What does saying "I Am" do?

[J_A_S_G]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

I feel stupid now even asking.

It's said the only stupid question is the unasked question.

I'd say as long as the practice is understood whether it be devotional/surrender, mantra/chanting, singing/dancing, meditation/inquiry or some combination thereof and practiced in earnest they all have the potential for the same result but expressed in terms consistent with the path.

An observation: I never fully understood any technique I engaged until well into the practice itself. Does the practice become the teacher of itself?

[Still_Waters]

EXCERPT POST 50:

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

From post 58 -Still_Waters: Now see, THAT is all I needed to hear on the first page of this thread;
that the 'I Am' meditation is actually concentration of the I Am-ness.
Of course, that makes sense now

I'm glad that cleared things up.

[kralaro]

> with each breath the universe appears and disappears.
> mantras ‘come to us’
Unseek ji _/\_

[Still_Waters]

EXCERPT POST 63

Originally Posted by kralaro

mantras ‘come to us’

Mantras do indeed 'come to us'

That is precisely how I got my mantra .... with reinforcements as well.

[Joe Mc]

That was a great thread enjoyed reading it. The 'I AM' is God, Central Station.
The train is suppose to go to Central Station, the train in this case is the 'I Am' mantra.
The OP seems to imply whether an 'I am' mantra can take you to central station or not ? Some who answered said,
they are using mantras which came from Central Station or God and when they say their mantra they are already at home or at least in the vicinity ?

One thing that did strike me after reading this thread and practicing a little tai chi is the amount of transport, vehicles or Spiritual Paths that will take you to God ?
Is it God or the Absolute's infinite mercy that this is the case ? Quiet unbelievalbe isn't it ? How many paths are there ? And just one mountain top perhaps !
Ok hope you don't me adding a song by George Harrison titled, Any Road ..."Any Road Will Take you There... "
Thank you and suffice to say some of my own thoughts and just my opinion of course :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8fFdc-karA ..

__________________________________________________ ________________________________________________

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by Rah nam

A long time ago, I used 'I Am' in affirmations.
I started with I Am and what ever comes to mind after that.
Often, after days the extension of I Am was replaced by an other one.

... and yet the "I AM" remains constant until that which is no longer even says "I AM".

[Omnicentrik]

I think it is a shorter version of something with a bit more structure to it. I mean, the complete sentence has subject, object and verb visible and not implied. So the phrase would be "I am That".

In the philosophy of yoga, the first-person pronoun represents nothing more than a mental construct. The object relating to the personal reference frame cannot exist without the validity of the subject. But then what is real?

The reality is the verb. The verb is the relationship between the construct of I, and the construct of whatever is related to I through the act. So the reality of I Am is the Am. And the Am is a word for the experience of Being, which is something beyond words.

That simple experience of being is the background field of all our actions, between the construct of self and that of everything else. So tuning into a phrase we can take for granted can be a source of uncovering the incredible sacred nature of all that is in its most simple manifestations.

[AnotherBob]

Originally Posted by Omnicentrik

That simple experience of being . . .

Perhaps not so simple when we consider the complexity of factors which must come together in each moment to constitute our sense of beingness. It's a miracle really, consciousness. Nevertheless, when consciousness seeks its source, the source must be prior to consciousness. What is prior to consciousness? What is the space between thoughts? That's the home of the Real.

__/\__

[Redchic12]

Perhaps saying I Am has had a good result for eg Ram Das and other people but as we know, when it comes to human nature, “one size does not fit all”.

“I Am” is just another technique for us to try. If it works good, if it doesn’t, then it’s useless.

Not everything we read is gonna work for us.

[AngelBlue]

"i am" is all about beliefs and the spiritual plane and the universe and everything that is in it and our beliefs and all we can achieve if only we believe it can happen...

And it CAN happen if only we believe in the " I am ...."