Welcome to The Daily Insight.
My name is Carrie Grossman,
And I'm so happy to be here to share this mantra meditation with you.
If you're unfamiliar with mantras,
Essentially they're sacred sound formulas that can help to awaken the love within us.
One of the most popular ways to experience their power is through the call and response chanting practice,
Known as kirtan.
But mantras can also be spoken,
Whispered,
Or repeated silently in the mind.
It all depends on the intention and the goal.
Today,
I'd like to share a beautiful Sanskrit mantra with you,
Known as soham.
The words to this chant are soham,
Soham,
Soham shivoham.
Since the meaning of most mantras is beyond conceptual understanding,
It can be tricky to give an exact translation of the words.
But fundamentally,
This mantra means,
I am that,
I am.
Pure consciousness,
Shiva,
I am.
The name Shiva has many different associations and interpretations,
But in this particular context,
It refers to the unchanging reality,
The awakened presence,
That exists in everything and everyone.
So when we chant shivoham,
I am Shiva,
We refer to this primordial consciousness and affirm that we too are that.
In the Hindu tradition,
There are a number of great sayings known as maha-vakyas.
These sacred pronouncements convey the essential teachings of the Upanishads.
And their primary message is that the universe and the individual are identical.
A common maha-vakya is aham brahmasmi,
Which means I am Brahman,
Or the whole universe exists within me,
Or I am the infinite reality.
There are different ways to translate it.
Another example is tatvam asi,
Which means you are that,
You are the infinite.
These great sayings affirm our oneness with all of creation,
And that's what soham says as well.
It's an affirmation of the timeless presence that lives within us.
Whether we choose to call that presence consciousness,
God,
Space,
Love or anything else,
This mantra says that we are that.
I find this chant helpful when I am caught up in negative thinking and wrong perceptions.
It's a powerful way to zoom out and look at life from a higher perspective.
The purpose of the chant isn't to bypass or deny our humanity or pretend everything is fine when it's not,
But rather to serve as a reminder that we're more than we imagine ourselves to be.
That's what all the self-realized masters and sages have said through the ages,
That we're more than our personality and biography,
We're more than our thoughts and emotions,
We're more than our memories,
Our successes and failures and wounds.
Even though our mind constantly tricks us into thinking we're small,
Limited individuals who are separate from the rest of creation,
Mystic wisdom says this isn't true at all.
Actually,
Our essential nature is infinite.
In today's world,
Which is often fraught with anxiety and overwhelm,
It can be a challenge to slow down and contemplate this kind of teaching.
Most of the time,
Our attention and energy are somewhere else.
We get so caught up in the noise of life,
In achieving,
Doing,
Texting,
Scanning,
Swiping,
Using our apps and all the rest,
That it's no wonder we sometimes feel estranged from the depths of our heart.
But if we take even a few moments to drop below the surface level of our thoughts,
We can reconnect to the silence and space that are always there,
Underneath.
It doesn't have to be a struggle.
The mantra is like a mindfulness bell that reminds us of our truest self,
And in that way,
I like to think of it as a kind of remembrance practice.
It helps us remember our own mystery and majesty,
And it helps us remember what we know,
But perhaps have forgotten,
That we're always whole and complete.
Nothing can taint or destroy this wholeness.
No relationship,
Situation,
Betrayal,
Disappointment,
Accolade,
Achievement,
Thought,
Nothing.
The depth of our being remains untouched by the ever-changing waves of the world.
We just have to pause and remember that those waves arise out of a vast ocean of awareness.
There are different ways to use this mantra.
You can sing a melody like the one that I'll be sharing with you here,
Or you can use the mantra as a kind of concentration practice by silently repeating so as you inhale and hum as you exhale.
To begin,
Find a comfortable position and allow yourself to become fully present.
You don't have to strain or force to arrive in this moment.
Just be here as you are.
Relax your body.
Soften your face and your shoulders.
And turn your attention within.
As the mantra begins,
You can sing along or just listen to the sounds.
And if your mind wanders,
Don't worry.
That's its nature.
Just bring your awareness back to the music and let the vibrations carry you home.
At the end of the session,
I recommend sitting in silence for a few minutes and allowing the practice to sink deep into your being.
If possible,
Try to move slowly afterwards and maintain a subtle thread of awareness,
Of so hum.
Remember that no matter what happens in life,
Beneath the choppy ocean waves,
There's a deeper quiet.
And you are that.
Hum So hum so hum So hum shivohum So hum so hum So hum shivohum So hum so hum So hum shivohum So hum so hum So hum shivohum So hum so hum So hum shivohum So hum so hum So hum shivohum I am that I am I am that I am I am that I am I am that I am I am that I am I am that I am I am that I am I am that I am I am that I am I am that I am Soham Shivam Soham,
Soham Soham Shivam Soham,
Soham Soham Shivam I am that I am I am that I am I am that I am Soham,
Soham Soham,
Shivam Soham,
Soham Soham,
Shivam Soham,
Soham Soham,
Shivam Soham,
Soham Soham,
Shivam Soham,
Soham Soham,
Shivam Soham,
Soham Soham,
Shivam Soham,
Shivam Soham,
Shivam As the mantra comes to completion,
Notice how the sound dissolves into silence.
Feel a deep quiet in your being.
Feel the truth in your heart.
That there's more to you than you think you are.
That you're so much more than you know.
Your being is a mystery.
No matter what happens in life,
There's a part of you that always remains unaffected.
A part of you that always observes without judgment.
That's ever-loving and that's your true refuge.
As you rest in the stillness of yourself,
Take in these words from Eknath Eswaran,
Who wrote a beautiful translation of the Upanishads.
He says,
The infinite,
Free,
Unbounded,
Full of joy is our native state.
We have fallen from that state and seek it everywhere.
Every human activity is an attempt to fill this void.
But as long as we try to fill it from outside ourselves,
We are making demands on life,
Which life cannot fulfill.
Finite things can never appease an infinite hunger.
Nothing can satisfy us but reunion with our real self.
Absolute reality,
Pure awareness,
Unconditioned joy.
May we all remember that joy,
Become that joy and that freedom,
And know that in truth,
We are that.
Thank you so much.
Have a wonderful day.
