The Mantram

Mantram: The silent repetition of a Holy Name or a hallowed phrase from one of the world’s great religions; practiced whenever possible throughout the day or night. Ecknath Easwaran

The mantram is a powerful prayer tool that keeps one’s mind and heart focused the Absolute, and delivers us from rash thoughts and actions. Many spiritual leaders have taught this practice, and Western Christians are re-learning it more and more as the practice spreads. Desert mothers and fathers taught the ceaseless prayer of the heart to John Cassian, the Eastern Orthodox churches repeated the Jesus prayer, St. Paul talks about “prayer without ceasing” in his letter to the Thessalonians, and Christian contemplatives today often use the ancient Aramaic mantram “maranatha,” meaning, “Our Lord comes!”

This form of prayer keeps the ego out of the formula and avoids the emotional deceptiveness of working oneself into a froth. It links the soul to the heart of God, but I could not begin to tell you how. I can only encourage daily and constant repetition. Do you hate standing in lines? Repeat your mantram. Are you so angry that words you may regret are going to spew out of your mouth? Go for a brisk walk and repeat your mantram until calm returns to your brain. You will be much more likely to address the situation objectively. Can’t fall asleep at night? Repeat your mantram each evening, stopping the incessant chatter of your brain.

Eventually, with regular practice, the mantram begins to repeat itself. You find you are praying at every opportunity, even while doing something else. It becomes the prayer without ceasing. Your heart is constantly in prayer, and one finds that fear, anger, worry, and impatience no longer control the mind. When these troubles do return to knock on the door of your heart or mind, one quickly knows by instinct to begin the mantram.

Here are some suggested matrams, but you may find one that suits better elsewhere. Just remember, find a mantram and stick to it. Don’t change it or the spiritual progress will be very difficult. Be patient, this practice is developed and continued throughout one’s lifetime. If you are only praying for a quick fix to personal problems, you might as well search for those empty promises elsewhere. This is about drawing closer to the Divine–with the ego out of the way. Yes, life may seem to be easier to manage, but that is a byproduct, not the purpose. The purpose is the I AM.

Another suggestion:  consider choosing a mantram from a faith tradition you know well. We too often think another practice is more exotic than the one we were born into or have practiced for years, but I am afraid we are too often enchanted with the other and westernize or consumerize other’s traditions and it can be a bit offensive. For example, if you are not Native American, there is very little chance that you will truly understand the spiritual practices of the First Nations people. Not to say that you cannot learn one from another, but Westerners have a bad reputation for trying on different cultures like changing clothes. We cannot buy or steal our spirituality. Let it emerge and learn to accept where you are and what you have been given. Conversely, if a mantram is given to you, receive it.

Mantrams:

Jesus (the Holy Name is Christian tradition)

Ave Maria (Christian)

Lord Jesus Christ, Have mercy on us (Orthodox Christian)

Rama (Holy Name in the Hindu tradition–Ghandi’s mantram)

Om (Hindu symbol of the Absolute)

Om mani padme hum: (Buddhist tradition,  “the jewel in the lotus of the heart”)

Barukh attah Adonai: (Jewish for “Blessed art thou, O Lord”)

Maranatha: (Aramaic word in Christian tradition)

…and many more

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Prayer of St. Francis–A Passage Meditation

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light.

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,

grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive.

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.

Amen.

I say this prayer during my meditation during this month of September in anticipation of the Feast of St. Francis which is around the corner, celebrated on October 4th, which is also my birthday. Reciting a prayer or a passage of sacred writing is called “passage meditation.” A practice taught by Ecknath Easwaran, a Sufi-Franciscan (my term) whom I stumbled upon in search of a Sufi teacher who grasped my devotion to Christ and understood the mystical side of Christianity.

The Prayer is a Christian prayer. It is attributed to the 13th-century saint Francis of Assisi, although the prayer in its present form cannot be traced back further than 1912, when it was printed in France in French, in a small spiritual magazine called La Clochette (The Little Bell) as an anonymous prayer, as demonstrated by Dr. Christian Renoux in 2001. The prayer has been known in the United States since 1949, when Cardinal Francis Spellman and Senator Albert W. Hawkes distributed millions of copies of the prayer during and just after World War II. (wikipedia)

The web site for Easwaran describes passage meditation in this way:

In passage meditation, we choose a spiritual text, or passage, that embodies our highest ideals, memorize it, and then go through the words slowly, silently, and with as much concentration as possible. This method brings two important benefits. First, by training our mind to stay on the words of the passage, we gradually build the precious capacity to place our attention wherever we choose – the key, as Easwaran would say, to love and loyalty as well as genius. Second, we begin to resemble and actually become whatever we give our attention to. As the inspired words from the great spiritual traditions of the world slowly come to life in us, they bring with them quiet joy, the capacity to face challenges squarely, and a deep sense of fulfillment.”

I have found this practice to be very stabilizing, grounding, and beneficial to my spiritual growth, and to how I function in this world. Along with other prayer practices, this one is developing into a daily practice. I intend to meditate on a new passage every month, and use Scriptures from all the faith traditions that echo the teachings of Christ.

One also uses a mantra during mediation , and throughout the day. Most prayer traditions teach this basic rule and it coincides with the teachings of St. Paul to “pray always.” I cannot stress how important this is. One does have to practice it continually and give it time, as it slowly begins to settle deep within one’s consciousness and spirit, and one finds that it then runs in the heart and mind without commanding it.

When one runs into a difficult situation, a conflict at work, a tense moment at home, or an sudden unexpected encounter in public, breathing and repeating the mantra keeps one’s emotional responses in check and the response is measured and sure. What would the world gain if leaders were taught this valuable lesson!

A mantra is a word or simple phrase, like “Jesus” or “Ramah” (Ghandi’s mantra), or “maranatha” the mantra taught by the World Community for Christian Meditation.

Here is a list of mantras listed on the Easwaran web site:

Buddhist

Om mani padme hum

(“The jewel in the lotus of the heart”)

Namu Amidabutsu 

(“I put my faith in the Buddha of infinite light”)

Christian

Jesus

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me

(Known as the Jesus Prayer)

Kyrie eleison 

(“Lord have mercy”; short form of the Jesus Prayer in Greek) 

Gospodi pomilui

(“Lord have mercy”; short form of the Jesus Prayer in Russian)

Ave Maria

Hail Mary

Deus meus et omnia
My God and my all

(This was the phrase used by Saint Francis in his prayers. Easwaran recommends using either the English or Latin version, whichever appeals to you.)

Om Yesu Christu

Hindu

Rama

Haré Rama, Haré Rama
Rama Rama, Haré Haré
Haré Krishna, Haré Krishna
Krishna Krishna, Haré Haré

Om Sri Ram, jai Ram, jai jai Ram

Om namah Shivaya

Om Bhavani

(A mantram in honor of the Divine Mother)

Jewish

Barukh attah Adonai

Ribono shel olam

(“Lord of the universe”)

Muslim

Allah

Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim

(“In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate”)

 I have no desire to pray for my worldly “success” like so many mediation and spiritual gurus try to sell us, but I do hope that as I am transformed by these prayers and as my ego diminishes and my true self emerges, that I may become an instrument of God’s Peace.

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The Nature of Forgiveness, Part 2

Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it. Proverbs 4:23

Laurence Freeman, in good company with many other spiritual leaders past and present, suggests that the secret of life is forgiveness.  Not very exotic, but extremely challenging.

Think over the course of your life and try to discern where the hardness of heart has set in, where you have been and remain unhappy, what has a hold on you that keeps you from inner freedom and peace? Has the refusal or inability to forgive played a role perhaps?

Hang on to resentment for too long and you will find a cancer growing in you, eating a way at peace and one’s ability to love. When we allow negativity to take root in our minds, we find they lock into our hearts, minds and soul like cement which is almost impossible to break free.

In meditation and prayer one learns the work of attention–and that attention is Love. Silence is the work of meditation. Catching those negative thoughts before they cement themselves in us is tackled in meditation and they are sent away as we guard our hearts.

We are careless with our thoughts, we are careless with our hearts. Individually we allow negativity to take root and then we carry this into our communities. We wrap God in our group identity making our group identity an idol. God is not a puppet in our arsenals, Freeman reminds us, and yet we brandish God like a gun. We can see in our own times, as well as the past, that we continually succumb to God wars, making God in our own images.  When those images don’t all look the same, then someone has to have the best God, and so history repeats itself.

Jesus the Christ taught forgiveness, but often we take the banner of religion to justify revenge. It’s downright primitive when we use God to justify the sacrifice of our enemies. Yet, forgiveness is the highest of all human ideals in all the wisdom traditions and Jesus makes it an absolute commandment. But, I again remind the reader, that without prayer, meditation and the true grace of God, forgiveness will be a fleeting ideal.

In fact, it is so difficult for we humans to let go of our hurt, anger, frustration, resentment, and fear–and often these are natural and reasonable responses to the harm we have experienced–that to suggest anything less than divine assistance is naive. In meditation we detach from these fears and our selves and let Love begin the process. It is a difficult, scary undertaking and requires the courage and the desire to let Love win.

Following are some suggested steps to forgiveness, also presented as stages of the heart. I hope you will find them helpful and will think about them before dismissing them after one skim through.

1. Acknowledge feelings of hate and revenge.
2. Become aware that this state of mind is like a poison likely to spread.
3. Ask if you really want to stop it and detoxify or do you want to hang on to it?
4. If you really want to stop it spreading–call the enemy to mind.
5. Ask yourself–what led the person to do what they did? Don’t expect an answer.
6. Meditate–take attention off self and the situation.
7. Reality check–how do you feel?
8. Persevere with practice (now one could blog for weeks just on this step!)
9. You will find, over time, that anger and hurt and pain and desire for revenge has been replaced by compassion.
10. You will eventually find you are free from imprisonment.

I ask you to meditate for 20 minutes, 2 times a day, for two weeks before you dismiss this idea. Forgiveness is not so much about letting the other person off the hook, but about setting yourself free.

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Meditation and the Nature of Forgiveness

“I cannot tell you any spiritual truth that deep within you don’t know already. All I can do is remind you of what you have forgotten.” Eckhart Tolle

I attended a retreat yesterday on the Nature of Forgiveness sponsored by the World Community for Christian Meditation, led by Br. Laurence Freeman. Forgiveness is not only one of the most important graces touching the very core of our spiritual being, but also the most difficult to grasp. In fact, as I am writing this post, a couple of good friends are facing a very difficult situation and suggesting forgiveness to them right now would seem less than compassionate.

Nevertheless, I think the difficulty of forgiveness does not negate the critical importance it has in our evolution and spiritual development. My Franciscan brothers and sisters wrestle with this, the women working with the UN who work daily for justice for women around the world wrestle with this, my brother and sister bishops and priests wrestle with this, even the peace workers and those who teach meditation practices wrestle with this. So, let us, too, wrestle with this. It won’t be easy.

Many spiritual leaders of several faiths conclude that the secret to life–a whole, happy and free life–is forgiveness.

The Hindu leader Vidura said,

Forgiveness subdues (all) in this world; what is there that forgiveness cannot achieve? What can a wicked person do unto him who carries the sabre of forgiveness in his hand? Fire falling on the grassless ground is extinguished of itself. And the unforgiving individual defiles himself with many enormities. Righteousness is the one highest good; and forgiveness is the one supreme peace; knowledge is the one supreme contentment; and benevolence, one sole happiness. (From Mahabharata, Udyoga Parva Section XXXIII, Translated by Sri Kisari Mohan Ganguli.)

As the Qur’an says, “Keep to forgiveness, and enjoin kindness.” (7:199 – 200.)

The Torah reads, “When asked by an offender for forgiveness, one should forgive with a sincere mind and a willing spirit . . . forgiveness is natural to the seed of Israel” (Mishneh Torah, Teshuvah 2:10).

From a Buddhist Loving-Kindness meditation: “Have forgiveness in your heart for anything you think you’ve done wrong . Forgive yourself for all the past omissions and commissions. They are long gone. Understand that you were a different person and this one is forgiving that one that you were. Feel that forgiveness filling you and enveloping you with a sense of warmth and ease.”

And yet, as with me, one of the first thoughts that comes to mind when being asked to learn, meditate on, or to forgive a hurt is one of righteous indignation that we have the “right” to hold on to our hurt. And, always, “What about Hitler?”

I believe I can sit here at the computer and write a very long argument for the case of forgiveness, but this is a lesson that will never make “reasonable” sense intellectually. Our minds will find ways, very successfully, to dilute the need for forgiveness. Forgiveness must be experienced. The truth of wholeness through forgiveness will never be understood without the letting-go that meditation teaches. In meditation, as Br. Laurence put it, we set aside our anxieties and we set our mind (and heart) on God. St. Paul mentioned that, too.

Try meditating, encourages Br. Laurence, and you will not be able to hold a grudge for long. Can you truly give and NOT fall into contemplation?

One of the problems is that trying to forgive doesn’t work, so we feel we can’t do it. Forgiveness is a grace given to us when we allow it in through prayer and meditation. Cain was given a window of opportunity to master his anger before sin walked in–we, too, have that same small space of time where we choose to hang on to our righteous indignation or detach from the reaction.

Not forgiving is a long chain of reactions linked together that continue a cycle of violence. One reacts to a hurt or harm that was caused by another’s anger at being hurt or harmed, etc., etc. Our emotions are directed AT the person we are angry with, not ourselves. We justify–they deserve it.

The ability to forgive comes from the deeper self, not the ego. When we try to forgive from the ego, we can’t do it even if we want to. We project our hurt and anger into our relationships not seeing the present person as they really are. Our minds are unconsciously programmed to react to events in our lives and will block access to forgiveness. What we must remember is that Jesus did not forgive his enemies. He asked his Father to do so.

In meditation we get the attention off ourselves and by laying aside our thoughts, we take the first step to forgiveness. We do not need to worry about how this is going to happen–we can’t possibly forgive THAT (fill in the blank). But, forgiveness is a transformation we observe.  Meditation is attention without an object of thought.

I will write further on this topic as I believe it deserves addressing the questions we all have and cannot be simply reduced to pithy religious speak. However, Christ made forgiveness an absolute commandment, so it should not be something we avoid from fear of having to let go of our righteous indignation.

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Heart-Brain Coherence

I recently was invited to attend a peace workshop in Houston. The workshop was led by Rita Marie Johnson from BePeace–The Rasur Foundation International. This workshop turned out to be information on bringing peace into the world by bringing peace into oneself–and the method is based on scientific research!

I was profoundly affected–to the point of being so spiritually moved that I felt I had been pierced and could not even speak to anyone or listen to anything else but the prayer going on in my own heart for over an hour.

You can find the links to The Rasur Foundation and the research and initiative sites at the end of this post.

The scientific research affirms what many spiritual communities have been attesting to for thousands of years, that the mind is in the heart. How is that we keep relearning ancient truths when we think we are actually advancing as a people group in a linear fashion? It appears to me that we are advancing in a spiral, always cycling back to remember the lessons we’ve learned before but forgotten.

The heart has its own brain. I heard that discovery a couple of years ago, but only now have I made any real connection to how that affects the whole of one’s spiritual and physical life. Not only does the heart have its own brain, it has the “Pendulum Effect” over the entire physical and mental body. See, the old adage, “change your thoughts change your life,” isn’t the whole truth. What science has discovered is basically what spiritual mothers and fathers have known for a very long time, but there hasn’t been the scientific proof to satisfy the western mind. Now there is and that is the heart-brain is more powerful than the one in our heads.

Change your thoughts works well, unless you are under stress, emotional, anxious, frustrated, etc. When one’s heart is not in “coherence” with one’s brain, the thought patterns travel a “fast track” to the amygdala, which is the primitive mind and one reacts to stimulus irrationally.

One must learn to change one’s feelings so that if the stimulus to the brain triggers an emotional memory, one taps into the heart, brings up an image of appreciation, breathes through the heart while holding onto that image, and then the stimulus is allowed to move through the brain more slowly, does not get sent to the amygdala and a rational, intelligent response is given. (This is a simplified explanation.) In fact, when one practices this method, one becomes more creative and able to use the mental brain to a fuller capacity, operating with a higher level of intelligence and creativity.

This, my friends, is the truth behind a discipline of meditation. They key factor is engaging the heart.

As we sat in the room and watched  this method being taught and practiced, in less than an hour the “feeling,” the vibrations in the room changed. Most of us were quiet as the heart was obviously speaking its own language to other hearts in the room. And, yes, there was a scientific explanation for that, too.

The heart has an electro-magnetic field around it. It extends up to three feet around a person, in most people. As we were sitting closer than three feet to one another, our hearts were having an effect on other hearts. When the heart and the brain are in coherence with one another, the electromagnetic field is balanced and positive. It radiates out and works on other electromagnetic fields. Can you see the power behind this?

What a difference we can make in ourselves, who then radiate out into our homes, our communities, and yes, the world. Rita Marie, a very practical business woman who has learned to listen to her heart rather than solely relying on her thoughts, is not naive in any sense. She is aware that there are those in the world trained in hate and evil, trained to inflict harm on this world of ours. She is also aware that this method of peace-making is not the only answer and that we will always be learning about peace–both inward and outward.

She learned a lot in Costa Rica and I suggest you read her story. How the whole country abolished its army, how an epic poem infiltrated a culture and helped change it for the better, how teaching children to Be Peace graduated to it now being taught at the university and governmental levels–as law.

I continue to believe the true way to peace really does begin in the heart, that a spiritual practice of meditation and appreciation affects the whole of one’s being, and can affect the whole of one’s community. Our feelings matter. When this practical woman, Rita Marie, was asked if there really could be world peace in our lifetime, she answered, “Yes.”

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