Practice Cycles
A Practice Cycle is your meditation practice for the month and corresponds with the current module we are studying.
Practice Cycle 9
Path of Enthusiasm: Equanimity
(ALT M9)
Practice Cycle 7 & 8
Path of Enthusiastic Perseverance I & II
(ALT M7/8)
Practice Cycle 5 & 6
Path of Metacognition 1 & 2
(ALT M5/6)
Practice Cycle 4 - The Path of Mindfulness II(ALT M4)
Choose one or all the Kriyas below to begin or end your meditation session.
Work with either of the meditation sessions as time allows.
Chanting Practice
Our new chant this month is Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Say So Hung is known as the Siri Gaitri Mantra or Shushumna Mantra.
It has eight sounds that stimulate the kundalini to flow in the central channel of the spine (subhuman) and pulsates each of the chakras, creating a fresh level of energy in the body. It also balances the five zones of the left and right hemispheres of the brain to activate the a sense of neutral mind.
The first part of the mantra is ascending and expands into the Infinite. The second part of the mantra pivots those qualities of the highest and most subtle ether, and brings them back down. It interweaves the ether with the earth.
This is a cherished mantra my many. The Siri Gaitri Mantra is a gem and you will find many recordings of it. Feel free to try different versions of this mantra and weave it into your everyday life, and can be put into many settings for different purposes and occasions. This mantra captures the radiant healing energy of the Cosmos and the light of the Sun.
Ra is the energy of the Sun: strong, bright and hot. It energizes and purifies.
Ma is the energy of the moon: receptive, cool, and nurturing.
Da in this mantra represents the energy of Earth: secure and personal - the stability of single minded healthy masculine. It is the ground of Being. (Ma becomes Moon, when Da is present to symbolize earth. It’s kind of like the rule “I before E, except after C”.)
Sa is the impersonal Infinity. The cosmos in all of its dimensions, openness, expansiveness and totality is Sa.
Sa is the impersonal Infinity.
Say is the totality of experience and is personal. It is the feeling of a sacred "Thou." It is the embodiment of Sa.
So is the personal sense of merger and identity.
Hung is the Infinite, vibrating and real. The two qualities together (So and Hung) mean: "I am Thou."
Combine with Kirtan Kriya
This mantra can also be combined with Kirtan Kriya (Sa Ta Na Ma = Sat Nam \ Truth is my name).
ALT M4 Audio Recordings for Home Practice
Practice Cycle 3 - The Path of Mindfulness I (ALT M3)
Choose one or all the Kriyas below to begin or end your meditation session.
Work with either of the meditation sessions as time allows.
Kriya #2: Meditation at the Heart Center
Meditations for the Heart Center balance the frequency and quality of the Heart Center. The Heart Center opens the potential for compassion and humility. In these meditations the mind is focused into the channel of the heart. It is through the understanding that comes from the heart that the mind can realize the concept that Infinity is within us.
Place the thumbs under the armpits at the sides. There is a nerve there that should be pressed. The hands are resting on the chest.
Play the song “So Hum/Breathing In” by Donna De Lory via the playlist provided.
Inhale deeply through the mouth with an “O” shaped mouth (Straw breath). Listen to the inhale and mentally hear the sound, So. As you exhale through the mouth, whistle, mentally hear the sound Hum. The mantra means "I am that infinite."
To finish take a deep inhale, retain the breath for 8 counts, and release the mudra with the exhale.
Kriya #3 Seven Wave Sat Nam
This is a bij (seed) mantra meditation. Bij mantras (such as Sat Nam) are sounds which can totally rearrange habit patterns.
Mudra: Refer to the video above.
Focus your drishti at the Brow Point.
Play the “Seven Wave Sat Nam” by Reify. Inhale deeply, concentrating on the breath. With the exhale, chant the mantra and count the waves using the Mudra. Vibrate Sat in six waves, and allow Nam be the seventh.
On each wave, thread the sound through the chakras beginning at the base of the spine at the First Chakra.
On Nam, let the energy and sound radiate from the Seventh Chakra at the top of the head.
As the sound penetrates each chakra, gently pull the physical area it corresponds to: The first center is the rectum; the second is the sex organs; the third is the Navel Point; the fourth is the heart; the fifth is the throat; the sixth is the Brow Point; and the seventh is the top of the head.
Kriya # 1: Surya Mudra
Revitalizing energy, nerve strength, and good health. Planet - Sun (ring finger); energy, health, and sexuality. Uranus (thumb); nerve strength, intuition, and change.
Hold the Earth finger (Ring) down with the Fire finger (Thumb)
Raise your arms with your elbows bent.
Turn your drishti (gaze) inward towards your Third eye (Pineal gland) with your eyes closed.
Play the song “Sat Nam” by Renato Rotha via the playlist provided.
Inhale through the nose deeply on Sat and extend your navel out. Exhale through the nose on Nam and pull your navel in toward the spine.
The song is in a 4/4 time signature, so you will inhale for 4 counts with “Sat”, and exhale for 4 counts with “Nam”. The chant continues for 6 rounds. On the 6th round you will exhale for 4 counts, and then hold the breath for 4 more counts, until the mantra resumes itself.
To finish take a deep inhale, retain the breath for 8 counts, and release the mudra with the exhale.
*Path of Reflection: Experiment with each of the four recordings below and then choose two: working with each one for two weeks.
Open Ground Practice (9:51): Consider this practice at the end of the day for relaxation and restoration.
Sutra of Heartseed’s Metacognitive Wisdom (4:42)
Practice Cycle 2 - The Path of Reflection (ALT M2)
Play list for Two Practice Kriya: Developing Balanced Self Reflection and Crossed Heart Kirtan Kriya (Sa, Ta, Na, Ma). More in depth explanations of these practices can be found in the Slide presentation located here.
Practice Cycle 1 - The Path of Learning (ALT M1)
All Our Relations (6:22)
Open Ground Practice (9:51)*
Faith’s Hymn on Spotify (6:20)
The Power is Here Now on Spotify (4:48)
Open Ground of Loving Awareness (8:56)*
Sutra of Heartseed’s Metacognitive Wisdom (4:42)
*Essential Practice - adjust according to schedule.
