I Am That: The Pervasive Nectar of Non-Duality

What is meant by these statements: I Am; I Am That; I Am That I Am?
What is meant by “That”? Who is the “I”?
The transformation of identity or Self-concept as the pivot of liberating spiritual attainment
Stories and concepts from the Yoga canon and world wisdom traditions that can be used to empower teaching, practice of yoga, and meditation
The keys to repeating a mantra effectively.
Yoga asana as mantra
How the pervasive nectar of eros can be cultivated in ‘ordinary’ events
How to localize the breath within the central channel and easily find and enter the “dvadashanta” – the space between the breaths.
How to find and wield your “prana danda” or pranic “stick”.
How to incorporate the Power of Shri Yantra.

In session one, we examine the recurrence in myth, poetry and literature of variants of the phrase “I Am That,” to understand how it expresses a universal feature of unitive human consciousness known as samadhi or non-dual awareness. We explore the psychological power of self-concept and its linguistic underpinning in words and self-talk. Through the lens of “I Am That,” we appraise Patanjali’s teachings on the breath and Self knowledge as well as formulae for transformative Self-awareness found in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.

Advaita Vedanta, the non-dual school of Self-inquiry, prescribes the simple technique of persistently asking, “Who Am I?”, for obtaining the prize of spiritual liberation. In session two, we will pursue this heroic quest through the writings of the 9th Century sage, Shankara and through some illuminating and humorous Self-Inquiry stories in the Yoga Vasistha. We will meet the disabled teenage Guru, Ashtavakra, who taught the ego-obliterating secret of “I Am That” through the “apophatic”, or way of negation. We will also introduce two great 20th century masters of Self-Inquiry, Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta.

In session three, using Tantric principles, we yoke the power of eros to the experience of the union of opposites inherent in the breath. Drawing from the Tantras of Kashmiri Shaivism, we apply instructions and insights from the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra as well as the Sutras on Recognition. We will apprehend all mantra repetition as active Self-recognition. Mapping Ham Sah awareness onto the subtle body, we will develop the sense of the “prana linga” the pranic force that surges through the central channel, and how to cultivate it.

This talk focuses on “psychonauts,” explorers of the subtle realms of dream, death, and consciousness. Such people are known as shamans, medicine people, or healers in indigenous traditions and as siddhas or adepts in Buddhist and Hindu Tantric traditions. We will explore the differences and similarities in the two traditions and examine the contexts in which they evolved through the lens of a famous representative of each tradition. We will learn about the lives of Milarepa, a well-known Siddha from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition and Black Elk, a shaman and leader from the Oglala Sioux tradition of North America.

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Mary Reilly Nichols, Director of Nalanda Institute's Yoga, Mind & Spirit teacher training program has been teaching yoga for over 30 years. She teaches yoga from the perspective of non-duality offered in the Upanishads, Advaita Vedanta, as well as in the Tantric methods of Kashmiri Shaivism and Kundalini Yoga. She holds a BA in anthropology from Harvard University, is a devoted student of Muktananda, and completed five years of residency in meditation ashrams in both India and the US. Currently, Nichols teaches stress management in psychiatric settings and is involved in ongoing research on the mind/body benefits of yoga and meditation.