One year ago today, my Anam Cara reached through time and space and found me! And
we have been inseparably bonded ever since.
On May 4, 2010, my life would never be the same again.
Today, my heart is filled with gratitude to know such devoted and abiding love, such truth and integrity in friendship, such laughter and levity, such depth and profundity- the challenge to reach beyond myself and what I knew, what was comfortable, what was safe.
To know this kind of love that makes us grow into inhabiting a new self, a self that is more evolved and more connected to the things in life that truly matter …
Lao Tzu said,
“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; Loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
Having the courage to love yourself, however, well… that gives you happiness.
And on this anniversary day, I am celebrating this notion of loving- loving myself and another and the courage it takes in those moments when we want to abandon the underlying and steadfast truths we know exist in our hearts, to overcome history’s insidious call to return to our less-evolved selves.
Today, I celebrate the courage it takes to love- to love in all moments, in all ways- to love oneself, to love another, to take these leaps of faith, when we take a chance on ourselves and we reach all the way across the universe, into the great unknown- when we haven’t the slightest notion what waits for us there …
On the wings of the Taurus new moon, I spread mine wide, and I turn myself to face into the direction of the lucky winds-headlong into the direction of YES … the direction of what I wish for in my heart of hearts. Instead of worrying about what will be, praying for what I don’t want, I choose instead direct all of my energies into manifestation- self realization- becoming what my meditation guide described today as becoming an “inner being,” self-realized, capable of riding the waves and remaining calm and centered and peaceful, self-loving throughout …
One year ago today, my Anam Cara stretched his heart way across the universe, and touched mine, and I am no longer that same person he found one year ago.
Om namah shivaya- a mantra that when you chant it, aloud, or quietly within, immerses you in the energy of manifestation and self-realization …
Namaste
And now, from the “SwamiJ.com site, for you- why I love Om Namah Shivaya … enjoy.
Om Namah Shivaya
(Panchakshara Mantra)
Om Namah Shivaya (Panchakshara Mantra, five syllables) is a most potent and popular mantra, which is at the heart of the Vedas and Tantra, and is widely used in this and other variations in the Himalayan tradition, as well as by others. While there are other descriptions of the mantra, the following focuses on meanings for mantra meditation leading to Self-Realization.
OM/AUM: The three parts of Om (A-U-M) encompass the three states of waking, dreaming, deep sleep, the three levels of gross, subtle, causal, and the three levels of conscious, unconscious, subconscious, as well as the three universal processes of coming, being, and going. Absolute silence beyond the three levels is the silence after AUM. It also refers to Tripura, the one who live in the “three cities” as in Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, as well as the light referred to in Gayatri Mantra.
See also:
Om and the Seven Levels of Consciousness
Om and Mandukya Upanishad
Mahamrityunjaya Mantra
Gayatri Mantra
Namah/Namaha: Adoration, homage, respect. Nothing is mine (as an individual person); everything is thine (as the Absolute Reality). The three levels of Om, the three worlds of gross, subtle, and causal, along with the three states of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep states of consciousness, as well as the three levels of conscious, unconscious, and subconscious themselves are “not mine” as the true properties of who I really am. Truly, “nothing is mine.” Rather, everything, all of these triads is “thine” or the “other” as the Absolute Reality.
Shivaya/Shiva: That Absolute Reality that is the ground out of which the others emerge. It is that “ink,” so to speak, that is not separate from the many forms which may appear to manifest or be created from that ink. In the Realization of this, one comes to see that he or she is one and the same with the Absolute Reality. The Mahavakyas, the great utterances, are seen to be true. Shiva (the static or ground) and Shakti (the active or creative) are seen to be one and the same. She (Shakti), while one with Shiva is realized in direct experience as the one in the three worlds (Tripura) outlined in Om.
See also:
Secret of Shiva and Shakti
Shakti, Kundalini, & River
Schools of Tantra
Mahavakyas
The Five Sacred Syllables: The Om Namah Shivaya mantra has five syllables: na-mah-shi-va-ya (sometimes called six syllable mantra by including Om). Thus, Om Namah Shivaya mantra is called five-syllable mantra, or Panchakshara Mantra (panch means five). Among other things, these five represent the five elements of earth, water, fire, air, and space. Thus, the Om Namah Shivaya mantra leads awareness in the reverse order from manifestation back to the source from which manifestation arose.
More about the Swamij.com site:
This site is devoted to presenting the ancient Self-Realization path of the Tradition of the Himalayan masters in simple, understandable and beneficial ways, while not compromising quality or depth. The goal of our sadhana or practices is the highest Joy that comes from the Realization in direct experience of the center of consciousness, the Self, the Atman or Purusha, which is one and the same with the Absolute Reality. This Self-Realization comes through Yoga meditation of the Yoga Sutras, the contemplative insight of Advaita Vedanta, and the intense devotion of Samaya Sri Vidya Tantra, the three of which complement one another like fingers on a hand. We employ the classical approaches of Raja, Jnana, Karma, and Bhakti Yoga, as well as Hatha, Kriya, Kundalini, Laya, Mantra, Nada, Siddha, and Tantra Yoga. Meditation, contemplation, mantra and prayer finally converge into a unified force directed towards the final stage, piercing the pearl of wisdom called bindu, leading to the Absolute.
