Yes, we all are troubled. Our headspace is congested. What are these dilemmas, which are attached to us? Emotional concerns, misunderstood and under-appreciated, mental crises and self-doubts. It is like being in a very crowded space and this area happens to be within us.

The sadhana of meditation enables us to face these impressions which are accumulated in our mind and body. In deep meditation, different symbols of one’s personality are revealed: bull, tiger, a landscape, an angel, a house, a river, a corpse, a cross, heaven, a divine figure, a serpent, and many other things. This is the pattern of one’s own consciousness.

These are symbolic expressions and one does not have to burrow into them. They will soon drain away. In the initial practice of meditation, it is very difficult to hold one’s mind in one place. These images are subconscious eliminations, instinctive expressions, hidden motives which come to one. Eventually they are spent and cease to come up. Now one’s real personality is unfolding and one is reaching the final point of subconscious elimination. The mind is free and psychic awareness starts developing. Development of psychic awareness leads to one emerging victorious and proactive.

Antar Mouna or inner silence

Close eyes. Sit straight. Chant Aum three times. Become aware of the sounds around you. Do not identify who or what is making the sound. This is external awareness. Listen to the loudest and softest sounds. Shift awareness to listening to the sound of your breathing. This is internal awareness. Go back and forth between external and internal awareness. Practice for twenty minutes. Chant Aum three times.

This is the first step of Antar Mouna. One is engaged in a neutral sadhana, one is not concerned with the source of the sounds. If one was to engage with the source, then the thoughts would rush in. There is no enforcement on one’s part, therefore the thoughts are not able to engage the mind. Daily practice will lead to one becoming centered and free from influences, which originate in the mind.

Bear in mind, my dear ones if you live in a noisy place, this powerful practice will increase your tolerance level and free you from the nasty thoughts in your headspace.

Source: Yoga from Shore to Shore. 1968. Swami Satyananda Saraswati.

Aim Hrim Klim

Photo by Dingzeyu Li on Unsplash