Adding Daily Japa Practices, Advice on a Mantra?

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Building a Daily Practice with Self-Pacing

Adding Daily Japa Practices, Advice on a Mantra?

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azurikai

USA
17 Posts

Posted - Apr 16 2018 : 2:39:03 PM

I have been practicing the AYP lessons for over a year now and they are transforming my life. Thank you to Yogani and everyone here

I am interested in incorporating more practices into my sadhana but I do not want to conflict with the practice(s) here, as they provide my foundation.

I love the use of Mantra in the meditation, and I remember having read (not sure where in the lessons anymore) that it was not recommended to use this mantra outside of the sitting meditation.

I personally am a fan of walking meditation in the morning to warm me up and to relax in the evening. During these walks, I have been taking my mala beads and been playing with various mantras (not the ayp ones) as I walk. I also use these mantras when I am driving in and from town. These practices in total actively constitute at least 1 hour of my day, sometimes 2.

After doing some reading about using Japa in the book "Kriya Yoga: Synthesis of a Personal Experience" by Ennio Nimis and understanding the core principals of mantra to create a Vritti in your Chitta to subdue hindering Vrittis, I have come to the conclusion that...

1) I should use a SINGLE mantra for walking/other practice external to my AYP core, as multiple mantras create potentially conflicting Vrittis.
2) use a mantra that is "friendly" or can enhance, or be of benefit to what is being done in the AYP core approach
3) but do not use the AYP mantras from the sitting meditation

I have not found a mantra that really "resonates" with me yet, and would like to make sure that in my search I am using something that vibrates best with the system used here.

Does anyone have any advice, recommendations, or criticisms to these thoughts?

Thank you and namaste!

Austin

Christi

United Kingdom
3816 Posts

Posted - Apr 16 2018 : 5:49:48 PM

Hi Azurikai,

Using the practice of mantra japa during the day is not recommended in AYP. There are various reasons for this. You may find this forum discussion useful on some of the potential issues that can arrise from the use of mantra japa and on why it is not a recommended practice in AYP:

https://aypsite.org/forum/topic.asp...ID=3473#3473

Also see these lesson additions:

Addition 86.2 - Use of Mantra Japa to Calm the Mind During Activity

and

Addition 86.3 - Doubling Up with Mantra Japa

See this lesson on experimenting with additions to the AYP system of practices:

Lesson 384 - Baseline Systems of Practice and Research on Modifications

Christi

Dogboy

USA
1794 Posts

Posted - Apr 16 2018 : 6:05:07 PM

Hello azurikai

As you want to try this, your 1-2-3 bulletpoints are sound enough. One to two hours daily could be excessive, perhaps start with a half hour for a while and increase as stability is apparent. While I walk I find myself counting in and out breathes, a meditation of sorts. Maybe your mantra can be something simple and motivating, like �know yourself� or �kind soul� or something of the like. Remember our path is our own grand experiment, and as we discover what resonates and what doesn�t, we conduct our experiment with the curiosity of a scientist and the caution of a shepherd for his flock.

azurikai

USA
17 Posts

Posted - Apr 17 2018 : 10:39:50 AM

Christi,

I am now reading the conversation that you, yogani and others, and it makes sense to me what is being said. Thank you for sharing those links. I need to get an ayp+ subscription soon to read the others

My aim, ultimately, is to quell rising delusions and disruptions in day to day mindfulness/awareness.

I had just been reading about japa practices being used for this in the book I mentioned above, as well as getting some ideas from the Yoga Sutra interpretation by Vivekananda where he mentions the use of mantra in such a way (specifically the use of

) to quell vrittis.

- What would you recommend then as an aid to come back to a state of mindfulness while also using mala beads?
- Perhaps just the breath?
- Perhaps simply letting go of it all and abiding in mindful awareness?
- Does the AYP approach mention anything about this topic specifically (of mindfulness practice, coming back to center during the day/outside of yoga practice)?

I am having a hard time digging around finding anything specific, and sometimes creating new threads is okay?

Thank you for your discussion!

-----

Dogboy,

as I am replying to Christi above, I mention the potential use of just counting the breath... and then I read your reply and see the same written

getting warmer!

Not so long ago, I had a small enlightening after reading through the Vigyan Bhairav commentary by Osho when he mentions that "it" lies between the inhale and exhale... perhaps pursuing this further would be a good idea (not hunting for the experience of course, just using the experience as a guidepost

)

Thank you as well for your discussion points and ideas!

lalow33

USA
966 Posts

Posted - Apr 17 2018 : 11:41:39 AM

You don't get rid of delusions. You just sorta switch perspectives and see through them. My humble opinion of course.

BlueRaincoat

United Kingdom
1630 Posts

Posted - Apr 17 2018 : 4:28:24 PM

Hi Azurikai

quote:
Originally posted by azurikai
- Does the AYP approach mention anything about this topic specifically (of mindfulness practice, coming back to center during the day/outside of yoga practice)?

Mindfulness in daily activity increases naturally with AYP practice. If it's self-imposed (as opposed to spontaneous), it is a practice, so you need to look at it within your self-pacing hat on.

Adding mindfulness during the day, on top of your AYP practice, is likely to cause less turbulence than if you were to add mantra japa to AYP practice.

quote:
Originally posted by lalow33

You don't get rid of delusions. You just sorta switch perspectives and see through them. My humble opinion of course.

I guess this boils down to how you use the words. If you can see through a delusion, is it still a delusion?

Is it a delusion that stops having a delusional effect?

Edited by - BlueRaincoat on Apr 17 2018 4:29:27 PM

lalow33

USA
966 Posts

Posted - Apr 17 2018 : 4:51:38 PM

No. Blue. It's like your something then nothing, switching on and off. My experience, so I used the word sorta.

SeySorciere

Seychelles
1279 Posts

Posted - Apr 18 2018 : 02:13:04 AM

Dear azurikai,

AYP recommends you go out and enjoy your day after practices - not further messing with anything.

Everything else will be added on to you naturally. With the rise of the Witness, your perception will change and evolve and you will become more steadfast - naturally.

That said I love mantra chanting myself and when I'm in the mood I usually pick a buddhist one to enjoy but I don't make a routine of it.

Sey

Christi

United Kingdom
3816 Posts

Posted - Apr 18 2018 : 05:05:21 AM

Hi Azurikai,

quote:
My aim, ultimately, is to quell rising delusions and disruptions in day to day mindfulness/awareness.

I had just been reading about japa practices being used for this in the book I mentioned above, as well as getting some ideas from the Yoga Sutra interpretation by Vivekananda where he mentions the use of mantra in such a way (specifically the use of ) to quell vrittis.

- What would you recommend then as an aid to come back to a state of mindfulness while also using mala beads?
- Perhaps just the breath?
- Perhaps simply letting go of it all and abiding in mindful awareness?
- Does the AYP approach mention anything about this topic specifically (of mindfulness practice, coming back to center during the day/outside of yoga practice)?

I am having a hard time digging around finding anything specific, and sometimes creating new threads is okay?

Thank you for your discussion!

The term "mindfulness" is not necessarily a very useful one in spirituality. If it means "paying attention to" something, then it is also not clear that that is always a useful thing to be doing. When a tiger stalks its prey, it pays very close attention to what it is stalking, but that act will not lead it to liberation.

The word "mindfulness" is very much a translation of the Pali word "sati" which the Buddha taught to be one of the factors of enlightenment. But the Buddha said that we need to have "right mindfulness". So it is a question of knowing what to be mindful of and what not to be mindful of. In other words, we need to be able to exersise discrimination (viveka) which arises from wisdom (pannya). These in turn arise naturally from the cultivation of inner silence.

So, this is very much the AYP approach to mindfulness and to self-inquiry practice in general. It has to start with the cultivation of inner silence/ the witness and progresses naturally and often spontaneously from there. If we approach it artificially, without abiding inner silence being present, it can actually do more harm than good. Taken on too early, it can end up simply being a mind-game, which people can become trapped in.

When we are ready to take on self-inquiry practice (seeing through the delusions of existence), it will feel easy and natural and often we do not even need to ask how to do it. But for those who are curious, there is the Self-inquiry book:

Self-Inquiry - Dawn of the Witness and the End of Suffering

See this lesson on the rise of the witness, discrimination and dispassion:

Lesson 327 - The Evolutionary Stages of Mind

And this one on becoming ready to take on inquiry practices:

Lesson 328 - On Becoming "Ripe"

As Sey says, the best thing you can do between practices, is to go out and live your life. This is important for the integration of the purification process that happens because of the practices. Gradually the results of practices begin to "overspill" into our daily life and we find that delusions will naturally start falling away.

Christi

Will Power

Spain
415 Posts

Posted - Apr 27 2018 : 4:01:24 PM

Hi, I like the mantra "Beyond the seas of infinite light". Also "Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram Om" and "Om Namo Narayana".

A long time ago I think I read a post or a lesson of Yogani saying that Japa could be grounding (I also read him somewhere else saying that it could lead to overload though).

In Quest of God, by Swami Rama is a nice book on the subject.
Recently I read a related post: http://kavithamd.com/mantra-sadhana-japa/

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