Word into Silence

John Main

Summary of main points

• How to say the mantra: “Repeat the word calmly, serenely, and above all faithfully for the full time of your
  meditation.” “We begin by saying the mantra in the mind. But as we progress with simple fidelity, the mantra begins
  to sound not so much in our head as in our heart. That is, it seems to become rooted in the very depths of our being.”
  (p.14)
  
• Stay with the same mantra: “If you chop and change your mantra you are postponing your progress in meditation.”
  (p.11)
  
• Mantra restores us to unity and harmony: “to restore... unity to man with the mind and heart integrated through
  prayer. The mantra provides this integrating power.” (p.15) “With this growing sense of wonder at God’s power
  within us there comes an ever-deepening awareness of the harmony, the creative wholeness that we possess, and we
  begin to feel that we know ourselves for the first time….we do not begin to appreciate our own personal harmony
  alone, but we begin to experience it as a new capacity for true empathy, a capacity to be at peace with others, andand indeed at peace with the whole creation." (p.13)

• Be aware of the danger of “pax perniciosa”: “When we start to meditate we can often come quite quickly into
  realms of peacefulness and experience a sense of pleasant well being, even euphoria; saying the mantra can then be
  made to appear a distraction…many people do not make the progress they should in prayer, simply because they
  opt for this destructive lethargy... they abandon the constant saying of the mantra.” (p.56)
  
• How to sit and breathe: “posture… comfortable and relaxed”… back should be as as straight possible with the
  spine in an upright position… your breathing should be calm and regular. Allow every muscle in your body to
  relax. And then, put the mind in tune with the body.” (p.8/9)
  
• How long and where to meditate: “In order to experience its benefits, it is necessary to meditate twice a day and
  every day without fail. Twenty minutes is the minimum time for meditation, twenty-five or thirty minutes is about
  the average time. It is also helpful to meditate regularly in the same place and at the same time every day because this
  helps a creative rhythm in our life to grow, with meditation as a kind of pulse-beat sounding the rhythm.” (p.12)
  

<<< Previous page
Next page >>>