Using some estimated calculations I discovered that I have progressed about 4% towards mantra siddhi for Om.
Is anybody else attempting mantra siddhi for anything? Have you experienced any notable check points?
Also do you think I should visuallize the Om symbol rather then just focus on the vibrations like I am now?
Best
Ryan
I practiced Om meditation for some years, I even visualized the mantra, but finally moved to Zazen. I discovered that Om meditation was straining to my mind, I feel more relaxed and released with Zazen.
What did you find straining about it?
Zazen=zen meditation=meditation following the breath with a clear mind?
I follow the sensation of breath on my inhales but also do om inhale om exhale sometimes
Can I ask what kind of calculations you do for this?
My numbers which are partially estimated put me at less then 6000 repetitions. When I first got my mala I did 40 straight days of 108 Oms. I am uncertain how many times I have done this since then.
I am thinking about getting rid of using the mala so that I don’t stop short when I could keep going passed 108 in a sitting. The initial appeal of a mala was that so I was forced to stay in meditation for at least that long. Time to take off the training wheels.
I do not know how I will measure further progress but I figure that I will know when I reach 125,000. I hear god comes in a flash.
Also, fun fact, if 108 repetitions takes me about 23 minutes then I will be in meditation for a total of 2000 days before completion.
Actually I think that is 443 hours which is 18.5 days
[QUOTE=Rdlagrand;66510]What did you find straining about it?
Zazen=zen meditation=meditation following the breath with a clear mind?
I follow the sensation of breath on my inhales but also do om inhale om exhale sometimes[/QUOTE]
I practiced mental japa, and that was straining, the job of producing mentally the sound was straining, I couldn’t relax my mind, perhaps I wasn’t prepared…
And verbal japa uncoils my Shakti, and this makes my body shake and jerk, no meditation is possible under those conditions…
So I moved to zazen. There you just let your mind repose and disappear. You adopt an attitude of witness. You may use your breath as a “mantra” if you wish, but the key is remaining aware, aware of “just being”, here and now. Eventually you experience pure consciousness and bliss.
IMO, it’s the purest form of meditation.
Mentally producing the sound is not always easy, yes. I do not however consider this straining but do see that difficulty is not relaxing. In time I am sure that I will have fortified the neural pathways that bring greater ease to producing this sound. At that point I guess I can turn on Om radio at will.
I don’t think I know what uncoiling shakti feels like. I have not had issues shaking or jerking in meditation but I do have a posture problem around T11. This can cause discomfort if I settle into my self trained way to sit rather then the proper way.
I am in my first meditation workshop now (week 2) and I hope that we cover zazen as well as transcendental meditation. I do not plan to stay with one form for all of my life and would like to gain at least journeyman adeptness in multiple forms.
I wonder if playing this during meditation would help or hinder progress.
Om radio… that’s a good one… 
Well, it could constitute a reminder that you’re meditating, every time you fall from meditation state… But it doubt it could push you towards there, pratyahara should be achieved before.
How do you sit?
I have not yet achieved pratyahara sadly enough. I guess I will get there in time. I am able to resist the sensations of bugs, mainly flys, until they reach my lips but being unaware of them has not been achieved.
I have stopped sitting in padmasana for prolonged meditation because I don’t think my body is as ready as I want it to be. That and the amount of time I can hold my opposite bind has dropped sharply. (Left leg bound first for non dom)
I prefer ardha padmasana and at time sukhasana. In the meditation workshop Savita Geuther tells me to sit up on blankets so that my knees are below my hips. I commonly see her therapeutic students sitting with legs crossed at the shins but she does not make me sit this way.
My problem is when I sit upright I tend to exaggerate the curve in my spin and stick out my ribs. Today I seem to have made progress with this but I will be consulting my Iyengar instructor Wednesday morning.
“I discovered that I have progressed about 4% towards mantra siddhi for Om.”
Empty this. The moment you think you have moved one step forward, you have moved a million steps behind.
“Is anybody else attempting mantra siddhi for anything?”
The practice of concentration upon a mantra is not supposed to be for any particular purpose, otherwise, while you are thinking about the purpose - you have missed remaining a witness to the present. If you want to use a tool like a mantra as a method towards ones enlightenment - then your attention has to be fixated on the mantra in such a way - that there is neither past nor future, you are just totally involved in the present moment.
[QUOTE=AmirMourad;66742]“I discovered that I have progressed about 4% towards mantra siddhi for Om.”
Empty this. The moment you think you have moved one step forward, you have moved a million steps behind.
“Is anybody else attempting mantra siddhi for anything?”
The practice of concentration upon a mantra is not supposed to be for any particular purpose, otherwise, while you are thinking about the purpose - you have missed remaining a witness to the present. If you want to use a tool like a mantra as a method towards ones enlightenment - then your attention has to be fixated on the mantra in such a way - that there is neither past nor future, you are just totally involved in the present moment.[/QUOTE]
As I have said this is an estimation. As I have not said I understand that it is 125,000 heartfelt repetitions. For all I know this could mean 200,000 repetitions for my current level of focus.
My meditation is fixated on the mantra and its meaning. Just because I have a goal does not mean I am seeking it for a prize. I have also mentioned that I have no way of continuing to count which means if I was thinking about a prize I would only cause anxiety.