Turiya Meditation

According to ancient yogic texts, the true self is a pure, unadulterated existence without qualities. Our identity or ego is composed of dualistic thoughts, such as being tall or short, successful or unsuccessful, happy or sad. To find Turiya, or transcendent consciousness, we must look at the space between these dualities - the in-between spaces. Ego: The Obstacle to the True Self, Transcending Dualities

According to ancient yogic texts, the true self is a pure self without quality - it is unadulterated existence. Our identity or ego is composed of dualistic thoughts - “I am tall, successful, short, happy, etc.” These are all dualistic thoughts - tall cannot exist without short. In order to find Turiya, or transcendent consciousness, we have to look at the space between dualities - the in-between spaces.

The yogic tradition recognizes four states of consciousness: waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and the transcendent state (Turiya). The yogi’s concluded that Turiya is the closest to our true selves, while everything else we believe we are is layered on top of it. The True Self: Pure Existence Beyond Dualities, Discovering Turiya

So in the yogic tradition, there are four states of consciousness four basic states you can say, they have sort of more advanced, nuanced perspectives, but one is waking the other is dreaming. The third is deep sleep and the fourth is this transcendent state of consciousness. And what the yogi’s essentially concluded is the transcendent state of consciousness is the closest thing to us. Everything else that we believe we are is layered on top of that.

Our experiences in life are often represented by dualities, such as inhaling and exhaling, moving up or down, feeling hot or cold. Even our identity is shaped by dualistic thoughts, like considering ourselves tall or short, nice or bad. To discover our transcendent self, we must find the in-between spaces of these dualities. The True Self: Pure Existence Beyond Dualities, Discovering Turiya

So most of our experience in life is sort of represented by duality, even the way that we think about our identity is in a dualistic way. So do I consider myself tall? Or do I consider myself short? You can’t be tall without short. Am I a nice person or a bad person? So all of the aspects even things like gender identity, like male and female, are born out of identity are born out of duality, even aspects like profession so I view myself as an engineer, I am an engineer that means that there are a bunch of non engineers over here. So so much of what we sort of identify with is duality. And the secret to finding Turiya the secret to sort of discovering our transcend itself is sort of in the in between spaces.

Turiya can be found in the in-between spaces of any meditation technique that has an element of duality, such as between inhalation and exhalation in breathing techniques. In AUM chanting, Turiya exists in the fourth syllable - the silence after the “M” sound, between exhalation and inhalation. To experience Turiya, one must bask in this silence without mental activity. Transcending Dualities, AUM Chanting: Finding Turiya

state of Turiya is actually found in the fourth syllable of and as you heard me chant, there’s only three syllables, right. What’s the fourth syllable of the fourth syllable of AUM is actually the silence after thee. So as I complete my exhalation, I’m stuck in this space before I breathe again. In that space in the silence after the Mmm, in the in the space between exhalation and inhalation. We can find Turiya. And so what I’m going to encourage you to do is chant AUM with me three times. And as we chant on what I want you to do is, it’s going to be kind of tricky because the more mental activity you have, you won’t find Turiya what I want you to do is just bask in the silence.

Practice:

1. Sit with a straight back, neck, and head.
2. Close your eyes and take a deep breath.
3. Chant the three syllables of AUM: “A,” “U,” and “M.”
4. After exhaling completely on the “M” sound, relax in the silence before the next inhalation.
5. Bask in the stillness of this space, minimizing mental activity.
6. Repeat for three rounds.
   Discovering Turiya

So, you may have noticed that as you breathe out, since we’re exerting all of our or expelling all of our breath, the space that you have left, the breath that you have left is very minimal. And so there’s a strong urge after a very long home, to immediately Inspire. And if you start to become uncomfortable with that urge to Turiya will be lost. But right before you become uncomfortable, there is a tiny little space of absolute stillness. And in that you will find Turiya

Reflective Questions:

• How can I cultivate awareness of the in-between spaces in my daily life and spiritual practice?
• What dualities do I identify with most strongly, and how can I transcend them to discover my true self?
• How can the experience of Turiya through AUM chanting deepen my understanding of the nature of consciousness?