Soham Mantra

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

With each and every breath, the Soham mantra vibrates within the sushumna, the central nerve that runs from the root chakra at the base of the spine to the crown chakra at the top of the head. This mantra is the spontaneous vibration of God resonating within the human form; it is not produced by the sound of your voice or your mind. This divine vibration within your being opens the gate at the base of the spine and at the crown of the head so that the light of infinite consciousness can flow in; when this happens, the vibration of the Soham goes higher and higher, raising your attention.



This is a profound mystery, and it is the way of awakening. In this way you will make the journey from the lower depths, where you have taken false refuge in confusion and ignorance, obsessed with the belief in your individual identity, to higher and higher frequencies of connection with God. In the end, your attachment to a personal identity will dissolve, and you will surrender the identity of your individual nature completely, merging with the universal nature of God.

The Ego

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

The ego is a despotic ruler and defines existence so very narrowly. You've gone through lifetime after lifetime wrapped so tight that your head's about ready to pop off your shoulders if anything happens to you that the ego can't take. The smallest upset causes a psychic seizure; you clench up and wall yourself off from the flow of your own truth, your own Self.



The study of the relationship of the spinal cord to the earth is one that you must learn to do at all times and all places. After a while you'll feel how the tension around the spine begins to release, restoring the flow of vitality within. It's like awakening from some strange dream. The experience of the Self is broad, generous, and fearless.

Arise Spontaneously in the Self

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

The bellows breath is the best method to release and surrender the spine to the draw of earth's gravity. This is especially important in times of intense pressure and transformation.



The ego-based identity attempts to hold the spine away from its basic relationship with the earth, and this breaks the flow of energy between the spine and the brain. The ego has as its fundamental nature the reflex of separation, and attempts to control the flow of consciousness at the level of the body because the body is the ego's basis of identity.



The whole idea of spiritual life, the whole idea of meditation, is not to form a belief system, but to arise spontaneously in the Self, to directly experience the subtle vibration of God within. It is the instrument of your being that has this experience, and relaxation is the key.

Red & White Bodhicitta

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

If you've studied yourself closely, you'll notice that there are two primary energies in the body. They are characterized by the red bodhicitta and the white bodhicitta. The red bodhicitta is analogous to the ida, the energy channel located on the left side of the spine. It is the feminine vibration that is the foundation of energy and mind capacity. The white bodhicitta is analogous to the pingala, the energy channel on the right side of the spine. It's the energy that produces the creation and dynamic of the world. 



The interaction between these two energies gives rise to all the dynamics of the architecture of the human form. The human form is an inconceivably complex equilibrium of these yin and yang energies. This equilibrium arises in the seat of the bodhicitta at the heart. It is the anchor and foundation of your existence. It is a deep, gravitational center that holds the atoms of consciousness into the collection of the appearance of your existence – physically, energetically, and mentally.

Four Bodies

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

The primary nature of enlightenment is empty. It does not have a point of origination where it comes into existence, nor does it ever cease to exist. It is neither infinite nor finite, as these would be qualities. Yet we see that the idea of enlightenment has a resonance in all of the dynamics of perception within a human being.



We as human beings are not a single body with a single perceptive field or point of view. The hard-wired architecture inside the human form manifests itself in four bodies: the physical body of matter; the subtle physical body of energy that animates the physical body; the causal body of mind and mental formation; and the atman, infinite consciousness.



Enlightenment comes into contact with these four tiers of human consciousness, comes into view, through the very act of perception itself. Yet it remains completely empty.

The Nature of Perception

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

When you have interruptions of attention, you have to recognize them and analyze them. The nature of an object will constantly change when observed, revealing more and more of itself.



This is one of the basic tenets of quantum mechanics: an object is changed by our observation or perception of it. This idea is fundamental to advanced yoga.

Uninterrupted Attention

HARD LIGHT CENTER OF AWAKENING

Excerpt of a talk by Mark Griffin...

It takes a while to learn how to use forceful, uninterrupted attention to squeeze a subject down to the point where you can manipulate extremely subtle layers of consciousness. That's why you have to sit around meditating for a few years.



You'll go through a period of time where you experience interrupted attention. One moment you'll be experiencing uninterrupted attention and then you'll touch a place and a huge throb of karma will release all kinds of wild emotions, and your attention will fly off in nine different directions. This is a typical experience when you're going through a phase of strong purification. Sometimes the blast of purification will be so strong that a couple of days will go by before you'll say, Wow, what happened? I was doing this and now I'm doing this and I don't remember changing.” Then you bring your mind back onto the object of your attention and you continue to squeeze it.



Once you fasten on to your thread you have to learn how to use forceful attention to hold the line; lots of details must be accounted for at the level of thought, mind, speech, and action until an uninterrupted chain of attention is fulfilled.



It's the same thing with everyday life. If you want to get anything accomplished in this world you have to clearly discern what it is that you want to do and pursue it in an uninterrupted, forceful line of attention and action. People who've mastered uninterrupted attention seem to be able to accomplish anything in life; whatever it is they want to get done, gets done. On the other hand, people who are easily diverted and interrupted can make a thousand great starts but just a short way down the road they wander off the path unable to remember what they were doing.