This article was first published in the New Day Herald in November of 1995
Are you frazzled? Is your mind fuzzy when you need a clear head? Are your emotions all over the place when you need to be calm and centered? Have you done the So-Hawng meditation lately?
The following is an excerpt from John-Roger’s book, Inner Worlds of Meditation. In it, he explains a tone, or mantra, that is chanted silently to assist in bringing the mind and emotions into harmony and alignment so that you can move into action from a place of inner peace.
“There are frequencies that you can intone or chant that unify the mental and emotional vibratory rates. These will help to solidify you where you are so you can lift into yet a higher consciousness. When you prepare to do this chant, come into a quiet position for meditation and ask that the Light work with you for the highest good and allow only that which is for your highest good to take place.
This is a tone that is done mentally, silently. One part of the tone is a mental frequency and the other part is an emotional frequency. You say the first part of it when you are breathing in and the second part while you are breathing out. (You can’t say them out loud this way because it’s difficult to chant out loud when you’re inhaling.) The tone is “SO,” “HAWNG.” You breathe in, inwardly chanting “SO”, and out, chanting “HAWNG.” You’ll find that the chant starts fitting itself in with the rhythm of your breathing.
Some of you may start experiencing unusual feelings in your physical body because, if the emotions have been shackled, the tone starts shaking them loose. You may even feel like you’re getting something like asthma; but keep on going because there is a sort of exhilarating feeling that can come over you as you do this.
Again, this tone takes the mental thought patterns and the emotional patterns and brings them closer together. You may sometimes have a feeling without a thought to match. For example, you feel like crying and can’t think of any reason to feel that way. Or you feel depressed but aren’t able to pinpoint why. This can be miserable because there doesn’t seem to be anything you can do to change it; you can’t even identify its source. This “SO-HAWNG” meditation can be helpful. It can balance the mental and emotional energies and bring them into harmony. The reverse situation sometimes happens, too. Maybe you know you should work on a special project or do that tax report or clean out the garage, but there’s no matching feeling that gives you the energy or enthusiasm to do it. A thought without a matching feeling — a feeling without a matching thought. The “SO-HAWNG” chant will balance these energies and you can find it easier to be productive and active in your life expression.
Chant this tone mentally, at your own rate. You might want to chant between five and ten minutes, or however long you intuitively feel is right. If you feel a disturbance come in, just throw it out and keep chanting in rhythm with your breathing. Don’t be afraid to cough or clear your throat. Be natural; that’s part of the action. When you have finished chanting, just clear your mind and drop into a few moments of silent meditation, observing what comes into your consciousness and releasing it all into the Light.”
– John-Roger
