M E D I TA T I O N
Practice Tip #1: Savor the Sound
Isolate each sound of the word Śāntiḥ
and notice how you feel.
When you chant, put your focus again
on the sound itself. Let it start in the
depth of your heart, and produce the
sound slowly, deliberately, and
sensually. Give yourself permission,
time, and spaciousness to enjoy the
sensation of each part of the sound.
If we rush through it, or chant like a
mechanical robot, we rob ourselves of
the chance to actually become the
vibration of peace we’re invoking. Can
you connect the feeling, or wish, for
peace, with the sound?
That is the inherent magic of the
Sanskrit! Unlike many other languages,
To replace the old
paradigm of war with a new
paradigm of waging peace, we
must be pioneers who can
push the boundaries of
human understanding.
We must be doctors who can
cure the virus of violence.
We must be soldiers of peace
who can do more than preach
to the choir. And we must be
artists who will make the
world our masterpiece.
-Paul Chappell
where the word is connected to an
external meaning, in Sanskrit the sound
of the word creates a subtle vibrational
form that is the inner meaning.
Please give yourself permission to
linger, to savor, to pause and enjoy. The
simple practice of Aum Śāntiḥ Aum,
done with deep awareness just a few
times, can project a living vibration of
love into the environment around you
more powerful than thousands of more
complicated mantras and prayer
ceremonies done by rote, mechanical,
lifeless repetition.
The key is to invite yourself to truly
enjoy the sound itself.
Practice Tip #2: “Gimme Peace”
doesn’t work!
Here’s the trick:
If I pray with a twinge of smallness, of
the selfishness born from ignorance of
our interconnectedness, “Please give
me peace!” or "Please give so-and-so
peace!" then the very direction of my
thoughts is guaranteeing that I will not
experience endless, unchanging
fullness. I am grasping at something
outside of me in order to fulfill a lack
within me.
If I pray with a full, magnanimous heart
(even if I have to stretch to imagine it),
“May all the beings in all the worlds be
happy!” then the direction of my
thoughts guarantees that I will
experience peace. I am assuming
fullness, and I am overflowing that
benefit to everyone without exception. I
experience connection, which feels safe
and good and yummy. Because I am an
integral part of the all, chanting for
everyone automatically includes me!
I turn myself into a contributor rather
than a grasper, which is in itself pretty
awesome.
The magic is that even if we are not
really feeling the infinite fullness of a
magnanimous heart at a given moment,
putting our hearts and minds and
voices in harmony to pray for peace for
18 www.yogicherald.com Dec. 2018