A Meditation from the Australian School of Meditation and Yoga
Today’s meditation is a bit different to the ones we have looked at so far.
This one came from Gayatri at the Australian School of Meditation and Yoga (which I can heartily recommend to anyone looking to go a bit further with meditation)
Here’s what they say about their meditations:
Several easy and practical meditation techniques are introduced in these courses. You will learn how to cope better with stress and improve your physical and mental well-being. Meditation provides insights into the workings of the mind and emotions. It further helps you develop clarity and wisdom, gaining a greater understanding of life. You can experience inner peace and lasting happiness by reawakening your natural spiritual consciousness and becoming self-realised.
(Oh and it’s a little bit longer than 10 minutes – but still under 15. It is worth it. Promise.)
I felt a little self-conscious when I started the chanting, but then I noticed how confident my voice became further into the meditation. I loved how my throat and belly vibrated with the sound of it. Music was awesome too! So relaxing.
I really liked this one – I actually didn’t do the chanting aloud b/c I didn’t want to wake my hubby – but I still felt it reverberating and found it gave a really good focus.
Often I find background music distracting or superfluous but in this case I found it suited the meditation and reinforced it really well
Also it brings about self confidence in the personality and behavior of a person to a great extent. Talking about my own experience through these very simpler meditation courses self belief is very easy to attain through meditation.
Thanks for the tip – I’ll check them out!
I couldn’t keep up with the chanting and breathing rhythm and was rather too preoccupied with that to relax.
The chanting was an odd experience. It didn’t feel like I was trying at all: my voice just seemed to automatically come out of me and it got louder and louder as the chanting went on. I found it quite powerful. I also loved the metaphor of the breath as an ocean wave, rolling in, rolling out. That had a huge effect on me. Saying that, I would have liked to have more of a sense of what I was chanting, as I did start to feel very detached and automated in that part. If we were thinking more about vibrations through sound, I would have preferred to have gone for a monosyllabic one, even if it was the traditional ‘om’! Overall, though – I liked this a lot.
Thank you philosophie for sharing your experience. The reason we use the sound Gauranga is because it is a powerful transcendental sound vibration refering to the golden form of the Supreme. It has the ability to purify your spiritual consciousness, help to remove unwanted thoughts and allow the mind to find peace in the sound.
This was indeed different from the other meditations and I was glad to have ‘practiced’ on the other ones before coming to this one as I feel it was more advanced if you know what I mean? There were longer periods without a voice telling you what to do and I found i had to use my inner voice more when my mind wandered. I agree with the others though that to have the variation is good. And I found the chanting a different and enjoyable method of helping to keep my mind focused.
Hi babysteps, you’ll find that this meditation practice will become more enjoyable the more you practice it. It takes time to disipline the mind, but it will come in time. Just remember to gently bring your mind back to the sound vibration when it begins to wander. Try to not let it wanter too far, be aware when it has wantered and then draw it back.
I started this one and a few minutes in the electrician rang the door bell to fish the washing machine. Afterwards I just couldn’t get back into it. I’ll try again later.
Hi Esta, sorry to hear of your interruption, nothing worse that being disturbed in the middle of your meditation practice. Better luck next time!
I found the same as holly and AGloveshoes that whileni enjoyed the meditation I couldn’t keep the chant going. It just felt like more of an effort than meditative. But I did like listening to the chanting for the last few minutes. Though I must admit everytine there was a pause between chants I was think ‘is it finished this time?’
I love your honesty! I do exactly the same thing and then give myself a hard time for kinda hoping it is finished!
Hi Ellen, You are quite welcome to just lie there and listen to the sound vibration, it will still have a powerful effect on your mind. You’ll find your mind will be much more peaceful after a 10 minute session. The more you practice the more effect it will have on the mind.
This meditation seemed to go on for ages, especially the chanting part. My mind was drifting wondering if it was ever going to stop! I managed to bring myself back to my breathing though and stuck with it. I am not sure if this is one I would like to do again but I guess it is good to try different styles to work out what works for us and what doesn’t.
Hi Deborah, sometimes it is best to start with short periods and gradually build up to it. We have such restless minds these days and it isn’t a very peaceful situation for us. Most people have trouble contolling the mind even for short periods of time, but we need to practice on a regular basis if we want to find that peace that we are looking for, just like if we want to get fit, we need to excercise regularly. If we want a peaceful mind we need to practice our meditation on a regular basis. Before long you will find that the practice seems too short.
That was different, but it is great that we are doing a variety of meditations. It makes me feel that I am learning various skills and techniques that are helping me stem the monkey brain.
Hi Lize, great analogy – monkey mind! Our minds are just like a monkey, jumping from here to there. Meditation is the only thing that will bring it under control.
I loved the music but like Holly I struggled with keeping up the chanting. Nonetheless it was relaxing to listen to, so much so that I got muscle twitching like when you are falling asleep. Nice!
Hi AGLoveShoes, sounds like you found peace through the sound vibration. Great start, keep up the good work. You can get just as much benefit by focusing your mind on the sound and just listening.
I enjoyed this one, which surprised me. The Indian music isn’t really my cup of tea, but I managed to go with it for the most part. I couldn’t keep up the chanting, I just listened to the last few minutes, I stopped enjoying it. Overall though, I liked it.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Holly. I felt strange at first as well but it has turned into one of my favourites now.
This meditation will grow on you believe me. It is so simple and enjoyable and before long it will become a very pleasant part of your life.