"I love the Yogic Mystery School training I am doing with Russill Paul in the yoga of sound."  That's a direct quote from a conversation I was having earlier today. I'm impressed with how organized the program is (and I have high standards), I am keeping up with the curriculum/material, the pace does seem manageable, and I find this to be a very satisfying and rich program that is a good fit for me at this time.  I already look forward to doing one or all of the tracks more than once -- not because of any issue with keeping up or continuing in succession, but because it seems I'm inclined to do so with such experiential endeavors.  

 

My work schedule is pretty brutal right now—mostly 6 days a week of 12-hour days (at least).  It’s OK, though, and I thank God for your course because it enfolds me in sacredness no matter what my outer circumstances are, and I find that I really am experiencing the peace of the eye of the hurricane, which is amazing and humbling and very, very beautiful.  I believe this is because of the energy and care that you put into this course and how remarkably that energy is transmitted through your audio and video teachings as well as your messages and sharings. 

 

I do want to say that the depth of the knowledge in each offering becomes more and more powerful each week.  Recalling our placement on this planet and in this universe before beginning our practice and then accessing the 16 directions (8 within, 8 without), organically tied to the awareness of all creation being uttered into existence by the Divine, all of which seen/heard/felt by the ancient rishis and all encoded in the Sanskrit alphabet.  It is something that instantly magnetizes one into a meditative state, and it will carry me for many, many years of contemplation on this marvelous understanding.

 

I am loving the program. I love the video and audio that you offer online as well as the DVD. I feel like I am there with you along this journey especially because you are intimately sharing your own personal practice. This is a special program and I am so happy to be part of it.

 

Thank you so much for this program. It is so much more than I thought it would be. Your level of participation is what makes it so powerful.  The intellectual context is very helpful to me.  I was moved by the “Mantric Ritual” videos. Thank you for sharing your spiritual life with us. Watching you in the videos I felt , and I don’t know if I am using the right words, something like tenderness or affection or maybe a sense of the holy which at the moment I am typing this feels like it contains affection and tenderness .  I also am feeling gratitude and affection toward my fellow classmates when I read what they have written. Many times I have had the same thoughts in the back of my mind but never think to write to you about them.  

 

Thank you so much for your attentiveness to us as students. Your openness of heart comes through with gentle clarity even on the Internet. Yes, the curriculum speaks to me--subtly and deeply. I really appreciate the detail that you give with this work. I feel very held by your teaching style and though I get impatient to go faster sometimes, in the end I always see the wisdom in this pace. 

So far, I am really enjoying the material and content of the course, and feel very grateful for this process.  It is a delight and a gift to experience how the vowel sounds are related to the energy centers in my body, and I love going through the vowel sequence, both downward and upward, and feel the energy move accordingly.  I like how the practices are balanced with theory and a foundational knowledge of the material. 

Part of the work I do involves teaching English to second language students, and I have found our study of the vowels from an experiential basis to be very useful for me in the pronunciation class I teach.  To experience the vowels as the sounds that give energy to the consonants has been a revelation for me, and this realization has raised my awareness of how students perceive the sounds they are hearing and then attempt to produce them in the context of words.  

 

I want to say 'thank you" for developing this program and making it affordable. I feel fortunate to be able to learn from one as accomplished as you are in your field. I do love the Sanskrit language and desire to honor it by pronouncing it as correctly as possible.

 

I have to say that your essence, which is so sacred, does transmits well in your on line course study.  Once again, you are back to being this person on my video screen but now I have experienced the rays of your smile, your kindness, but most importantly your passion to serve mankind in finding the mystical that resides in everyone. Your light is so strong with me now and you inspire me to sit up straight and keep practicing! .

 

I'm enjoying the Mantra 1, I love chanting the vowels.  I teach yoga...I've become more aware of the sound of my voice.  Like I can hear myself more clearly.  Having an awareness of my voice is something I can't easily explain, so now I visualize the 16 pedals of a lotus flower. I know the time was right for me to explore this course, I had your book Yoga of Sound for awhile.  I listen to the Cd, that came with the book.  My intention is to bring chant into my life.

 

I am so grateful for all that I am learning and the feeling that it is transforming my life in ways that I cannot even grasp yet.  I don't have a lot of questions about the lessons so far.  Everything seems to be presented in a very clear, concise and intensely sweet manner. 

 

The course as you have designed it is allowing for a rich and well-paced introduction the very basics of mantra and its historical, spiritual and personal implications.  The balanced presentation of audio, video and written word is effective, plus the forum where we can share and see what others are experiencing makes for a well-rounded approach to this study.  The website is easily understood and works very well in supporting us along the course. I am thoroughly enjoying the actual content of this track as I find it interesting, to say the least.  The expanded view of the Sanskrit language, of the meaning and energy dynamics of the vowels, for instance, is just amazing.  The supplemental materials you provide each week adds a vital and enriching element to established core units. These, in combination with your book, The Yoga Of Sound, and your musical CD's is giving me a great introduction to this vast area study with which I feel safe and comfortable. 

I feel that participation in this program is moving things around inside me in a deep way.  I can feel changes in my voice when speaking and especially when chanting or singing; I hear and feel resonance in places that have long felt constricted.  My deepest sense is that while the curriculum is powerful and obviously designed with a great deal of care in every aspect (which is a great pleasure), the real transformation available here for me is rooted in making an explicit personal connection with you.  I have never really had a teacher or even much consistent mentoring in my spiritual practices before, so this sense is a bit mysterious, and yet, underneath, there is a sense of deep familiarity, a "Oh yes, this!"  I am amazed that you are able to convey this sense of true personal caring and connection via electronic media, but you do.  

I am very grateful to have the opportunity to receive the gift not only of your long study and practice and sincere and evident devotion to your path, but also of the simple fact of your presence in this life.  I look forward to seeing how this blessing unfolds over time.

 

I estimate the value of mantra very highly, wish to understand it better, and desire to become more proficient in its use and application. What I have seen of your course so far I like. It starts with the basic building blocks, which is of course the Sanskrit alphabet, and to me it has a sacred quality that is hard to pin down. Even the writing of the letters has that quality. There is something very special about it. Maybe there are deeply buried memories of incarnations in that ancient land? I look forward to proceed deeper into the program.

 

This is the first time I have studied anything long distance, Internet based etc. I am moved by how “real” the experience is. Every time I log into the Yogic Mystery School – I enter a classroom in a temple. Even I sit in front of my computer I experience myself in a room with all of the other students and you. To me the course is unfolding in a threefold: there is me in the community of my fellow students, you as a teacher and me as a student; and lastly there is me alone, bringing what I learnt in the classroom into my internal life so it will slowly manifest itself in my entire life.

 

Learning from you is a beautiful experience to me. What you present every week is just like a treasured gift, a lovingly prepared meal – I enjoy every moment of it and immerse myself into it without any expectations on what I should experience, where it should lead me – what I should feel. I just play, discover, and get intimate with each aspect. I treat your gifts with utmost respect, cherish them – but at the same time I take them not too seriously, find humor in them and I am not afraid to soil them – meaning I use them everywhere and anytime, if I sit in my car driving, at the restroom at work or stand in front of my altar. They are my favorite pair of clothing – I wear them everywhere. All of it, the Sanskrit, Mantra and Ritual feels so familiar to me, there is nothing strange, difficult – I feel I arrived home.

 

Thank you so much for your sensitive, supportive and informed teachings and replies to everyone's questions.  The information was just the right amount without being "too much" and yet challenging enough to require a stretching of our understanding and progress. Having a month to continue to process the information and experience is a really good idea for me and sounds like others as well.  I really feel the Divine coming through the Mystery School, even as an internet-based endeavor. You are definitely being blessed in and for this purpose, as are we! I am surprised at the depth of experience that this practice of chanting the vowels and mantras has induced within me.  

 

There are no words, only warm tears of deep love and gratitude for all you are and all you share.  And your closing bulletin is profound beyond comprehension—how I wish everyone could be instructed in the Way of Love from infancy onward.  What we do for love is all that ever matters. And I wish to testify that my work with your Yoga of Sound and very beginnings of the Yoga of the Tongue have helped me more than all the years of Hatha Yoga, all the japa, all the kirtan, all the shaktipat—because you are giving us the reality, the Truth, the essence of what is Love. 

 

I was so excited to learn this material about mantra that I enrolled as soon as I learned about the program from reading Jesus and the Lotus.  I have been able to keep up with the DVD and most of the support material.  Thank you for your continued support and patience. 

 

I am finding the writing of the Sanskrit syllables particularly interesting.  I have garnered a smattering of the language over the years because of my interest in Indian philosophy--just enough to get me in trouble. I realize, now, that it would have been useful to have had someone to teach me the basics, at the outset, so I am grateful to have your videos and the handbook to rely upon.

 

I know that you have put a lot of effort into this course, and I am especially touched by your kindness and attention to each individual.  I am fascinated by the subject matter, and I want to thank you for having the insight and initiative to launch this course. 

 

I have been enjoying the modules and exercises... I feel it is a wonderful way to enhance and help advance my yoga practice, as I believe the spiritual work more important than physical (asana). Content and pace are good. I will continue to practice writing and mantra regularly. Thank you so much for all you do!

 

I have so enjoyed the entire experience....the auditory, the visual, the written, and the physical practice of sounding and writing. I appreciate the depth of study that you offer....very grounding. Thanks again for your teaching and depth of knowledge.

 

I can notice and feel the movement of energy when I chant the vowels, sometimes more than at other times. I feel so encouraged by your lectures and readings.  I must admit that I cried when you talked about the throat chakra being the "opening of the mystic feminine" and restoring the feminine voice.  It's so rare to have a man understand, much less acknowledge, the oppression that all women feel around their voice.  What a gift to be able to restore that balance, and then, hopefully, in the future, to be able help others do that too.

 

I find the mystery school very supportive, encouraging me and reminding me to step back from my frustrations and focus my attention on something larger.  I am pleased to have the DVDs you send.  I feel like am building a reference library that I can continue to consult.   I find something new or am reminded of something I have forgotten each time I watch one.  Having the DVD s and the video and audio lessons divided up into fairly short chapters works well for me.  It makes it easy to go back and revisit particular sections.

 

 

I am now studying the Level I Completion segment. I appreciate the great care that has gone into preparing each lesson and your thorough explanations. The use of mantra is fairly new to me, but I can already feel changes as I incorporate mantra into my meditation practice. It is indeed healing. I am very grateful that this program is available to me at this time.

 

I am loving the vocal toning videos of the vowels!  As I practice with the movements, I can feel the energy moving into my arms.  I have added a new dimension to my evening yoga practice, as I wind down for the evening. This is very juicy stuff, and I am pleased to have decided to continue this series. Thank you so much for making it available.

I really appreciate all your practical suggestions. My mind is overactive and I can easily spend all my meditation time in an elaborate day dream story or in worrying and planning.  Each physical suggestion from intoning the vowels in a circle around the throat to holding my hands in a particular mudra gives my mind something new to focus on for a while.  I particularly appreciated the recent section on mala practice.  I usually start my meditation with my mala and this enriched the practice for me.  

 

I'm very excited about resuming my studies with you this season.  There has been such a wealth of information given, and the sense of structure and focus in the presentation of the material is astounding.  All of the modules have been quite interesting although I have a stronger affinity to the Music Track right now.  Over the winter I applied many of the musical techniques to other ragas that I had learned in the past.  It has certainly strengthened my ability to understand the underlying principles behind the study of ragas. 

 

On the whole, the program has been amazing. There are leaps and bounds in my own personal experience in practicing the material. My sense of the Divine has deepened through the work with permuting the consonants (writing and toning them) as well as working with the swaras. It has gotten me 'out of my head' about the formal training and precision of previous work with swaras and I'm proud of myself in trusting the process you so graciously offered. I'm really very happy, Russill, about the progress, the content and working with you and Asha. My gratitude and well wishes for continued health and learning with the mystery school.

 

I have really been enjoying the program very much and commend you on the organization and presentation of this material.  It is wonderful to receive this knowledge in such a well thought-out and structured way. Being a musician and having some training in ragas,  my favorite part of the program is singing along with you on the CD- I have definitely noticed a transference of energy that enables the raga to come to life in a way that I currently cannot get when just chanting alone with the drone CD.  In addition, thank you for responding to my questions in such a timely manner. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to study with you and look forward to continuing in this program.

I find the material fascinating.  i am becoming more & more comfortable with the experiential nature of your teaching, e.g. i love chanting the alphabet & look forward to getting back into the toning meditations now that i am home.  I'm working with the practices on a consistent basis.  I am appreciating your teaching techniques and the accompanying CD's relative to those of us who do not have formal music training.  As always, I do appreciate the devotional themes that are interwoven and I am finding the most recent practices of singing/toning the musical scales to be energetically calming and balancing. 

 

Learning the devanagri script is a joy.  I used to practice calligraphy and love the beauty and mystery of letters.  I have learned to write my core mantra, a basic Ganisha mantra and the Loka.  I write then almost every day.  This is a very steadying activity.  More than anything else it focuses and quiets my mind.  I have to pay attention or I make mistakes and I can see the results of my inattention immediately.  There are chants that I do most days as part of my meditation and I am beginning to understand the pronunciation rather than just approximating what I think I hear on your CDs.   

 

I am appreciating your teaching techniques and the accompanying CD's relative to those of us who do not have formal music training.  As always, I do appreciate the devotional themes that are interwoven and I am finding the most recent practices of singing/toning the musical scales to be energetically calming and balancing.  Keep up the great work!

 

The "musical" expression of the chant brings me into a different, more intimate relationship with the energies. The melody continues as an expression of joy and light and ends with a sense of completion that all is and will be well.  Thank you very much for all the time, thought and planning that has gone into preparation for the lessons and wisdom that you have and are continuing to share with all your students. What is going on here is totally spiritual. 

 

 

I admire you for the work you are doing ... no, that is not quite what I want to say ... more that I see the light work that you are about, and it is of a nature that I resonate with, and feels inspired to me.  We are fortunate to be able to learn from you! I knew going into this module that there would be a lot of repetition for me of what I have already experienced, learned, even taught in my own work.  But I wanted to go through your entire course, to follow your current so to speak.  I feel it has been valuable to me, and again, an offering to the world that is deep, authentic, and right on! Although I really don’t want to be on computer so much, I find that this is offering me a way to be with your teachings and knowledge that is possible.  SO I am grateful.

 

Not surprising but loving the program.  All these practices are so powerful, I’m not surprised but always amazed and delighted.  I notice though as I practice the high pitches over and over it gets easier and doesn’t feel so strained ...  I do like the variations you gave us to apply to everyday life when we’re either too up or too down, very helpful. Doing these practices on the way to the dentist, makes that experience a little easier! As for the Mantra 2, loving it, eating it up.  I find writing the ligatures very meditative and calming.  Seems whenever I have a moment at my desk I write them, this seems to come very easy and naturally for me.

I am really tuned in to listening to my voice and other people's voices.  I can actually see the upward, downward and expanding energies played out on my computer monitor. I love using the Bija exercise, moving the energies up and down my spine a few times before I meditate each day. I have meditated to Mantra music for many years, (actually, since I took your class in Graduate School in 1996.), I can easily experience the energy movement in my body. All in all I really appreciate the studies. 

 

What a deep satisfaction and pleasure and feeling of connectedness I am getting from this work.  It's kind of inexplicable to me but I guess that's the 'mystery' part of the work we're engaged in. Thank you so much for this teaching and for putting it into an online course. 

 

I would have thought I was way too busy to be able to 'take' such a course if it involved going somewhere else and having to be on a set schedule.  But this way, I can do it on my own time which works out very well for me. The last comment I have is harder to put into words.  It has to do with an increased feeling of connectedness I have in my day to day life - with everything - other people, trees, even inanimate objects.  A sense of the invisible energies permeating it all.

I'm greatly enjoying this module and very happy to see the continued work with Sanskrit. I have no definitive expectations for this work other than that they support my intention to always move toward living by yogic principles. Needless to say, they have fulfilled this function.

 

I love your support materials, particularly the video clips. I find that the energy dynamics of my practice are much more profound when I practice along with them. I look forward to continuing with you. I tend to be a bit reserved and expressing my thoughts and opinions can be challenging for me. Anyway, the lessons were well done. Thank you again for sharing this material and yourself.

 

First of all I want to express my gratitude to you for making the material in the Yogic Mystery School available.  It has been invaluable to me as a student of yoga and of the Wisdom traditions.  It has helped me make connections with other esoteric studies that I have pursued over the years and it has filled in the gaps. Overall, this study has been a wonderful growing experience for me even though some of it has been challenging.  It has stretched me in ways that would otherwise not have been possible. 

 

I love the rituals you have shared... water, clearing... I love the short mantras and the sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet and the petal sounds. These take me deeper into the experience of God. The longer, more complex ones with many musical changes and devotional ones are quite beautiful and I understand why many people want to sing or chant these.

I am throughly enjoying the module. It has been delightful to use my voice and feel the changes occurring within my body. Additionally, I have noticed changes in my attitude for the positive as well as increase in courage to stand in front of others and share. While my voice is developing, I have enjoyed the exercises with various intervals. Perhaps soon, I will be able to share that aspect of my learning with others.

First, I want to say how moving it was for me to listen / watch your reflections in Level 2A.  I was quite moved, and so aware of your honesty and genuine desire to share.  I appreciate you, your insights, your method of sharing what you are passionate about ... your  authenticity, and willingness to look at the shadow side as well, as it is comforting to me to hear of your path, and see similarities of my own process.

 

I want to say to you that my practice / experience / learning that you have and continue to inspire and guide permeates my life, in subtle and in gross ways.  This process has been quite an internal one for me, a very personal process.  These words will not adequately reflect what is going on ... the mystery of it satiates me, fills me to tears of expansion, love, devotion.  I feel the deepening, the embodiment of the practice/s and how my experience of them shifts ... how they shift me. 

Personally your lectures have calmed a nagging sense of in-authenticity surrounding the use of Sanskrit mantras and chants as an American. Even when I believed in their power myself, I was uncomfortable sharing it with others. That sense of discomfort has, for the most part, dissipated thanks to your clear, open and carefully thought out lectures. I feel and appreciate the care, the insight, and the wisdom you bring to your teaching. 

 

I have been practicing a silent, transcendent-style mantra meditation for almost 20 years now, and I have found that guided meditations and physical meditations such as walking, writing, and Ikebana, disturb the meditative process and keep me on the surface, outside. They are calming activities, but they don’t produce in me the meditative state.  However, when I chant the Sanskrit mantras that you are teaching, I do attain a meditative state and this is new and positive for me. I now suspect the problem for me has been the mispronunciation of the Sanskrit.  Everything is great.  I'm getting much out of the Ganesh mantras.  It's amazing to me how something so simple can become so powerful.  

I could listen to your reflections all day.  I am moved deeply by what you say.  The distinctions and explanations you give between conceptualization and experience bring such clarity to my my practice.  And I don't just mean my mantra practice...but the practice of life, really.  I can apply this anywhere when I stop to realize its potency.  Thank you...p.s.  thank you for sharing that beautiful om with us at the end of reflection 4. You easily produce what you are saying in that one moment.

 

I have noticed some changes within myself working with these mantras.  A calmness and easiness has settle in that’s been missing for awhile since my daughter had health issues.  I’ve been meditating for years and have always done so at night before bed.  I have always wanted to get up early and meditate it’s never happened and this morning I popped up @ 5:00 am and meditated for an hour, so easily!  I know the mantras have helped me make this change, overcome something that gave me the feeling that I just couldn’t do, too tired, go to bed to late etc.

 

I have never heard the term bija described the way you did.  I felt a huge relief.  I understand the yogic way, to go past the modifications of the mind to get to our true Selves, but the mind is a part of us, so we use the mind to get past the mind, thru study, contemplation, application etc.  But sometimes using the mind even in a positive way, feels exhausting, so I felt relief, that even though I’m working real hard on my spiritual path at times it’s okay, to just surrender to the process, and allow the flow of grace to do its work, like thru the bija mantra. Thank you. Thank you for your time.

 

I've been working a with the invocations to Ganesh. The effect has been sublime. At the time the lesson was posted I was in the midst of some stagnant energy in my environment. This energy was permeating many aspects of my life and had been for a couple months. Things had come to a standstill and I was having a hard time mentally working through it all. I began the practice and immediately felt the effects. A veil seemed to lift and things began to shift and sort themselves out. The best part is the effect on my practice, which was suffering like everything else. I've have renewed vigor and focus for this and my asana practice, for which I am profoundly grateful. There is a renewed lightness of being and a clear path.

I'm continuing to work with the Ganesh mantras.   Your so right about the dance between keeping connected to my devotion while focusing on tongue positions and tone.  It's getting easier. I'm loving that I'm learning and practicing all of this.  All of what we are studying is starting to come together in my mind in a good way.  This sounds weird, because it's so obvious to me now, but I'm feeling how all of these practices connect.  From, Patanjali to the tantric mantras to the scales to the sanskrit, I'm starting to get the thread!   

 

I am finding the first module very fulfilling.  I am enjoying using the vowels to help balance my energy and to help open/reopen my heart when necessary.  I am finding that after chanting the primary and compound vowels that the chanting of other simple mantras becomes much smoother. The combination of auditory, visual and theory is nice balance.  I am personally really enjoyed the lecture on contextualizing the vowels as it is giving me some theory which is good as I've mostly been using mantra as form of devotion or meditation. I have not found any challenges thus far.  The course is a good pace so I am able to incorporate practice into daily life. Overall, I am looking forward to continuing the learning process, the course is wonderful opportunity!

On the whole, the program has been amazing. There are leaps and bounds in my own personal experience in practicing the material. My sense of the Divine has deepened through the work with permuting the consonants (writing and toning them) as well as working with the swaras. It has gotten me 'out of my head' about the formal training and precision of previous work with swaras and I'm proud of myself in trusting the process you so graciously offered. I'm really very happy about the progress, the content and working with you and Asha. My gratitude and well wishes for continued health and learning with the mystery school.   

 

As a whole I feel that this course and your style of delivery resonates very strongly with me. Over the years I've attended many workshops for yoga, meditation as well as pursuing my study of Indian music yet often felt that the depth I was seeking was not being fully addressed.  Your teachings are bringing a clarity to many of the concepts that I have deeply sought for so long.   Thank you again for sharing your knowledge in this program- I look forward to continuing in this module and future modules as well.  

I greatly appreciate this course because it is giving me a solid in-depth understanding of the why's and wherefore's of yoga practice. Having lived in my head most of my life I appreciate the physical aspects of yoga which have reacquainted me with my body. My inclination is to want to understand intellectually what is happening physically. Your course offers the opportunity to engage both the mind and the experiential aspects of learning. I've had a lot of "that's why we do that" moments of insight.
I have enjoyed all the components so far.

Right now I'm trying out meditating at dusk, a beautiful time of peace and quiet where I live. I need to make this the #1 priority so nothing interferes. The benefits are so great and really palpable that I will make it work. I need it very much. The DVDs have given me a much broader understanding of meditation and it's great to be able to go back again and again. Thank you so much for this course, it truly inspires me to go deep within where ALL resides.

I am simply LOVING all that you send me! I take it in with enormous gratitude and some kind of relief...as if I have been waiting such a very long time... At first glance at the consonants I think..."yikes!" and then I sit down and fall into the deepest love of the script,  it's beauty and the way it dances and how I go mad for writing and dancing with it  and how strangely easy, then, it is... I am listening to, and noticing the tone of the voice in my head more. I bow down before it all, in love,