Peace Now Thou Hum Five-Minute Exercise

A group of us on the Internet decided to do a group meditation on PEACE for at least five minutes daily at 7 AM Pacific Time.

For New Yorkers, that would be 10 AM, of course.

I devised a simple Peace Exercise to accompany it that consists of very slowly saying "PEACE THOU NOW HUM."

This is how it goes. Please try it as I describe it.

(Also I now do 250 (well, maybe 30 is more practical!) of the following warm-ups for the best results:)

• (inhale) thru the soles of the feet -

  • toes and fingers move up and down,

  • buttocks and mulabandha (kegel) squeeze

  • and nostrils flare

  • and eyes and smile wide ...

  • with a closed-mouth suck/nurse on the soft palate/uvula "UMMM"

• (exhale through the mouth and relax)

  • "DAH" (taste-sound) --

  • upon each heartbeat if you can sense the heartbeat

This seems to turn the petals of the heart chakra up -- at least metaphorically.

THEN

I then do the following peace meditation

Slowly purse your lips together, and start whispering an exaggerated

"Puh' all the way into a French ü or 'EU' sound

bringing your lips even closer together on each heartbeat (displayed as an *)

Repeats are approximate and should be to one's own comfort.

The mula (kegel) squeezes may also be continued with the repetitions:

• (outbreath) PEU*PEU*PEU* PEU*PEU*PEU*PEU*

• (inbreath)(tightly - a whistling sound is okay too) PEU*PEU* PEU* PEU*PEU*

• Purse your lips in a tight kiss and continue "PEU" on each heartbeat

• exhale *PEU *PEU *PEU *PEU *PEU *PEU *PEU *PEU *PEU

• and on the inhale. Breathe naturally. As you continue to

• hold that kiss 'posture', begin very slowly to spread the comers of your mouth.

As you begin, you should at once feel the ear-wiggle muscle begin to tense very slowly. You are isometrically tensing the ear-wiggle/smile muscle against the 'kiss muscles' to keep a very slow movement into a full mouth smile.

Now move to a rhythmic "EU" on the heartbeat during the

• inbreath *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU

• outbreath *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU

• inbreath *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU

• outbreath *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU *EU

• (gradually widen the smile to a)

• inbreath *EH *EH *EH *EH *EH *EH

• outbreath *HEH *HEH *HEH *HEH *HEH *HEH *HEH

• (gradually widen the smile to a)

• inbreath *AY *AY *AY *AY *AY *AY

• outbreath *HAY *HAY *HAY *HAY *HAY *HAY *HAY

• (gradually widen the smile to a)

• inbreath *AHEE *HEE *HEE *HEE *HEE *HEE

• outbreath *HEE *HEE *HEE *HEE *HEE *HEE *HEE

• inbreath *EE *EE *EE *EE *EE *EE *EE

• outbreath *EE *EE *EE *EE *EE *EE *EE

• Stretch the "EEE" until the upper lip flattens against the upper teeth, crinkling the eye muscles.

• *EEE *EEE *EEE *EEE *EEE *EEE *EEE *EEE *EEE

• Now begin to move the tongue slowly forward to make the "EEE"

• change into a hiss, the "SSS" sound in and out.

• *SSS *SSS *SSS *SSS *SSS *SSS *SSS *SSS *SSS *SSS *SSS *SSS *SSS

• Breathe the "SSS" in and out for a while, or at least a few times, and

• then move the tongue slightly further forward to form the "TH"

• that you can also repeat rhythmically on your heartbeat,

• "THA," "THA," "THA,"

• which can gradually change to "THOU" "THOU" "THOU" "THOU."

After some time, you can begin to gradually close the teeth together to migrate to

• DAH DAH DAH DAH DAH DAH DAH DAH DAH DAH DAH

• and then closing the mouth/lips very gradually to create

• "NOW," "NOW," "NOW," "NOW" on the heartbeat.

Continue for the rest of the five-minute meditation or beyond.

Finally, the "NOW," "NOW," NOW" can be subvocalized by

• Closing the smiling mouth,

• pulling up the front chin muscles

• (in the David Spero sahaja samadhi 'chin up' compassionate gesture),

• flattening the lower lip against the lower teeth

• and keeping the "NOW" on the heartbeat

  • by moving it backwards in the throat to the uvula and soft palate area.

Now slowly release the smile and the subvocal NOW

• will transform into a HUM *HUM *HUM *HUM

• *HM *HM *HM *HM *HM, etc.

This exercise also keeps me aware of my heartbeat, which in itself is a very centering meditation.

PEACE - THOU - NOW!

The Sufi teacher Gurdjieff said,

"War is a result of the slavery in which humans live, because humans are asleep."

In my view, even the most awakened amongst us are still asleep and thus enmeshed in the current war nightmare.

Why?

Because -- as I am convinced,

• that if enough of us had awakened totally to our innate THATness,

• then just manifesting our THUSness on this planet

  • -- even perhaps a very few of us would be enough --

• then a wave of happiness and fulfillment would embrace all sentient beings everywhere.

• The armies would drop their weapons

  • as a warm, bubbly feeling begin to envelop their bodies,

  • rising from their toes to their legs, their bellies, their hearts and chests, their throats and chins, drowning them

  • -- after one delicious fearful quiver of "I am dying!" as their separate ego dissolves

  • -- in a state of total love,

    • which is, after all, the very core of our being.

How many awakenings will it take to trigger a wave that will sweep across the entire planet?

The lack of in the dreamscape we are sharing is stark evidence of our clinging to "being in charge of ourselves" -- so we remain enmeshed in having yet once again to experience a ' 'terrible two' tantrum of truly psychotic proportions.

I had my own 'terrible two's' during the Spanish Civil War, so I know of which I write.

And "It takes two to terrible two -- two to tangle."

For this reason, I beg all of us to please surrender to THAT, that ringing silence and stillness out of which the wave of love who you are manifests.

If not for 'yourself,' then for the sake of the life form.

Nothing else really matters.

"Arise, 0 Resplendent Being, Thou Who Art Forever Love Immaculate!

Arise, All-Beautiful, and Manifest Thy Nature!"

Sweet Mother Meera Alfassa, quoting "Someone Else."