Note: For an alternate approach to mantra enhancements, see Lesson 369.

From: Yogani
Date: Fri Feb 13, 2004 3:18pm

As we continue to use the mantra, I AM, in that particular way that allows the mind to go to stillness, we are clearing out obstructions deep in our nervous system. Over time, our experience will become smoother and deeper as the purification progresses. We will experience more inner silence.

With rising inner silence, at some point in time we will be ready to take broader strokes deep in the nervous system without getting bogged down too much on the surface of the mind. We will be ready for an enhancement of our mantra.

Think of it as shifting gears in a car. With a manual transmission, we go along in first gear, and then at some point we are ready to shift to the next gear, which enables us to go faster with ease because we have gotten up to an adequate speed with the first gear. If we shift into the second gear too soon, what happens? We bog down and don’t get much out of it, because there is not enough speed yet. Shifting too soon is a strain, and does not help us go faster.

Taking on a mantra enhancement is like that. If we have smoothness and good depth in meditation with I AM, we can think about moving to the first enhancement. It could be in a few months after starting, or it could be in a few years. Everyone is different. It is one of those situations where self-pacing is important. There is no rush to step up too soon. We can make the entire journey using the I AM mantra for our meditation if we wish. Nothing is missing. It is only a matter of how fast we want to go. If and when it is time to shift, we will know. Then we can do it and the transition will be reasonably smooth with minimal clunkiness, like making a good shift of gears in a car.

The enhancement adds syllables and sound vibrations to our mantra. This will make a “bigger footprint” in the nervous system as we meditate. Meditation will be slower going into silence and slower coming back out of silence. This creates the effect of making pure bliss consciousness stick more in our nervous system and in our awareness. That is the benefit of the enhancement. It speeds up the cultivation of inner silence to be more prevalent and more steady in us. It is a “higher gear.”

The first enhancement is an expanded mantra. It is:

SHREE SHREE I AM I AM (audio)

We use it exactly the same way as we have used I AM, following the same easy procedure of meditation we learned early in the lessons. Once we have made the change, this will be our mantra from then on.

We will notice a difference right away. Our mind will go to stillness slower, and come out of stillness slower. Interestingly, this slowing down of the attention moving in and out speeds up the infusion of pure bliss consciousness into our nervous system.

Think of the mantra as something we are systematically penetrating the fabric of our subconscious with. A mantra with few syllables goes through more quickly, clearing out obstructions easily a little bit at a time. Then it gets to the point when we can use a “wider” mantra and cover a bigger area as we go in and out through the subconscious, clearing out more obstructions with each pass through. A mantra with more syllables does this, but only after we have prepared the ground with the first level of mantra – I AM.

If you have just begun meditating recently, give yourself time to develop a good habit using the I AM mantra, and to develop smoothness and good depth of inner silence before jumping ahead to the first enhancement. Several months at least. It could take a year or two before meditation with I AM clears the nervous system enough. Maybe longer. We each have our own unique journey to take (and time line) as we open our nervous system to the infinite. The mantra enhancement will be here when we are ready, so let’s take our time… and enjoy!

The guru is in you.