Perhaps you have encountered this powerful mantra while on your mat. I Am; In Sanskrit So Ham…and literally translates into I am that.
When I first heard this my mind challenged, I am what? I am that? What is that?
Wrap your brain around this quote from Master teacher Rod Stryker “I am not my mind…I am that which experiences my mind thinking.”
This ancient wisdom from the lineage of Tantric Yoga begs us to throw most of our conditioned thinking out the window. Consider you, your essence to not be a manifestation of the thinking mind. Rather than attaching our being to our thoughts, So Ham asks us to connect with our Higher Selves, beyond the thinking doing mind.
We are so much more than the swirling, demanding and complicated ancestry of our thoughts. We are infinite beings of light and energy. At the core, our souls’ level, we are not the sum total of the endless chatter in our minds. We are perfect, whole and Bliss. This layer of awareness is known as Santosha and is a lifelong practice to attain, even for a split second.
One way to work with this is to work with the mantra I Am or So Hum. In meditation you can breathe into So and out to Ham (pronounced hum) Mantra allows the thinking mind to anchor into something. Our minds are not programmed for emptiness and quiet, the mind likes to talk…a lot.
Consistent and deliberate practice of mantra also brings the energy of the intention into the subtle bodies field of awareness. Mantra when practiced regularly and with focus can shift your energy and allow manifestation of the intention behind the words.
Words have power and energy, constantly repeating something to yourself often proves a self-fulfilled prophecy. We all know of this…maybe it’s “I have the worst luck” and the worst luck is given.
I am also not what my mind thinks I am. Not a woman, teacher, child, citizen, friend, artist, mother, singer etc. I am that which sees myself thinking these roles are who I am.
Confused? It’s a bit of a mind-blowing concept to be sure. However, if you believe in Divinity, in Spirit and soul it is not so difficult to connect to a concept of a Higher Self, that which is not attached to the scheming, thinking ego mind.
Soak this in again; “I am not my mind; I am that which experiences my mind thinking.”
I am that.
Peace,
Greta 11/19