When HamSa becomes SoHam

[Trunk]

Listen to this spoken while reading (mp3). (rec'd open as new window / tab.)

 

"When the consciousness of ida and pingala are activated, the vibration of the movement of the life force produces the vibration of Ham Sa - the vibration of Ham on the right, the vibration of Sa on the left channel. But when Ham Sa merges into the central nerve, it changes its nature, and becomes SoHam and they lose their identity.

 

But when consciousness is externalized, the vibration is Ham Sa. When it is internalized the same vibration is SoHam.

 

The vibration of Ham at the crown of the head, the field of universal consciousness; that vibration of So at the base of the spine. And when this is the case you feel a constant flow of throbs and vibrations. First conducting themselves along the left and right channel of Ham Sa. As they internalize they become SoHam.

 

And you have to become so intimately familiar with yourself that you can tell when the consciousness is moving in the left and right channel - it has a certain feel. At just a twitch of consciousness, a twitch of will power the Ham Sa will become so SoHam and merge into the central channel.

 

When this happens all four bodies become internalized. It is an advanced condition and one that is sought after by yogis, by those trainees that are seeking to come to knowledge of themselves. You listen to what I'm saying. This is a very important division of attention and it's like a milestone: the ability to externalize and internalize your consciousness at will.

 

When your consciousness is externalized you know it's externalized. You want it to be externalized because you're driving your car. But when you get where you want to go, you want to internalize your consciousness. You want to withdraw your consciousness from the surface. You want to leave behind all of the elements of being, that have to do with physicality, sense of being embodied, etc., sensory fields and sensory activity, memory.

 

You can draw consciousness into sushumna, the central nerve. Sushumna is beyond time and space, which is to say that everything you have ever been and everything you ever will be, emerges out of sushumna. It's an unusual idea to get your head around, but when you begin to get a grasp but when you start to experience it...

 

But one of the things about meditation is we learn to do such things consciously. We seek to analyze them, why do they happen and how do they happen. And we observe what it looks like, what it feels like, in the externalized position of Ham Sa and then, what kind of bump does it take to move into a SoHam condition of complete internalization. Which is what meditation is; the ability to internalize at will.

 

Which is also why they use the term spiritual practice, its spiritual, but it's also practice. Why is it practice; because you have to practice it to get good at it. It's got a couple tricks to it. So you're training yourself to internalize.

 

What happens when you see a being that is progressing along and beginning to experience the advanced spiritual states, a spontaneous expression of spiritual power, is that they've trained themselves to be internalized to such a degree, to such a depth that enormous spiritual force begins to vibrate in that place in a very profound way. When your consciousness internalizes - the mind stops. When the mind stops your experience of reality changes."

 

~ Mark Griffin

 

The quote above (posted with permission) is an excerpt from the November 2009 Hard Light Intensive, titled Form and Consiousness. One of the key points during this talk was a penetrating look into the inner mechanics of SoHam. Mark continues to peel back layer after layer to help us understand this great mystery, and this talk opens up new areas for our use in awakening.

 

79 minutes -

digital download or CD - or 16 page transcript.

 

Hard Light Center of Awakening

[MBZ]

Thank you for that info Trunk. I heard Yogananda used HamSa and Chopra uses SoHum and always wondered what the difference was.

 

BLESSINGS!!!

[genmaicha]

I've heard that when listening to the breath while sitting one would hear the ever ongoing mantra of both Hamsa and Soham, the two merging into one. Not two separate ones.

I guess- as always- there are many interpretations.

[Birch]

This is great! Thank you! Another reason to practice;-) It occurred to me the other day in yoga class that I had taken the position of "Ham Sa" (to use your language) vs myself who might be idealised as "SoHam". Achieving a nice mix of the two is goal (now "whose" it is is very much under discussion;-))

[3bob]

cool, right out of mystic Hinduism.

 

eeeeeeeeeeeeeee...

[skyisthelimit]

Trunk,

 

I have heard some podcasts by Mark Griffin, but it is not clear what he really teaches. Does he teach breath awareness without actually mental intonation of the sounds so and ham or does he actually teach co-ordinating so and hum with breath like Paramahamsa Yogananda?

 

I have heard both versions. Some feel so and hum (or ham and sa) are natural sounds of the breath and mere awareness is what is japa here and hence this forms ajapa. But some others like Swami Rama teach actual mental repetition of so and ham (or ham and sa) along with awareness on the breath. What does Griffin teach?

 

Thank you!

[Trunk]

..Mark Griffin, ... Does he teach breath awareness without actually mental intonation of the sounds so and ham or does he actually teach co-ordinating so and hum with breath ..?

I feel out-of-place trying to clarify exactly "what MG teaches" in this instance. I can comment on what I've felt/gotten from what he's said + my own resulting experience - but I don't know whether that really matches up w/ what he thinks/says/teaches .

 

Anyway, what I find is that my most clear unforced experiences of SoHam are when it is resonating with the entire central channel at once. The syllable "so" is resonant with incoming energy (from all directions) and "ham" with expanding (similarly), along the whole central channel. MG talks about this somewhere in some talk.

 

However, for me to get there, I find that I need to spend some time resonating individual chakras first (which I do w/ om mani peme hung) before I can get the whole thing to work as one. That's my own work (haven't heard M talk about it before).

 

Exactly all the steps that MG presents w/ SoHam I couldn't recite off the top of my head. Just commenting on the distillation of my experience. I don't recall him talking about it exactly in either of the ways you mentioned it, but it might be in there somewhere.

 

Hope this helps.

Any details of your experience, I'd be curious to hear.

 

- Trunk

 

p.s.

I've always considered & experienced the spoken methods that M teaches to be secondary to the transmission relationship (which would be talked about in terms of Guru & Lineage in traditional terminology). Yeah, he teaches methods, but whatever method works for you - in that school - is fine. The inner transmissions are where most of it happens. Maybe stating the obvious, and not to discount the effecacy of clear view + skillful method.

[skyisthelimit]

Trunk, thank you.

 

I had an offline discussion with Silicon Valley on this board who had some posts on this topic and also with his teacher. I am interested in MG's perspective as he is from the Muktananda school who again taught both hamsa and soham, but always with the verbalization (mental) of the ham and so sounds. From what I was told, So represents shakti and hum shiva. It makes sense when MG talks of so at the bottom of the spine and hum at the crown. I was also told that so is incoming breath and creation vs hum being the outgoing breath or shiva and destruction. I also picked some bits about hamsa and soham and their relation to inner creative/destructive phases and having to do with kundalini going up the spine and descending back to the base of spine etc. Frankly, i didn't get much of this ascent-descent part, water and fire methods of shiva and shakti etc. but sure would like to know more when possible. Putting all these bits and pieces together, I think I have an idea now

 

I was also pointed to some links for more on this; I will also listen to the MG podcasts again with more attention. There certainly is a lot of energy in his voice that can be felt through the recording.

Edited June 10, 2010 by skyisthelimit

[3bob]

[Trunk]

.. so at the bottom of the spine and hum at the crown. I was also told that so is incoming breath and creation vs hum being the outgoing breath or shiva and destruction. .. going up the spine and descending back to the base of spine etc. Frankly, i didn't get much of this ascent-descent part, water and fire methods of shiva and shakti etc. ..

In my personal practice I don't feel~resonate with any of the associations of soham that you mention above (some of which Mark mentions as well). The only way I have connected with it in my own experience is when the whole central channel resonates with the syllables (sometimes emphasizing one then the other, sometimes both simultaneously). But, as I mentioned previously, it isn't an experience that I can often reach directly: I have to go by some intermediary steps that Mark does not talk about (or talks about in another way) but that I've discovered through my own route.

 

There certainly is a lot of energy in his voice that can be felt through the recording.

Agreed. Sometimes when he is talking about soham he is also doing it and that gives me a boost to get to the place where I can experience it also.

 

p.s.

3bob, thank you for the nataraj.

[sifusufi]

Music of the spheres

 

Obrigado

[guruyoga]

Trunk, thank you.

 

I had an offline discussion with Silicon Valley on this board who had some posts on this topic and also with his teacher. I am interested in MG's perspective as he is from the Muktananda school who again taught both hamsa and soham, but always with the verbalization (mental) of the ham and so sounds. From what I was told, So represents shakti and hum shiva. It makes sense when MG talks of so at the bottom of the spine and hum at the crown. I was also told that so is incoming breath and creation vs hum being the outgoing breath or shiva and destruction. I also picked some bits about hamsa and soham and their relation to inner creative/destructive phases and having to do with kundalini going up the spine and descending back to the base of spine etc. Frankly, i didn't get much of this ascent-descent part, water and fire methods of shiva and shakti etc. but sure would like to know more when possible. Putting all these bits and pieces together, I think I have an idea now

 

I was also pointed to some links for more on this; I will also listen to the MG podcasts again with more attention. There certainly is a lot of energy in his voice that can be felt through the recording.

 

Mark Griffin's method is simple. He asks one to employ Bellows breath through the practice. The sound of inhalation is so and this syllable vibrates at the base of the spine (representing Shakti or Kundalini). The sound of exhalation is ham and this vibrates at the crown center (representing Shiva). Thus, on inhalation, the breath moves down to the end of the spine (which is a tad lower than the root chakra really, and is called Kula-sahasrara or the thousand petal lotus at the bottom of the spine) and ascends to the crown at exhalation.

 

Mark clearly states that the breath inherently has the sound of soham (or hamsa) and one need not verbally or mentally utter these syllables. I agree with him in a sense because if one uttered these syllables, it would become japa and not ajapa. One only needs to maintain awareness of the breath along the central channel in the above described fashion.

 

IMO, a beginner may benefit from actually reciting the sounds mentally. In Zazen or even in Anapanasati, sometimes we count breaths initially to keep the mind fixed. By reciting the Soham mantra (which in Tantra acquires advanced transformation into Prasada, Para, Para-Prasada and Prasada-Para etc.), one is also benefited by consciously tuning into the vibration of the breath through sound. Moreover, the tradition teaches that one does not jump into Ajapa directly but starts with Japa and lets it naturally transform into Ajapa. So, after a certain proficiency is attained, the mental chant stops automatically and one simply remains aware of the breath in the central channel. Whether one uses Hamsa or Soham is a matter of choice. There is some discussion of it here.

Edited January 16, 2012 by guruyoga

[Sahaj Nath]

Mark Griffin's method is simple. He asks one to employ Bellows breath through the practice. The sound of inhalation is so and this syllable vibrates at the base of the spine (representing Shakti or Kundalini). The sound of exhalation is ham and this vibrates at the crown center (representing Shiva). Thus, on inhalation, the breath moves down to the end of the spine (which is a tad lower than the root chakra really, and is called Kula-sahasrara or the thousand petal lotus at the bottom of the spine) and ascends to the crown at exhalation.

 

Mark clearly states that the breath inherently has the sound of soham (or hamsa) and one need not verbally or mentally utter these syllables. I agree with him in a sense because if one uttered these syllables, it would become japa and not ajapa. One only needs to maintain awareness of the breath along the central channel in the above described fashion.

 

i'm not sure where your analysis is coming from, but the segment quoted by Trunk in the OP, plus Trunk's subsequent commentary, flies in the face of just about everything you've said. Mark's method IS simple, and it's simpler than your interpretation of the breath sounds allows for. his method is simpler because it's more organic than that. and being a student of Mark's, i can state emphatically that i DO NOT listen to the tones of my breath when he asks us to listen to the So Ham; i feel and listen to the vibrations in my core. i listen with my whole being, and So Ham arises. organically.

 

this isn't to say that there's no merit to what you have written (the practice may yield results that way as well), but you cannot attribute that perspective to what Mark is teaching. that's simply not how we roll.

 

IMO, a beginner may benefit from actually reciting the sounds mentally. In Zazen or even in Anapanasati, sometimes we count breaths initially to keep the mind fixed. By reciting the Soham mantra (which in Tantra acquires advanced transformation into Prasada, Para, Para-Prasada and Prasada-Para etc.), one is also benefited by consciously tuning into the vibration of the breath through sound. Moreover, the tradition teaches that one does not jump into Ajapa directly but starts with Japa and lets it naturally transform into Ajapa. So, after a certain proficiency is attained, the mental chant stops automatically and one simply remains aware of the breath in the central channel. Whether one uses Hamsa or Soham is a matter of choice. There is some discussion of it here.

 

when one's practice is being influenced and guided by the radiant presence of the Guru, the traditional admonitions (like what practices to start with) go out the window. students of Mark Griffin are practicing while immersed in his energy and his state of nirvikalpa samadhi. listening, in whatever capacity, is vastly more useful than any other type of 'doing' once the Guru's Grace is active in your being.

 

so in MY opinion, the beginner benefits MOST from learning to receive the Guru. no other lesson even comes close. a beginner who listens openly enough (without presupposition) has the same access to the deepest of states as seasoned practitioners.

[mYTHmAKER]

so in MY opinion, the beginner benefits MOST from learning to receive the Guru. no other lesson even comes close. a beginner who listens openly enough (without presupposition) has the same access to the deepest of states as seasoned practitioners.

 

Beginner or seasoned ya gotta surrender

[Mokona]

I dont understand. Is he sayimg you should listen for a naturally accuring SO and HAM feeling in the left and right sides, and then draw it into the centrL channel? Anyway wish I had someone giving transm issions near me!

[guruyoga]

that's simply not how we roll.

 

Who is "we"? Are you speaking for everyone of Mark's students? I have done seven intensives with him and spent several years with him, and you certainly don't speak for me.

 

The question apparently was from a beginner. And you throw stuff like "listen to your core" - it simply doesn't make sense! These techniques stem from Vijnanabhairava and Netra Tantra and they don't "advice you to listen to your core". The teachings of the tantra are practical and simple, the results are magnificent. One need not "listen to the core" - the core makes itself evident once you listen to the breath - listening here is not 'physical listening' - simply touched by awareness, I thought I stated that. If grace is all there is (I don't disagree with this though), then why be aware of the the central channel or bellows breath or anything? There are certain tools to channel the grace, open up to it and the one I stated is what is being used in Kashmir Shaivite tradition. You can discuss the same with Mark and he will not disagree. Well, do ask him when you get a chance who he studied Paratrimshika from

 

We can agree to disagree but if you toned down your usual pompous self a little bit, we can have a productive discussion.

Edited January 16, 2012 by guruyoga

[Ascension20122]

Guruyoga, I am a beginner too and that was most helpful.

 

Hundun, stop being a jerk.

[Sahaj Nath]

fair enough, you guys.

 

i wasn't trying to be pompous OR a jerk.

 

guruyoga, i'm a fan of most of what you've written since you've arrived. and if the context hadn't included Mark as the teacher, i would not have commented at all. i'm also a student of KS, but there's a HUGE difference between practicing independently and practicing within the presence of the Guru. the difference was enough to change my life, personally. so i felt it important to point out.

 

If grace is all there is (I don't disagree with this though), then why be aware of the the central channel or bellows breath or anything?

 

good question. when i'm dialed in i don't really 'do' any of those things. i did the very first time i sat with him, but i cracked open in a pretty big way that first time (you probably hate that expression too, but that's how i talk), and since then it's been way more about witnessing the truth of his teachings than employing techniques. i assumed that was true for everyone who has chosen to stay with him.

 

i agree that the core makes itself evident. in think we just use different words to express that.

 

 

anyway i have no interest in generating hostility in any thread that talks about Mark. so if i offended, then i apologize. it seriously was not my intention. and if my personality just rubs you the wrong way in general... it is what it is.

 

regardless, i like what you have to say.

[guruyoga]

Hundun,

 

It’s all good! I acknowledge and appreciate your good intentions behind everything you have written over the years on this forum. I would much rather take the content than the tone. So, it’s all good.

 

I, for no part, deny the utmost importance of the Guru. The entire premise of Non-dual Shaivism is - GururupaayaH - Guru is the ‘upaya’ for all the other upayas (anu, shakti, shambhava) are through his Grace. And Mark is a very fine Teacher, in fact the only one I have recommended to my students. Several folks on this forum who I speak with offline will smile at this with recognition.

 

I have known Mark for a long time. Both of us share a similar background in Tantra and Dzogchen. More than a decade ago, when Mark was beginning to become popular after the Muktananda phase, his students were (I imagine that’s still the case) an eclectic mix. While most “got” it, there were several who did not open up to the grace and also did not persevere for they would have opened up in due course anyway. Back then, Mark’s teaching was even less “structured” in a typical sense and obviously with a reason. But I would speak to several who simply did “not” get it and gave up. Being immensely passionate about Kashmir Shaivism, it really pained me. I had several lengthy discussions with Mark on Grace (Shaktipat), upayas and so on and the difference in approach towards different kinds of aspirants. Mark did acknowledge what I have to say and I do see a lot more of content today in his teachings aimed at the category of aspirants I spoke of. The nine categories of Grace or Shaktipat map to the three Upayas (Shambhava, Shakti and Anu). Most often, practitioners today are suited for Shakti and anu upayas. You are a better qualified practitioner suited for Shaktopaya and hence readily opened up to Grace. Others, who need time to open to Grace (or cognize the Grace that already is), need something to hang on to, like a raft, which can also aid in their further opening up, and such tools as this would really help. Kashmir Shaivism insists on Mani (gems), Mantra, Mudra (pranayama, mudras, bandhas) and Aushadha (herbs) for this very purpose. Needless to say, none of this negate the importance of Guru, for they function only through his Grace. Grace is the road to a goal that is Grace.

 

Even in the scheme of revelation of scriptures of Kashmir Shaivism, there were already the Shiva Sutras, which imparted Grace and Non-duality through the teaching, they “pointed out”, as we say in rDzog chen terminology. But this did not help all kinds of aspirants. Thus came into being the immensely practical and to-the-point Vijnanabhairava with a whole range of tools such as Ajapa, dharana on breath, space, light etc. to help advance one from Anavopaya to Shakta and further to Shambhava and so on. For someone qualifying for Shaktopaya, the techniques employed by an anu may seem lowly or mortal. But the very state of conditioned awareness of someone working with Shaktopaya will seem the same to someone else dealing with near-no-technique and non-duality (as in Shambhavopaya). It’s all really relative.

 

And thank you for the kind words.

Edited January 16, 2012 by guruyoga

[Trunk]

I've been working on combining mantra with LDT breathing and "so ham" seems to work most simply. "So" corresponds to inhale and (more esoterically) to opening sushumna to receiving and then "hammmm" corresponds to exhale (and resonating sushumna)... the whole thing kind of went from LDT breathing to sushumna to a version of white skeleton meditation. (spiraling thrown in there)

 

Though I know that "so ham" is a classic mantra, I still think of Mark Griffin of HardLight.org when I use it, as I learned it from him and I found his talks on it to be... very deep, clear, and practically helpful.

 

Anyway, where I started with it this time was "what mantra could be used in conjunction with lower dan tien breathing?" .. and I'd be curious to hear if any of you use "so ham" like that, or any other mantra?

 

 

p.s.

It's funny how LDT breathing keeps changing, integrating... I've kind of had the attitude that it was just a simple static "thing" to learn ... and it just keeps transforming to include more, deeper... in a way it makes me feel kind of stupid, "haven't I got it yet???" and yet that's the way of it, I guess, that these practices that rest on deep fundamentals just keep going deeper deeper including more more.

[Eric23]

I've been working on combining mantra with LDT breathing and "so ham" seems to work most simply. "So" corresponds to inhale and (more esoterically) to opening sushumna to receiving and then "hammmm" corresponds to exhale (and resonating sushumna)... the whole thing kind of went from LDT breathing to sushumna to a version of white skeleton meditation. (spiraling thrown in there)

 

Though I know that "so ham" is a classic mantra, I still think of Mark Griffin of HardLight.org when I use it, as I learned it from him and I found his talks on it to be... very deep, clear, and practically helpful.

 

Anyway, where I started with it this time was "what mantra could be used in conjunction with lower dan tien breathing?" .. and I'd be curious to hear if any of you use "so ham" like that, or any other mantra?

 

 

 

 

 

p.s.

It's funny how LDT breathing keeps changing, integrating... I've kind of had the attitude that it was just a simple static "thing" to learn ... and it just keeps transforming to include more, deeper... in a way it makes me feel kind of stupid, "haven't I got it yet???" and yet that's the way of it, I guess, that these practices that rest on deep fundamentals just keep going deeper deeper including more more.

 

Use this during Yin Yoga, aLong with basic pranayama breathing while holding postures. My teacher always reminds us that the breathing is the real practice, the postures are along for the ride. So Ham brings me back, or keeps me present. I am particularly drawn to your comment about sticking with the fundamentals. Working with the basics over a long period of time, like a year or two. I think it takes at least that long to find the depths of the practice.

[3bob]

("a year or two")?