Deepak's 21 Day Challenge - Day 1 - Re-training my brain.
Day 1
Sanskrit mantra: Om Bhavam Namah (See bottom of the post for an explanation of mantra and why it is used in meditation.)
Mantra meaning: I am absolute existence. I am a field of all possibilities.
Centering Thought: I commit to living perfect health
Day 1 of the meditation was, in essence, the intro and Deepak's invitation for us to commit to the challenge. To be honest I drank wine earlier in the evening before remembering it was the first day of my 21 day commitment to myself so I had to revisit this meditation the next day.
We were directed to silently repeat the mantra "Om Bhavam Namah" which means - I am absolute existence. I am a field of all possibilities"
This being my first day practicing this type of meditation in awhile I had a really difficult time staying focused on the mantra. I was wishing Deepak would continue speaking the mantra so I could continue to listen to his enchanting voice because I find it much easier when I am beginning seated meditation to keep focus internally when there is a hypnotic external sound to sync up to.
Because my mind is out of practice, I found it very helpful to give it a secondary task to focus on so it would stop getting distracted. In addition to chanting the mantra, I concentrated carefully on the way my breath felt on the tip of my nose. I noticed the cool inhale and the warm exhale.
I also experimented with focusing my closed eyes at the 3rd eye. This is supposed to be beneficial because it stimulates the pituitary gland which helps regulate the entire endocrine system and is also supposed to help slow the aging process.
It takes extra concentration to stay focused on two things at once so the added task really worked to keep my ever-present mind from running amuck. It was also really challenging. At the end of the session when Deepak directed us to rest for a moment I was so grateful.
Sometimes when I concentrate I automatically get tension in my body or face. I think it's so important to check in with the body during meditations and to release any tension that has set in so the delicious vibes cultivated during the practice can flow throughout the body. Tomorrow I am going to focus on softness and ease in my practice.
Side note:
Deepak explains why the use of mantras is so powerful and important in our daily meditations. His resounding voice and explanation will be a far better for you than reading mine so please visit his page and click the video to learn more. This is a 2 minute video and he sums it up perfectly, so please take a brief moment to watch.
In our daily meditation we are only asked to repeat the mantra to ourselves after listening to Deepak's repeats the word hypnotically several times. The mantas, or "power words" as Deepak describes them are super-powerful when spoken or chanted as well. Deepak briefly touched on the chakras or energy centers in the body. Because sound effects vibration, speaking or chanting these mantras have tremendous impact on the physical body. Check out this page if you would like to hear more about this concept.
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