By Rebecca (Jyoti) Yacobi
Interviewed by Lori (Priya) Kenney
Chanting is a powerful, effective way for me to prepare for meditation. It draws me very deep, very quickly.
And when I chant with Gurudevi, the sound reverberates progressively deeper and deeper. Then, in meditation, what bliss! My meditation is light-filled. Like a magnet, it draws me even deeper. Chanting and meditation with Gurudevi give me an experience of a spacious, expansive mind. It almost feels like the space between my neurons is opened.
Gurudevi offered two Grace-infused Chanting and Meditation Retreats online in 2021. I felt like a kid in a candy shop. In April, the whole weekend was devoted to mantra. I delved into the power of our mantra.
Gurudevi talked about the mystical vibration of the mantra and how OM contains the whole universe. We chanted and repeated mantra in many different ways. We chanted it frontward and backwards. The power of the mantra was manifest by Gurudevi unfolding its mystical meaning.
Then she led us through the experience of chanting it. Carried by the vibration of the sound, I tracked back deeper and deeper within. I had an embodied experience of what Gurudevi described — mantra is one with Self, with the Guru, with Shiva.
This April retreat was so blissful and transformative that I signed up for the next one. I wanted more. It was dedicated to the warrior Goddess Durga, the Goddess who protects us. Chanting her name with Gurudevi was extraordinary. It wasn’t just chanting a Great Being’s name. I felt the amplification that comes from Grace flowing through her name.
I just love chanting and meditation together.
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