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| | Affirmations, also known as mantras, can be repeated mentally inside or sung out loud.
The result of the repetition produces a state of enhanced awareness. It
unfolds powerful qualities within us. Affirmations may be repeated according to our
own rhythm. The key point is to observe the effect of the resonance of the
words, and the gaps in-between the words, and the background space from where the
words are coming. This allows us to unfold the deepest meaning of the words.
English affirmations:
 | I am pure being, I am pure love |
| I am pure |
| I am infinite, vast like the sky, peaceful, pure being |
| I am pure energy, pure space, pure light |
| I am pure strength |
Sanskrit mantras:
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| Om Raam Shiv Shyaam | |
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| Govinda Ananda Narayana | |
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| Narayan Om Narayan |
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| Om Nama Shivaya Nama Om | |
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| Om |
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| Amaranand |
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| Shiva Shiva Bhrama
Om Shyam Narayan |
* All of the above Sanskrit words are names of the Self. For example,
'Om' means 'pristine self' or the self in its purest form, 'Narayan'
means vastness or infinite nature. 'Raam' means pure existence,
'Shyaam' means pure space, 'Ananda' means happiness, 'Shiva'
means pure and unwavering nature, 'Bhrama' means absolute existence,
'Govinda' means pure light...
Pure being technique:
| Pick up the affirmation 'I am pure being'. |
| Say the phrase inside very gently and allow a generous pause in-between
the next repetition. |
| Now pick up the meaning of the phrase. 'I am pure being', 'I
am pure being'. The last word 'being', think of it in the
verb sense of 'existing' as opposed to the noun sense as in 'human
being'. This is a fundamental inner
truth. We are existing or 'being' for free. Our body is
being taken care of, our heart is beating of its own accord, our breath is
coming and going without any effort, we don't have to expend any energy at
all. We just let go into that simple, amazing realization. |
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As we one-pointedly hold this realization, we let go of the repetition and
just sit in the state of pure being, pure existence. |
| If we can do it, then we are stars! |
Atomic syllable technique:
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| Pick up any one of the Sanskrit mantras. |
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| Start by repeating each word of the mantra inward or aloud, allowing a
generous pause in-between each word. |
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| After a time, increase the length of the gap in-between each word. |
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When we feel a space where there are no extraneous thoughts arising
in-between the words, we start repeating the words of each mantra according to
their syllables. For example, if we were repeating Govinda Ananda
Narayana, then we treat each word as having its own atomic syllables: |
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| Go-vin-da
A-nan-da Na-rai-ya-na | |
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| Govinda has 3 atomic syllables, Ananda has 3, and Naranayana has 5.
So one round of the mantra has a total of 11 atomic syllables or pulses. It will take longer to repeat a full round, but at this
time we are more concerned with the space being created by the atomic
syllables as opposed to their resonance. |
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| Gradually, we extend the gaps in-between syllables as long as we can. |
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As we go deeper and deeper into the state of pure being, the gaps between
syllables become so long that essentially we have dropped the pulse. |
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| The beauty of repeating only single atomic syllables at each pulse is that on the resonance level we are minimizing the praanic
motion in our system while attaining a maximum flow of attention
on space without wavering. |
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| Note: this exercise has very close ties to the incremental
breathing technique, which uses the breath as the 'pulse' instead of the
syllable as the pulse. |
Healing affirmations:
| Ahum arogyaam |
| (I am healthy) |
| Ahum anandam |
| (I am happy) |
| Ahum uchutam |
| (I am expanded) |
| Ahum poornam |
| (I am perfect) |
| Ahum mritjunjaya swantantr |
| (I am beyond any pain) |
| Ahum ahinsa |
| (I am peaceful, non-violent) |
| Life's energy moves through my system |
| Removing all pain and trouble |
Confidence affirmation:
I am pure strength, I am pure energy.
Creating your own affirmations:
Some of the most effective affirmations are our own. Naturally our
energy is strongest when we feel something important to us resonate deep inside. For example, suppose we have felt some tension between ourselves
and another person. If the
opportunity is not available for direct communication, we can repeat
a phrase that helps 'heal' the situation; anything that we feel
intuitively, like:
| Susan and I are eternal friends. |
| Any differences are melted away. |
Special notes
Inherently the English affirmations listed begin with 'I', but 'I'
can be interchanged with 'We'. For example, if you are in a group
situation and wish to extend the energy of the affirmation to other people
around you.
Check it whenever doubt arises. Things like: 'this affirmation isn't
working', or 'I have no power', etc. These are in fact
negative affirmations which do us no good. The greatest
hindrance to the effectiveness of affirmation is our own ability to disbelieve in
our own power; or our pattern of doubt, which saps our energy, initiative, clouds our spirit and disturbs the flow of
continuity. Even the slightest opening that occurs during our
meditative practice gives us a new sense of confidence that can lift our energy to mountaintops. We start to directly observe that the practice works.
After some time, we realize that given time, patience and the proper application of thought, we
can really create any
space we want.
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