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What is Mantra?
 Mantra comes from two Sanskrit words ‘manas’ which means the mind and ‘tray’ which means to free. So it literally translates as ‘to free the mind’. Mantra is the effective use of sound + words + repetition + intention to produce a healing effect in the body. The words uttered are generally taken from the Sanskrit which is considered to be the language of the soul, and are words that invoke Divine Order. Mantra directly works with clearing mental confusion, restoring emotional, mental, and spiritual balance. |
Mantra as a Sound Healing Tool:
Mantra as a vehicle has to hold the restless mind through the journey into the super-conscious.
In the process it has to also energize the mind and transport it to more subtle realms so that it can dissolve (the mind). For this journey to be successful it requires three qualities or attributes these are:-
Pulsative
Incantative
Ideative
Pulsative – Calming the Mind
There are many forms of mantras however the most powerful ones are made of two syllables that follow the rhythmic breath.
It is through the rhythmic pulsation of the breath and the uttering of the syllable that one is able to calm and tame the restless mind.
Incantative – Realigning the Mind
The Mantra has to have a particular sound or a vibrational frequency in order to be effective.
For the mind to be redirected, it needs to be held steadily in one focused space or else it would scatter itself in a thousand places never to be tamed.
The repetition and vibration allows this process to take place in an effective way.
This is called the Incantative process.
Ideative – Expanding beyond the Mind
Apart from the role of calming the mind through its pulsating process and realigning it through its incantative process, Mantra has an expansive quality as well.
The phrase As you think so you become has been used for centuries by Yogis and the Great Masters and Teachers of all times. It is now an accepted fact even in modern psychology that whatever the mind focuses on through idealization or imagination it can ultimately manifest.
This process of holding the mind through visualization and focus for a period long enough until it merges with the object of its focus is called Ideative Process.
In short the pulsative process works through the rhythm of the breath to give it a calming effect,
the Incantive process is given by the long repetition to create almost an hypnotic state in which the person is fully present and the Ideative is the devotional aspect of the mantra that helps the person detach from personal agendas ad conditioning.
How does Mantra Work?
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In this diagram which was given to me through a deep meditation many years ago it is clearly depicted how a Mantra works.
The tip represents the smaller part of our mind which some may call the conscious or the physical mind. This is the part of the mind that we use in our awake state, and through which we carry out life tasks. This is the densest part. The middle part represents the unconscious or subconscious mind where all emotional, mental ideas and traumas are stored. It is the larger part of our mind and the part that actually ‘runs the show’ As I call it. Most of our patterns and actions are initiated from this unconscious part. Most humans have no direct access to this part of their minds, as the only access to it is through meditation, or the dream state. This is why in spite of great effort often most people are unable to shift, change and heal from past errors and habitual patterns, and continue then to experience dramas and unhappy lives. The Yellow area represents Superconsciousness and it is the part that is connected to our Soul which in turn connects us to Divine Source.
Mantra pierces through the subconscious with its 3 qualities and then it is able to filter from Superconsciousness the Divine Light of our True Nature. This Light which creates ‘a sweeping effect’ as I call it, being of much higher vibration than the vibration in subconscious, and conscious minds, will inevitably dis-solve all ‘heavier’ energy and stuck patterns which are in the subconscious, from which point It will begin to direct the individual from the Divine Order of its true nature through the conscious mind.
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The noticeable effects of individuals who have achieved this balanced state are individuals who practice equinamity in all situations, compassion, understanding. and unconditional love. These are individuals who have overcome personal dramas and no longer need to interact with the world for personal gratification. Once the subconscious is healed of wounds, wants and needs, one becomes an instrument of the Light whose only purpose is to shed onto the world of this pureness of being. One is aligned or atoned with the true nature of reality.
In essence, when we apply word + intention + sound + repetition we are directly effecting creation or manifestation. So whether we are using Mantras and Sound work to propel us to higher states of consciousness or simply invoking Mantras for the purpose of feeling inspired and uplifted, and heal, we are certain to create the desired effect if we apply these principles.