Frequently Asked Questions

There are several different types of meditation, each having its own purpose.  Some people consider prayer or contemplation types of meditation, where we meditate on something.  Meditation essentially means to be aware so anything we do with awareness can be a form of meditation.  If we eat, walk or practice yoga asanas with awareness, they become a meditative experience.  Most commonly, we think of meditation as a practice of sitting quietly with our eyes closed.  In Guided Meditations, we are given a series of instructions, guiding us through different experiences.  In silent meditation, we use a vehicle to take our awareness inward.  This might be simply observing the breath or the silent repetition of a mantra.

Mantra meditation takes our awareness from activity to inner silence.  It allows us to settle to quieter and quieter levels of the thinking process until we slip into the spaces between thoughts. This space is both silent and a field of infinite possibilities.  When we come out of meditation, we bring these qualities with us and begin to integrate them into our lives.

If you can think a thought, you can meditate, it’s that simple.  Meditation is best learned from a qualified teacher who will give you some basic instructions.  If you follow those instructions, you should be meditating successfully in no time.

Meditation is a spiritual journey rather than a religious experience. Mantra meditation comes from the Vedic Tradition which is a body of knowledge encompassing all aspects of life.   Just because it comes from India doesn’t make it Indian.  It is universal and can be practiced successfully by people of all religions.

Everyone can benefit from meditation.  On a physical level, meditation helps us to release stress, fatigue and toxins from our mind and body, bringing greater health and happiness.  On a spiritual level, meditation allows us to reconnect with our true Self so we can begin living a life of Higher Consciousness, which is perfect in every way.

During meditation, the mind and body enter a state of deep rest & relaxation and rest is how the body naturally heals itself, which is why, when we’re sick, we go to bed early, get extra rest etc.  The body naturally heals itself by throwing off what’s not supposed to be there, the stress, fatigue and toxins.

Most people notice some settling down of the mind and body but it’s best not to have any expectations.  The experience you have in meditation will be the experience your body needs at that time.  It’s best to approach every meditation with an innocent attitude.  Meditation is a tool to enrich your life so look for the changes there.

If you’d stopped trying, meditation would have worked for you.  Meditation is the process of taking us from activity to silence.  Trying, focusing, concentrating all involve activity and keep us at a superficial level.  The less we do in meditation, the greater the rewards.

In the Vedic tradition alone there are thousands of mantras and presumably many more in the other traditions of the world.  In Primordial Sound Meditation there are 108 different mantras.

At its most fundamental level, everything in creation is sound or vibration.  Any disruption to these vibrations results in some loss of harmony, creating a challenge in our body, life or the environment.  If we know the correct vibration, we can reintroduce it in the form of a mantra and begin re-establishing harmony in that area.  The Primordial Sound Meditation mantras re-establish our connection with our true Self.

Different mantras are for different purposes so you might choose to use more than one mantra to achieve different results.  However, it is not recommended to use more than one mantra during the same meditation as this could lead to confusion in the mind.

Mindfulness meditation is a mental practice to bring us and our thoughts into the present moment, perhaps focusing on emotions, thoughts, and sensations that we’re experiencing in the present moment.  It often involves breathing practices, mental imagery, awareness of the body, mind and body relaxation.  Primordial Sound Meditation uses a mantra, repeated silently and effortlessly, to take our awareness from activity into silence, and connecting us with our "True-self".

The purpose of Primordial Sound Meditation is to take our awareness into silence, to go beyond activity and connect with the field of Infinite Possibilities.  As a result, balance and harmony is recreated throughout the mind and body.  Guided meditations involve following a series of instructions so the mind always remains in activity.  Their purpose is generally, to bring balance in a specific area of the body, mind or emotions.

If the purpose of a mantra is to create balance, peace and harmony in the external world, they can be chanted aloud so the vibration is sent outwards. Mantras to take us into silence, such as the Primordial Sound mantras are always repeated silently.

It may be useful to know the meaning or intent of a mantra which is being used for a physical or external purpose.  However, mantras such as used in Primordial Sound Meditation, whose purpose is to take us into silence, have no particular meaning.  Associating a meaning with them would tend to hold the awareness at the active level of the mind.

Meditation is a natural process for restoring balance and harmony in the physiology by re-enlivening the body’s own healing mechanisms. It helps us to restore wholeness within our mind-body system.  Many people have noticed dramatic improvements in their lives and in their health situations as a result of their meditation practice. However, meditation should not be looked upon as a cure for any particular health problem, and you should not discontinue the advice or medication that you are currently receiving from your health care practitioner.

We cannot create silence.  We can only create noise and we are pretty good at that.  However, when we allow the noise to subside, the underlying silence will reveal itself.  Meditation is a systematic way of touching the silence of our inner self. Practicing silence can mean almost anything depending upon the state of consciousness of the person in question. For some rare individuals it can be simply closing the eyes and connecting to silent awareness beyond thought and mind. For most people it might be closing their eyes and thinking about silence in the midst of thinking other thoughts. But thoughts of silence are still mental activity and not actual silence or stillness. Without a traditional technique like meditation, that takes the mind beyond itself, silence is usually just another thought, not a transcendental experience.

Not necessarily. Some people find they sleep less with meditation, some sleep more but for others their sleep patterns don’t change at all. Sleep gives us a level of rest to release the fatigue and mental stresses accumulated throughout the day.  Meditation takes us to a much deeper level.   Sleep is restful dullness whereas meditation is restful alertness.  Nowadays it is recommended to get 7-8 hours of good quality sleep each night.  Meditation is not a substitute for sleep. We need both regular sleep and a regular meditation practice to live a happier, healthier, more balanced life.

The word yoga means union.  The union of one’s body, mind, soul and spirit. The ancient practice of yoga has always been considered a mental technology of consciousness, primarily involving meditation. In the last few decades the West has come to associate the word yoga with the physical postures, or asanas.  Originally, asanas were practiced to prepare the yogi for sitting still during long periods of meditation so they compliment each other.  Nowadays, the different yoga practices have taken on other meanings.  In Yoga Sutras, the ancient Vedic text, the great sage Patanjali tells us that we only need to perfect one yoga asana.  When we reach that state of stillness within the pose, it becomes a meditative experience.  Meditation, however, as a practice, gives the direct experience of unity of the individual mind with the cosmic or universal mind.