Day 22: Japa Meditation

 

Chanting just hits you and you want to be a part of it. That's the point of this whole thing. That's what cuts through all the "stuff". You get lit up. – Krishna Das

Japa literally means "muttering, whispering" and is a traditional meditation practice thousands of years old. I first came upon this meditation technique listening to an interview with Dr. Wayne Dyer years ago. He was so enthusiastic, I had to explore it.


Japa meditation uses the repetition a mantra, and for this exercise we will chant the sound Ahh. It is the universal sound found in the name of God from all cultures for example: Allah, Krishna, God, Buddha, Ra, Jehova etc. Other mantras, especially ones that have been given to you by a teacher, can also be used. A few days ago we briefly mentioned mantra as a way to focus in meditation, and this is one method. There are very complex traditional rules for Japa which you can explore. But for our purposes, we will keep this practice simple.

The Japa Meditation Technique

  1. Sit. Take a few moments to settle yourself and breathe. Eyes closed or slightly open, softly focused. Repeat the mantra Ahhh. I recommend saying it aloud, slowly and mindfully, finding a tempo that engages your focus. Repeating a mantra too slowly will create boredom and repeating too fast will scatter your focus. When the mind wanders, adjust the tempo and bring focus back to the sound. You can also try repeating the mantra silently, to yourself.
  2. For this exercise, chant about 10 minutes or you can use a Mala of 108 beads to count as many repetitions as you like.
  3. After completing your Japa practice take a few moments to sit quietly and feel the effects of the meditation. Generally I notice a sense of clarity and boundless space befor the thoughts start to crowd in once again.

That is a taste of Japa meditation. It is my preferred method for "getting into the gap" as Dr. Wayne Dyer calls it. He wrote a little book by that title that offers more detail on the westernized method he uses.


One more week to go! Keep going!

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