Downward Facing Blog

Why listening to yourself is really important for you and the world and how it connects to sound

Last night Shane and I were watching Joseph Campbell’s series “Power of Myth”. I’m a few years behind I know. My friends periodically ask me if I had seen it (yet) and would  reprimand me for not having done so. (I just saw it for sale on Silom road, in case you’re in Bangkok) In case you are like I was until last night, the late Joseph Campbell was a world authority on mythology; cross-cultural symbols lodged in our subconscious mind no matter when or where you are born.

(Joseph Campbell)

In our life path, there are certain themes which all humans undergo or have the choice to undergo. The highest potential for us as humans is to enact the role of the hero, a unique individual who transcends personal concerns to sacrifice him or herself for a greater cause. It is the parallels between these stories that form a pattern that we can re-enact to embody the greatness of historical figures like the Buddha, Christ, or Mohamed ourselves. Each of these great leaders share many parallels, which involve among others, bucking temptation to follow one’s own bliss or muse, even to the extent that it may get you killed (like Christ). Another test are the rules of society which may have to be questioned or rebelled against. At one point we may have to go against what our family, friends, or society thinks is normal in other words. This invites both scorn and praise- as people recognize within themselves that they too are not usually living up to their own greatness. We must honor the spirit within not always the conventions that limit us.

A parallel inside Kashmir Shaivism, although with different words are the six limitations, called kanchukas. Previously I wrote about the 6 kanchukas of location, time, attachment, knowledge, creativity and illusion, which must be broken through before we truly become liberated as a spirit. It is our consciousness that expands beyond our individual body, time, desire for more, etc and in another way, it is the individual which bucks the rules set out for them by others. Although this is subject to interpretation, I see it as rebels who break tradition and follow their own inner light, irrespective of cultural rules have what it takes to taste the real bliss of emancipation.

  Campbell specifically mentions Siddhartha the Buddha breaking through the cultural rules as one of his first steps in liberation. He was a prince in a highly regulated environment and social structure. He leaves the life of luxury and carves his own path in the world. Look at his legacy now. The same is available for you and me when we follow our inner promptings or as Aleister Crowley taught to “do what thou wilt” 

How this connects to the four levels of speech

The inner promptings of personal dharma, our individual way in life are the reflections of the cosmic pulse of “spanda”- the heart of creation pulsating through sound which makes up you and the universe. At the supreme level, the juicy core of bliss consciousness (called PARA) forms the first level of speech. As it becomes more dense it forms the second level (PASHANTI) which we are conscious of in the form of mythology, and archetypes – the same level from which we draw our inspiration from heros and symbols. As it grows more dense, the cosmic sound becomes MADYAMA- which manifests as deep level of thought. There may be words at this level, there may be just promptings which become words. Thoughts transform themselves into audible words, called VAIKHARI. Audible words then go to form solid reality. We must speak something to create something, hence is the power in speech.  

Where a lot of humans live is on the gross level of the mind, believing the audible words to be the end of the story. They get trapped in jobs, roles and relationships which have nothing to do with what the body or deep inner promptings guide them to do. Out of harmony in this way leads to a lot of disease. Perhaps that’s why yoga teacher Danny Paradise says that repeated yoga practice “makes you unemployable”. I love that! (It’s true by the way)

As I mentioned before, there are three paths by which we can transcend our awareness to embrace the original source of who we are, our true power: the long way through sentences, the middle way through words, and the short way through letters.

To elevate up through letters, we can meditate upon the vowels in any form of speech. For example the first sound of A, is the first letter in all alphabets. In Sanskrit it is the sound of UH and is the sound of the pure absolute level of being and potential. You can feel it open the throat and the back of the mouth. Energetically this is pure potential, the start of the whole ride of creation. The second letter, a long A, which sounds like the ‘a’ in “father” is bliss. The third letter “i” (sounds like EE, but short) begins the coagulation of energy into a point.

All the vowels get closed down and limited artificially by the consonants, which represent the material, ie; prakriti.

This isn’t intended to be a lesson on Sanskrit in particular but more of a precursor to a study on mantra. You can see quickly how important it is to get the pronunciation of a mantra correctly, because a mantra is really based upon the energetic effect of the sound. Meaning and understanding of a mantra do play a role as well, but this is the path of sentences, not the short path to liberation just of letters!

OM Namah Shivaya, Adrian Cox