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All right so this morning we're going to be doing a mantra meditation and so for a mantra meditation it can be quite nice to have your marla beads.
I believe you have marla beads.
Absolutely don't need them.
Traditional mantra meditation doesn't use marla beads but well it's just quite nice sometimes to have something to anchor in the practice and for those of us who like to fiddle it's a great thing to have.
So if you are using the marla beads the practice is quite simply you start with the queen bead which is that main one and then you just gently start to thread a bead through your fingers each time you say the mantra and you will do many circuits.
Well it depends what mantra you're using.
If you're using a longer mantra of course you may not even do a whole one and if you're using a short mantra like we are today then you might do several circuits.
The idea with the beads is that you might not want to have a timer on and more and more recently I've been recognizing the impact on how I feel because I find it difficult to um I'm discalculic so numbers don't make sense to me and um keeping time the whole time is a real has a massive imprint on or a footprint on my day um because so when I'm in a space where I'm able to not have that time thing and I don't think I'm alone I think this is common for all of us it really helps me to drop into a deeper state of presence.
So a marla bead are quite good for that because you could decide for your practice you're going to do two circuits three circuits and you don't then need to have a timer on or an alarm or anything if you're practicing at home so they're a really helpful tool for them.
And so today I'm sitting in a chair rather than sitting cross-legged on the floor I think I might have finally given up on believing I can sit cross-legged on the floor without getting pins and needles.
So for your position you could be sitting on the floor you could be lying down on your back you could be in a chair whatever you choose just be sure that your spine is as long as as you can comfortably be or as tall as can comfortably be and be sure that you're warm you might have a glass of water to your side.
We're in a new theme for this month the theme is alchemy the turning of base metal into gold which is really something that we're doing already when we do our practices it's more about mindset than physicality so in order to turn base metal into gold you need to know what base metal you're working with and mantra meditation is a great way of giving you that we'll be practicing for 20 minutes and in that 20 minutes the simple repetition of I am that I am will give you glorious opportunity to notice where your mind is wandering off to and where you're kind of where you're needing to kind of go ah yes are we doing a meditation and coming back and as always emphasis on the lack of hierarchy on the practice there are practices we do where we just kind of hover in the shallows and then that is the point of the practice that's what we're recognizing about where we're at it's not that we've failed and then there are practices where we drop deep and then each as valuable as each other so perhaps we can let go of attachment to outcome for this next 20 minutes and and for the purpose of the recording of course it's a very quiet practice I won't say much at all I won't say much at all but I will be holding the time space for you so let yourself come into that comfortable position whatever that will be for you today maybe with maybe without the mala beads and you might want your eyes open I'm gonna open your eyes keep your eyes open let your gaze soften so you're not looking straight ahead kind of coming into more of a landscape gaze you're starting to notice the periphery what's around you and how far you can extend without staring directly at something notice how much you can see right the way around to either side how far can you expand your vision and then once you've done that you might then choose to close your eyelids or you might prefer to keep them open both are great now you might start to notice the sounds that you can hear the sounds in the space around you and it's outside so and then bringing your sense of hearing in closer so that you just focus in on the sound of your breath the inhale and the exhale resting your tongue up on the roof of your mouth we can begin with an intention that our practice today be to the benefit of all beings the mantra today is i am that i am start to silently let that move around inside your head get a feel for it you might naturally begin to feel a rhythm of the repetition of that mantra and the pace of your breath you can working with the beads begin with the queen bead nice breath in nice breath out i am that i am so we begin so so so holding your practice in a space of curiosity there's no getting it wrong just exploring what we find as we repeat the mantra i am that i am so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so i'm noticing when you drift down a rabbit hole smiling and coming back to the mantra i am that i am so so halfway through the practice 10 minutes to go so you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you you offering the fruits of this practice and all our practices to all beings namaste
