Allowing the Practice to Settle into Your Heart
(More on the Mantra)
Be still and sit…
Be still and know…
“So Ham...” I AM THAT…
~ Hindu Mantra
“I AM who AM.”
~ Exodus 3:14
“I and the Father are One.”
~ John 10:30
“I – THOU.”
~ Martin Buber
While most of these verses turned mantras are sourced from the scriptures of various traditions, they are evocative of union and the unity that is fundamentally at the heart of all relationships in the Universe.
It reminds us of our relationship to a higher power, to something greater than ourselves, to the Divine – if we are comfortable with that.
This union is also at the heart of every meditation practice. It does not matter whether one is a believer, a person of faith, or a member of a particular sect or religion. It is no accident that every religious or spiritual tradition teaches and offers some kind of meditation practice.
I have tried all of these verses as mantras over nearly four decades exploring many different kinds of meditation lineages. Over time I became comfortable with distilling them all to this basic kernel:
“I AM.”
I am one with the Divine.
I am one with all things and every living being.
I am one with all of nature.
The root of using a mantra is very ancient. Hindus, Buddhist, and Byzantine Christians, for example, have all used variations on the same theme, expressing oneness and the unity of all things in their meditation practices…
In the mid twentieth century, the Harvard medical doctor and researcher, Herbert Benson, wrote The Relaxation Response to teach the general masses the essence of Eastern meditation. He stripped it of all religious and spiritual references or connections. Instead of using a particular mantra, he merely suggested using the word “one.”
Fathers Basil Pennington and Thomas Keating in the 1970′s popularized what became known as “Centering Prayer.” The practice taught here is rooted in a distillation of the teachings of these individuals and ancient sources.
Now you know more about why we are using “I AM” as our mantra.
We are ready to begin!
Actually, we’ve been practicing all along.
The next section will show you how by giving you a blueprint to follow, at least in the beginning.
NEXT
(More on the Mantra)
Be still and sit…
Be still and know…
“So Ham...” I AM THAT…
~ Hindu Mantra
“I AM who AM.”
~ Exodus 3:14
“I and the Father are One.”
~ John 10:30
“I – THOU.”
~ Martin Buber
While most of these verses turned mantras are sourced from the scriptures of various traditions, they are evocative of union and the unity that is fundamentally at the heart of all relationships in the Universe.
It reminds us of our relationship to a higher power, to something greater than ourselves, to the Divine – if we are comfortable with that.
This union is also at the heart of every meditation practice. It does not matter whether one is a believer, a person of faith, or a member of a particular sect or religion. It is no accident that every religious or spiritual tradition teaches and offers some kind of meditation practice.
I have tried all of these verses as mantras over nearly four decades exploring many different kinds of meditation lineages. Over time I became comfortable with distilling them all to this basic kernel:
“I AM.”
I am one with the Divine.
I am one with all things and every living being.
I am one with all of nature.
The root of using a mantra is very ancient. Hindus, Buddhist, and Byzantine Christians, for example, have all used variations on the same theme, expressing oneness and the unity of all things in their meditation practices…
In the mid twentieth century, the Harvard medical doctor and researcher, Herbert Benson, wrote The Relaxation Response to teach the general masses the essence of Eastern meditation. He stripped it of all religious and spiritual references or connections. Instead of using a particular mantra, he merely suggested using the word “one.”
Fathers Basil Pennington and Thomas Keating in the 1970′s popularized what became known as “Centering Prayer.” The practice taught here is rooted in a distillation of the teachings of these individuals and ancient sources.
Now you know more about why we are using “I AM” as our mantra.
We are ready to begin!
Actually, we’ve been practicing all along.
The next section will show you how by giving you a blueprint to follow, at least in the beginning.
NEXT