and more expanded. This expanded state of mind is the
ultimate expression of the Law of Pure Potentiality, for all
possibilities reside in and emerge from this field of
unbounded awareness.
Before it arises in your mind, a thought is in this
domain of consciousness that is transcendent to thought,
a domain accessible through meditation. An ancient
powerful meditation technique involves asking the ques-
tion, Who is having these thoughts? By repeated inquiry,
you reach the awareness that thoughts arise from a
deeper domain of awareness over which your mind really
has no control.
In the yoga tradition, meditation classically involves
the use of a mantra or primordial sound. The word
mantra means “instrument or vehicle of the mind.”
Mantras are used to take your awareness from engage-
ment in the changing realm of life to immersion in the
expanded state of being that is beyond beginnings and
endings. These vibrations, used for thousands of years to
quiet mental activity, are pleasing, resonant sounds that
do not have specific meanings to keep your mind active.
The mind stays active through the process of association.
If you listen to your mind, it may sound like this:
I need to reduce my credit card debt... I really
didn’t need to buy that sweater last week... I did
need something to wear to Stan’s party... The
food was really great... I wish I hadn’t eaten
so much... I am definitely going to start exercis-
ing next week... I am going to try to get Tanya
to go out with me... I wonder if she got the job
she was applying for... and on... and on...
and on...80 The Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga