It has been over a month now since I started meditating daily, and also chanting every morning. I would like to share my experiences with you because the changes and improvement that I feel are quite profound. Chanting is not really something that most people in the western world do, or understand. I think many people think it is some kind of religious thing that requires you to believe in God or be religious in some way. Whilst it is true that many people who chant are religious, and indeed many religions have chanting at the heart of their rituals, it is by no means restricted to any religious beliefs. If you struggle with life, or feel that you are unable to cope with the demands and stress of the daily grind then please read on.
I chant every morning after a cup of coffee and a quick check of Steemit. I am trying to chant before all of that happens but i have to be honest that I am just TOO curious and it distracts me.. SO i get that out the way first so that I can just be present with my practice. I have been chanting the Gayatri mantra, and I repeat it 108 times. That is quite a lot for some people, and when i started it really felt like it took AGES to do (maybe 30 minutes) and i could barely finish. Now I am really surprised how fast it goes, and I am done before i know it. Whilst I am chanting i do not feel anything particularly special. Sometimes I may even feel negative emotions and my mind can also be busy thinking about this and that. When that happens I just gently bring myself back to the chanting and let go of the thoughts. When i have finished chanting I meditate for as long as feels right. I used to time myself for 15 minutes, but it was always a bit distracting to have to monitor the time. Now I just keep going until I really feel like im ready to stop. After that I just get up and carry on with my day. So, what changes do i notice after a month? Wow, where do I start!
It's not like you can really pin the benefits on one or two things.. Sure, I feel calmer, more positive, with more energy and a zest for life. Yes. I feel much more inspired and creative. Indeed I am also much healthier and hardly have headaches or migraines, which i used to have at least once a week or more. Chanting and meditating work on a very deep level, and some of these change are not easily explained, but rather experienced. It's hard to explain how different I feel, and how people are reacting to me so differently. Since my whole mood is elevated, people react to me differently. People smile at me more, and take notice more. I feel less confused about what to do with my time and my life, and seem to make better decisions. I am able to watch the cryptocurrency markets crash and have a lovely feeling of detachment from it. I'm not panicking and watching them all day, which i used to do. That feeling of panic, or missing out was something that i couldn't control before, and it would make me make decisions that I would later regret. Now that is simply not happening! It just feels less important than it did before. When we can let go of our desires and fears a bit, we can find some inner peace. I know i will be OK come what may, whereas before I was in a state of tension and panic about things. So, what I am saying is that the benefits are so numerous, that it is almost too hard to explain. The best way to know is to try it!
Ok if you have made it this far then maybe you will consider trying this out. I challenge you! Try this for one week, every morning if possible, and see what happens. Im sure you wont regret it, and it might just change your life. People who complain that they just don't have time don't get it! I think most people waste a LOT of time every day because when we are stressed out or not centered we make bad decisions. WE get flustered and are inefficient. What I hear when people say they don't have time is rather " I am too tense or stressed out to take on anything" .. because that is a natural reaction when we are overloaded. We tend to shut everything out because we can barely cope.. and that has several repercussions. It means potentially missing out on opportunities, because we are not open or able to be open. It means we go through the days feeling overwhelmed, just about managing to accomplish the things we think we need to do.. but since we are so tense we don't really stop to think about what we are doing and why. Just ONE good decision can save us hours, days, or weeks of time. Think about it! How many times have you had to re-do something, or change something because you didn't do it right.. or you made a wrong decision and have to do something else.. This is again not something I expect people to really understand, because even still after hearing this i KNOW many people will say "You don't understand!" I REALLY am too busy and have way to much to deal with to be able to spend half an hour each morning doing this.. But i DARE you to try it, because i KNOW that if you do you will then come to understand what I am trying to explain!
If you would like to try this, please try with one of the below chants and meditations. It is better to chant longer and meditate shorter, since chanting is a meditation of its own and is the best way to start experiencing quick results.
Beginners Chant: 'OM'
Om is a mantra, or vibration, that is traditionally chanted at the beginning and end of yoga sessions. Coming from Hinduism and Yoga, the mantra is considered to have high spiritual and creative power but despite this, it is a mantra that can be recited by anyone. It's both a sound and a symbol rich in meaning and depth and when pronounced correctly it is actually AUM.
Aum actually consists of four syllables: A, U, M, and the silent syllable.
The first syllable is A, pronounced as a prolonged "awe." The sound starts at the back of your throat and you stretch it out. You will start feeling your solar plexus and chest vibrating.
The second syllable is U, pronounced as a prolonged "oo" with the sound gradually rolling forward along your upper palate. You'll feel your throat vibrate.
The third syllable is M, pronounced as a prolonged "mmmm" with your front teeth gently touching. You will now start to feel the top of your vibrate.
The last syllable is the deep silence of the Infinite. As intelligence rises from the deep silence, you have to merge your chant from the M to the deep silence.
Symbolically the three letters embody the divine energy (Shakti) and it's 3 main characteristics: (1) creation, (2) preservation and (3) liberation.
Advanced Chant: Gayatri Mantra
One of my favorite chants is the Gayatri Mantra. The Gayatri Mantra was well explained by Sathya Sai Baba:
Gayatri is the Mother of all scriptures (Vedas). She is present, wherever Her name is chanted. She is very powerful. The One who nourishes the individual being is Gayatri. She bestows pure thoughts on anyone who worships Her. She is the embodiment of all Goddesses. Our very breath is Gayatri, our faith in existence is Gayatri. Gayatri has five faces, they are the five life principles. She has nine descriptions, they are "Om, Bhur, Bhuvah, Swah, Tat, Savitur, Vareñyaṃ, Bhargo, Devasya". Mother Gayatri nourishes and protects every being and she channelizes our senses in the proper direction. "Dhīmahi" means meditation. We pray to her to inspire us with good intelligence. "Dhīyo Yonah Prachodayāt" - We beseech her to bestow on us everything we need. Thus Gayatri is a complete prayer for protection, nourishment and finally, liberation.
It s a sacred chant that demonstrates the unity that underlies manifoldness in creation. It is through the recognition of this unity that we can understand the multiplicity. Clay is one and the same thing, though pots of different shapes and sizes can be made from it. Gold is one, though gold ornaments can be multifarious. The Spirit is one, though the embodied forms in which it resides may be many. Whatever the colour of the cow, the milk is always white.
Om Bhur Bhuvaḥ Swaḥ
Tat-savitur Vareñyaṃ
Bhargo Devasya Dhīmahi
Dhiyo Yonaḥ Prachodayāt
Recommended Meditation For Beginners
How To Start Meditating
It is best to meditate in the morning, when there are least distractions. You can meditate anywhere you like, so just choose a place that you have some privacy and quiet. If that has to be the toilet, so be it! You could even meditate in the car before you drive off to work or wherever you are going. Wherever you choose, try to mediate in the same place each day. This builds up familiarity, and also builds up the energy so that you can more easily slip into it as you practice. It's usually a good idea to use a timer to count the minutes for you, and that way you have a clear goal and will likely meditate for more than 2 minutes.
Now simply close your eyes slowly, and breath in and out as you normally do. You don't need to try to change your breath or do anything differently, but instead just observe it and notice that you are indeed breathing. Notice the weight of your body, and if you are sitting straight or not. Try to sit as straight as you can and cross your legs if possible. You can also sit on a chair if you are not comfortable on the floor, that works just fine too! Whilst you are noticing your body and posture you will no doubt have thoughts coming to your mind. Let them come. Then let them go and remind yourself that for the next 15 minutes you are going to let these thoughts go. This is your time, so tell yourself that these thoughts can wait a few minutes. Come straight back to your awareness of your breathing, and continue. New thoughts may come VERY quickly, and that is normal and totally OK. Just do the same thing each time. There is NO need to get frustrated or angry when they come, because you are not trying to stop them. You are NOT doing it wrong! What you may notice is that the time between thoughts gets longer quite naturally, or the effect of them on your feelings reduces. You MAY find quite the opposite too, and feel even more tense because you are not distracting yourself from them.
After 15 minutes are up, you can open your eyes and get on with your day. I OFTEN have some brilliant ideas pop into my head either during or just after meditating, and I don't even have to try! Even if I don't have a brainwave, I feel SO much more relaxed and able to take on the challenges of the day in a positive and productive manner.
If you do this PLEASE comment here OR or write a post using the tag 'CHANT' as I am keeping my eye on it and will be supporting, encouraging and upvoting people who take this on!
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