AUM. You’ve heard it, chanted it or meditated to it. Yet, do you know what the sound really means?

The oldest known spiritual text, the Upanishads from ancient India, says that AUM is the sound of God. That’s a pretty bold statement, isn’t it? The ancient text goes on to explain that it also represents the three types of consciousness that we experience each day: waking, dreaming and dreamless sleep. These states correlate with the birth, life and death cycle as well as our body, emotions  and soul. In Christianity, this corresponds with the Trinity.

To make this sound properly, start with the “A” in the back of the throat. If done properly, you will notice the vibration is strongest in the soler plexus, representing the strength of the physical body.  The “U” is made in the front of the throat. You might notice that the vibration of this sound is strongest in the chest or heart region, representing love, passion and energetic aliveness. With a long, slow, exhaling breath, bring the two vowel sounds together and end with the hum of the “M”. You may notice the energy shifting to the forehead or third eye region. This represents presence, mind, essence or soul. That’s how you voice it. Now let’s talk about the symbolism.

AUM is said to have four parts:

“A” is  the realm of awake consciousness and things, including the physical body.

“U”  is the realm of dream consciousness and symbols, including emotions and the energy body.

“M” is the realm of dreamless sleep and  unmanifest consciousness, including the mind and soul.

The silence surrounding and including the sound of AUM is Spirit itself, the non-dual source and container of the miracle and mystery of all creation.

The “A” represents waking consciousness and physical matter. This realm makes up our perceived reality of physical objects governed by the laws of cause and effect. Something happens and there is a result.

The sound “U” represents a dream state. This realm is the birthplace of myth, archetypes, religious and spiritual symbolism and non-ordinary states of consciousness. The non-ordinary states are realized through deep spiritual practices or drug-induced spiritual experiences. In the dream state, things appear to be separate from us, but we know that isn’t real. In our dreams, the things we see are all being created by our sub-conscious mind. The most common way to interpret dreams is that everything in the dream represents an aspect of you. In the dream state, there are no rational laws of cause and effect. Everything is a symbol of something in your mind.

“M” is dreamless sleep. Consciousness is present but with no awareness of any separateness. The experience of this state is called unmanifest consciousness. It is the goal of true spiritual yoga to achieve this completely stilled mind with no thoughts while being awake. This experience of a completely quiet mind is merged with Source and is the closest we can come to being with God.

The fourth and most important part of the AUM recognizes the silence that transcends and includes all of the former states. Pure consciousness is the ground of all being from which everything arises and into which everything falls back. With the recognition of the silence that surrounds and includes the sound of AUM, we move beyond the three realms and realize all is one and all is God.

To sum up:

“A” starts in in the back of the throat to the count of four and vibrates near the soler plexus stimulating the third chakra and stomach, liver and spleen.

represents:

• The physical body
• Birth
• Waking consciousness and present moment awareness
• The beta brainwave frequencies (12hz-38hz)
• Within the Christian trinity, Jesus living as a man on earth as the Son of God

“U” is made in the front of the throat to the count of eight and vibrates near the chest stimulating the fourth chakra and heart.

Represents:

The emotional, energetic, subtle body

• Dreaming, intuitive and symbolic consciousness
• life
• Alpha-theta brainwave frequencies (3hz-12hz)
• The Holly Spirit within the Christian trinity

“M” is made with the mouth and lips to the count of twelve and vibrates near the forehead stimulating the Sixth chakra and pineal gland.

Represents:

• The  mental realm, soul and causal body
• Deep dreamless sleep, psychic phenomenon and intuition
• Physical death
• Delta brainwave frequencies (0.2hz-3hz)
• The Father within the Christian trinity

“The sound of silence” to the count of 16 with a subtle awareness on the seventh chakra.

Represents

• The non-physical
• Non-dual and ever present awareness
• Eternity
• The element of Spirit
• The mystery  and intigration of the Trinity itself

With this new awareness, I invite you start your day with three AUM’s in the morning upon awakening, during your morning shower, or during your meditations. Then take three before going to bed. You can do them silently or say them out loud. Be aware of the realms or states of consciousness as you voice the sounds and let your mind flow from one state to another until you meet the perfect silence that surrounds the AUM. That’s where you will find the experience of God.

As always, your comments are welcome and you are welcome to pass it along to anyone

The intention of this article blog is to provide you with something that is both inspirational to feel and practical to do to begin from within in 2010.

Here goes!  (BTW-The pics are are from a Begin From Within New Years Celebration…. Karaoke was to follow )

We human beings occupy a unique place in the world. We’re said to have both an animal nature and divine nature. Think about it, like animals, we certainly have survival needs, desire to experience pleasure and want to be powerful. Don’t you? This corresponds with the lower three chakras that we share with the animal kingdom. Yet, we can and often do feel compassion for others who have no direct connection to us, are at least occasionally creative and have the capacity for self refection. This corresponds with the upper chakras, or our higher nature. As far as we know, there is no evidence that animals have developed this kind of higher nature, yet (our own pets excluded, of course).

This is the year to fully embrace your full nature. Embrace your wholeness! As a unique human being you are designed to experience meaning, aliveness, pleasure and to put to use your unique strengths to work in the in world in ways that add life to your years and years to your life. If you don’t regularly experience all three domains of meaning, passionate aliveness and pleasure, you’re not living your fullest life. And, research in the field of positive psychology reveals that the number one way to live a happy and fulfilling life is to find ways to utilize your strengths in ways that are meaningful.

You can begin from within in 2010 by taking these simple and practical steps:

• Discover your unique gifts and strengths. Then investigate unique ways to develop and express them. You can take a brief signature strengths inventory for free by registering at AuthenticHappiness.com.
• Consider the activities that provide you with the most meaning in your life. Take a moment now to determine specifically what these activities are? Write a few of them down. Then, inquire into the essence of what makes these activities so meaningful.  Once you’ve discovered this, you can let yourself wonder about what other meaningful activities to engage in this year.
• You can do the same process with the activities that cause you to feel passionate alive and those that you find most pleasurable. Get the idea?

No matter what your outer circumstances, you can find meaning, aliveness, pleasure and  learn to utilize your strengths in creative ways that will provide you with the peace, passion, purpose, power and presence of radical wholeness.

If exploring these ideas further in a group appeals to you,  join us at the Essence Circle this Tuesday the 5th at the Body Awareness Studio on Roswell Road. For a fuller experience, including your own personal MAP for utilizing your strengths to bring more Meaning, Aliveness and Pleasure into your life in 2010, check the MAPSS to Radical Wholeness One Day Workshop on the 16th at The Self Discovery Center.

I just returned from SOULutions annual  Winter Solstice event  I’ve created and facilitated a Winter Solstice Ceremony and BREATH OF LIFE CELEBRATION for  the last six years. Leslie has co-facilitated it with me for the last four.

I love way that the ceremony brings people with backgrounds of various religious faiths and spiritual beliefs together in a way that authentically honors each of these unique individual’s backgrounds and current spiritual beliefs.

I hope that Leslie and I accomplished this tonight. I believe that we did.

Here’s what our ceremony looked like: We  requested that each participant silently go inward and make contact as best as they can with the still place inside and since in to the question: “What intention, inspiration or creation most wants to be born in this upcoming year through me?  What  ”Virgin Birth”  am I willing  to give birth to. (A virgin birth is any inspiration or creation that is of a pure heart and lead by spirit and not fear based ego.)

Read my article: Virgin Birth-Don’t through the Baby Out with the Bathwater by clicking HERE.

What do I most need to let go of …or die to, to make the most room for this intention  to birthed from  the purest heart?

Then, the participants each wrote what they were willing to let go off on a piece of  flash paper.

One at a time, they each walked up and placed this paper into the Source Flame. This is the  candle that represented the Source of ALL Creation and light of the world. This ceremony did not concern itself with  any belief about this Source, only a heartfelt recognition of It and the miracle and mystery that it is , of which each of us is a part.

Then, a seed was taken that represented their own unique  intention for the new year. They blessed it and placed in a little vase containing a small portion of Mother Earth. Water was added to indicate the attention and nurturing that all dreams require to bring in to manifestation.

Finely, a small candle, representing their unique Divine Spark/Essence/Soul was  lit  from the Sources flame.

As you can see, each of the elements in  nature were observed, as is required for any big goal to be realized. The air element is represented by stilling  the mind and focusing on an intention to manifest and something to let go of. Earth represents grounding and structure; The Water that was added to the seed reminds us to charge this intention with our emotional energy and to nurture it by giving it regular attention; The Fire is represented by the individual flame from each of our candles and reminds us of the fiery action needed and Spirit is represented by the Source candle from which each of our individual flames were lit.

The name  that we used to remind us of the  formula for creation is I AM. Intention + Attention = Manifestation.

Feel free to add your comments or ask any questions.

Happy Wholidays,

Michael

Have you  ever memorized  a bible verse?  If so, what was the first bible verse that you learned?

For me,  at the young age of four I memorized  John3′16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Tonight, during a group meditation at the Art Of Living Course that I attended with Leslie and a few other friends, I experienced for the first time, what I felt to be a deep Truth within this verse.  It was profoundly beautiful and humbling.

I offer you this translation of Jesus’s words through the lens of my own personal experience tonight only, for your pondering.

For God -The Primordial Source of all existence that all religions agree upon at the most basic level, is LOVE) John 4′8  says “Whoever does not love does not know God, because GOD IS LOVE.”

so loved the world -Our Universe, the laws of existence and our amazing planet, Earth)

That he gave his only begotten son- God/Love felt so much of itself that s/he exploded and gave birth to a finite expression/image of himself so that Love could be experienced, because without an other this love can not be experienced. (Science might call this the big bang})   The Son is US, all of humanity. And, we are made in the image of God)

Who soever  believeth in him -Was Jesus speaking of believing in him THE man with the ONLY ticket to salvation ( The original Greek word for salvation was Sozo, which means wholeness) or was he pointing to him as God, which is  Love as the only way to wholeness?   I wonder…if Jesus Christ were among us today in the flesh, can you imagine him  telling the devout Buddhist, Hindus,  Muslims and others who are living beautiful lives filled with love, joy and compassion, that you gotta go through me for your soul to survive, sorry. Would he say that the Dali Lama was not the real deal? Would he be jealous?  Would he have a need to “convert” him? Or can  you more easily imagine Jesus, as a/the source of love  speaking of  LOVE being the only way and teaching that we, like he, are in our essence love also)

shall not parish but have everlasting life. (Realizing the deep mystical truth that God is Love ,we are made in this image and WE AND THE FATHER [LOVE] ARE ONE)

The realization that I had tonight is an experience that is beyond words. Yet, I love words, so these words that I’ve shared is my own  humble attempt to convey  what I believe to be a mystical Truth. If you and I are able to get past the mind and the identity that it has created us to be, we can clearly see that Christ realized the Truth of who he was and his purpose was to illuminate his realization to us: “I and the Father are One” You and me and the Father/God/Source/Love/I AM…are one. With this authentic realization, we become aware that the essence/soul/ Love within us will not parish with our body, but be a part of the mystery, miracle  and Love pouring through Life everlasting.

This is the same Truth that the mystics from every spiritual tradition came to understand and shared, in the only possible means, within the limitations of language, through  stories, symbols and metaphors.

Within very religion, their is an esoteric/spiritual knowing and an exoteric/ego interpretation. If you look closely you will see that the esoteric came first and pointed to something of wonder, beauty and  awe. The exoteric  explanation is designed to provide the ego with what it craves most-certainty and the promise of the ego self  remaining forever.

What I’ve written about may or may not resonate with you. You may feel that I’ve taken to much liberty with Gods words. Yet please consider that these word, as best as I can assimilate them, are Gods words to me tonight.  If God spoke through the flawed yet earnest men of the bible, why would he not speak through my sincere heart tonight, and yours?

You and I and The Father are One. If/when you experience this authentic realization, you will laugh and say like me: “Of course, I’ve always known this but just now realized it for the first time.” Then, you will know who you really are and how really true it is that WE ARE ALL ONE.

You can learn more about The Art Of Living  Foundation and courses by clicking HERE.

Hello fellow Radical Wholeness Enthusiasts!

Want an almost effortless way of meditating and engaging  in spiritual practice with your computer?

The folks at Wild Divine, a unique software program featuring  Depeek Chopra and healing and health experts,  recently polled their Wild Divine Meditation and Bio-Feedback Game purchasers, asking them the all-important question- “why did you buy our product?” The number one answer by far was, “because my therapist/doctor recommended it to me.” People are seeking solutions to their dilemmas in life in various ways. But one of the rising trends comes from recognizing stress, and our body’s need to find ways to relax, even if the pace in people’s lives is not slowing down. The Guided Mediations and breathing techniques taught in our Healing Rhythms programs can help give people simple ways to relax, even if for just a few quick minutes in the middle of a busy day.

The easiest way to start off when practicing guided relaxation is to count your breaths as you inhale and exhale. Deep breathing relaxation methods, which involve inhaling through your nose as deeply as you can, will help your body start to relax. Hold this breath and then let it out slowly through your nose. Your heart rate will start to slow down and your muscles will start to relax. When learning relaxation meditation, remember to have a focus for the meditation. It requires work to focus your mind on one point and you must be engaged in all aspects of meditating. During relaxation meditation, all kinds of thoughts will come to mind. You have to learn how to recognize these thoughts and then dismiss them so that you are still actively involved in the guided relaxation. This is one of the main reasons why you need to choose a quiet place for meditation where you will not be interrupted by the normal sounds of your life when you are teaching yourself how to relax in this manner. Meditation for beginners will be frustrating when you can’t seem to get it right the first time.

The key is to stay focused on meditating and to focus on your breathing techniques. The thoughts of frustration are ones that can take over and ruin relaxation methods for you. One great practice in meditation for beginners learning how to relax is to concentrate on the parts of the body. Start with your toes and focus on them as you feel them relax. Then move upward concentrating for a few minutes on each body part and how it relaxes. As you get to your head, your body will be completely relaxed and then you can concentrate on having a blank mind.

I’ve  used the Journey to the Wild Divine as a fun way to train my brain for a couple of years now and recommended to several clients.

You can learn more about it at the Tools for Wholeness section on the SOULutions site.