Some Essene Meditation Practices

I, Day of Greenleaf, provide below the entire chapter on Essene Meditation Practices from my book, Sadhana: Essene Spiritual Practices. Enjoy!

I will now provide a list of Essene Meditation Practices. Some, but certainly not all, of the following forms of meditation will lend themselves well to being performed in conjunction with Asana Fifteen (or following Asana Sixteen) of the just-given yoga routine. Those that don’t necessarily fit into a Hatha Yoga routine can be practiced whenever you feel called to meditate. Some of these Essene Meditation Practices you might choose to practice nearly every day; some you might practice on a more intermittent basis. Enjoy!

Although I previously listed the meditation mantras – ‘Sounds of Power’ – that are linked with the Essene Tree of Life branches and roots, I will begin this section on Essene Meditation Practices by listing them again, for your convenience, and then will begin sharing not only many other mantras, but also non-verbal meditation practices including some based on physical movements. I remind my readers that all ‘Words of Power’ are also ‘Sounds of Power’ – after all, words, if articulated, make sounds – but not every ‘Sound of Power’ is also a ‘Word of Power’. That is because not every sound is also a word. For example, when we chant the Hebrew word Shalom as a mantra, it is both a Word of Power and a Sound of Power. But when we chant the Sound of Power for, say, Air – given on the list below as Ahhh-Sheee – it is not a known word so is not called a Word of Power.

The List of ‘The Fourteen Sounds of Power of The Essene Tree of Life Branches and Roots’

Top Center Deity Branch:    Ahhh-Yahhh

Branch of Wisdom:    Ahhh-Ne-Hahhh-Rahhh

Branch of Love:    Ahhh-Hahhh

Branch of Power:    Ahhh-Khahhh

Branch of Eternal Life:    Ahhh-Ohhh-Lammm

Branch of Holy Work:   Ahhh-Mahhh-As-Ehhh-Yahhh

Branch of Peace:    Ahhh-Ommm

Root of Sun:    Ahhh-Shahhh

Root of Water:    Ahhh-Hummm

Root of Air:    Ahhh-Sheee

Root of Soil:    Ahhh-A-Dah-Mahhh

Root of Lifeforce:    Ahhh-Khah-Eeee

Root of Joy:    Ahhh-Khah-Lah-Lah

Root of Mother Earth: Ahhh-Mahhh

NOTE: When I put more than one of the same letter (hhh) that is to show that the syllable is held longer.

The List of ‘The Seven Sounds of Ecstasy’  With the Corresponding Chakras

7th Chakra:    Yahhh-Mahhh

6th Chakra:    Rahhh-Sheee

5th Chakra:    Yahhh-Eeee

4th Chakra:    Hahhh-Hummm

3rd Chakra:    Ommm-Lahhh

2nd Chakra:   Lammm-Mahhh

1st Chakra:    Khahhh-Shahhh

Note: You can begin at the bottom and work your way up, or from the top down; try it both ways! Personally, I do both: I start at the top (7th Chakra) and work my way down to the bottom (1st Chakra), and then work my way up again, then back down, etc. doing several rounds. Each time down and back up I consider ‘One Round’. Regardless of which direction you are moving, the most important thing is your VIBRATIONAL ATTITUDE: At each chakra you are to vibrate with a very positive energy; only in that case do you ‘positively activate’ or ‘open and bless’ the chakra!

Also remember that you need not always chant the entire set of ‘The Seven Sounds of Ecstasy’; it is okay to just choose one or more to chant. For example, my two favorites – yes, it’s okay to have favorites when it comes to mantras – are the ones for the 4th Chakra and the 7th Chakra. The 4th Chakra (Heart Chakra) ‘Sound of Ecstasy’ – Hahhh-Hummm (produced by combining elements of the Sound of Power for the Branch of Love and the Sound of Power for the Root of Water) – is one of my favorite mantras to use anytime! I also love how the ‘Sound of Ecstasy’ for the 7th Chakra (Yahhh-Mahhh) combines an element of the Top Center Deity Branch (Yahhh) with an element of the Center Mother Earth Taproot (Mahhh) to form a mantra that beautifully harmonizes the forces of Heaven and Earth. As with the Hahhh-Hummm Heart Chakra Mantra, the Crown Chakra Yahhh-Mahhh Sound of Ecstasy is one of my favorite mantras to use anytime.

Speaking of ‘favorites’ when it comes to Essene Mantras including the Tree of Life Sounds of Power and the related Sounds of Ecstasy, please read the entire excerpt that follows. It is from The Holy Megillah; Ta’om asks the elder Nasarean teacher, Wizard Pehri, if he has a favorite Sound of Power. In Godspell Chapter Eighty-Two, we read:

Nasarean Wizard Pehri is Asked if He Has a Favorite Sound of Power

57. Sitting in a private area beneath a tree a short walk from the market, several of the Companions enjoyed a meal of figs and bread.
58. The group consisted of Pehri, Negohah, Yohanan, Sita, and Ta’om.
59. Ta’om asked Pehri, “Do you have a favorite Sound of Power?”

60. Pehri replied, “At any given moment, each Sound of Power has its turn to be most appropriate.
61. But there is one that is always appropriate and, since I am too old to bother dodging a question, I will answer by naming that one: The Sound of Power linked to the Tree of Life Branch of Love.”

62. Sita asked Pehri, “There are many ways to chant the two syllables of that Sound of Power; which is your favorite?”
63. Pehri replied, “The version that Yahshua and Miriam most often use is my favorite.
64. The one that is a two-syllable exhale of two notes, a lead bass-note held for about half the duration of the exhale followed by a higher-pitch ‘Note of Bliss’ held for the remainder of that exhale.”

65. Yohanan asked, “Negohah, do you have a favorite Sound of Power?”
66. Negohah replied, “I agree with everything Pehri said; recall that one thing he said was that: ‘At any given moment, each Sound of Power has its turn to be most appropriate.’    
67. For example, the Sounds of Power linked to the various branches and roots of the Tree of Life are each in turn especially appropriate on their assigned days of the Nasarean calendar.
68. But they each might be appropriate on any day according to the given circumstance; for example, when you sunbathe, regardless of what day it happens to be, you may feel called to chant the Sound of Power for the Sun. 
69. I will add this: if there was any one Sound of Power that, if I had a magic wish, I could give to everyone in the world open to receiving it, Nasarean or not, nice person or not, it would be that very same one named by Pehri – The Sound of Power linked to the Tree of Life Branch of Love –  done in that very same two-note version.”

Negohah knew that this mantra can do only good, even among the general public. The methodology was given above, and I will provide the only missing information. First, the methodology, by way of reminder, is to sing a two-syllable exhale consisting of two notes, a lead bass note held for about half the duration of the exhale followed by a higher-pitch ‘Note of Bliss’ held for the remainder of that exhale. The way I do it, the second note is, in music language, ‘the fifth’. That means that, from whatever lower note (‘bass note’) that you begin with, the second note is the ‘fifth’ one up the scale. The two syllables that make up the Sound of Power linked to the Essene Tree of Life Branch of Love are the first two syllables of the Hebrew word for Love: ‘ah’ and ‘hah’. They are sang like this, each syllable lasting about half of the long exhale: ‘ahhhhhhh’ and ‘hahhhhhhh’. The first half of the outbreath -the ‘ahhh’ portion – is, as I said, a deep bass note, the ‘hahhh’ portion is a higher ‘Note of Bliss’. There are visual and audio recordings of Sabbath Services held at the Mother Temple of our modern-era Nasarean Church of The Essene Way that include a group of us singing this and other Nasarean Sounds of Power. Contact me or my authorized successors/helpers to obtain these recordings.

Now, on to our next Essene Mantra! If you were to practice just one form of meditation your entire life, this would be a good one! When people ask me to teach them to meditate, this is the first form of meditation that I teach them. It is called, ‘The Love Breath’. Because it is linked to the breath, besides being a meditation practice, it is also a pranayama, a yogic breathing practice. Yahshua teaches it as follows:

Yahshua Teaches A Pranayama Meditation Called The Love Breath

441. “Now here is an example of how a pranayama – a meditative breathing practice – can be used in Love Yoga.
442. The Love Breath is a practice of Love Yoga.
443. Inhale deeply as in the yogic ‘Complete Breath’, but envision that you are inhaling Divine Love.
444. As you briefly retain that breath, envision that the Divine Love is bathing your entire Beingness – including your physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies – in Unconditional Love.
445. Then, on the exhale, envision that you are sharing that Divine Love with all Beings, radiating that Love into your environment.
446. Repeat this several times or more: breathe in Supernal Love, bathe in it while you briefly retain that breath, and then share that Supernal Love with all of creation on your exhale.”

The next three meditation practices are not mantra-based but instead are based on the eye contact of two partners, certain physical movements, and the experience of ‘Being Here Now’ with a partner. One of the Magdalene’s disciples, Sita, was sitting in a beautiful nature spot with Miriam (the Magdalene) and asked that she  teach her a meditation practice that she could do with her husband, Yohanan, together as partners. Miriam responded by giving her three ‘Partner Meditation Practices’. I provide all three below:

Soul Communion: A Partner Meditation Practice Taught by Magdalene

Magdaelene said:

10. “This first meditation practice can be performed by any two people, whether or not they are romantic partners.
11. This meditation is simple yet profound.
12. Simply sit comfortably, facing a partner, and gaze into one another’s eyes.
13. Your knees almost touch, but not quite.
14. Simply ‘be here now’, soul with soul, without running inner dialogues or thinking about things.
15. Just be in the present moment with one another.
16. If you drift into thinking thoughts, simply notice that and then give all of your attention – and presence – to your partner’s eyes, seeing in those eyes your partner’s very soul shining forth.
17. It is because the eyes are the ‘windows of the soul’ that I call this meditation practice ‘Soul Communion’.

18. “When you catch yourself drifting into thoughts and losing your sense of present moment awareness, it may help to remind yourself: ‘Be Here Now’; then once again return to Soul Communion.”

A Variation on Soul Communion: A ‘Meditation with  Motion’ Called ‘Zahyen Intuitive Hand Dancing’

Magdalene said:

19. “A variation on the above Soul Communion meditation practice is to do the same thing I just described but, after a period of time, add the following additional step.
20. I call this additional step, ‘Zahyen Intuitive Hand Dancing’.
21. You may need to move slightly closer together, letting your knees touch or one of you can place your knees between the knees of your partner, whatever enables you to place your open hands against the open hands of your partner.
22. Still gazing into your partner’s eyes, still giving each other darshan – your spiritual presence – intuitively move your hands as simultaneously as possible with the moving hands of your partner.
23. You can make circles, or softly push your hands – and thus also the hands of your partner – toward your partner, then back toward yourself, intuitively moving with each other, palm to palm.
24. You can take turns being the ‘Yang’ partner that leads the ‘hand dance’ – decides the movement that the ‘Yin’ partner follows as simultaneously as possible, or try it with neither partner being the designated instigator of the movement.
25. This practice greatly assists you to ‘be fully present’. 

26. “Though Soul Communion is best done sitting down, ‘Zahyen Intuitive Hand Dancing’ can be performed either seated, as just described, or standing.
27. The range of movement increases in the standing version.”

The following third of the three Partner Meditation Practices given by Miriam the Magdalene to Sita involves sexual energy and so is an example of a Tantric Meditation Practice. Recall that Sita was interested in practices that she could do with her husband, Yohanan. It is also true that, if you study The Holy Megillah: Nasarean Bible of The Essene Way (the source of these excerpts), you learn that Sita had previously asked Miriam to teach her about Tantra Yoga.

A Tantric Meditation Practice Taught by the Magdalene

28. Miriam said: “Now I will teach you a Tantric Meditation Practice for romantic couples.
29. Many meditation practices include some sort of focusing agent on which you place your attention.
30. In this one, the focus of your attention is solely on giving pleasure to your romantic partner.
31. Whether in a tantric massage or tantric intercourse, this meditation practice is solely based on placing your attention on giving pleasure to your partner, rather than on receiving pleasure yourself.
32. This is only a ‘meditation practice’ if you are actually placing your attention in the present moment on giving pleasure to your partner.

33. “One version is for one partner to be in the ‘giving’ mode while the other partner relaxes into a ‘receiving’ mode.
34. Another version is for both partners to be in the ‘giving’ mode, which means that both will equally give and receive, the focus of each being solely on ‘giving pleasure’, which may sometimes be had by permitting the partner to also give pleasure.”

Sita and Miriam Teach Meditation Practices to the Companions Including Miriam’s Mudra of Creation

60. Around the campfire that same Sabbath day, in the evening after Sita and Miriam had rejoined the rest of the Companions, Sita said to the group: “Today, on our walk in the wooded area near the shore, Miriam and I ate sunshine, chanted and sang the mantra Hallelujah in various melodies, and then I asked Her to teach me a meditation practice that is good for doing with a partner.
61. Miriam taught me two, each with possible variations.
62. The first She taught me, I will now teach to all of you, for Miriam gave me that assignment.
63. She said that learning to teach it is part of my ‘Teacher Training Course’.
64. Since some of you already know this practice, have patience with me!
65. This meditation practice is called ‘Soul Communion’ and, once we all practice it in pairs, I will teach you a variation in which we add an additional step: ‘Zahyen Intuitive Hand Dancing’.”

66. After Sita had taught the group to perform the meditation practice called ‘Soul Communion’ and its variation with ‘Hand Dancing’ added, Yohanan asked: “You taught us two versions of the first meditation practice that Miriam taught you today.
67. You said that She also taught you another one, and that it also had variations.
68.Unless She asked you not to, will you please now teach us that other one you mentioned?”

69. Sita blushed and said, “I will teach you when we are alone.
70. That one is a Tantric Meditation Practice and, were I to teach it to you now, you would blush so red that even a red pomegranate would look pale in comparison!
72. Will You teach us another new meditation practice?”
73. After a short pause, Yohanan added, “Not a tantric one; I would not want to embarrass Yahshua!”
74. Everyone laughed again, then Miriam said: “We often make our own luck, Yohanan!
75. Yes, I will teach another meditation practice.”

76. Miriam said, “This is a Mudra Meditation.
77. I call it: Mudra of Creation.
78. This mudra could be done while standing or sitting, but since you are now sitting you can rest your hands on your thighs while you hold this position for a period of Seated Meditation.
79. Form this mudra as follows.
80. On each hand, have the tip of your little finger touch the tip of your thumb to form a circle that symbolizes the Still Zero of Unmanifest Creation.
81. Unless you have lost a finger or were born with less than five per hand, besides the circle that you have formed with thumb and little finger, you have three additional fingers.
82. Of those additional fingers, move the tip of the middle finger (tallest finger) so that it touches and joins with the two finger tips that form the circle (the tip of thumb and tip of little finger); those three fingertips that now touch will symbolize the Creative Trinity.
83. The two remaining upright fingers – the two that straddle the now humbly bent middle finger, are held snugly against the middle finger at, or slightly above, the bent knuckle of the middle finger; remaining upright, those two remaining fingers represent the Masculine and Feminine Poles in Creation.
84. Those Poles represent Jahday and Jahnah, but they also represent in a general sense Shemesh (Masculine Principle) and Shemayah (Feminine Principle) within you and all around you in the Mother Ovum of Creation.”
85. After the group had practiced Miriam’s Mudra of Creation, She said: “It is time to put Yahshua to work!
86. But let us make this a bit of a challenge for Him.
87. Yahshua knows – and practices – many mudra meditations.
88. Right now, though, I request that He create a new one for us!
89. Create it right now, right here!”

In the last several verses above, Miriam playfully challenged her husband, Yahshua, to create a new Mudra Meditation on the spot. A ‘Mudra’ is a hand-position, so a Mudra Meditation is a meditation practice than includes some sort of hand position or hand movements. Here follows Yahshua’s response to that challenge:

Yahshua’s ‘Meditation Mudra of The Branch Triads of The Tree of Life’

90. Yahshua smiled and said, “Challenge accepted!
91. Let us each stand and raise our hands up like we normally do when giving praise to the Most High; raise your hands as high as your ears and wider than your shoulders, so that your head is the center of an imaginary line that runs from each hand directly through the ears.
92. Each hand is to have three fingers up; the thumb of each hand presses the tip of the little finger against the palm so that the three longest fingers are the ones that remain upright.
93. The three upright fingers on your right hand represent Wisdom (second longest finger),Love (middle finger, the longest of the fingers), and Power (the smallest finger, being the child of Wisdom and Love); together, these three fingers represent the first of the two triads of branches of the Tree of Life.  
94. The three upright fingers on your left hand represent Eternal Life (second longest finger), Holy Work (middle finger, the longest of the fingers), and Peace (the smallest finger, being the child of Eternal Life and Holy Work); together, these three fingers represent the second of the two triads of the branches of the Tree of Life.
95. Yah within you is the center of the imaginary line; that is You, the Spark of Yah that is one with the Center Branch of the Tree of Life.
96. Hold the position, which I will now name, ‘Meditation Mudra of The Branch Triads of The Tree of Life’, for a comfortable period of meditation on what you are symbolizing.”

97. After the group practiced Yahshua’s spontaneously created ‘Meditation Mudra of The Branch Triads of The Tree of Life’, Miriam smiled and said, “My challenge was both accepted and successfully completed!”

98. Negohah joked, “What would be truly impressive is if Yahshua now used his two feet to represent the two root triads of the Tree of Life, bending three of his toes upward on each foot!”

99. Everyone laughed, and then Pehri the Maggid joked: “That He can probably do!
100. What would impress me is if He not only bent the three toes up on each foot but also jumped into the air as He raised each foot to be in that imaginary line with His ears and – here is the hard part – levitated long enough to hold that position for a nice long period of meditation!”
101. After the new round of group laughter, Yahshua replied: “But Pehri, as you have always taught us, we should not show off such yoga ‘siddhis’ – ‘powers’ – as levitation!”

102. After another round of group laughter, Orah said, “Yahshua, my dear cousin and Lord, of the many mudras that You use in Your personal yoga practice, do You have a favorite?”

In response to Orah’s request that Yahshua teach the group His personal favorite Mudra Meditation, he responded with the following one:

Yahshua’s Prayerful Hands Mudra with Moving Meditation

103. Yahshua said, “I have a favorite simple mudra that I incorporate into many of my favorite ‘Moving Meditations’, including the one I will now teach.
104. That favorite simple mudra itself is called ‘Prayerful Hands Mudra’ and here it will be the first step of a five step Moving Meditation.
105. Because we are going to combine the ‘Prayerful Hands Mudra’ with some elements of ‘Moving Meditation’, I hereby name this version: Prayerful Hands Mudra with Moving Meditation.
106. The five steps now follow.

107. “First Step:  Stand with the palms of your hands together in front of your chest with fingers pointed up in ‘Hands of Prayer Position’, which I also call ‘Prayerful Hands Mudra’.
108. Notice how you feel in this simple mudra.
109. I feel that this mudra conjures a deep feeling of reverence for YHWH.
110. I feel when I place my hands together in this ‘prayer position’ that it is a spiritually-centering act.
111. That is true whether or not standing or seated, but in the version that I am now teaching, you stand so as to enable the following additional steps.
112. But even if you performed no other steps, this simple mudra itself – Step One – is extremely effective for inspiring deep spiritual feelings of Union with the Divine, as well as being a non-verbal statement of devotional service to all of Creation. 

113. “Second Step: After holding the First Step long enough to deeply feel the reverence that it promotes, your next step is to perform the moving meditation that I call ‘Humble Bow of Reverence’ by bowing at the waist – while still maintaining the ‘Prayerful Hands Mudra’ – as deeply as is comfortable and then returning erect to the original position of Prayerful Hands Mudra.
114. In the same manner that Step One conjures the feeling of Reverential Union, so does the Second Step – ‘Humble Bow of Reverence’ – express a sincere feeling of spiritual humility and also makes the non-verbal affirmation: ‘Not my will, oh YHWH, but yours; I am yours to instruct’.

115. “Third Step: Having returned erect from the bow and pausing a bit in the original ‘Prayerful Hands Mudra’, raise your ‘Hands of Prayer’ – keeping the palms together with fingers pointed up – until they are directly over your head as you perform ‘Standing Candle Position’.
116. By truly performing the first two steps of this series, you now, with the Third Step, stand as a radiant Human Candle of Spiritual Light!

117. “Fourth Step: After holding ‘Standing Candle Position’ a bit – it is not a position that is comfortable to hold a long time – return to the original First Position of Prayerful Hands Mudra.

118. “Fifth Step: After holding the fourth step – which is the original First Position – long enough to deeply feel the Reverential Union that it promotes – slowly move the hands downward from the chest area – with palms still together – until, just above your belly, the hands begin to separate and move sideways until they come to rest beside your outer thighs – somewhat beneath your hips – with palms cupped and facing upward in an expression of spiritual receptivity.
119. Hold this position in an attitude of receptivity and receive whatever comes to you from the Divine, without expectations.
120. What does come, I find, is not typically verbal; it usually feels more like an intake of Chai coupled with an intake of non-verbal spiritual blessings.

121. “Having completed the Five Steps just given, you have completed one round of Prayerful Hands Mudra with Moving Meditation.  
122. If you feel called to repeat additional rounds, you may; but even one round is an excellent spiritual practice.”

The following Zahyen Moving Meditation is from a different section of the Megillah than the several I just provided but, because it also involves hand movements, it fits well here:

A Zahyen Moving Meditation Taught by Yishar the Silent Lion (As Given in Godspell Chapter 88 of the Megillah)

101. We spent an entire day with Yishar, ‘the Silent Lion’.
102. In Silence he taught us to perform what he called ‘Zahyen Moving Meditations’.
103. He stood in front of us, outdoors beneath the sun.
104. Each time he demonstrated a Zahyen Moving Meditation, we then joined him in practicing the movement.
105. I, Sarah-Jahleel, will describe just one of those movements here; others are taught within our Mystery School.

106. The following example of a Zahyen Moving Meditation is called: ‘Prayer Position, Solar Veneration Position, Return to Prayer Position, and Cupped Hands of Receptivity Position in Sequence.’
107. The reason the name is so lengthy is that it accurately names in order the four individual parts that together form one fourfold sequence of movements.

108. Step One: Standing, place your hands in front of your chest in ‘Prayer Position’ and hold that for a minimum of one complete breath.
109. Step Two: Separating the hands as you raise your hands to perform Standing Solar Veneration Pose – your head, shoulders, and upper back arch backwards with arms and hands outstretched over your head; when you reach the comfortable, safe limit of that movement hold the final position for one complete breath and then return to ‘Standing Prayer Position’ – the same position as Step One – which now is named Step Three.
110. Step Three: Having returned to ‘Standing Prayer Position’, hold that for a minimum of one complete breath and then move into Step Four.
111. Step Four: Having held Step Three for a minimum of one complete breath, let the hands separate and move downward until your arms are straight down alongside each leg with the palms and fingers cupped and facing upward in the ‘Cupped Hands of Receptivity’ position.
112. After holding Step Four for a minimum of one complete breath in an attitude of spiritual receptivity, you have completed One Repetition; you may repeat as many cycles of this fourfold sequence as you like.

Now, we transition from the above sequence of Moving Meditations that featured the use of the hands, to the more common form of meditation based on chanting Holy Names.

The Mantra of Two Holy Names of the Lord A Nasarean Bhakti Meditation Practice

This Nasarean Bhakti Yoga Meditation Mantra is based on chanting two versions of the name of the Lord: 1. Yahshua; and, 2) Yahowshua. A detailed description of this meditation practice and on the significance of the particular spelling of the two names is given by Angel Gabri’el in the Megillah in Chapter 6 verses 189-210. Angel Gabri’el is speaking to the newly wed Joseph and Mary, informing them about the unusual spelling of ‘Yahshua’ (instead of the common Yeshua) and the use of these two names (Yahshua and Yahowshua) as mantras:

189. The Angel Gabri’el continued to speak unto the holy couple, saying: “Oh Mary and Joseph, in fulfillment of Nasarean prophecy, your son shall be named Yahshua, for he is in truth Salvation.” 

190. Then the angel wrote names on a parchment and said: “In former days this name was written Yehowshua.
191. These days it is written Yeshua.
192. But when you write or speak your son’s name in public let it be like this: Yahshua, for this spelling declares the salvation of Yah.
193. For, lo: no other man named ‘Yehowshua’ or ‘Yeshua’ is equal in grandeur to Him
194. And it is good that the spelling of His name be not common, that it be unique unto Him.   
195. For His name is the Saving Name, and has been known to Nasarean prophets since Eden.  
196. Yea, even the powers behind the sacrificial cult know this name and tremble before it!

197. “Though the public name of your son shall be Yahshua, when His devotees gather they will chant His name in two forms: Yahowshua and Yahshua.
198. Yahowshua is an ancient form that shall be for private use of His devotees.
199. When that name is chanted it conjures well-being for the chanter. 
200. When the second form of the name, Yahshua, is chanted, it conjures well-being for the fallen world.
201. Both names should be chanted by His devotees.

202. “Beware: the dark powers will use every deceit to keep this name from the tongues of the people.
203. Yea, and for a time, they may succeed. 
204. But the Zeroah Nistar [Day: the ‘Hidden Arm’ of the Nasarean religion] will preserve both forms of the True Name.

205. “And in the Last Days the True Name will again go forth and ‘Yahshua’ will be chanted by righteous men and women for the salvation of the fallen world, and ‘Yahowshua’ will be chanted for the bliss consciousness and wellness of devotees.

206. “Amen!
207. So be it!
208. For this belief now affirmed is a magical enchantment!
209. Affirm this enchantment by chanting the two forms of the True Name.
210. In so chanting you make it come true; wherefore, you are the fulfillment of the prophecy.”

We are invited to participate in a group magical enchantment by chanting both versions of what we can call: The Mantra of Two Holy Names of the Lord. Version one – ‘Yahshua’ – is chanted by Nasareans for the ‘salvation of the fallen world’. Version two – ‘Yahowshua’ – is chanted for ‘the bliss consciousness and wellness of devotees.’  Pronunciation: Yahshua is Yah-shew-ah; and Yahowshua is Yah-hoe-shew-ah.

Day’s Favorite Version of The Mantra of Two Holy Names of the Lord

I prefer to chant both names (just described above), alternately, in the same meditation session. Sometimes I chant one once, then the other once, then back to the first one once and so on, weaving them together into one mantra that is: “Yahshua, Yahowshua, Yahshua, Yahowshua, Yahshua, Yahowshua….” Other times I chant one name repeatedly for a while, then chant the second name repeatedly for a while.

The important element that makes the chanting of ‘The Mantra of Two Holy Names of the Lord’ specifically a form of Bhakti Devotional Mantra Meditation is that it is done in a devotional attitude of celebrative praise in joyous bliss! Raise your hands and feel your love for the Lord when you chant ‘The Mantra of Two Holy Names of the Lord’. Even when you tire of holding your hands up in the air, maintain the devotional attitude and continue chanting with your hands in a more comfortable position. Try holding your hands over your heart while you chant awhile, then perhaps be seated with your hands palms up in receptivity as they rest upon your thighs.

Now I want to share another version of the above mantra that I enjoy, and then will give similar treatment to what we can call: ‘The Mantra of The Holy Names of the Lady Christ’. Although I never read it anywhere – I created it – I have found the following mantra that I have named, ‘The Mantra of Three Holy Names of the Lord’ to be very powerful and very blissful. This is mostly the same as the one I shared wherein I said to weave the two names ‘Yahshua’ and ‘Yahowshua’ together into one mantra that is “Yahshua, Yahowshua, Yahshua, Yahowshua, Yahshua, Yahowshua….”  except that this time we add what the Megillah calls ‘the transcendental name of the Lord’ – Jahday – to the other two.

The Mantra of Three Holy Names of the Lord Christ

I have named this one, ‘The Mantra of Three Holy Names of the Lord’ and have found it to be very powerful and very blissful. Chant this – and all other mantras that feature a Deity or Guru name – in a devotional (Bhakti) attitude:

Jahday, Yahshua, Yahowshua…
(All three in one out breath, then repeat.)

Day’s Yahshua Mantra with Hand Motions and a Variation that Makes it a Magdalene Mantra

Here is one that I developed with hand motions. With your hands in prayer position in front of your chest, inhale deeply, then, on the exhale, say: “Yahshua ha Mashiakh, the Way, the Truth, the Life.” Then inhale deeply, and begin your exhale with your hands covering your heart as you say the words: “The Way of the Loving Heart,” then as you place your hands on your forehead say: “the Truth of the Enlightened Mind,” then let your hands go wide and up and then downward to make a circle that ends with your hands again in prayer position as you say the words “the Life that is One with God.” Repeat the process, starting again with, “Yahshua ha Mashiakh….” This mantra can also be practiced without the motions. I often do a few rounds with the motions and then do a few rounds keeping my hands in the prayer position or resting on my thighs.

THE SAME MANTRA CAN BE DONE WITH MIRIAM AS THE FOCUS BY SUBSTITUTING THE WORDS ‘YAHSHUA HA MASHIAKH’ WITH THE WORDS: MIRIAM HA SHEKINAH. All of the other words and motions given above remain the same.

Now is a good moment to shift to some mantras focused on the Lady Christ.

The Mantra of Two Holy Names of the Lady Christ

It seems obvious to me that we should apply similar treatment to the name(s) of the Lady Christ and likewise chant ‘Lady Christ Mantras’. I will share several that I came up with; besides using them, feel encouraged to come up with some of your own!

In the light of our above treatment of the name(s) of the Lord, it is very obvious that we can chant either ‘Miriam’ or ‘Jahnah’ as a devotional mantra (Japa Mantra) and, equally obviously, we can alternate both names together in the following manner:

Jahnah, Miriam! Jahnah, Miriam! (repeat)

The Magdalene Mantra of Three Holy Names

As I was creating mantras based on the names of the Lady Christ, it seemed rather obvious that I could create a variation of the one above by adding a third name to the mix: Magdalene. The term ‘Magdalene’ is a messianic reference to her being the long awaited ‘Watchtower of the Flock’, a reference to the prophesied coming of a feminine Messiah. I named this one ‘The Magdalene Mantra of Three Holy Names’; it goes like this:

Jahnah, Miriam, Magdalene!
(All three in one out breath, then repeat.)

The Lady Christ is Our Momma Mantra

Less obvious is the following one that I came up with and offer to anyone that wants to give it a try! Remember that Japa Mantra meditation practice is not limited to only chanting the name of a chosen aspect of Deity – though that is the core practice – but can include additional words, as long as the Deity Name is the featured element in the mantra. Some of the following ones are of that variety, including a few words besides the Deity Name. In the following one, the word ‘Emah’ is the Nasarean slang equivalent of the affectionate, intimate, English term ‘Momma’; it stems from the more formal Hebrew word ‘Em’ that means ‘Mother’: 

Jahnah-Miriam-Emah!
(All three in one out breath, then repeat.)

Jahlah, Jahnah, Shekinah Mantra

I felt called to create a mantra that included both the name of the Nasarean Goddess ‘Jahlah’ and Miriam’s transcendental name ‘Jahnah’, and then added to it the Hebrew word Shekinah (pronounced: she-kee-nah) which, in Nasarean lingo, simply means ‘Divine Feminine Presence’ and so can be applied to more than one great female. Both Ishshah, who became the Messenger Angel of Mother Earth, and the Wizardess called ‘Negohah haShekinah’, had that term applied to them, and it can be applied to any female that one considers to be a great example of the Divine Feminine. It obviously can be applied also to Miriam/Jahnah since she is obviously a great ‘Divine Feminine Presence’, as is also obviously true of Jahlah. In the following example, I affirm the ‘Divine Feminine Presence’ of both Jahlah and Jahnah:

Jahlah, Jahnah, Shekinah!
(All three in one out breath, then repeat.
Feel free to create a melody and sing it!)

Some of the terms/names of the Lord and Lady that can be used in Japa Mantra formulations are these less familiar ones that are found in Nasarean Genesis but not commonly used elsewhere:

For Jahday:

1) ‘Oholiy’ab (‘Tent of His Father’, meaning that he is the ‘abode of Father Jah’, that ‘Father Jah Dwells in Him’;
2) Immanuel (‘God Immanent in Creation’).

For Jahnah:

1) Oholibah (‘Tent of Her Mother’ or ‘My Tent is in Her’ meaning that she is the ‘Abode of Mother Jahlah’, and/or that she Dwells in ‘Mother Jahlah’;
2) Immanuelah (Goddess Immanent in Creation).

All four of those above boldfaced terms emphasize that Jahday and Jahnah are the IMMANENT-IN-CREATION representatives of God and Goddess TRANSCENDENT. Here and now, I will use those terms to formulate the following ‘new Nasarean mantras’ (‘new’ to me since I am creating them right now, but perhaps I am actually ‘remembering’ ancient ones!) ☺

For Jahday:

Oholiy’ab Jahday Immanuel Yahshua!

For Jahnah:

Oholibah Jahnah Immanuelah Miriam!

Since my favorite ‘Christ Mantras’ – most of which I composed – are those that include both the Lord Christ and the Lady Christ in ONE COMBINED MANTRA, we can now combine the two above ones to create the following two-line mantra:

Oholiy’ab Jahday Immanuel Yahshua!
Oholibah Jahnah Immanuelah Miriam!

Your assignment: Create a melody to sing the above two-line devotional mantra! Of course, even without a melody, it can be chanted as-is. But once a Japa Mantra formulation has this many syllables, it lends itself well to being rendered as a melodious chant/song.

Here are two other examples of Japa Mantra formulations I composed by combining names of both the Lord Christ and the Lady Christ; the first of the two – ‘Om Yesu-Miri Om Mantra’ – is on at least one DVD available from our church, recorded at our Mother Temple during a Sabbath Service. The second of the two – titled Yahshua-Miriam Mantra Song – appears on our musical CD called, Songs of Magdalene. 

Om Yesu-Miri Om Mantra

Om Yesu-Miri Om
Om Yesu-Miri Ah-Om

(One outbreath per line; as you will learn if you listen to the recorded version, this is done in the form of a melody.)

Note: in the above mantra, ‘Yesu’ and ‘Miri’ are short ‘nick-names of endearment’ for Yahshua and Miriam. ‘Yesu’,’ in this mantra, is pronounced ‘Yay-szuh’. ‘Miri’ is pronounced ‘mir- ee’.

Yahshua-Miriam Mantra Song

Yahshuah ha Mashiah!
Yahshuah ha Mashiah!
Miriam ha Shekinah!
Miriam ha Shekinah!

In the above mantra, ‘ha’ is the equivalent of ‘the’ and is pronounced ‘Hah’. The word ‘Mashiah’ is here pronounced ‘Mah-she-ah’; that is the same word as the Hebrew-into-English word Messiah and means Anointed.  That Hebrew word is translated into Greek as ‘Christos’ (which came into English as ‘Christ’), which also means Anointed. In old biblical-era days, worldly Kings would anoint their personal messengers with oil before sending them on a mission to deliver a message. The prophecies said that, at some point in the future, the King of the Universe would send a Divine Messenger with a message to our world. Nasarean prophecies predicted both a masculine Divine Messenger (Lord Christ) and a feminine Divine Messenger (Lady Christ). To declare, “Yahshua ha Mashiah!” is to affirm that Yahshua is the fulfillment of that prophecy, and to declare “Miriam ha Shekinah” is the same but in a feminine form that affirms that she is Goddess Incarnate. (‘Mashiah’ is pronounced in strict Hebrew with a bit harder ‘h’ sound at the end than the English ‘h’, which I indicate in the Megillah with the spelling Mashiakh. In this mantra, the Englishized ending works best because it rhymes nicely with both ‘Yahshua’ and ‘Shekinah’.)

In the musical CD in which the above ‘Yahshua-Miriam Mantra Song’ appears (available from our church), the lyrics that I wrote are not only rendered into a pleasing melody by my musical friends David and Omni Sunheart, but also are set to a beautiful musical score that includes sitar and cello. You can get that CD from us (or whatever digital format is available in future years) and simply sing along with that song, which we often do at our group events here at the Mother Temple. These type of ‘Devotional Songs’ are also known by the Sanskrit term ‘Bhajans’.

Jah, Jahlah, Jahday, Jahnah Devotional Chant

Also available on a musical CD is the following mantra which incorporates all four ‘Nasarean Deities’: Divine Father Jah, Divine Mother Jahlah, Lord Christ Jahday (who came to Earth as Yahshua), and Lady Christ Jahnah (who came to Earth as Miriam). On the CD this is sang as a beautiful melody, but even simply reciting or chanting the names is a powerful mantra:

Jah, Jahlah, Jahday, Jahnah
Jah, Jahlah, Jahday, Jahnah

A Japa Mantra Chant/Song Taught by the Lord Christ and Lady Christ to Abdiel

In the following excerpt from the Megillah, the Lord Christ and Lady Chirst, even before having incarnated as Yahshua and Miriam, taught the following Japa Mantra chant to the first Essene Priest in our world, Abdiel. (After his human incarnation, Abdiel ascended and became known as Gabri’el, the Angel of the Top Center Deity Branch of the Essene Tree of Life, the Branch associated with the Crown Chakra; the following excerpt is from before his ascension.)

124. Then, together, the Lord and Lady and Abdiel, chanted and sang praises unto Jah-Jah, our God and Goddess Transcendent. 
125. And one of those chants was this:

Jah-Jah Halleluyah! Halleluyah Jah-Jah!
Jah-Jah Halleluyah! Halleluyah Jah-Jah! 
Jah-Jah Qowlayah! Qowlayah Jah-Jah!
Jah-Jah Qowlayah! Qowlayah Jah-Jah!

Assignment: Try coming up with a pleasant melody for the above Japa Mantra (the boldfaced portion of verse 125) song-chant! I have created a melody for it that I like; next time we meet, we can compare our melodies for this mantra! ☺

The common biblical term that we have heard sung in many songs – hallelujah – actually means ‘praise to Yah’; it is perhaps the most sang mantra of the Jewish and Christian faiths, even though most don’t know that it is a mantra! In the above given Nasarean version of that mantra chant/song, the term ‘Qowlayah’ refers to the ‘Voice of Yah Within’, and the term ‘Jah-Jah’ refers to ‘Jah and Jahlah’, our God and Goddess.

On that same page of the Megillah, Abdiel sings a Japa Mantra song-chant to the Lady Christ and Lord Christ:

123. Then Abdiel chanted this chant unto the Lord and Lady:
Elah-Eloah Elohim!
Elohim Elah-Eloah!

Assignment: I am going to repeat, almost word-for-word, the same assignment that I gave for the previous mantra, and ask you to also apply it to the one directly above. That assignment: Try coming up with a pleasant melody for the above Japa Mantra song-chant! I have created a melody I like; next time we meet, we can compare our melodies for this mantra! ☺ (and many others! Oh what fun!) ☺

Note: Although the opening words of the above verse 123 say that Abdiel sang this mantra to “the Lord and Lady”, the actual mantra itself first refers to the ‘Lady’ and then to the ‘Lord’: ‘Elah’ is a Nasarean term for the Lady Christ, and ‘Eloah’ refers to the Lord Christ. These are strictly Nasarean uses of these Hebrew words, as is the word they both stem from: ‘Elohim.’ Elohim is a plural term by which Nasareans address both God Immanent (Jahday) and Goddess Immanent (Jahnah) at the same time. Because mainstream Judaism does not worship the Divine Feminine, they – and mainstream Christianity – translate ‘Elohim’ as ‘God’ in their Bible even though the ‘im’ at the end is a plural ending! (The singular form of ‘Elohim’ is ‘El’ and can accurately be translated ‘God’; ‘Elohim’ is plural and so, at the very least, should be translated as ‘Gods’, though for Nasareans it is reserved for ‘God and Goddess Immanent’.)

Yahshua Teaches a Meditation Practice Based on Chanting and Singing the Vowels

22. Ta’om asked Yahshua, “Lord, if it pleases You, teach us a form of meditation that You have not previously mentioned.”

23. Yahshua smiled and replied, “Evidently I saved this one for this moment!
24. In whatever language you are most familiar, chant and sing the vowels of that language.
25. Not to say that you cannot also chant the vowels of other languages, but it is best to begin with the vowels that you already have memorized since childhood so that you can place little attention on ‘thinking’ and ‘remembering’ and thus more readily ‘Be Here Now’ while you chant.
26. Once having ‘played’ with the vowels of your own language – singing them in various sequences and various combinations – feel free to try the vowels of other languages.”

Yahshua Teaches A Meditation Practice Called: Being the Watcher Behind the Thoughts

This practice is more detailed than most, and so I will provide Yahshua’s explanation.

123. Ta’om said to Yahshua: “Lord, as I move through a typical day, I have many thoughts.
124. If I keep up my Essene Yoga practices, will I eventually experience a state in which I am not ‘running thoughts’ throughout the day?”
125. Yahshua replied, “A key word related to your question is a word that I often use: ‘appropriate’.
126. In the same way that it would not be appropriate to have a tongue yet never use it for speech, it is not appropriate to have a mind and not use it for thought.
127. But the fact that there are appropriate thoughts, even appropriate ‘inner dialogue’ including appropriate speculation, appropriate calculation, and appropriate ‘stream-of-consciousness’ thinking where things just ‘pop-up’ in the mind and get considered, does not mean that there are not also inappropriate quantities and qualities of ‘inner dialogue’.
128. In other words, even in the advanced stage of ‘Walking Samadhi’, one is not without appropriate thoughts at appropriate moments.

129. “Beten Jahlah, in her Sutras of Union, begins by stating the goal of Yoga: Blissful Union with The All in Supernal Love.
130. She then makes clear that most humans are not yet experiencing that state, and explains the practices of Essene Yoga that can, if sincerely and persistently embraced, bring dedicated disciples into that blissful state of Samadhi that is profound well-being in Sat-Chit-Ananda.
131. In her description of the practices that Essene Yoga students are given, she explains that they begin with the Yamas and Niyamas for good reason: most new students need immediate physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual purification and ethical practices to ‘clean-up-their-act’ enough to make progress toward the eventual attainment of Walking Samadhi.
132. She makes clear that most new yoga students – like the general population – have minds full of unhelpful thoughts and painful memories, minds that almost never seem to be free of not just inner dialogue, but of negative, counter-productive versions of inner dialogue.
133. The common person is ‘running thoughts’ even when it is not appropriate. 
134. For example: if ‘running thoughts’ while swinging a hammer, you may be called to attention by the attainment of a smashed thumb!
135. So, a veteran yogi will think thoughts when appropriate, and the thoughts will be of appropriate quality.
136. This is an ongoing process with incremental, gradual improvement over the months and years of your yoga practice.
137. It may seem tempting to skip the Yamas and Niyamas and jump immediately into the meditation practices, but that only results in a student that may sit for hours in meditation but does not actually experience Samadhi.

138. “The next point is subtle, so pay close attention.
139. Even some stream-of-consciousness, apparently random and insignificant-seeming thoughts that ‘pop-up’ may actually be appropriate in that they are popping up for significant reasons: they may contain lessons, even if the lesson is simply for you to be aware of why that particular thought is at that moment appearing in your mind.
140. Watching your thoughts in that manner – a practice that I call ‘Being the Watcher Behind the Thoughts’ – is itself a meditation practice.
141. For short, this meditation practice can be called simply, ‘Watching the Thoughts’, but the longer name adds an important level of meaning.
142. When you notice the thoughts that you have throughout the day, notice that you are, in a very real sense, the Watcher behind the thoughts.
143. You, the Spiritual Soul, are ‘behind and beyond’ the mind and the thoughts; you are the one that watches the thoughts.
144. Whereas in the somewhat similar form of meditation that we call Gatekeeper Practice in which the Watcher performs the role of Gatekeeper of the Holy Temple of the Mind and denies residence to unworthy, negative thoughts, in ‘Being the Watcher’ meditation there is not so much emphasis on denying entry of ‘unwelcome thoughts’ but instead a simple ‘looking them over in an attempt to see what they are and consider why they have come’.
145. ‘Being the Watcher’ meditation is more relaxed than Gatekeeper Practice and so can be practiced much of the day.146. Gatekeeper Practice is a more strenuous ‘Meditation Tapa’ – a mental, emotional, and spiritual cleansing practice – and might be vigorously practiced for shorter periods of duration.
147. Gatekeeper Practice is a cleansing by fire; ‘Being the Watcher’ is more like cleansing in a long bath of warm water!

148. “The short answer to your question, Ta’om, is that long-term yoga students greatly reduce the inappropriate non-stop chatter of the untrained mind and gain the ability to pay attention to what is most appropriate without inappropriate distractions; however, that does not mean that they have no thoughts at all, since that would be unnatural and inappropriate.”

149. Ta’om replied, “Lord, will You give me an assignment related to the question I asked and the response You gave?”

150. Yahshua said, “Your assignment for this night is as follows.
151. Consider the question that you asked Me; consider My response to that question; then study your list of the Eight Sequential Phases For Successful Yoga to see how those phases and the related practices relate to your question and My response.”

Note from Day: Later in this book – Sadhana – that list of Eight Sequential Phases For Successful Yoga is provided; you can, if you wish, perform the same assignment just given above by Yahshua to Ta’om!

Since the Nasarean Essene Meditation Practice called ‘Gatekeeper Practice’ was mentioned above, this seems like the purrrfect (meow) place to provide it.

GATEKEEPER PRACTICE

What is GATEKEEPER PRACTICE? It is the intentional practice of being THE WATCHER behind the thoughts while performing the job of GATEKEEPER at the entrance to the HOLY TEMPLE OF THE MIND. I will explain.

For the duration of Gatekeeper Practice, you are to consider your mind to be a HOLY TEMPLE (a Kingdom of Heaven) in which only “appropriate guests” (appropriate thoughts) are welcome to enter and remain. Your job, for the duration of Gatekeeper Practice, is to perform the duties of GATEKEEPER OF THE HOLY TEMPLE. Your duties, as TEMPLE GATEKEEPER, are as follows:

1) You are to STAND GUARD – be alert and watchful – at your post. Your “post” is the “Gateway” into the “Temple”, THE ENTRANCE TO THE MIND.
2) Each time a “GUEST” (a “thought”) enters through the Gateway into the Holy Temple (the mind) you are to lovingly, yet firmly, greet the guest and conduct an examination aimed at determining the status of the guest. If the “guest” (“thought” that has entered the mind) seems to have appropriate characteristics to reside in the Holy Temple, you issue that guest the status of WELCOME GUEST and permit entry and residence in the Temple. Appropriate characteristics of a “guest” (“thought”) seeking residence in the “Holy Temple” (“mind”) are those characteristics that correspond to the experience of the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN WITHIN, according to the Essene teachings. Thoughts (“guests”) which seem to be honest, helpful, loving, forgiving, positive, etc., are WELCOME GUESTS; according to the Essene teachings, those thoughts correspond to the internal experience of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Guests (thoughts) which do not have appropriate characteristics – dishonest thoughts, mean thoughts, negative thoughts, selfish thoughts, vindictive thoughts, etc. – are lovingly, yet firmly, denied residence in the Holy Temple (mind) by the WATCHFUL GATEKEEPER (you). But because the Gatekeeper loves all would-be guests – even the thoughts that are denied residence – all rejected guests are sent to appropriate “schools” or “hospitals” on the outer grounds of the Holy Temple so as to learn and be healed.

By watching your thoughts, you will notice something: YOU WILL NOTICE THAT “YOU” – “THE WATCHER” – ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS. “You” are behind the thoughts. The next time you are watching your thoughts, ask yourself this question: WHO IS WATCHING? The answer: “I AM”.

Remember that, in the meditation practice described just before Gatekeeper Practice – the one titled Being the Watcher Behind the Thoughts – Yahshua explained that though these two practices are related, Gatekeeper Practice is more intense, demands more concentration, and thus is typically practiced for a shorter duration.

You will also recall that Yahshua’s description of Being the Watcher Behind the Thoughts was prompted by a question from, and a dialogue with, his disciple named Ta’om. Interestingly, in the verses that I will next provide, we learn that the name Ta’om is itself a Nasarean mantra.

Wizardess Nebiyah Describes the ‘Ta’om Mantra’

Wizardess Nebiyah is the speaker of the following verses found in Chapter Sixty-Eight of Godspell:

179. She said, “Ta’om, you are a son of Thunder – the beloved Wizard Ra’am – and with your twin brother Yohanan, will be one of the ‘Sons of Thunder’ venerated by future Nasareans.
180. As you know, your father named you after a favorite Nasarean Mantra: Tah-Om.
181. That mantra affirms that we are Spiritual Twins in Om.
182. Nasareans chant Tah-Om to empower their walk in the Essene Way to become and remain Twins of Christ as Hands of Mercy. 
183. It is appropriate that you wear that mantra as a name; for, behold: You have attained Twinship In Christ.

Ta’om and his twin brother, Yohanan, were sons of a Nasarean Wizard named Ra’am. Since the Hebrew word ‘Ra’am’ means ‘Thunder’, the twin brothers were called ‘The sons of Thunder’.

I (Day) do the mantra as one long outbreath, the first half sounding the syllable ‘Tah’, and the second half sounding ‘Om’. Repeat it as many times as you like. That is similar to the way that I chant two other mantras: Shahhh-lommm and Ahhh-Ommm. 

Yahshua Gives Five Meditation Practices In Response to a Question from Orah

In the following excerpt, Yahshua describes five Essene Meditation Practices in response to a question from his cousin, Orah. Because Yahshua gives not just one but five meditation practices in his response to Orah, this passage – Godspell 46:150-164 – is one of the most significant teachings on Essene Meditation Practices in the entire Megillah. Because Orah knew that Yahshua had recently returned from India after seven years of study with Beten-Jahlah (the Essene Priestess in charge of the Nasarean encampment in India), she asked him the following question about meditation:

150. Orah asked Yahshua a question: “Lord of my soul and cousin of my flesh, compare the meditation practices of India with our Nasarean meditation practices.”

151. Yahshua answered, “The Vedic religions were influenced in their early days by the Nasarean encampments in the mountains of India that formed after the corruption of the Garden of Eden.
152. Wherefore the meditation practices of the Vedic religions have their roots in the most ancient Nasarean meditation practices.
153. For example, the meditation practice that Nasareans call ‘Hagah’ – the repetition of a word or phrase verbally or mentally – is in India called ‘Mantra Meditation’. 
154. Likewise, what Nasareans call ‘Tzafah’ – inner gazing – is practiced by the yogis of India.
155. They call it ‘Raja’ because it is ‘Kingly’, being linked to the Crown Chakra.
156. And what Nasareans call ‘Suach’, the ‘smoothness of tranquility’ that is symbolized by the number fifty and demonstrated in our daily life, the yogis call: ‘Walking Samadhi’.

157. “Once reaching Suach and maintaining it through many seasons, practice other forms of meditation simply because they are enjoyable, not because they are necessary to Suach.
158. One Nasarean form of meditation that I especially enjoy is called Hitbodet.
159. Hitbodet is focused attention on what you are ‘doing’ so as to treat every task as an art form and an oracle.

160. “I also enjoy the practice of Hitbonenut, which means ‘contemplation on a chosen theme’.
161. Much can be learned while practicing Hitbonenut.
162. The themes are endless and one extracts meaning from each act of intentional contemplation.

163. “There are other Nasarean forms of meditation that have counterparts in the Vedic tradition.
164. Some of our meditation practices are only revealed to initiates who have attained the right to receive them.”

One way to attain the right to receive very esoteric Essene Meditation Practices is by reading my extremely long books and articles in which they are hiding in plain sight! ☺

In the above excerpt, Yahshua gave the Nasarean Hebrew names of five Essene Meditation Practices:

1. Hagah [the repetition of a word or phrase verbally or mentally; in India called: ‘Mantra Meditation’.]

2. Tzafah [‘inner gazing’; there are different varieties of ‘inner gazing’: both the previously described Gatekeeper Practice and the previously described Being the Watcher Behind the Thoughts are forms of Tzafah, of ‘inner gazing’.]

3. Suach [literally means ‘Smoothness of Tranquility’, and is the experience of ‘Walking Samadhi’ as the ultimate fruit of not only Tzafah but of all the phases and practices of the yogic lifestyle. Suach is what Concentrative Meditation relaxes into. It is the only meditation practice that is your entire daily life; at this point, as Yahshua said, the only reason to do other overt forms of meditation is that you enjoy them, and that is why Yahshua said he practices this next one (number four): he enjoys it!]

4. Hitbodet [focused attention on what you are ‘doing’ so as to treat every task as an art form and an oracle; at Essene Garden of Peace, I remind those that are pulling weeds in our garden to remember the definition of Hitbodet!]

5. Hitbonenut [contemplation on a chosen theme; the list of possible themes, Yahshua said, is endless; we choose a theme to contemplate and, according to Yahshua, “one extracts meaning from each act of intentional contemplation”.]

Some Examples of ‘Themes for Contemplation’ for the Practice of Hitbonenut Meditation

– The relationship between repentance, contrition, and forgiveness;
– The relationship between our food and our health;
– The relationship between our thoughts and our deeds;
– Various themes related to karma;
– Various themes related to the word tolerance.
– Various themes related to how what we experience in childhood can affect us in later life, including the theme of how to positively overcome negative childhood experiences.

The above list could go on and on; that is why Yahshua called it ‘endless’. YOUR ASSIGNMENT: think of three themes that could be added to the above list of ‘Themes for Contemplation’. I will also point out that all of the previously given ‘Symbols of Contemplation’ and ‘Concepts of Contemplation’ (given previously in this book) are also obviously examples of Hitbonenut meditation – ‘contemplation on a chosen theme’ – but will not be listed again in this section.

The Very First Meditation Practice Taught in The Holy Megillah is An Example of Hagah Meditation (‘Mantra Meditation’)

In researching the topic of meditation in the Megillah, I noticed that the very first meditation practice given in the Megillah appears on page one in verses twelve through fourteen; it is an example of Hagah Meditation, number one in the above list of five meditation practices:

12.  The name of the Divine Way is YHWH.
13.  To feel the truth of this name, chant it in Ancient Vibration. 
14.  Yea, chant the Holy Name! 

Even though the word ‘meditation’ did not appear in those early verses of the Megillah – even though nobody announced: ‘Okay, here is a meditation practice’ – if you carefully examine those three verses – especially verse thriteen – it is clear that we, the readers of those verses of the Megillah, are being given an assignment: we are being directed to chant the Holy Name YHWH.

IMPORTANT: Just as often as you see the Tetragrammaton spelled in English YHWH, you will see it spelled YHVH. That is because the Hebrew sound being transliterated as either ‘v’ or ‘w’ has no exact equivalent letter sound in English, the sound being a sort of mix between ‘V’ and ‘W’. Both spellings (YHWH and YHVH) are equally correct, and I use them both. The word Tetragrammaton simply means ‘Four Letter Word’; however, used in a religious context it is always a reference to the name of Deity.

Specifically, in order to “feel the truth of this name”, we are directed to chant it in “Ancient Vibration”. In this case, as taught to me by my teacher, Malachi, that means to add the vowels necessary to pronounce it – in a deeply devotional ‘attitude’ or ‘vibe’ – as follows:

YAHHHD-HAYYY-WAHHH-HAYYY

Each of the four parts gets about 25% of the exhale. First try chanting it in a deep, very-vibratory monotone (rather than various notes), similar in vibratory quality to some Tibetan Buddhist chants you may have heard. This is the simplest way to perform it in ‘Ancient Vibration’ style, a slightly more complex version is to set it to a melody – rather than chant it in monotone – and I hereby assign you to give that a try!

It might surprise you to find out that, rather than how perfect you pronounce this or any other Nasarean mantra, only one thing is required to qualify it as ‘Ancient Vibration’: It must be chanted in an attitude of Bhakti celebrative praise, as is made clear in verse 16:

16.  Praises be to YHWH!

And what we are praising is the Universal All that is the expansion of Original Yah/Original Being; verse fifteen makes that clear:

15.  This Name is HaShem, for this Name contains every name.

The term HaShem means The Name that contains every name, and is a reference to Universal YHWH, the Universal One that is the ALL. 

While the first meditation practice given to us to practice in the Megillah is the above one from page one, the first description of anyone actually practicing a form of meditation in the Megillah is found on page two, and it is Original Being (Yah) that is doing it:

21. Being contemplated, and The First Question arose: “What am I?”
22. Being considered, and The First Answer arose: “I Am!”
23. And then Being knew itself to be Being.

Verse 21 is an example of Hitbonenut, number five on the list given above by Yahshua in answer to the question from Orah. That variety of meditation Yahshua described as, ‘contemplation on a chosen theme’. In this case the chosen theme was in the form of a question related to Self-Realization: ‘What am I?”

The answer – I AM! – is the first affirmation of Deity in the Megillah, and thus is the First Mantra of Deity (since a spoken spiritual affirmation is a type of Mantra), and still to this day is the First Great Spiritual Self Realization that every single Spark of ‘I AM’ affirms when it recognizes what it IS.

35.  And Being knew: “I exist eternally; I consider the facts of my existence; I feel profound feelings.
36.  I am Existence, Consciousness, and Feeling.” 

That, my friends, is the very same thing that in Sanskrit is called Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence, Consciousness, Bliss). So, when we successfully meditate and experience Samadhi, we are following the pattern set by Yah on the first two pages of the Megillah. Deity meditates!

To return again to that very first meditation assignment given to us in the Megillah – the assignment to chant YHWH in a Bhakti attitude of praise – not only is it a type of Hagah Meditation (Mantra Meditation), it is a particular variety of Mantra Meditation called Japa Mantra. We practice Japa Mantra Meditation when what we are chanting or inwardly focusing on – our ‘Mantra’ – is centered on a name of Deity. In this case, the name of Deity is YHWH, but it could also be names like HaShem, Yah, Jah, Jahlah, Jah-Jah, Jahday, Jahnah, Elohim, Yahshua, Miriam.

An example of God (Jah) and Goddess (Jahlah) themselves performing an act of Japa Mantra in the Nasarean Book of Genesis is their ‘speaking-into-existence’ Jahday (Lord Chirst) and Jahnah (Lady Christ); we read:

60. At the center of the void Jah spoke one holy word, “Jahday”, and Jahday came forth as The Word of Jah.
61. And, at the center of the void, Jahlah exhaled one holy breath, “Jahnah”, and Jahnah came forth as The Breath of Jahlah.

Miriam’s Cauldron Soup Mantras!

Miriam the Magdalene, while teaching how to make an Enchanted Soup, references the possible inclusion of mantras. An ‘Enchanted Soup’ is a soup in which loving, prayerful affirmations for the blessing of all who will eat it are chanted with the adding of each ingredient. We read in Godspell Chapter 45:

114. Miriam continued teaching about The Third Cauldron, saying: “As with herbal teas, when we make soup, we consider the recipients.
115. When someone is sick and you make them soup, let your ingredients be those that best help that particular illness.
116. And when you add any ingredient to any soup, also include love.
117. For, I tell you truly:  Love is the best ingredient in soup!
118. And when you conjure, let every ingredient be added with an enchantment, be it spoken or inwardly affirmed. 
119. And if in doubt about what words to chant, simply say the word ‘love’ as you add each ingredient to your soup.
120. Another enchantment for any occasion is: Let there be light!
121. Likewise, you can never go wrong chanting Sulam haAliyah!
122. But you can also chant new enchantments that fit the occasion.
123. Let the words flow through you naturally in the spontaneity of the living moment that is now.
124. Now in forever in Yah! 
125. Amen!”

Miriam’s reference to Sulam haAliyah (it is pronounced: soo-lahm hah-ah-lee-yah) is to a term that means: ‘The Spiral Ladder of Ascent.’ In Nasarean Cosmology, that term is directly related to Spiritual Evolution, the idea that we can spiral up into progressively higher heavenly realms. Yahshua gives a good one sentence definition of the term:

210. “Lo: because I AM persists eternally, I AM is the Yah that is always Now yet has chosen to be perfected by seasons in cycles, thus manifesting as a spiral that we call Sulam HaAliyah.” 

Here follows a portion – enough for you to learn the mantra – of a longer excerpt in which Miriam recites a Sulam HaAliyah Magical Enchantment. This is found in Chapter 30 of Godspell. The full version consists of verses 678-720); here I provide only a portion but encourage you to read the entire passage in the Megillah. This excerpt is from a period of time before Miriam – who here is still in Ethiopia – combined her ministry and disciples with those of Yahshua. Thus, she addresses it to her ‘seven disciples’, the seven women that had become her disciples in Ethiopia:

678. Miriam said to Her seven: “Chant with Me a holy enchantment, Sulam HaAliyah.
679. Yea, let us chant it up!
680. In the names of Jah and Jahlah in Yah, in appreciation of the Divine Plan, we offer this enchantment for the uplift of all Beings in supernal light and unfathomable love. 
681. Now in forever in Yah, amen!” 

682. The seven disciples replied, “Now in forever in Yah, amen!”
683. Miriam said, “Birdsong will drum.
684. Chant with Me, My seven sisters!”
685. Miriam chanted the enchantment, a magical prayer, and the seven raised their voices with Her, and to the rhythm of Birdsong’s drum they chanted, then sang, the holy words.
686. “Sulam Ha-Aliyah!
687. Sulam Ha-Aliyah! 
688. Sulam Ha-Aliyah!
689. Sulam Ha-Aliyah!
690. Sulam Ha-Aliyah!
691. Sulam Ha-Aliyah!
692. Sulam Ha-Aliyah!”

There are many ways to include that term – Sulam HaAliyah – in Nasarean Mantra Meditation as well as in prayers and enchantments, and more than one example appears in the Megillah. A Mantra Song version of it appears on a CD available from our church. The simplest version, of course, is to simply chant or sing the term repeatedly, as in the example given below by Pehri the Maggid. In this excerpt, Pehri had the assembled Green Wizards of The White Rose sing the term ten times as part of the opening ritual of their meeting:  

86. The Maggid said, “Let us now sing Sulam ha Aliyah ten times.”
87. And the assembled Green Wizards of the White Rose sang that song in great bliss.
88. And then all performed the Salutation to the Sun. 
89. For that is a symbol of our acknowledgement of our relationship to The Seventh Heaven of our chain of seven heavens.
90. And then all sat down in the circle and sang songs and played drums.

In the two above excerpts in which Miriam used the term Sulam HaAliyah – the first being in her Enchanted Soup excerpt and the second being in her Sulam HaAliyah Magical Enchantment, she also used the term “Now in Forever in Yah” immediately followed by the affirmation ‘Amen’. For example, in the excerpt above in which Miriam referred to both ‘Let there be light!’ and ‘Sulam haAliyah’ being excellent all-purpose affirmations, she ended her remarks by stating:

124. “Now in forever in Yah!
125. Amen!”

I want to point out that either one of those affirmative phrases – ‘Now in forever in Yah’ or ‘Amen’ – make a fine mantra in their own right. In regard to verse 124, try chanting the following sentence in one outbreath, repeating it several times:

“Now in forever in Yah!”

Assignment: after chanting the above sentence several times, deeply contemplate the meaning. 

In the first three verses of Godspell Chapter 45, we read:

1. Migdanah played a lovely song on her wooden flute while Miriam and Yahshua spread Their blanket upon the ground and sat beside the cauldron at the center of the circle.
2. Miriam spoke, saying: “Chant with Me the magical word ‘amen’ seven times in Love and Wisdom, with the nod to Love, for that nod is the Highest Wisdom!” 
3. With great reverence, the assembled brothers and sisters of the Green Wizards of the White Rose chanted the magical word seven times.

The word ‘Amen’ (in ancient Nasarean meditation practices it is pronounced ah-men rather than ay-men) means: ‘So be it!’ and is related to one of the Nasarean names of Deity: Omen. We read the following definition of Omen in an expanded footnote at the back of the Megillah:

Omen is a Hebrew noun related to the adverb Amen. Omen can mean faithfulness, but in this context, as a name of Yah, means Truth, the That Which IS. Beyond the various theories about God, is the ACTUAL TRUTH that truly IS. That is Omen.

Although the word ‘Omen’ is not specifically described as a mantra in the Megillah, the general practice of ‘chanting the Names of Deity’ is given in the Megillah, and Omen is a Nasarean Name of Deity. So, I propose that the reader try chanting it as a mantra. I like to do it in one long outbreath, with each of the two syllables getting a different note (try different notes):

Ohhhhhhh Mennnnnnn

By the way, the Hebrew word Omen is a different word than the Latin-rooted word that we are all familiar with that is spelled the same and means ‘oracular warning’.

In the following Seven Words of Opening given to Abdiel by the Lord Christ and Lady Christ before their human incarnations as Yahshua and Miriam, notice that the word ‘Amen’ is called ‘The Righteous Response’. When the Seven Words of Opening is used as a Mantra Song – it is typically sung or recited before Nasarean teaching sessions – the word ‘Amen’ is sung twice at the end of each round of Seven Words. First, I will share the verses in which the Lord and Lady teach the Seven Words of Opening to Abdiel (the first Essene Priest on this planet, Abdiel ascended and became the Angel Gabri’el of the Top Center Branch of the Essene Tree of Life, the branch that is associated with the Crown Chakra), and then I will share the song version. Whether simply spoken, or sang in a beautiful melody (as is done on a CD available from our church), the Seven Words of Opening is one of the most important mantras in the Nasarean Religion of the Essene Way, being from the tongue of the Cherubim (Angelic Beings that help the Lord and Lady). We read in Mattanah (Nasarean Book of Genesis) Chapter Twelve:

8. Abdiel stood on the ground near the trunk of the Tree of Life.  
9. And behold: The bodies of the Lamb and the Dove began to glow brightly, then to change form.
10. The body of the Lamb was now that of a glorious man with brown skin and long locks.
11. And the body of the Dove was now that of a glorious woman with black skin and long locks.
12. And the eyes of both the man and the woman were full of love and wisdom. 
13. And the woman spoke, saying: “Look, Oh Abdiel, upon the human bodies that the Lord and Lady will wear when We come as perfected man and perfected woman.
14. Now We wear these bodies that We may initiate you as Our first Priest in this new world.”

15. Then the Lamb, who now appeared as a man, spoke the Seven Words of Opening, which are Nasarean Words of Power to open sessions of Omnah [Nasarean teaching sessions].  
16. Behold: Omnah is Instruction in Nasarean wisdom.
17. And the Seven Words of Opening are from the tongue of the Cherubim.   
18. For, lo: certain words have their origin in the tongue of the Cherubim, and are words of great power. 
19. And after each Word of Opening, Abdiel gave The Righteous Response, which is Amen [pronounced Ah-men].  

20. The Lamb, in the body of Yahshua, which is Salvation, spoke The First Word of Opening: “Po!” [Day: ‘Po’ means‘Here’.]
21. Abdiel gave The Righteous Response: “Amen!”

22. Yahshua spoke The Second Word of Opening: “Attah!” [Day: ‘Attah’ means ‘Now’.]
23. Abdiel gave The Righteous Response: “Amen!”

24. Yahshua spoke The Third Word of Opening: “Omnah!” [Day: ‘Omnah’ means ‘Instruction’.]
25. Abdiel gave The Righteous Response: “Amen!”

26. Yahshua spoke The Fourth Word of Opening: “Shamah!” [Day: ‘Hear’]
27. Abdiel gave The Righteous Response: “Amen!”

28. Yahshua spoke The Fifth Word of Opening: “Qabalah!” [Day: ‘Receive’]
29. Abdiel gave The Righteous Response: “Amen!”
30. Yahshua spoke The Sixth Word of Opening: “Zohar!” [Day: ‘Radiant light of illumination’]
31. Abdiel gave The Righteous Response: “Amen!”

32. Yahshua spoke The Seventh Word of Opening: “Na’am!”  [Day: ‘to utter as a prophet’]
33. Abdiel gave The Righteous Response: “Amen!”

After having taught the Seven Words of Opening to Abdiel, the Lord and Lady chanted the words with him:

34. Then, for a time that seemed outside of time, they chanted The Seven Words of Opening.
35. Behold, in this manner they chanted: 

Po-At-tah Om-nah Sha-mah,
Qa-bal-ah Zo-har Na’-am;
Amen, Amen.

36. Yea, and they emphasized certain syllables as they chanted, as taught today by elders of the Way.

At the Mother Temple here at Essene Garden of Peace in Oregon, we have not only turned the above chant into a beautiful melody, but have also set it to music; we use it as a Mantra Song. And, as the current ‘elders of the Way’, we emphasize the appropriate syllables in the manner we sing the song. A recording of that song – with music – is available from our church. On the same CD is a recording of the Sulam Ha Aliyah Mantra (described previously) turned into a beautiful song.

I remind us all that a word often taken for granted in scripture is ‘Amen’; it means ‘So Be It’ and adds a powerful sense of affirmation to any enchantment, prayer, or mantra. Notice that it was included as an affirmation in the above song-version of The Seven Words of Opening.

Although it may not be obvious to the reader, there is a reason that the last several mantras given above have not had their own headings; it is because each of them – the Sulam ha-Aliyah mantras, the Amen mantras, the ‘Now in Forever in Yah’ mantra etc. are all linked to the heading titled: Miriam’s Cauldron Soup Mantras! In that excerpt in which she described how to make ‘Enchanted Soup’ by speaking positive, prayerful affirmations (mantras) while adding each ingredient, she also mentioned a very simple yet powerful mantra; she said:

119. “And if in doubt about what words to chant, simply say the word ‘love’ as you add each ingredient to your soup.”

Brothers and Sisters, as you move through your day, you can’t go wrong simply chanting the holy mantra ‘LOVE!’

Immediately after mentioning the use of the word ‘love’ as a ‘soup enchantment’, she mentioned a classic mantra that I am going to spend a bit of time with now. She said:

120. “Another enchantment for any occasion is: Let there be light!”

Amen to that! In fact, I will give that mantra its own heading and share several examples of its use in The Holy Megillah.

‘Let There be Light’ Mantra

Like ‘Hallelujah’ is a familiar term to mainstream Jews and Christians but is not recognized by most of them as a mantra, the same is true of the term: LET THERE BE LIGHT! Indeed, this mantra deserves to be called a Divine Mantra, because it is a mantra actually spoken by Deity. In the Nasarean Book of Genesis, we read:

8. Before the beginning of Their Dance, the Mother Ovum was Bohu, a dark void of desolate emptiness.
9. And this void was Tohu, without form.
10. And this void was dark because there was yet no Aur haBahir, no Light of Illumination.
11. And this void was desolate because the Spirit of Yah was with Elohim in Tzimtzum.
12. Then, bursting outward in ecstasy from Tzimtzum into Bohu, the Spiral Dance of Creation began.
13. Behold: Elohim Karim!
14. Which is to say, Elohim Dances!

15. Elohim danced the Karar HaAur, the Dance of Light, a whirling motion with the sound of a hum.
16. And the hum of the Light Dance is the music of Their Dance. 
17. And the music of Their Dance is one with the lyrics of Their Song.
18. And those lyrics are the words sung by They Who Dance.
19. And They Who Dance are Jahday and Jahnah, our God and Goddess Immanent, Elohim.
20. And the lyrics They sing while They dance the Dance of Light are The Words of Light: “Yehi Aur!”
21. Which is to say, “Let there be Light!”

22. Lo, Elohim sang “Let there be Light!” and there was Light!
23. And Elohim knew that the Light was Good.
24. And when the Light entered Bohu, the darkness of the void, the Light comprehended the darkness, but the darkness comprehended not the Light.

We can chant that Divine Mantra – Let there be Light! – in both English and Hebrew:

English Version of The Words of Light Mantra

Let there be light!
(Repeat)

Hebrew Version ofThe Words of Light Mantra

Yehi Aur!
(Repeat)

Note: ‘Aur’ is pronounced like the English word ‘or’.

You can combine the two above versions, alternating the English line ‘Let there be light!’ with the Hebrew line ‘Yehi Aur!’ See below:

Combined English and Hebrew Version of The Words of Light Mantra

Let there be light!
Yehi Aur!
(Repeat)

Yahshua’s ‘Wand of Light Meditation’

Yahshua’s ‘Wand of Light Meditation’ is based on chanting one word: ‘Light!’ He describes it as follows.

4. Yahshua spoke, saying: “Now use your arm with pointed finger as your wand and point to the center of the circle each time we chant the magical word ‘light’.”
5. And the Green Wizards chanted that magical word seven times as a sacred mantra. 
6. And the right arm of each wizard was his or her wand.

In the above example, this mantra was only chanted seven times because it was being offered as part of a ritual of opening to start a meeting; however, there is no need to stop after seven repetitions. I do it as follows.

Day’s Version of Yahshua’s Mantra of Light

Step One: Standing in a circle holding hands (if in a group), chant together a minimum of three times the previously given full-form of the ‘Let There Be Light Mantra’ in English:   

“Let there be light!”
(Minimum three times; I usually do at least seven rounds of that and then go to Step Two below.)

Step Two: The leader/facilitator of the chant then informs the group to let go of hands and to begin performing Yahshua’s Mantra of Light; as Yahshua instructed, each person uses their right arm with pointed finger as a ‘wand’, pointing it at the center of the circle each time we chant the magical word LIGHT:

“Light!”
(Repeat as many times as you want or as indicated by the leader/facilitator.)

Step Three (Optional): If in a group, the leader will have explained to the group how to perform Step Three even before having begun with Step One; this Third Step is as follows: Slowly but surely, the pace of the chanting of the word “Light” increases, getting faster and faster. The ‘speeding up’ does not begin right away: the initial slow pace continues for a minute or so, then it gets a bit faster for another minute or so, then a bit faster… and so on until at the end there is virtually no pause between the repetions of the word ‘Light’:

Light! Light! Light! Light! Light!
(Continue, faster and faster until the group leader
shouts the Closing Words of Step Four.)

Step Four: Loud enough for the whole group to hear, the Leader/Facilitator raises both arms straight up and shouts:

“Yehi Aur! Let there be Light!”

The rest of the group then does likewise; they quit using the right arm as a wand, quit chanting the word Light (the previously agreed signal for stopping the chant is that the Leader/Facilitator will raise both his/her arms in the air) and then repeat the same thing that the Leader/Facilitator just shouted:

“Yehi Aur! Let there be Light!”

Remember, you can adapt all of the above for individual use; in fact, it is easier for one person to perform for the following reason: You can repeat each portion as many times as you choose and always flawlessly flow from one part to the next! Why? Because: you are the leader and you are following your own lead! ☺ That makes the ‘speeding up’ aspect much easier. (A bit simpler group-version would be to not speed up, just maintain the same pace throughout the repetitions.)

Here is a variation that just now came to me:

Day’s Version of the Combined Hebrew and English ‘Let There Be Light Mantra’ PerformedIn Call and Response Style

This version is for a group of two or more participants.

Leader: “Yehi Aur!”
Group: “Let there be light!”
Leader: “Yehi Aur!”
Group: “Let there be light!”
(Repeat as many times as you like.)

If the above ‘Call and Response’ version of the Combined Hebrew/English ‘Let There Be Light Mantra’ is sung to a melody, that would then make it a great example of a Kirtan (pronounced keer-tan) Mantra. A Kirtan Mantra is typically in a call and response style and is sung rather than just spoken. Many of our spoken/chanted mantras can be converted to Kirtan style: the leader sings a line, then the group either sings that exact line back or another line that correlates with it, as was the case in our above example.

While the following ‘Prayer of Light’ certainly starts out as a prayer, it ends off by chanting the word ‘Light’ forty-nine times; that certainly constitutes a mantra! 

Yahshua’s Prayer of Light

101. “Glory to thee, Father Jah!
102. Glory to thee, Mother Jahlah!
103. Glory to the Luminous Light of the union of the Father-Mother!
104. Yea, it is in the union of the Father-Mother that the Great Light shines forth!
105. Glory to that union!
106. Glory to the Great Light!
107. Glory to the Light of the Father-Mother crowned in Yah!

108. “In the enlightenment of the Great Light may all darkness be illuminated!
109. Oh Light without Shadow, Luminous Light of the Union of Jah-Jahlah, shine within me and all around me!
110. Bring clarity to my inner eye that my outer eyes may see clearly Your living Way of radiant Love-Light!

111. “Where spiritual darkness dominates, inside or outside, Let There Be Light!
112. Where the husband dominates in darkness over the wife, Let There Be Light!
113. Where the mother dominates in darkness over the child, Let There Be Light!

114. “Where the spider dominates in darkness over the gnat, Let There Be Light!
115. Where the Beast dominates in darkness over Babylon, Let There Be Light!
116. Where the butcher dominates in darkness over the lamb, Let There Be Light!

117. “Where the violent dominate in darkness over the peaceful, Let There Be Light!
118. Where the rich dominate in darkness over the poor, Let There Be Light!
119. Where evil thoughts dominate in darkness over young minds, Let There Be Light!

120. “Wherever spiritual darkness dominates, Let There Be Light!
121. Let There Be Light!
122. Let there be Light!

123. “My prayer is for Universal Enlightenment in the Love-Light of Jah-Jahlah!
124. Love-Light within us, Love-Light around us, Love-Light below us, Love-Light above us, let it shine!

125. “Let there be Light!
126. Let there be Light!
127. Let there be Light!
128. Let there be Light!
129. Let there be Light!
130. Let there be Light! 
131. Let there be Light!

132. “My prayer is that each soul will willingly choose to bathe in Light, to be made clean in Light, within and without, made clean in Love-Light!
133. So be it!
134. Amen, amen, amen!

135. “My prayer is that every soul will willingly choose to drink Light, that the thirst of every soul may be quenched by Love-Light!
136. So be it!
137. Amen, amen, amen!

138. “In the Supernal Love-Light that is the Union of Jah and Jahlah in Yah, join Me in chanting the word ‘Light’ as a heartfelt Prayer of Light: “Light!

139. Light!
140. Light!
141. Light!
142. Light!
143. Light!
144. Light!

145. “Light! 
146. Light!
147. Light!
148. Light!
149. Light!
150. Light!
151. Light!

152. “Light!
153. Light!
154. Light!
155. Light!
156. Light!
157. Light!
158. Light!

159. “Light! 
160. Light!
161. Light!
162. Light!
163. Light!
164. Light!
165. Light!

166. “Light!
167. Light!
168. Light!
169. Light!
170. Light!
171. Light!
172. Light!

173. “Light!
174. Light!
175. Light!
176. Light!
177. Light!
178. Light!
179. Light!

180. “Light!
181. Light!
182. Light!
183. Light!
184. Light!
185. Light!
186. Light!”

Here follows an excerpt in which the elder Wizard at the time of Yahshua and Miriam, Pehri the Maggid, creatively incorporates The Let there be Light Mantra into an enchantment that was part of his presentation at the funeral of Yahshua’s father, Joseph. 

Holy Enchantment of the Maggid

307. Having told his story about young Joseph, Pehri the Maggid waved The Wand of the White Rose of Madhebah and chanted the following holy enchantment.
308. “Let us lovingly share the enlightenment of the Holy Translucent Light that is Yah consciousness in Jah-Jah and Elohim.

309. Perceive and believe in the Tree of Life within and all around.
310. Spread her seed on fertile ground, holy seed enchantments that sprout and spiral upward into the heavens.
311. Rise high by reaching low to share the heavenly glow with those in Contested Worlds with ears to hear.

312. Do not fear, the Translucent Spiritual Light is here!
313. Now in forever in Yah, amen!

314. “And so we chant this seed:
Let there be Light!
315. Where there is void,
Let there be Light!
316. Where there is darkness,
Let there be Light!
317. Where there is sadness,
Let there be Light!
318. Where there is receptivity,
Let there be Light!
319. Where there is sincerity,
Let there be Light! 
320. Within and around me,
Let there be Light!
321. “Let there be Light!
322. Let there be Light!
323. Let there be Light!”

You may have noticed that the very first verse above – verse 307 – made clear that, just before giving this enchantment at the funeral of Joseph, Pehri had told a story about Joseph as a child.  Joseph was twelve in this story. Pehri was old enough that he had known Joseph as a child, and a portion of his story about their early friendship refers to meditation, and so seems purrrfect to share here… so I will! ☺ Besides some good general teachings on meditation and the prime significance of LOVE, this lengthy excerpt will lead us directly into the next form of meditation that we will consider: Silent Meditation in Nature.

Pehri said:

219. “Joseph and I sat on a big boulder beneath a cedar tree.
220. I said to Joseph: ‘Ask me whatever questions you think most important in regard to your preparation to become a Green Wizard of the White Rose.’
221. Joseph asked me: ‘Pehri, what is the rudiment of Nasarean wizardry that is most important for an aspirant to the White Rose to meditate on?’ 
222. I replied, ‘Meditate first and last and in-between on the supreme power of Love. 
223. Meditate on the fact that Wisdom realized that it is best to give Love the final say.  
224. Meditate on the fact that if a wizard is truly wise, he will give Love the final say.
225. Meditate on the fact that it is by giving the nod to Love that Wisdom is proven wise…. (We skip some verses here)

243. “Meditate, young Joseph, on the supremacy of Love!
244. And know this: The best wizardly practice is to practice being Love.
245. But know this: Love is not without Wisdom.
246. She has the final say but walks hand-in-hand with Wisdom.
247. And so walks a Green Wizard of the White Rose!’

248. “Next young Joseph asked me, ‘Pehri, is it better to meditate on the supremacy of Love or to perform a loving act?’ 
249. I replied, ‘What do you think, good Joseph?’
250. Joseph replied, ‘I think it is best to do both. 
251. When there is a loving act to be done, do it.
252. And when in a restful mode, meditate on the supremacy of Love.’

253. “I said to Joseph: ‘I agree with your answer: When it is appropriate to perform a loving act, do so.
254. When it is appropriate to meditate, meditate.
255. And I add this: When in doubt, perform a loving act.
256. Then will you be out of doubt. 
257. And then you will know with certainty when it is the right moment to meditate. 
258. Lo: even Love finds time to meditate and chant love-enchantments, for that is holy prayer and is not left undone.’”

259. “Now, oh listeners, comes the amazing part of the story that I promised!
260. As Joseph and I chanted love chants, we began to vibrate so fast that we heard a call for help from a world not our own.
261. We answered because it felt appropriate.
262. We answered by being Love in that world as messiahs for many ages.
263. Then, when that world no longer needed our help, we returned to Mount Hermon because it felt appropriate.
264. No time had passed Here because it was still Now.
265. Joseph said, ‘Wow!’
266. I replied, ‘Wow!’

267. “Joseph said, ‘Pehri, will you join me for a walk in the woods?
268. It feels appropriate in the Now.’
269. I replied, ‘Ancient wise soul, Joseph, I desire exactly that walk Here and Now.’

270  “As we walked we were Silent so that we could hear nature speak to us.
271. And nature spoke.
272. And we listened.
273. And when appropriate, Joseph spoke, saying: ‘Pehri, on this walk I learned how to hear nature speak to me.”

One of my (Day) favorite meditation practices is described in those verses: Walking in Receptive Silence in Nature. Those of you that have attended the Annual National Essene Gathering that I have, at the time of this writing, hosted for twenty-nine consecutive years, know that each and every year I have led a Group Silent Meditation Walk in Nature. My instructions each year are as follows:

Instructions for Day’s Group Silent Meditation Walk in Nature

1. Each person is to be in Silence as we walk up the path to the waterfall where we perform initiations.

2. In Silent Receptivity, let nature speak to you; when it does, listen.

3. As we walk, each time that you notice that you have an impulse to speak, notice what you were about to say and consider from where within you did the impulse come; consider: did the impulse come from the Silence? Or did it come from a stimulus-response mechanism of the mind? After this bit of internal observation, return to simply walking in Silence.

After the walk reaches its destination – a higher elevation of the Mount behind our Mother Temple – I weave in a few spiritual readings, verbal teachings, initiations and songs, usually also a Circle Dance with motions and lyrics that we sing, and then, as we walk back down the Mount, we again practice Sacred Silence.

Obviously, the above version of ‘Walking in Silence in Nature’ can be adapted to fewer participants; even one person can do it. The special advantage to doing it in a group context is that there is more of a likelihood that you will have some impulses to begin speaking and thus the opportunity to examine those impulses.

Sun-Related Meditation Practices

I am writing an entire book on the topic of Sun Yoga called, The Solar Illuminations of Day of Greenleaf. One aspect of Sun Yoga can be called ‘Sun-Related Meditation Practices.’ I will provide many of the Solar Meditation Practices from the Megillah here, but without much commentary. If you read my book on Sun Yoga, I provide scientific studies and various expert information on all sorts of things related to the Sun. Here, in the book at hand – Sadhana – I will mostly just provide the key excerpts in which Sun-related meditation practices are given in the Megillah. I hope you actually go outside when appropriate and try these delightful (de-LIGHT-FULL! ☺) Solar Meditation Practices!

The first one is from Miriam. While in Ethiopia with her seven female disciples, before combining her ministry and disciples with Yahshua’s, Miriam initiated her disciples into the second level in the Essene Mystery School. As she makes clear, she did so because they had earned it by having successfully accomplished the introductory level of studies. I will be sharing only a portion of this significant initiation ritual – the portions that most pertain to Solar Meditation practices – but encourage you to read the entire ritual in the Megillah: Godspell Chapter 30 verses 822 -1027. Below, I provide a portion of that discourse; in the Megillah, this section is titled, Sermon on Mount Shemesh and Initiation into The Order of Shemesh in Shemayah. 

~~~

Miriam Teaches Two Solar Meditations: Solar Contemplation in Silent Receptivity
and Solar Veneration

822. On a beautiful sunny morning on the Sabbath, Miriam walked in joy with Her disciples.
823. We walked on winding trails that spiraled up through green forests to the top of Mount Shemesh.
824. It was here, atop Mount Shemesh, that the first meetings of the Nasarean Order called Shemesh in Shemayah were held ages ago.
825. That order is for Nasareans who demonstrate a high degree of progress in the first lessons of Essene Mountain of Peace. [Day: That order – The Order of Shemesh in Shemayahstill exists within our Mystery School, and that school is still called Essene Mountain of Peace. Contact me if interested in enrolling.]

We skip some verses and then pick up again:

833. Lo: When the Sun was high enough to warm the skin without burning, Miriam ended the walk in a sunny patch of green grass at the summit of Mount Shemesh.
834. This summit provided a clear view of the valley from which we had ascended.
835. Miriam sat beside a beautiful flower patch of diverse colors amidst the green grass.
836. Behold: A flower of each color of the rainbow surrounded Lady Miriam, and sunlight reflected from Her eyes….

Skipping nearly one hundred verses, we pick up where Miriam provides two Solar Meditations:

935. “Now, lo: let us sit in the rays of the sun in silent receptivity.
936. This is called Solar Contemplation in Silent Receptivity and is a meditation practice of The Order of Shemesh in Shemayah.”

937. After a time of Solar Contemplation, Miriam again spoke, saying, “Let us stand and begin Solar Veneration. 
938. This, too, is a practice of The Order of Shemesh in Shemayah.
939. Lo: There are no men here, so let us bare all of our skin to the sun.”
940. Miriam and Her seven disciples disrobed.
941. Miriam said, “As we face the sun, let our hands be raised high in homage to the Seventh Heaven of this world.
942. Lo: let the palms of your hands face the sun directly.    
943. Feel the warmth of the sun enter your palms and empower your hands.
944. Your touch-healing powers are at their highest immediately after absorbing sunlight.”

In regard to the second of those two Solar Meditations, Solar Veneration with Hands Held Up, I recommend that, after a period of performing it while standing per Miriam’s instructions, once your arms get tired sit down and place your hands palms up while they rest on your thighs and continue the meditation.

Like Miriam, Yahshua also advocates removing as much clothing as possible – all clothing if in a private area – when sunbathing in general and, when appropriate, when performing a Solar Meditation. The following excerpt is from Godspell Chapter Sixty-One, Yahshua’s Sermon on Essene Yoga.

Yahshua Speaks on Sunbathing and Solar Meditation Including A Technique for Centering Your Crown Chakra with the Sun

624. “Just by reciting, with sincere reverence, the Communion – ‘Words of Union’ (Daberim Ha Yihud) – for the Sun, one is practicing a form of Sun Yoga.
625. It is best to do this outside, in the Sun.
626. Though that Communion is typically spoken on the morning of the fourth day after Sabbath, you can also perform it as an act of Sun Yoga on any other day you like.
627. The following extra-short version of the Sun Communion is one you can try.
628. Facing the Sun, as naked as practical, say these words out loud: ‘Holy Sun, I bathe in your Fire of Life.’
629. Feel free to compose your own words of Solar Communion, and to vary your words from time to time, as
you like.
630. I do.
631. I also have several favorites of each root and branch communion – including the Solar Communion – that I return to again and again.

632. “One more example of Essene Sun Yoga is called Centering With The Sun. 
633. Whenever you want to feel more centered, simply center yourself with the Sun by orienting your own crown chakra to the crown chakra of the Sun.
634. This is best done outside beneath the Sun.
635. The Sun is always centered in the ultimate center that is Yah.
636. When you center yourself with the Sun, you simultaneously experience being centered in Yah.”

It works! If you find yourself feeling a bit ‘scattered’ and ‘uncentered’, try the above technique! Even when you don’t feel ‘uncentered’ it is ‘de-light-full’!!! ☺

In the following excerpt from Godspell Chapter 61, Yahshua calls naked sunbathing his favorite way to perform Silent Meditation! He also links it to the Crown Chakra, which is appropriate for our current article on Crown Yoga. 

Yahshua Teaches His Favorite Form of Silent Meditation: Sunbathing Combined With Silent Meditation

607. “Most mornings, Miriam and I follow our Hatha Yoga and Morning Service with a time of sunbathing that We consider a key practice of Sun Yoga.
608. This Daily Sun Bath is typically later in the morning than ‘First Sun’ – ‘First Sun’ being our first exposure to sunlight on a given day no matter how brief – and is of longer duration, though not so long as to cause a burn.
609. My favorite way to perform Silent Meditation is flat on My back on a blanket beneath the Sun, naked.
610. It is when performing that type of Sun Yoga – Sunbathing Combined With Silent Meditation – that I most notice ‘the encoded wisdom in the rays of the spiritual Sun, which are hidden within the glorious beams
of light from the physical Sun’…  referred to in… The Nasarean Book of Enoch.”

In the following excerpt from the Megillah, Miriam refers to that practice just taught by Yahshua (Sunbathing Combined With Silent Meditation) and then refers to a variation – doing a bit of ‘The Love Breath’ during the sunbathing – that is her and Yahshua’s favorite version of it. 

A Sabbath Day Solar Meditation Experience: Miriam Shares A Favorite Solar Meditation that Combines Naked Sunbath Meditationwith The Love Breath

11. Miriam said, “Let us spend today, the Sabbath, communing with the sun and the Seventh Heaven.
12. Let us each find a private place to be naked beneath the sun for personal Solar Meditation.
13. As Yahshua has taught you, lay down on your back – on a blanket – and  sunbathe with eyes closed, but not so long that you burn.
14. It is never good to burn your skin!
15. We are a diverse group in terms of racial heritage and skin color; that was on purpose!
16. Those that are as light-skinned as Ra’am and his sons are more likely to burn than I am; ebony skin does not easily burn.
17. After being face-up for about half the duration, roll over and you will reduce the chance of burning.
18. Rolling over is also good in Solar Meditation because it stimulates more of your body.
19. I love the sun on my front, but my spine also wants a turn! 
20. “Naked Solar Meditation – especially when combined with the Love Breath – is perhaps My favorite form of meditation, and Yahshua feels the same!
22. Sita said, “I make the same offer to Yohanan!”
23. Negohah joked, “Yohanan, are you blushing or has the sun already turned your face red?”
24. Pehri looked at Negohah and said, “Yes, I accept your unspoken invitation to share your blanket for the meditation.”
25. Negohah laughed then said, “I do believe that in your old age you have become very telepathic!”
26. Pehri joked: “I knew it was either that or senility!”
27. Everyone laughed.

28. Later that day, at the Evening Service beside the campfire, some of the Companions voiced their positive experiences with the Naked Sunbathing Meditation.
29. A common theme was the way that, in such a deep state of relaxation, the solar rays clearly induced creative ideas, spiritual realizations, and powerful inspirations, as well as an enhanced feeling of profound well-being.
30. All of the Companions agreed that they had noticed those things begin to kick-in after a period of sunbathing and to grow progressively stronger before culminating in a period of deep relaxation with little mental activity, a sort of ‘hummm’ of relaxed well-being after a series of solar-inspired illuminations.
31. Birdsong said it this way: “I felt the creativity kick-in after a period of solar stimulation and made note of the great ideas and realizations that entered my consciousness.
32. That experience became progressively stronger until, when any more creative ideas would have felt like ‘too much’ for one session, I went deeper into pure relaxation mode.
33. When I say that I made ‘note’ of the ideas and realizations, I mean that I actually wrote them down.  
34. Because I then did not have to put any attention on remembering the ideas for later action, I was able to more deeply relax.
35. It felt as though, having birthed creative ideas due to the combination of the solar rays and the deep relaxation induced by this physical position, I then entered an even deeper state of relaxation.”
36. Orah also spoke, saying: “Me too; and then, toward the end, that deeper state of relaxation flowed into a phase that was similar to ‘lucid dreaming’ but without even a hint of sleep.
37. I entered this nice ‘in between state’ – between wake and sleep but with no danger of falling asleep – and, just as with the earlier stages of the experience, this stage was enhanced by the solar rays on my skin.
38. The solar rays enhanced each of the several phases of the Naked Solar Meditation which, by the way, I like to also call ‘Naked Sunbath Meditation’. 
39. And each time I have practiced Naked Sunbath Meditation, behold: An inner awareness notifies me when to end the session before going too long and burning my skin.”
40. Ta’om, brother of Yohanan and son of Ra’am, said: “Some of us, myself included, earlier ate boiled ganjah.
41. Although Naked Solar Meditation is wonderful without ganjah, I find that the ganjah definitely enhances the experience.”
42. Yohanan and Ra’am enthusiastically responded, “Amen to that!”
43. Negohah playfully elbowed Ra’am and said: “You and your sons are a good example of the old proverb, ‘The seed does not fall far from the tree!’” 

In verse 30 above, we get a hint of what the disciples will go on to describe in subsequent verses: that the Naked Solar Meditation unfolds in various phases. You might begin by singing the Sound of Power for Love – the two-note Ahh-Hahhh performed in the manner that I have previously explained and is available from our church on a DVD – which would be a phase of Mantra Meditation in Naked Sunbathing – then, per Miriam’s suggestion, move into a phase of Pranayama Meditation in Naked Sunbathing by replacing vocalization with The Love Breath (described previously in this chapter; you breathe in love, bathe in it, then exhale it into your environment), and then, as the disciples described, relax into progressively deeper phases of Silent Meditation in Naked Sunbathing. 

My other comment on the the above verses from Miriam: I am happy that she mentioned rolling over midway through the experience; like her, as good as the sun feels on my front – and it does feel good ☺ – my spine wants a turn in the sunshine! (Yea, and so does the rest of my backside, including the bottoms of my feet! I have actually noticed that giving both sides a turn in the sun results in a more balanced electromagnetic charge to the cells of the skin of my physical body and positively affects my entire Ovum of Light and the subtle bodies. 

Contemplate the Sunset Meditation

On the same afternoon that Miriam taught Sita the three Partner Meditation Practices that I previously shared, two of the older disciples – a married couple of middle age – sat in another location enjoying a Sunset Meditation together. The man, Zabdiel, was Yahshua’s uncle, the brother of Father Joseph. He was a great Nasarean Wizard and his wife, Tehillah, was a Wizardess and a renowned poet. That account follows:

35. Later on the same Sabbath Day on which Miriam and Sita meditated in the woods, Zabdiel and Tehillah sat together and contemplated the sunset.
36. Afterward, Tehillah ask Zabdiel: “I wonder if just relaxing while watching the sun as it sets is a meditation practice even when one is not intentionally meditating?”
37. Zabdiel replied, “Doubly so!”

38. Tehillah laughed and nodded affirmatively, then said: “I have an insight to share.
39. This morning as you and I watched the sunrise, and then throughout the early morning as the sun continued to rise, I felt energized and inspired to launch my daily activities.
40. It feels very stimulating.
41. That is true each morning that I commune with the sun. 
42. Then, this evening watching the sun as it set, it was a relaxing experience.
43. It felt like the perfect decompression from my stimulating activities of the day to the relaxing after-dark phase of evening.
44. That is true every day.
45. I find it fascinating that even an early phase of the sunrise that is no warmer, no more fiery than a correlating phase of the Sunset, nevertheless feels inherently stimulating, and a sunset feels inherently relaxing.
46. And midday feels like both those properties are equally present.”

47. Zabdiel replied, “That makes sense when you consider that the sun is at midday ‘centered’ in the balance between the sunrise properties and the sunset properties.
48. I will add that I have noticed, myself, all that you just described.”

49. Tehillah said, “Nasarean Halikah – our ‘Whole Set of Daily and Intermittent Spiritual Practices’ that is our ‘Walk’, our ‘Path’ – encourages experiencing all three.
50. We are encouraged to ‘Greet the Sun’ at sunrise or soon after.
51. We are encouraged to hold the ‘Midday Peace Contemplation’ in sunlight when conditions permit.
52. We are encouraged to perform ‘Sunset Contemplation’ when conditions permit.”

53. Zabdiel replied: “What an awesome spiritual path we walk!”
54. Tehillah affirmed: “Yes, let us give thanks for the Nasarean Halikah!
55. It is, to use one of my new Sanskrit words, the Sadhana from Heaven!”
56. Zabdiel asked: “If I remember Yahshua correctly, ‘Sadhana’ is the Sanskrit word that, like our Hebrew word Halikah, refers to one’s ‘Whole Set of Daily and Intermittent Spiritual Practices’.
57. Is that correct?”
58. Tehillah answered, “Yes, you are correct.

59. Zabdiel and Tehillah held hands and went to join the rest of the Companions for Evening Service.

Recall that just before we began this chapter on Essene Meditation Practices, I had just given Yahshua’s Hatha Yoga Routine for Spinal Health and Preparation for Meditation. Both the Hatha Yoga Routine and Essene Meditation are practices that Yahshua recommends be included in our Morning Service and/or Evening Service.

Recall that Yahshua’s Hatha Yoga routine – specifically designed to prepare us for meditation – has sixteen postures (asanas), and that the last two are directly related to meditation. The text associated with Asana Fifteen reads as follows and includes two Hand Mudras that may be used in meditation, advice on sitting positions, and an invitation to meditate while sitting in Asana Fifteen.

Asana Fifteen Hand Mudras and Seated Meditation Postures

Yahshua said: 

132. “The Fifteenth Asana is called: ‘A Seated Meditation Posture With Your Arms Held Overhead, Palms Together Forming The Candle Flame, Followed By Placing Hands Palms-Up On Thighs With Tip Of Middle Finger Touching Tip of Thumb Held As Long As You Like With Eyes Closed.
133. Notice the feeling of Chai [Khah-ee] where the finger and thumb touch.
134. If you like, while holding that last part of the asana however long you like, you may meditate.
135. Do one repetition of that full two-part movement.

136. “The position of the hands when the tips of the middle finger and thumb touch, I call, The Centering Hand Position Mudra.
137. You can also try The Still Zero With The Trinity Hand Position Mudra: rather than touching the tips of the middle finger and thumb, curl the thumb and the finger closest to it to form a Circle that symbolizes the Still Zero and notice that the other three fingers well symbolize the Trinity, especially the Trinity of Divine Father, Divine Mother and Divine Child.

138. “Three good positions for the Seated Meditation Posture of Asana Fifteen are: 1) The Lotus Posture; 2) The Half Lotus Posture; 3) The Comfortable Posture: sitting cross-legged with feet beneath our legs.

It is important to note that elsewhere Yahshua makes clear that any comfortable position – including sitting in a chair – is appropriate for meditation, provided that you keep your spine straight and do not slouch.

In verse 134 above, Yahshua said that once we have gotten fully into the position of Asana Fifteen, rather than move immediately into Asana Sixteen – which will be lying on our back in deep relaxation – we may first meditate awhile. In other words, while in the seated meditation posture of Asana Fifteen, we can perform any type of meditation practice that is suitable for this position. We can perform the Love Breath; we can chant a mantra, we can… perform any of the meditation practices that we have learned that can be done while in this seated posture.

The following Essene Pranayama Meditation Practice is a good one to occasionally link to Asana Fifteen, but it can be practiced any time that you feel called. I am going to provide it now, not only because it fits nicely with Asana Fifteen, but because I want to save the Asana Sixteen Meditation Practice for last. Asana Sixteen is an excellent follow-up to most meditation practices that you might link to Asana Fifteen, and that is especially true of the one that I will now share. The one I am about to share takes a lot of concentration – just learning the seven steps takes a good amount of concentration – and Asana Sixteen is extremely relaxing. That makes them a good pairing. Yahshua saved Asana Sixteen for last for a reason: It is extremely relaxing! But first, try and concentrate enough to learn the following more challenging one!

An Essene Pranayama Contemplative Meditation Practice Called The Circuit of Chai Breath

The following Pranayama Meditation Practice is called The Circuit of Chai Breath [reminder: Chai is pronounced Khah-ee and here means Universal Life-force]. Yahshua introduces it, then gives step-by-step instructions – THERE ARE A TOTAL OF SEVEN STEPS, EACH WITH ITS OWN HEADING AND INSTRUCTIONS – as follows in his Sermon on Essene Yoga:

Yahshua’s Introduction to The Circuit of Chai Breath

732. “You are now prepared to understand the following pranayama practice of Life Yoga. 
733. This practice could be listed as a practice of some others of The Fourteen Primary Yogas besides Life Yoga, but I list it here because it is a pranayama that is focused specifically on the topic of the movement of Chai, the Universal Life Force, within the human being.

734. “I call the following practice, ‘The Circuit of Chai Breath’.     
735. Perform this pranayama practice of Life Yoga as follows.

Step One of The Circuit of Chai Breath: Sit With Spine Erect.

736. “Sit comfortably with your spine very erect; no slouching!  
737. Your spine is the main conduit through which Chai [Khah-ee], also called Prana and Chi, moves through the four bodies of the human being that are symbolized by our diagram titled, The Essene Pyramid of Four Levels [Day: a reference to the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual (soul) bodies that are illustrated by ‘The Essene Pyramid Diagram of ‘The Four Bodies’ of the Human Being; that diagram is provided as Expanded Footnote Eleven toward the back of The Holy Megillah.]

738. “The subtle bodies have a subtle spine that interpenetrates and shares the same space with the physical spine.
739. According to the Mattanah section of the Megillah, the spine is the River Yarden – the River of Light that descends from Heaven Most High through the top point of the Tree of Life down through the trunk and into the taproot that is the natural world of Mother Nature. 
740. In the same way that water flow is limited when a canal is partially closed, your spinal cord will conduct less Chai when you slouch.
741. Know this: just as there is ‘physical body slouching’, there are also ‘emotional body slouching’, ‘mental-body slouching’, and even ‘spiritual-body (soul) slouching.’

Step Two of The Circuit of Chai Breath: Pause Your Breathing With Lungs Full And Consider that This Pause Symbolizes Yah Before The Creative Exhale called The Dance of Life-Force In The Mother Ovum

742. “Step One was about getting into the proper position to begin this contemplative pranayama.
743. The actual contemplation begins in Step Two after we fill our lungs with air and pause while holding that deep breath.
744. While in that pause, consider that this pause symbolizes Yah – the Still Center – immediately prior to the Creative Exhale that sets the spiral motion of Life-Force into manifestation in the Mother Ovum.

Step Three of The Circuit of Chai Breath: Envision Sushumna Breathing

745. “Having achieved focused contemplation on that state of original non-polarity that is the Still Center, and while still holding that breath, envision with the eye of your mind that directly above your Crown Chakra is a River of Living Light descending from Heaven Most High down into the Central Canal of your Crown Chakra.
746. “Nasareans call that River of Living Light the River Yarden; Yarden means descend because it comes from Heaven Most High into our Crowns.
747. That Central Canal of your Crown Chakra – the River Yarden – is called in Sanskrit Sushumna Nadi, which means Most Gracious Channel.
748. It is the ‘Most Gracious’ of all channels – of all canals or rivers – because it carries ‘The Gracious Gift of Universal Life-force’, Chai.

749. “Envision for a moment or two that vision of a River of Living Light from Heaven Most High flowing into your Crown Chakra through a central canal that begins at the top of your head and moves down through your spine – including the spines of your subtle bodies – to your tailbone and feet (the feet and legs are considered part of the base chakra located at the tailbone) where it will then reverse its flow – and reverse the polarity of the lead dancer from Shemesh to Shemayah – to spirally ascend from the base chakra back to the Crown Chakra to complete One Whole Cycle of The Dance of Shemesh and Shemayah
750. Then begin to exhale as you perform the next step.

Step Four of The Circuit of Chai Breath: Exhale and Envision that At The Sixth Chakra The Sushumna Splits Into Three Rivers

751. “As you begin a slow exhale, envision that the Central Canal called Sushumna Nadi is flowing with Chai from your Crown Chakra into your Sixth Chakra where it splits into a Double-Helix Spiral Dance consisting of the two spiral powers of Chai, the masculine Shemesh and the feminine Shemayah, each of which are spiraling around each other while simultaneously spiraling around the Still Center of All Motion – Yah –  flowing downward into your spine and through every chakra and every tributary canal, enlivening each chakra with Chai, reaching, finally, at the very end of your exhale, the Base Chakra at your tail bone region.

Step Five of The Circuit of Chai Breath: Build-Up Chai at the Base Chakra

752. “The descending Chai having reached, finally, at the very end of your exhale, the Base Chakra at your tail bone region – this is called ‘grounding’ – hold your breath for a moment or two – do not inhale – and envision that this Chai combines there with the accumulated Chai that you build up each day by acts of mercy and other Chai-attracting acts such as sunbathing and communing with nature.
753. That Base Chakra is called by Nasareans, The Seat of Natural Spiral Power.
754. It is also called ‘The Mercy Seat’ and ‘The Foundation Stone’.

Step Six of The Circuit of Chai Breath: Begin the Ascension (Shemayah/Shakti-Kundalini Led) Portion of The Breath and Return to The Crown With Your Increased Level of Chai

755. “Visualize that via that combination of descending Chai with accumulated Chai you have now built up enough Chai power – Life-Force – at the Base Chakra to turn the circle and spring upward on your return up the spine in the Shemayah-led half of The One Whole Breath that is The One Whole Dance.

756. Before beginning your in-breath, consider for a moment this mystery: the most effective way to increase Chai is by sharing it with others in merciful acts of kindness in Universal Love.
757. Envision that the Chai now rises in the Shakti-Kundalini – Shemayah – cycle of return up through the chakras until the three dancers (Shemesh, Shemayah, and their Still Center that is Yah) again become one in the Sushumna and flow up to the Seventh Chakra where you end your inbreath.
758. At the Crown, while retaining your breath, inwardly affirm that your Chai is dedicated to The Good Works of Universal Love that lead to ‘Spiritual Gold’.
759. Retain your breath for a moment to symbolize having made The Ring of Return. 
760. That is the end of One Round.
761. It symbolizes that life is based on the principle of spiritual evolution via planting seeds in soil and then harvesting the abundant fruits, in spiraling cycles that turn ‘base substances’ into ‘Spiritual Gold’.

Step Seven of The Circuit of Chai Breath: Repeat As Many Rounds As You Like

762. “Having completed Step Six and realized that you have symbolized in One Complete Round the purpose of a human lifespan – spiritual evolution to transform your life activities from lower to higher manifestations (this is the ‘Spiritual Alchemy’ that results in ‘Spiritual Gold’) – and, hearing the Heartbeat of Compassion, begin your next round by exhaling as you did in Step Three and repeating each of the subsequent steps.
763. Do as many rounds as you like.
764. At the end of your last round, offer your ‘Spiritual Gold’ to YHWH and assume the Relaxation Posture (the last asana of My Hatha Yoga Routine For Spinal Health And Preparation For Meditation).”

The above is an amazing, powerful seven-step Pranayama Meditation Practice, but it is not the simplest! If you actually begin to practice it – at first you will need to read it as you practice it – you will set it to memory and that will make the performance of it feel much more like a meditation practice. I want to call your attention to the last verse above.

In verse 764 in Step Seven above, Yahshua said that, after doing as many rounds as you like (each repetition of the whole routine is a ‘round’ because you have completed the whole circuit of steps), to end the session by assuming a particular Hatha Yoga posture called ‘The Relaxation Posture’. He said: 

764. “At the end of your last round, offer your ‘Spiritual Gold’ to YHWH and assume the Relaxation Posture (the last asana of My Hatha Yoga Routine For Spinal Health And Preparation For Meditation).”

So, even though you might not choose to perform the above meditation practice – The Circuit of Chai – when you perform Yahshua’s Hatha Yoga routine, he nevertheless recommends that whenever you do perform this VERY CONCENTRATIVE meditation it is best to follow it up with the VERY RELAXING Asana Sixteen. And that is exactly how we will end this chapter on Essene Meditation Practices. But before we do that, Yahshua provided an alternative version of the above Pranayama Meditation Practice; this version is almost the same but involves the use of Alternate Nostril Breathing. It is as follows.

A Variation on ‘The Circuit of Chai Breath’ that Introduces Alternate Nostril Breathing

Yahshua said:

765. “I will now share a variation on ‘The Circuit of Chai Breath’ that introduces alternate nostril breathing. 
766. It is the same as that just given except that, at Step Four, when the Sushumna splits into three and Shemesh begins to lead a Double Helix Spiral Dance, at that point of the envisioning use a finger to press closed the left nostril and exhale only through the right nostril; that right nostril is considered the masculine canal – Pingali in Sanskrit – and is called the Sun Nostril or ‘Ha’.
767. Then, at the time of the Shakti-Kundalini (Shemayah) led half of the One Whole Breath – the inhalation of
ascent up the spine – use your finger to instead press closed the right nostril and inhale only through the left nostril, the feminine canal – Ida in Sanskrit – that is called the Moon Nostril or ‘Tha’.
768. When you reach the seventh chakra on this in-breath, block neither nostril and complete the last bit of the in-breath in the one central canal – Sushumna – that enters the Crown.
769. Know this: Because the breath always consists of an equal amount of Shemesh and Shemayah, the designation of one nostril as ‘masculine’ and the other as ‘feminine’ really refers only to which one – Shemesh or Shemayah – is leading the dance. 
770. Some yogis do not understand that and become literalists about something that is meant to be figurative – figurative in support of creative visualizations.”

Much of the Sanskrit terminology in the two versions of ‘The Circuit of Chai’ is explained in the section on Life Yoga that appears in Chapter Eight of this book.

Whichever of the above two versions of ‘The Circuit of Chai’ you perform, it is great to follow it – or any other strongly concentrative meditation practice – with the following deeply relaxing one.

Asana Sixteen Meditation Practice: The Relaxation Posture and Internal Receptivity Meditation

I again remind you that the title of the Hatha routine given by Yahshua in the Megillah is Hatha Yoga Routine for Spinal Health and Preparation for Meditation.

The first fourteen postures prepare us to perform any meditation practice that we choose at the end of Asana Fifteen, and then to lay down on our back and perform the extremely relaxing Asana Sixteen. Yahshua describes Asana Sixteen as follows. 

139. “The Sixteenth Asana is called: ‘Lying On Your Back With Arms At Your Sides In Relaxation Posture Open To Receiving Communication From Any Of The Chief Angels Of The Essene Tree Of Life Or From The Forces Those Angels Serve Including Jah-Jah and Elohim Crowned With Yah.
140. Keep any such communications private and examine them closely to be certain that they are not simply from your own mind, your own ego attempting to puff itself up.
141. Most often, rather than a direct message in human words, you will simply ‘Relax Into Their Holy Presence’.  
142. That in itself is ‘The Ultimate Communication’ and is beyond words. 
143. The short name for this asana is: The Relaxation Posture.”
In this chapter, I do not claim to have given you every Essene Meditation Practice that appears in The Holy
Megillah: Nasarean Bible of The Essene Way. But almost! ☺

In this chapter, I do not claim to have given you every Essene Meditation Practice that appears in The Holy Megillah: Nasarean Bible of The Essene Way. But almost! ☺