ELIZABETH HEARN

SEVĀ: homage to humanity.

ELIZABETH HEARN: Psychotherapy & Counselling
HP/NCH. FMACCPH.
Author. Founder Addiction Awareness
Harley Street Hypnotherapy
Former Fashion Professional Magazine Editor
Film/Video Producer
Photojournalist

Who am I? In life “One is either a pilgrim or a tourist” said my enlightened friend, Lady Wedgwood. I am a person in longterm recovery – 36 years! The universal recovery community is a fabulous community of complex likeminded people.

CONNECTION. COMMUNITY & COMPASSION: A deep bow to: Bob Roth, Roshi Joan Halifax, Marianne Williamson, Betty Ford, Thich Nhat Hahn, Lama Yeshe, Meher Baba, Kitty Davy, and Katie Irani.

My gracious longtime recovery friends: You said at my first meeting “Let us help you. Let us love you until you can love yourself.” I love you. I thank you. I am eternally grateful . Your collective love, emotional wisdom, patience and perseverance instilled deep within my soul a love of God – how to live this life divine, to listen, be comfortable with uncertainty, be curious, autonomous, present and compassionate.

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice —
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
“Mend my life!”
each voice cried.
But you didn’t stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voice behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do —
determined to save
the only life that you could save.

Mary Oliver
The Journey

From the moment my feet touched 5th Avenue, NYC felt like home. My apartment in the early 80’s was between Park & Madison @ East 58th Street. Sadly demolished in 1988 to make way for a hotel.

Staring at the past: On my way to a recovery early morning meeting I hesitated at the building site that was my former home. I stared, feeling overwhelmed… within moments a voice whispered to me “let it go” I turned to face the person and it was fellowship friend, how did he know? I had grown accustomed to friends in recovery intuitively “knowing” and was no longer fearful of their comments, instead their insights continued to help me connect to this universally compassionate community..

My apartment was a fabulous floor-through, super close to all my favourite 5th Avenue happy-making people, places and things: Bill Cunningham, camera in hand, perched on his bike oftentimes kerbside near Tiffany’s or Bergdorf Goodman. My daily rituals found me with friends at the Plaza Hotel (afternoon tea at the Palm Court, plus midnight cigarettes runs) Fontana de Trevi (Caesar salad made table-side immediately transported us back to Rome. Chanel – handbag/perfume and lipstick, Hermes (scarves, and perfume) the Russian Tea Room (vodka-with-everything liquid brunch/lunch) And so much more!

Recovery for me is a complex paradigm of principles, philosophy, psychology, mythology and spirituality. The spiritual frame of 12steps require a continuum of action: “being of service’ opens up the possibility of taking A.A. meetings into hospital and prisons. Both were challenging at first for different reasons. I was fortunate to practice “A Course of Miracles” with Marianne Williamson – 365 lessons in 1989-1990 in addition to volunteering at her “Manhattan Centre for living & Dying” a safe haven for the many suffering with AIDS/HIV. Marianne’s dedication to healthcare initiatives remains one of the most intensely gratifying experiences of my life.

A return to love was revealed in the daily “A Course in Miracles” with Marianne Williamson. New beginnings defined my life in early recovery. I created a frame: TM, psychology, mythology, and spirituality to work through with my sponsor, the 12steps in action to the teachings (being in the be-tween states) that is the Bardo:

“In Tibetan Buddhism, “bardo” is a between-state. The passage from death to rebirth is a bardo, as well as the journey from birth to death. The conversations in “Between-States” explore bardo concepts like acceptance, interconnectedness, and impermanence in relation to children and parents, marriage and friendship, and work and creativity, illuminating the possibilities for discovering new ways of seeing and finding lasting happiness as we travel through life.‘ Ann Tashi Slater

Turning points, according to Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey” is listening and responding to “the call to adventure.” the hero feels called, from their routine to venture into the unknown. The archetypal journey: persona, shadow, anima and animus embodies “who am I” and can begin the process of a lifelong transformation from separation to connection.

It is said that addiction creates much suffering, a spiritual bankruptcy of the soul. The spiritual solution to suffering is revealed in the ancient texts of the Upanishads.

THREE KINDS OF SUFFERING and FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS

“There are three categories of suffering or pain in the Buddhist tradition: all-pervading pain, the pain of alternation and the pain of pain. All-pervading pain is the general pain of dissatisfaction, separation and loneliness. The sense of alternation between pain and its absence, again and again, is itself painful. And then there is the pain of pain. Resisting pain only increases its intensity.”

The Myth of Freedom by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, 9-11

Commentary by Pema Chödrön

“In the first teaching of the Buddha – the teachings on the four noble truths – he talked about suffering. I have always experienced these teachings as a tremendous affirmation that there is no need to resist being fully alive in this world. The first noble truth says simply that it’s part of being human to feel discomfort. If we resist it, the reality and vitality of life become misery. The second noble truth says that this resistance is the fundamental operat- ing mechanism of what we call ego. The third noble truth says that the cessation of suffer- ing is letting go of holding on to ourselves.”

Dark nights of the soul are often the addicts only companion – until a moment of clarity reveals there is another way. For me, a lifelong invitation to change, transform, transcend in the immediacy of daily life in recovery.

My recovery journey began 35 years ago. A moment of divinely inspired clarity: a state of desperation, the admissions office at Payne Whitney Hospital saved my life. I was at-risk of overdosing, incapable of coping with suicidal thoughts caused by chronic addiction. Beyond helpless and hopeless.

A family intervention arranged by my then partner, my best friend and my mother. A deep bow to my darling Scottish mother. She encouraged me to dream, and self reflect throughout the day, pondering upon the beauty, recognition and love for humanity.

Perhaps the veil of separation was lifted just enough for me to listen to her suggestion I get before I could even contemplate helping others who were in need of connection, comfort and compassion.

Perhaps she thought, helping others would help me help myself. Echoes of her salient thoughts always soothed my troubled soul. Love, she believed was our the highest calling. She was well known in our community as a kind, compassionate person. A friend too many, always ready to help.

We shared a deep love of humanity, always wanting to see the best in others. I continue to find comfort in her wisdom, particularly when a relationship finished because of what she had taught me as a child, the antidote to suffering is in helping others, doing service, within one’s community.

G.B. SHAW philosophy on suffering: “This is the true joy in life. The being used for a purpose considered by yourself as mighty. The being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfishlittle clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and while I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die. For the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It’s a sort of splendid torch that I’ve got hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn s brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.”

The unbridled progressiveness of addictive behaviours: neurotic obsessiveness, compulsivity, inconsistent impulse control substance abuse and dependency: prescription pills, alcohol and valium for 17 years manifested intense suffering in the immediacy of my daily life.

Freudian Psychoanalyst Karen Horney’s “Neurosis and Human Growth is a revelatory study in the holistic template for individual development, growth and maturity.

Dr. Karen Horney writes:

“Only the individual himself can develop his given potentialities. But, like any other living organism, the human Individuum needs favorable conditions for his growth “from acorn into oak tree”; he needs an atmosphere of warmth to give him both a feeling of inner security and the inner freedom enabling him to have his own feelings and thoughts and to express himself. He needs the good will of others, not only to help him in his many needs but to guide and encourage him to become a mature and fulfilled individual. He also needs healthy friction with the wishes and wills of others. If he can thus grow with others, in love and in friction, he will also grow in accordance with his real self.

Of course, when one is a highly functioning addict, or so I believed, surrounded by a close circle of enablers whose addiction to pain and drama mirrored mine. Mutuality, maladaptive coping mechanisms chaos, consequences and conflict were the norm, Deflecting, reactionary behaviours automatically suppressed.

Then a moment, whether divinely or dharma inspired revealed another way forward, through the suffering, angst and isolation caused and effected by active addiction.Seeking enlightenment post rehab to calm my existential angst, and elevate self care eventually led to a pilgrimage to India, Meher Baba\s ashram to be exact. Tender at times, soul awakening, an emergent felt sense of connection, compassionate universality. As Ram Dass would always remind me, we are all walking one another home.

Spiritual awakenings are opportunities to heal, grow and thrive. Emergent awareness. Much, within me needed to heal from the madness of addictive cycles, chaos and harm. I experienced my life as an empty husk for many years.

As this moment faded onto the next I felt a willingness to learn about the human condition safely held in the frame of TM, psychology, philosophy, mythology, holistic therapies, the 12steps and universal recovery community.

Breath-works: breathing in hope, exhaling fear… every moment grounds my soul in a tender reverence for life. Every ending is beginning. Life is cycle of cycles. A continuum of the between bardo states transcends emotions into wisdom and spiritual awakenings.

Everyday, on awakening: I do a sitting silent Transcendental Meditation: strength in stillness moments, a continuum of peace, harmony and balance eases me into the day ahead with enthusiasm. I no longer need to suppress pain and suffering. Connecting via Sevâ within the universal community with likeminded souls.

Constant cravings for something outside of my reality to fix, digest, inhale etc had been lifted 12th October, 1988, and have never returned. Lingering feelings of being anxious, irritable and discontent occurred albeit far less frequently. Until one day, a few years into my recovery, as a result of 1-1 and family therapy, daily transcendental meditation, yoga, breath work, intermittent fasting and being of service in the community I noticed I know longer thought about wanting to die.

I had embraced living a life beyond anything I could ever have imagined. A life of balance, joy, beauty; quietly living my dharma.

And so it goes…every ending is a beginning. In 1989, a few months sober, I was drawn to study the teachings of the Bardo I learned of by reading “The Tibetan Book of the Dead” specifically themes of acceptance, interconnectedness and impermanence after meeting Lama Yeshe in NYC.

The ancient wisdom teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, awakened an affinity with bardo-in-between states, the theme of “dying before one dies” into working my way through the 12steps. I continue to study the bardo today, as a guide to living in dharma, not drama, this life divine.

In Tibetan Buddhism the understanding of “bardo” describes the journey from birth to death and illuminates concepts like acceptance, interconnectedness, and impermanence.

My mother felt she had failed at making me happy. It was her urging to change that prompted me to sign up as volunteer. An action that changed my life. I called the “Church of Heavenly Rest” to enquire about volunteering. I was accepted into their volunteer programme, and along with a wildly diverse group of volunteers including Andy Warhol we showed up at the church three times a years to feed the homeless: Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Andy would walk around with his Polaroid camera and take their pictures, handing them a Polaroid as a reminder of being seen and heard by us, the volunteers. He was also the coffee-pot man, he looked so happy filling up up their coffee cups. We volunteers forgot about the outside world for a few hours and did our best to be of service to people time, community and society had forgotten.

My mother’s generosity of spirit prompted me to help others, As was her way of giving back to the community, so too it became mine. Her legacy lives on in me, the benefits of doing service, being of service helping others is life at its best.

Being in community. Consciously connected. Sevā is not meant to be done alone. I am speaking of the importance of doing service, being of service in the community. Sevā is shared with others, compassionate, selfless service.

Sevā in both Hinduism and Sikhism teachings and traditions is the concept of selfless service. The intention is be of service without expectation, outcome or recognition. A cultivation of connection. Pivots. Actions. Universality.

I felt compelled to write about a significant turning point in my life; transcending addiction into life in recovery by beginning a memoir/personal story that began in 1986 entitled “From Andy Warhol to the Ashram” as a humble homage to humanity. Pivots. Turning points. Spiritual awakenings. Seeking help. Holistic therapies, commitment, connection and community. Healing complex family trauma.

My book is about my friends, love inspired recollections of people who enriched my life, oftentimes in my darkest moments. I go back in time to turning points such as when I began practising Transcendental Meditation aged 20. A compassionate friend’s insightful understanding of my suffering and unhappiness gifted me the TM training, two weekend retreats in the Blue Mountains in Sydney. I felt uncomfortable in the beginning, however I began to trust the TM teacher’s process, being given a mantra initially to centre my chaotic thoughts, eventually I experienced for the first time a momentary calmness…over time this sense of calmness increased, each time I sat in the stillness and silence in the morning and the evening. Away from the chaos into the calm, eventually transcending into the vastness that is stillness.

“From Andy Warhol to the Ashram” is an invitation to share my journey, cycle of cycles. Intimate encounters with luminaries Andy Warhol. First Lady Betty Ford. Marianne Williamson and Meher Baba’s Eastern & Western Mandali. Working in the private and voluntary mental health sectors. Fabulous times influenced and evolved into my spiritual practice/conscious connection with God.

Centuries old indigenous wisdom, teachings and traditions. Eastern & Western philosophies, mythology, and psychology. We meet ourselves on the path of life. Memorable pilgrimages to ancient, sacred sites: India. Egypt. Australia. France. Italy. England. Scotland and America. An archetypal journey intertwined with spatial awakenings. Optimal self care: healing the past in the present.

Bardo (in-between state of dying and rebirth. The soul’s journey home. Freedom from the bondage of self. Memorable pilgrimages. Many a deep bow at ancient sacred sites: India. Egypt. Australia. France. Italy. England. Scotland and America.

An archetypal journey. Healing the past in the present. A collective generosity of spirit, their unflinching honesty, and inclusiveness influenced the foundation of my daily spiritual sevā practice: recovery, healing, connection, community, and love.

Recovery is not just about sobriety, it is about community. For me, a longterm sober women, a continuum of connecting with the universality of the recovery community has engenders and sustains my conscious contact with a God of my understanding. My spiritual practice is grounded in the power of prayer and meditation.

I continue to do the work: holistic therapies, compassionate self care form my daily rituals that define my life in recovery. Transforming maladaptive coping mechanismS, healing trans-gerantional trauma, led to self transcendence. In 1988, newly sober, I was fortunate to engage in 1-1 personal therapy with a brilliant, wise therapist to heal my soul.

I had resisted receiving help and despite an exquisitely painful family intervention because I didn’t want to go rehab, (I have yet to meet anyone in recovery who did!) however, what I resisted, persisted. 30 days later, I relapsed the day I left rehab. Deep troubled, at the airport I did not hesitate in buying bottle of vodka to transfer in Evian water bottle, before boarding the plane back home to NYC.

I don’t remember my first drink/drug related blackout, I assumed it was because I drank to excess. Later I would learn about the terrible effects of alcohol and prescription pill, abuse. I was a blackout drinker, albeit highly functioning, cognitively capable of masquerading capabilities. The overcompensating habits of a lifetime of the pursuit of perfectionism!

The progressiveness of addiction created suffering. People leave, sick and tired of emotionally and financially enabling, my deception, betrayal, chaos and unaccountability. I spiralled into abject loneliness. My days, became a daze. Constant cravings. Obsessive thinking needs certainty, and the only certainty was that I had sufficient Vodka, valium and cocaine. Nothing else mattered. I could not stay stopped. My recovery story begins with what happened the day and night of my last ever drinking and drugging slow suicide episode. And the person whose intervention saved my life, and helped me stop the madness.

In rehab I had read Betty Ford’s autobiography. Later that year, I met Betty at a Betty Ford alumni dinner in NYC. Her recovery story is a powerful testament to the truism: you are not alone, and need never drink or drug again. She befriended me and loved her enthusiasm for all that life offers, one day a time.

Sevā recollections: volunteering with Andy Warhol, (he thought he was deeply superficial. First Lady Betty Ford regularly came to NYC to attend Betty Ford alumni meetings ( I immediately trusted her when she told me: “let us love until you can love yourself”) President elect 2024, Marianne Williamson whom I had the privilege of volunteering with at her healing centre in NYC in 1989 the “Centre for Living” was a holistic healthcare community for people living with (there was no cure at that time) with AIDS, a global health crisis, to receive treatments and much more. Marianne’s universal healthcare dream had begun.

An existential crisis, I left the West and went on on a pilgrimage to Meher Baba’s ashram. What happened in a few days compelled me to return and live in a rural village, close to the Meher Baba’s samadhi. Fabulous, spiritually enriched days of wonder and joy.

The universality of sevā is my homage to humanity at it most humble, generous and kind. Wonderful times.

I am in my 35th year of continuing sobriety. I have had the privilege of helping people feel seen, heard and helped. An end to suffering is in no feeling longer isolated and alone subsumed by the depth of psychological suffering.

Recovery is complex, it is not what I thought it was when I went to my first 12step meeting. My preconceptions were simply fear based judgements, designed to keep me from committing to lifetime of abstinence based sobriety. Challenging conditioned thinking requires courage, conviction and clarity.

What is resisted, persisted. What I changed, changed. Sometimes swiftly, most of the time slowly….wonderful lesson in patience, poise and possibility.

Sarvesham.

MEDITATIVE MINIMALISM

Psychotherapy & Counselling
HP/NCH. Fellow ACCPH,
Mental Health, Trauma & Addictions Therapist
Founder Addiction Awareness
Harley Street Hypnotherapy
Author
Broadcaster

SELF MASTERY We are extraordinary beings. The key to discovering the full scope of our authentic selves lies in understanding our mind and attaining mastery over it. The mind is the greatest of all mysteries.

Intertwining principles of Transcendental Meditation:Focused Attention. Open Monitoring. Automatic Self-Transcending practiced with Breath-work/pranayama personifies self meditative mastery.

STRENGTH IN STILLNESS is for me, practising TM. I am privileged to be part of the universal twice daily TM practice led by existentially elegant, TM teacher /trainer Bob Roth, who created the opportunity for twice daily TM zoom sessions at the beginning of March, 2020.

TM with Bob continues today, accompanied with a few words to begin with a readings from sourced philosophy, mythology or contemporary psychology to finish the session with resonant, deepening spirituality.

BREATHE (REPEAT) TM (REPEAT) BREATHE (REPEAT) the breath, on a cellular level, is the energy force throughout the body, a self regulating continuum for our immune system, maintaining physical and psychological homeostasis. A distinctive attribute is in our ability to know our own essence—our own intrinsic divinity.

Deep breathing exercises improve heart rate variability. Strengthen the parasympathetic nervous system (your “rest and digest” network), resulting in reduced stress and optimised vagal tone.

HABITUATED Hypnotherapy and Transcendental Meditation: Transcendental meditation is a silent, mantra repetition 30 minute process. In the Summer of 1973, for my 20th Birthday present, a close wise friend gifted me the invitation to a TM training retreat.

TRANSCENDENCE didn’t naturally occur in my early practice of TM meditation. When it did I immediately knew I was accessing the unbounded stillness that lies deep within. And when you experience that pure stillness within, yourself, at the source of thought, even for a moment. I remembered that moment for a lifetime.

MEDITATION has many purposes: reduce stress, clear the mind, raise performance. But foremost among them is to experience transcendence. And not on rare, once-or-twice-in-a-lifetime occasions but whenever you want, to one degree or another, every day.

BREATH-WORK In “The Yoga Sūtra” Patañjali recommends the breath as a means for overcoming mental distractions that prevent us from understanding our Essential Nature.

He understood that as breath slows and grows calm, so follows the thinking mind. This allows a doorway for meditation to open whereupon we have the ability to glimpse what lies beyond the dividing mind: our underlying essential nature of unbreakable peace and wellbeing.

Patanjali describes the dynamics and power of the mind by selecting a precise term, chitta. Chitta is derived from the verb root chiti, “to comprehend, understand, realize, or experience completely (chiti kiti sanjnane).” The fact that the word for mind—chitta—is derived from chiti tells us the mind is both the means of, and the conduit for, understanding truth in its fullness. Through the mind we become aware of reality within and without.

The mind is the repository of all our thoughts, feelings, and memories. It is a storehouse of our likes and dislikes. We see the world—and ourselves—through the eye of our mind. When the mind is clear and peaceful, we see the world as bright and peaceful.

When the mind is convoluted, our understand- ing of the world and our relationship with it becomes equally convoluted. Our concepts of good and bad, right and wrong, depend on the quality of our mind, as do our likes and dislikes. The quality of our mind, in turn, shapes our thoughts, speech, and actions.

MANTRA: Chanting Om Tat Sat is believed to awaken and cultivate higher consciousness as a means of connecting with the true self. It is one of the most common mantras, often recited during Hindu religious practices, the study of the Vedas and at the end of the yajnas (sacrifices).

This mantra is also used by some yogis in India as a greeting, with Hari as a prefix. The greeting Hari Om Tat Sat is a reminder that individuals are more than the body and earthly, material life.

According to the Bhagavad Gita, all religious work or sacrifice should begin with the sound of Om. The sound of Tat reminds devotees to renounce any reward for the work or sacrifice they engage in. The sound of Sat serves as a reminder of what is good and true.

In particular, the Bhagavad Gita highlights the importance of Om Tat Sat in chapter 17 from verse 23 to 28. In this section, Lord Krishna declares that the mantra represents a threefold name for the Supreme soul, from which Brahman, the Vedas and yajnas originated

The repetitive chanting of this mantra encourages the mind to enter into a meditative state so that the practitioner may begin to connect with the higher Self or the Divine within.

Chanting may be practiced in any stable seated posture in which the spine can remain upright, such as sukhasana (easy pose) or padmasana (lotus pose). It is important to focus on the powerful inner vibration of this mantra whilst chanting, in order to connect with the divine truth within.

TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION ‘How we get there’ has been the domain of meditation since times immemorial. Meditation has long been associated with ideas of inner equanimity, clarity, focus, creativity, strength.

But, again, there are so many different types of meditation. Are they all the same? Do they all work? I have been practising and teaching meditation for a very long time. In the early days of my practice, the words ‘I meditate’ – if they were taken seriously – would often be translated to mean ‘I jog,’ ‘I listen to soothing music,’ ‘I follow my thoughts as they come and go,’ ‘I breathe deeply,’ or ‘I repeat a sound in my head.’

Everything was grouped under the big-top tent of ‘meditating.’ But now that assumption no longer holds up. From brain science we know that there are basically three different approaches to meditation.

This is because every discrete experience changes the brain in a discrete way: your brain responds differently if you listen to classical music or electronic music, if you watch a romantic comedy or a horrormovie. In the same way, scientists have found marked, and important, differences in the way the brain functions during these different practices.

Likewise, the cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous systems each respond differently to each meditation technique. Understanding the three approaches is important because each requires different degrees of effort and difficulty to practise; each impacts the brain differently; and each produces different outcomes for the health of mind and body. These three techniques are Focused Attention, Open Monitoring, and Automatic Self-Transcending.4 Focused Attention includes the classic depiction of meditation in popular culture: someone sitting upright, cross-legged on a floor or pillow, eyes closed and absorbed in a state of unwavering, deep inner peace. If you’ve ever gone to a yoga class, you’ve likely encountered this approach.

Thoughts are seen as the disrupter of mental calm, so you are asked to minimize – or better yet, stop – your wandering ‘monkey’ mind, to clear your mind of thoughts. To return to the ocean analogy, trying to clear your mind of thoughts is like trying to stop every wave on the surface of the ocean. It takes moment-to-moment hypervigilance, and for many people, it is a lot of work. Some even give up, insisting, ‘I can’t do it. Meditation isn’t for me.’

How do Focused Attention techniques impact the brain? One way to tell is through electroencephalography (EEG), which measures the electrical activity of the brain. EEG readouts measured while test subjects practise Focused Attention show that these techniques enliven gamma brain waves in the left prefrontal cortex, the brain’s decision maker.

This means that the electrical activity in the brain reaches a frequency per second of about 20 to 50 hertz (Hz), or cycles per second. You see a similar result when a student concentrates on a mathematical problem – which makes sense, because gamma waves are found when one is engaged in a challenging task.

In contrast to attempting to clear the mind of thoughts, the second category of meditation: Open Monitoring, also known as mindfulness, is about learning to observe thoughts dispassionately, without judgement, as they come and go. This is because thoughts themselves are not seen as the potential disrupter of calm, but rather it is the content or meaning of thoughts that can disrupt. So you learn to remain calm, unaffected and present evenwhen your mind is percolating with thoughts about annoyances at work or a longstanding argument with your partner. Back to the ocean analogy.

Now you’re in that little boat, and instead of trying to stop the waves, you are observing them rise and fall without emotion. In the process, you’re generating theta brain waves, with the electrical patterns slowing to about 6 to 8 Hz, close to the onset of dreams. Theta waves are associated with creativity, daydreaming and memory tasks. Several studies on mindfulness practices, many of which are included in the Opening Monitoring classification, also show alpha-2 brain waves (10 to 12 Hz) in the back of the brain.

These waves are associated with turning off brain areas – in this case, the visual system – and beta waves (16 to 20 Hz), which means that you are actively engaged in directing your attention. In addition, neural imaging shows that such mindfulness practices activate the anterior cingulate cortices, which are involved in emotions, learning and memory..

Open Monitoring can help you become more present and centered during stressful experiences. It can help calm your amygdala – the area of the brain that governs emotions and emotional behaviour – so that you don’t overreact to a situation. You can take a few minutes, breathe deeply, conduct a scan of how you are reacting, calm yourself, and reenter the fray. For many, it is a useful and practical coping tool.

Open Monitoring is a cognitive process like Focused Attention. By definition, it keeps your attention in the present moment – on the level of attending to the surface thinking level of the mind. I have been fortunate to learn Focused Attention and Open Monitoring from some of the best instructors, so I know firsthand that there is value to both practices.

But the one that I have practised regularly for nearly fifty years – the one that I find the easiest to do and that delivers the most immediate and long-term benefits to mind and body – is the third type: Automatic Self-Transcending.

Transcendental Meditation is in this category. Let’s return to the ocean analogy yet again: there are active, often turbulent waves on the surface, but there is calm at its depth. In the same way, we hypothesize that while the mind is active on the surface, deep within is a level that is calm yet alert; silent yet wide awake. The ancient meditation texts refer to it as the ‘source of thought’ or ‘pure consciousness’ – a field of limitless creativity, intelligence and energy within. Scientists give it a more clinical description: a state of ‘restful alertness.’

It is there. Deep within. Right now and at all times. Believe it or not. The problem is, we have lost access to it. The purpose of TM is to open the door to this unbounded field. There is no concentration or control of the mind; nothing guided; no suggestion or passive observation. Instead, TM simply allows the active-thinking mind to settle down to its own state of inner stillness at the deepest level of awareness, one that actually transcends, or goes beyond, all thoughts and feelings. It is your own quiet inner self, before you start thinking and creating and planning and making lists and deciding and worrying and celebrating.

It’s always been there, within you. It just gets lost or overshadowed easily by the constant noise and distractions of the day. In the context of the ocean analogy, we don’t try to control those turbulent waves on the surface, and we don’t watch them dispassionately, either. We simply access the calm at the ocean’s depth. It’s like a sprinter who decelerates from a fast run, to a slow jog, to a leisurely walk, to standing still, to sitting down. Same guy, just different degrees of activity. Easy. EEG readouts and brain imaging reveal that Transcendental Meditation strengthens the neural connections between the different areas of the brain, including within the prefrontal cortex, to promote better learning and decision making.5 It calms the amygdala, the sensitive stress alarm centre in your brain, which is important because a hyperaroused amygdala makes you overreact to both small glitches and big challenges in your day. Or it can immobilize you, making you shy away from new but doable challenges.

Roth, Bob. Strength in Stillness . Simon & Schuster UK. Kindle Edition.

The Value of Chanting the Gayatri

Chanting the Gayatri Mantra develops nada, a regular vibration in the channels of the subtle body, opening the various spiritual centers of your body. As a result, energy is awakened in the subtle body. Chanting the 24 seed syllables in the Gayatri Mantra generates a wondrous jhankar, a pulsating ringing so that a powerful energy flows from the chakras of the subtle body. This endows you with Yoga Shakti, the energy of union with the divine.

The Gayatri is best chanted silently or in a soft, sweet voice with a tranquil mind. As a result, your wishes, including those that have not been expressed yet, will all be fulfilled. Astrologically, the Gayatri protects her children from the negative influences of the rays of the nine planets, removing fear and helping you to successfully complete any task. She also maintains balance between air, fire, and earth, the three qualities or doshas in the body, ensuring good health. There is nothing more purifying than the Gayatri mantra. By meditating on the Gayatri Mantra, you will gradually realize that the whole universe is the radiance of mother divine, witnessed as the embodiment of your own soul. When you ascend to such an elevated state, you will never fall again. You will always be drenched in an ocean of divine bliss. This alone is the fulfillment of spirituality, which you can attain effortlessly by meditating on the Gayatri Mantra. This is why Gayatri is hailed as the mother of all mothers.

Learn the Gayatri Mantra

The following is the standard version of the Gayatri Mantra, which is the one most commonly used, along with a phonetic pronunciation. There are many commercial recordings available to help you learn it, as well as my recording in the chants section of my website www.rogergabriel.com.

Om
Bhur Bhuvah Suvaha	Bhoor Bhoo-va Su-va-ha
Tat Savitur Varenyam	Tat Sa-vee-toor Var-ayn-yam
Bargo Devasya Dhimahi	Bar-go Day-vas-ya Dhee-ma-hee
Dhiyo Yo Nah Prachodayat	Dhee-yo Yo Nah Pra-cho-da-yaat

Rather than give a direct translation of the Gayatri Mantra, which is often confusing to try to understand, here are several different meanings attributed to it. Some favor it as the origins of the universe, others as an aspect of the sun. You can choose whichever one you resonate with best.

I meditate upon the Supreme Energy, Gayatri Devi, who has the supreme quality of playing in the creation of all the worlds, and who induces noble thoughts in the hearts of everyone.
Oh, creator of the universe. We meditate upon thy supreme splendor. May thy radiant power illuminate our intellects, destroy our ignorance and guide us in the direction of enlightenment by purifying our inner hearts.
You who are the source of all power, whose rays illuminate the world, illuminate my heart so that it too can do your work.
Let us commune with the luminous light of consciousness that sustains all the worlds, that it may inspire our liberation.
We meditate on that light of the luminous God Savitur, who is the inspirer of all beings, their inner self, and is the creator of the universe. We mediate on that adorable light which is the self of the supreme Lord of the universe. It is the giver of knowledge and destroyer of ignorance. It is the light of the Supreme Brahman itself. May that light enlighten us.

The Gayatri Mantra with Kriyas (Actions)

The following is a longer version of the Gayatri, which activates all seven Lokhas or planes of existence and specifically asks for the blessing of enlightenment. It may be practiced with or without the Kriyas (hand movements). Kriyas are said to connect you with your Atman (soul). The Kriyas should be practiced with the right hand only. Open your hand with the palm facing upward.

OM BHUH	Touch the thumb to the base of the ring finger
OM BHUVAH	Touch the thumb to the base of the little finger
OM SVAHA	Touch the thumb to the middle of the little finger
OM MAHAH	Touch the thumb to the tip of the little finger
OM JANAH	Touch the thumb to the tip of the ring finger
OM TAPAH	Touch the thumb to the tip of the middle finger
OM SATYAM	Touch the thumb to the tip of the index finger
OM TATSAVITUR VARENYAM	Touch the thumb to the middle of the index finger
BHARGO DEVASYA DHIMAHI	Touch the thumb to the base of the index finger
DHIYO YO NAH PRACODAYAT	Touch the thumb to the base of the middle finger
OM APO JYOTIR	Touch the first three fingers to the right eye
RASO’MRTAM	Touch the first three fingers to the left eye
BRAHMA BHUR BHUVAH SVAR OM	Touch the first three fingers to the third eye

Repeating the Gayatri Mantra

If you can comfortably wake up and meditate during brahma muhurta, between 3:30-4:30 a.m., this is the best time for practicing the Gayatri Mantra. If this isn’t possible for you, sunrise, noon, and sunset are also auspicious times. However, the Gayatri may be practiced at any time of the day. If you can only practice it one day each week, Friday is the most auspicious.

It is best to perform a simple pranayama, the expansion of vital breath, such as alternative nostril breathing, five times before beginning the repetition of the Gayatri Mantra. If possible, face east toward the rising sun in the morning and west toward the setting sun in the evening.

While chanting the Gayatri Mantra, try to pause slightly at the end of each line and at the end of each repetition, rather than rushing through it. When practicing the Gayatri Mantra, it is recommended to always repeat it at least three times, although you can repeat the Mantra as many times as is comfortable. I like to repeat the Gayatri Mantra every morning before my silent practice of Primordial Sound Meditation. I do three of the longer version with the Kriyas and then 27 (a quarter mala) of the shorter version, without Kriyas.

In general, when using the Kriyas, it is recommended to repeat the mantra three times using the Kriyas and then continue repeating either the long or short version of the Gayatri at least 10 more times without Kriyas.

Traditionally, the mantra is repeated silently. However, if you prefer, it may be chanted softly aloud. If it’s comfortable, when reciting the Gayatri, effortlessly visualize the sun’s rays streaming forth into the world, entering your heart, then streaming out from your heart’s center, sending blessings to the world.

The Gayatri is a life-enhancing prayer. The ancient texts say that repeating the mantra 10 times daily removes the sins of this life, 100 times daily removes the sins of your previous life, and 1000 times daily removes the sins of three yugas (innumerable lives).

By meditating with the Gayatri Mantra, you will tap into the divine state of pure consciousness and enlightenment.

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