Monday, October 17, 2011

My Mantra

I must confess to having a secret. In the summer of 1969 I was a student at UO in Eugene OR. I was on the verge of somthing, threatened by Vietnam and the draft, lacking funds to continue school, and essentially adrift. I met an attractive young lady who introduced me to Transcendental Meditation.
I remember my introduction to TM very clearly. It consisted of meditating with a "guru" (young blond hippy guy). There were lots of flowers and incense. The key to the practice seemed to be the receipt of my mantra. The mantra is a simple two syllable sound silently repeated during the meditation practice. He whispered my mantra to me. It imbedded itself on a permanent basis.
I never became a true devotee of TM but I have used the meditation practice throughout my life in order to reduce stress, relax, and free my mind of the cacaphony of daily existence. It seems that the quiet and disciplined repetition of the mantra combined with deep breathing is very effective at isolating the thought processes from the world at large. This is a private and solitary pursuit.
My mantra is the only pure secret I have. I have never shared it with anyone. I have the feeling that if I were to do so it would be somehow diminished. I wonder if there is anything to this or if I am jealously guarding a "secret" simply because I am able. Perhaps it is not even wise to admit that I have a secret. Oh well, the cat is out of the bag now...