of Healing Thoughts

Primary Clairaudient and Clairvoyant Experiences

If the yogi persists with internal Meditation constantly, tenaciously and with infinite patience, then within a period of time, clairvoyant perceptions will begin to develop. In the early stages of development, luminous spots will appear. Later, as the development continues, faces and objects and pictures of Nature will appear. Objects will seem dreamlike, as in the moments of transition that exist between vigil and dream.

The disciple’s enthusiasm increases when clairvoyant perceptions begin to take place.

These perceptions inform the disciple that his internal powers are being activated.

It is extremely important that the disciple does not become weary. A great deal of patience is required for the development of internal powers. It is very difficult to develop internal powers. Many disciples begin this difficult process, but there are very few disciples who have the patience of Saint Job. Impatience will only impede our steps along the path towards realization of the Self. Such esoteric practices are for those that are tenacious and patient.

In the sacred India of the Vedas, yogis practice internal Meditation four times a day.

However, in our occidental world, due to the preoccupation with our daily lives, and the difficult battle for existence, if we practice Meditation only once a day, then this is sufficient. Yet, what is important is to practice consistently, and without missing a day.

With intense repetition and tenacious practices, we will eventually put our chakras into rotation. Thus, after some time, primary clairvoyant and clairaudient perceptions will begin.

Luminous spots, pictures of light, living figures, sounds of bells and animals and the voices of people, etc. accurately indicate the disciple’s progress. These perceptions appear in the instant when the disciple is submerged in profound Meditation and during the sleepy state.

Many types of light begin to appear with the practice of internal Meditation. In early stages of development, the devotee perceives very brilliant white lights. These lights correspond to the eye of wisdom, which is located between the eyebrows. The white, yellow, red, blue, and green lights as well as lightning, the sun, moon, stars, sparks, flames, etc. are all particles which are forms of the supra-sensible elements (tanmatric particles).

When small luminous balls appear, shining with white and red colors, this is then an absolutely positive sign that we are progressing in our practices of concentration of thought.

There will come a time when the devotee will see Angels, Archangels, Thrones, Potentates, Virtues, etc. Within his/her dreams, while in Meditation, the student may also see grand temples, rivers, valleys, mountains, and beautiful enchanted gardens.

Commonly, during the practice of Meditation, certain strange sensations occur that may fill the devotee with fear. One of these sensations is an electric shock in the chakra of the coccyx. Also the lotus of a thousand petals, which is situated in the upper part of the brain, will feel electric sensations.

The devotee must defeat this fear if he wants to progress in the development of his internal powers.

The time in which these visions appear depends on the individual himself. Some students have these visions within a few days of practice; others begin to have these visions after six months of daily exercises.

Within the first period of daily training we are in contact with the beings of the Astral plane.

Within the second period of esoteric training we make contact with the beings of the Mental plane.

Within the third period of esoteric training we are in contact with the beings of the purely Spiritual plane.

We then begin to convert ourselves into competent investigators of the superior worlds.

The devotee, who has begun to experience his initial perceptions in the superior worlds, must in the beginning be like a garden that is sealed with seven seals.

Those students who tell others about what they have experienced crumble in their studies, because the doors to the superior worlds become closed to them.

One of the gravest dangers that attack the devotee is vanity and pride. The devotee fills himself with pride and vanity when he begins to perceive reality in the supra-sensible worlds. He thinks of himself as a master, yet he has not achieved the complete development of his internal powers.

He then begins to judge others incorrectly, according to his incomplete clairvoyant perceptions. The result of these incorrect judgments is a great deal of karma. The devotee attracts this karma to himself because he has become a slanderer of his own neighbors. He fills the world with pain and tears.

The student that has experienced primary clairvoyant perceptions must be like a garden that is sealed with seven seals. He must remain as such, until his Internal Master initiates him into the Great Mysteries and gives him the order to speak.

The devotee who is submitted to esoteric discipline also makes another grave error: he disregards imagination. We have learned that imagination is translucent. It is the mirror of the soul; it is divine clairvoyance. In order for the devotee to see, he must use his imagination. When the chakra of the forehead begins to rotate, then the images that are seen with translucent imagination become more brilliant, splendorous and luminous.

The devotee must distinguish between imagination and fantasy. Conscious imagination is positive, yet, fantasy is negative and harmful for the mind because it could lead us to have hallucinations or to reach madness.

Some wish to awaken their clairvoyance while disregarding imagination. If they disregard imagination, then they will fall under the same absurdity as those who wish to practice Meditation without the sleepy state. These people fail to develop their internal powers. These people break the laws of Nature and inevitably failure is the result.

Imagination, inspiration, and intuition are the three mandatory factors of initiation. In the beginning, images appear and in the end we penetrate into the purely Spiritual world.

Initiation is necessary for all clairvoyants. To have clairvoyance without esoteric initiation leads the student into the world of delinquency. Therefore, it is urgent to receive the cosmic initiation.

If a clairvoyant penetrates into the subconsciousness of Nature, he can then read all of the past history of the Earth and its races. He will also find his most beloved relatives. He may see, for example, his beloved wife married with other men. He may also see her committing Adultery. If the clairvoyant has not reached initiation, he may mistake the past for the present. He will then slander his wife saying, “She is betraying me, she is an adulterer. I am clairvoyant and I am seeing her in the internal worlds committing Adultery.”

All of the records of our past reincarnations exist within the subconsciousness of Nature.

If a clairvoyant penetrates into the infra-Consciousness of Nature, he will then discover all of the evil of humanity.

The Satan of every human being dwells within the infra-Consciousness of Nature.

If the clairvoyant has not received initiation, he will then see the Satan of the Saints continually reviving the crimes and evil actions that the Saints committed in their ancient reincarnations, before they became Saints.

The inexperienced clairvoyant who is lacking Initiation cannot distinguish between the past and the present, or between the Satan of a human and the real Being of a human, thus resulting in slanderous behavior.

The inexperienced clairvoyant may say, “That man believes he is a saint, yet he is an assassin, a thief and a terrible black magician. I know this, because I saw it with my clairvoyance.”

This is precisely what we call a slanderer. Many clairvoyants have become horribly degenerated slanderers. One of the grave dangers of this behavior is homicide.

Within the infra-Consciousness of Nature, a jealous, distrustful, and unworthy man will find that all of his doubts and suspicions are converted into reality. He then begins to slander his wife, friends, neighbors, and masters saying, “You see, I have reason for my doubts, my friend is a thief, a black magician, and an assassin; my wife is committing Adultery, just as I suspected. My clairvoyance never fails me, I am always right, etc., etc.”

Due to the lack of initiation, the poor man does not have the capability to sufficiently analyze in order to understand that he has penetrated into the subconsciousness of Nature. It is there where his own mental creations live.

Therefore, considering all of these dangers, it is necessary that the esoteric student does not pass judgment against anyone. Do not judge in order not to be judged. The devotee must be like a garden that is sealed with seven seals. Whosoever has primary clairvoyant and clairaudient perceptions is an inexperienced clairvoyant. Thus, if he does not know how to remain in silence, he will begin to slander others.

Only the great clairvoyant Initiates do not fall. Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus Christ, etc., were truly infallible and omniscient clairvoyants.

This chapter is from The Yellow Book (1959) by Samael Aun Weor. Find the book on the right side bar of our site.

Also read:

• The mystical sound of the cricket and astral projection practices
• Siddhis: The Supernatural and Spiritual Powers
• Illumination by Manly P. Hall

Energy cultivated by meditators: it’s science

The energy emitted by people who have reached an advanced level in meditation practice has been shown by multiple studies to exceed normal human levels by hundreds or thousands of times.

Here’s a look at a few such studies.

 1. Gamma waves off the charts

Neuroscientist Richard Davidson’s 2004 study on the energy emitted by Tibetan meditating monks is chronicled by Stanford University.

Davidson tested the Dalai Lama’s most advanced monks, each with 15 to 40 years of meditation practice. He measured the gamma waves emitted by their brains with electroencephalograph (EEG) testing and brain scanning. A control group of 10 students with no previous meditation experience was also tested after a week of training.

Gamma waves are described as “some of the highest-frequency and most important electrical brain waves.” The production of gamma waves requires thousands of nerve cells to act at extremely high speeds in unison.

Davidson found some of the monks produced gamma wave activity more powerful and of higher amplitude than any documented case in history. The movement of the waves was also far better organized than the non-meditating test volunteers.

It was also shown that meditation could result in the redistribution of gray matter in the brain and prevent its loss. The loss of gray matter has an impact on many mental functions, such as the control of emotions, impulses, thoughts, and movements. This is because the caudate nucleus, which controls these functions and more, is situated within the gray matter.

2. Qigong masters emit infrasonic waves 100–1,000 times above normal levels

In 1998, Professor Lu Yanfang and dozens of American scientists conducted research on qigong masters in China.

Qigong is an ancient practice that involves cultivating energy, not only by doing meditative exercises, but also by improving mind and heart nature, as the mind and body are said to be one. It is known to have healing effects.

In her research, she had found that Qigong masters were able to emit powerful bursts of infrasonic waves, 100 to 1000 times as strong as average individuals.

After even just a few weeks of training, beginners in the practice had five times the infrasonic energy they had produced before the training.

A similar study at the Beijing College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, published in 1988, found the qi emitted by qigong masters could be measured in part as infrasonic waves 100 times stronger than that of an ordinary person. Both studies are detailed by the China Healthways Institute. 

3. Monks emit heat where others could freeze to death

An experiment conducted on Tibetan monks in northern India is described in a 2002 Harvard University Gazette article. 

The monks, thinly clad, were put in a room where the temperature was 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius). They entered a state of deep meditation. Sheets soaked in cold water were draped over their shoulders.

Under these conditions, an ordinary person would shiver uncontrollably and the drop in body temperature could even result in death, explains the article.

The monks, however, remained warm and dried the sheets with their bodies. Once the sheets were dried, more cold, wet sheets were draped over them. Each monk dried three sheets over the course of several hours.

Herbert Benson, who had studied the meditation technique for 20 years, told the Gazette: “Buddhists feel the reality we live in is not the ultimate one. There’s another reality we can tap into that’s unaffected by our emotions, by our everyday world. Buddhists believe this state of mind can be achieved by doing good for others and by meditation.”

He said the heat emanated from their bodies was just a by-product of the meditation.

Many such experiments have been performed on people who practice meditation and it has been found that some of them are able to emanate great amounts of various kinds of energy that can be measured. They are also able to control metabolism and other bodily processes.

4. Amazing healing effects

Many Practitioners of Falun Dafa, also known as Falun Gong, have reportedly been cured of chronic and serious illnesses. Falun Dafa is a meditation discipline that cultivates the mind as well as the body. Its three main principles are truthfulness, compassion, tolerance.

Medical writer Lara C. Pullen interviewed some Falun Dafa practitioners in 2000 for an article published in CBS Health Watch. 

Sen Yang, then 39, of Chicago was diagnosed with chronic hepatitis. He told Pullen: “A doctor told me directly, ‘There is no way to really cure your disease. You will have it for the rest of your life.'”

After practicing Falun Dafa for a while, he had a physical exam and all 32 test results came back normal, including the ones that targeted his illness.

“At the beginning my physical condition changed very fast. When walking, I felt [that] my body was so light that I could almost float up,” he said.

Falun Dafa practitioners explained that the practice is not meant to heal illnesses, but it is a natural effect of improving one’s mind and of doing the meditative exercises, which strengthen energy in the body among other effects.

Zhi Ping Kolouch, a 43-year-old Falun Dafa practitioner, told Pullen: “If a person is miserable inside their heart, then they will get sick.”

[theepochtimes]


Also read: 

• Harvard study shows meditation rebuilds brain's gray matter in 8 weeks
• Science finally proves meridians exist
• People can draw energy from other people the same way plants do
• Humans glow in the dark
• The heart is electrically and magnetically more powerful than the brain

Harvard study shows meditation rebuilds brain's gray matter in 8 weeks

Eight weeks to a better brain.

Test subjects taking part in an 8-week program of mindfulness meditation showed results that astonished even the most experienced neuroscientists at Harvard University.  The study was led by a Harvard-affiliated team of researchers based at Massachusetts General Hospital, and the team’s MRI scans documented for the very first time in medical history how meditation produced massive changes inside the brain’s gray matter.  “Although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day,” says study senior author Sara Lazar of the MGH Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program and a Harvard Medical School instructor in psychology. “This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing.”

Sue McGreevey of MGH writes: “Previous studies from Lazar’s group and others found structural differences between the brains of experienced meditation practitioners and individuals with no history of meditation, observing thickening of the cerebral cortex in areas associated with attention and emotional integration. But those investigations could not document that those differences were actually produced by meditation.”  Until now, that is.  The participants spent an average of 27 minutes per day practicing mindfulness exercises, and this is all it took to stimulate a major increase in gray matter density in the hippocampus, the part of the brain associated with self-awareness, compassion, and introspection.  McGreevey adds: “Participant-reported reductions in stress also were correlated with decreased gray-matter density in the amygdala, which is known to play an important role in anxiety and stress. None of these changes were seen in the control group, indicating that they had not resulted merely from the passage of time.”

“It is fascinating to see the brain’s plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can play an active role in changing the brain and can increase our well-being and quality of life,” says Britta Hölzel, first author of the paper and a research fellow at MGH and Giessen University in Germany.

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Is meditation key to a youthful mind? Meditation could help brain become 7 years younger

Is meditation key to a youthful mind? Meditation could help brain become 7 years younger

Meditation doesn’t just free the mind, it could also keep it young. Regular meditation knocks seven and a half years off the middle-aged brain, a study found.

The researchers said that the combination of intense concentration and relaxation may trigger the growth of new brain cells. And while they didn’t look at whether the meditators were also smarter, brain shrinkage is linked to Alzheimer’s and other memory-robbing diseases.

The scientists scanned the brains of 50 American men and women who regularly meditated and 50 non-meditators. The scans were fed into a computer program that analysed the images and provided an age for each brain based on its physical condition. The results were striking.

In general, the non-meditators’ brain age and actual age were the same, so a 55 year old’s brain looked like it was 55.

However, the meditators’ brains were younger than their years, with the average 50-year-old having a brain that belonged in a 42 or 43 year-old’s body.

The benefits were particularly great for the older meditators, for every extra year past 50, a youth spent mediating knocked an extra year off brain age, the journal NeuroImage reports.

Researcher Christian Gaser, of Jena University Hospital in Germany, said: ‘These findings seem to suggest that meditation is beneficial for brain preservation, with a slower rate of brain ageing throughout life.’

Dr Gaser, who collaborated with US And Australian scientists on the study, said it isn’t clear how meditation protects the brain but that it is possible that the ‘intense mental processes’ trigger the growth of new cells and connection.

The chemicals behind the feel-good feeling produced by meditation may also provide a boost.

However, he cautioned that those who mediate may lead healthier lifestyles in general. It is also possible that some inherent difference in brain structure makes particular people more likely to take up meditating.

Those studied had practised various types of traditional mediation for average of 20 years – and some did seven sessions a week or had more than 40 years’ experience under their belt.

It isn’t clear from the results if shorter bursts are also beneficial or if mindfulness, the ‘meditation-lite’ technique that is becoming increasing popular, would have the same effect.

Interestingly, the scans revealed that meditation isn’t the only way to keep the mind youthful – being female also helps. The women’s brains were, on average, three years younger than the men’s, whether they meditated or not.

Meditation is credited with boosting health in numerous ways, from boosting creativity to improving the immune system.

The list of reasons why you might want to consider meditating was already long. Besides its much-touted benefits as a stress reducer, meditation has been credited from boosting creativity to improving the immune system. Plus, getting started with mindfulness is probably easier than you think.

So why not give it a try?

Also read:
Harvard study shows meditation rebuilds brain's gray matter in 8 weeks