Words of Power
In my last post I implied that talking to yourself is a form of madness and that a state of "no mind" is a goal to aim at. Well, I still stand by that, but I will acknowledge that words do have a certain "power" and there can be a place for talking to yourself. Many shamanic teachers refer to "words of power" because sorcerers and witches rely heavily on the psychological impact of a word or series of words to gain influence and power over other people. The same techniques can work when trying to influence or gain power over one's own mind. In mantra yoga, words, or more correctly, sounds, are used to control and master the mind. Some mantras are claimed to have "magical" properties such as enabling levitation or telepathy. I practice a form of mantra meditation myself; the so hum (soham) meditation technique mentioned in my last post. Soham actually has a meaning - I am that - but it is the sound that is important. It is the sound of the bre...