Lesson 4 Summary: Listening to the SoHam Meditation
In this meditation, Mark Griffin offers a detailed and experiential guide to the practice of listening to the SoHam — not just as a mantra or technique, but as a cosmic frequency that is always present in the breath.
He explains that:
- SoHam (“I am That”) is the sound the breath makes — So on the inhale, Ham on the exhale — and is a sacred echo of the Self recognizing the Self.
- Meditation deepens when one shifts from merely repeating SoHam to hearing it — listening into the breath and discovering a subtle current that runs underneath ordinary awareness.
- This subtle current is described as a vibration of unity, a soundless sound, a movement toward stillness that opens the practitioner to deeper states of samadhi.
- Mark underscores the difference between external effort and internal attunement. Listening, in this case, becomes a way of surrendering the mind to the deeper intelligence of the breath and the Self.
- He also highlights the way SoHam bridges the personal and the universal — aligning us with the same breath that animates all beings.
The module encourages students to refine their subtle awareness, quiet the mental chatter, and enter into a receptive state where the breath reveals profound truths about the nature of consciousness.
🌀 4 Contemplation Questions for Journaling
Contemplation is the means by which we can “feel” our way into the deep, existential questions of life. In this way it is a mode of “thinking” that differs from discursive fact gathering —the step-by-step means by which we assemble and organize information. While this form of knowledge gathering can be crucial to our mastery of a subject, contemplation activates the intuitive faculties of mind that lead towards insight, understanding, wisdom, and realization.
Begin to observe how this ability to feel deeply into a subject differs from the more rudimentary stages of learning. Let Mark’s words move you into a space where the mind has room to integrate your own fields of deeper knowing. Towards that end each module will offer an opportunity for focused contemplation. We recommend journaling as a means to engage with these questions and to activate one’s own intuitive faculties.
Contemplate
- What does it mean to listen — rather than repeat — the SoHam mantra? Where do you feel the difference between mental repetition and inner attunement?
- How does the breath change when you stop trying to control it?
Explore what happens when you surrender to the breath as a teacher rather than an object of technique. - Can you identify the subtle presence or vibration beneath the sound of the breath?
How would you describe it? Does it carry a feeling of unity or recognition? - What shifts occur in your awareness when you allow yourself to be breathed by SoHam?
Does this change your understanding of who or what you are?