I find that this has been one of the most powerful mantras in my own personal spiritual experience,
My own spiritual practice.
Start by closing your eyes,
Making sure that you're in a comfortable position,
That your body is comfortable.
There's nothing distracting you.
And simply start by bringing your attention to your breath and slowing your breathing down.
Notice how your breath feels as you breathe in and out again.
Use this time as an opportunity to allow yourself to let go.
Let go of all the things that you need to do in your day and all the concerns that you have.
Just give yourself a moment to relax each time you breathe out.
Use this as an opportunity to find some tranquility,
Peace and quiet in your busy day.
Each time you breathe out,
Allow all the tension in your body to be released.
Any tension in your shoulders,
Any tension on your forehead.
Each time you breathe out,
Notice any tense part of your body and allow that to just relax and soften with each breath out.
At the beginning,
We're not trying to achieve anything.
Just as though if you've ever been lying down in the warm sunshine when you've gone to the beach,
When you're lying there,
You're not trying to achieve anything.
In fact,
You're trying to unwind,
Undo and simply just be present and enjoying that moment.
Let go of any expectations,
Any ideas of what you think meditation should be.
Let all those go and just be in a state where you are noticing what is going on here.
You feel what you feel.
You are what you are.
No ideas,
No concepts,
Just presence.
No future,
No past,
Just this moment now.
No desires,
No regrets,
Just tranquility and stillness.
Become aware that this body that you live in has been gifted to you.
It is not yours,
It is not something you have created,
It is simply something that is on loan to you,
Something that you borrow and even the breath that you're breathing is not yours.
Appreciate how all the things that you believe are mine,
The things that make you believe this is who I am,
Are actually not yours to begin with.
Appreciate that they are here,
But they are not yours.
They are a gift from life,
A gift from the universe,
A gift from the energy of life that is called Aum,
The energy of life that is called Oang Kar.
The oneness,
The universal force,
The divine.
The deeper you go within yourself,
You will realize that your thoughts are not even yours.
Just as your body has appeared and has been given to you,
Just as breath is gifted to you,
So your thoughts are also just appearing and disappearing.
You are aware of your thoughts,
But the thoughts are not yours.
When you realize that your body is not yours,
It is a gift.
When breath is not yours,
It is a gift.
When mind is not yours,
It is a gift.
When everything that you believe is your possession,
When you realize that these are also gifts,
The only thing left is a conscious presence within you,
An awareness.
That which your mind has labeled I am,
Me,
The feeling of me,
The feeling of being awake within my own mind.
Even that presence,
Consciousness,
Awareness,
Even that is not yours.
It is also just there,
Not something you have created,
Something you switch on,
Something you can switch off,
Something you can remove.
Just as your breath is involuntary,
So your consciousness is also involuntary.
It is there whether you notice it or not,
Whether you like it or dislike it,
It is there.
When you realize that nothing is yours,
Not your body,
Not your breath,
Not your thoughts,
Not your possessions,
Not the awareness.
When you realize when the mind becomes aware that nothing belongs to it,
Nothing is truly mine,
Nothing can be called me,
Myself or I am.
And yet all these things are present.
We can only surrender these things to that which has created them,
Which has been called the universal force,
Om,
Omkar,
Paramatma,
Parabrahma,
Supreme oneness.
The only mantra that your mind has known for its whole life is me,
Myself,
I am.
And now with the Guru's instruction,
We change that daily repetition,
The daily meditation of I am,
We now understand that nothing is I am,
Everything is yours.
Everything is you,
This body is you,
This mind is you,
This breath is you,
This awareness within me is also you.
Your only mantra left is this is all you,
This is you,
This is you,
This mind is you,
This feeling of me is not me,
This feeling of me is really also you.
Surrender this feeling of me,
Give up ownership to the body,
Give up ownership of your problems,
Of your attachments,
Give up ownership towards your sense of self,
The me,
The I am,
And realize everything is you.
This is the goal of your devotional chanting meditation,
To lovingly give up and surrender all that was never yours in the first place.
This is all you,
This is all your grace,
This is you,
This is your grace.
Bring your attention back to breathing.
Notice the quality of your inner space.
Notice if there is an emptiness,
A peacefulness,
And a freedom.
It is neither happy nor sad.
It is present,
It is constant,
It is blissful.
Sat-Cit-Anand.
Allow this feeling to carry on throughout your day and use any mantra,
Any word to reduce the sense of I am and to remind you back that everything is you,
You are,
This oneness.
This oneness is everything that is here,
Nothing is I am.
Take one deep breath in,
Hold it,
Hold it,
Hold,
Hold,
Hold it,
And out.
And when you're ready,
Bring yourself back and open your eyes.
