A note on the internet outage at Hotel Ibis Hangzhou Benjiang:
I figured out what was causing the internet to be turned off at 11:30pm and be turned on at 7:00am. The lights in the hall on my floor, and I imagine all floors throughout the hotel, are turned down at night. This involves turning off certain banks of lights. So the WiFi which was a recent install from cable must have been connected to the same power circuit as the ceiling lights.

So I go down to check out.

I mention my theory about the lights to the helpful young lady on reception. Her English was very good. What a relief. hahaha

Then I mentioned their guarantee and said I thought that since they hadn’t fixed the air conditioning or the internet that I should be their guest. She smiled. She looked at me. She spoke to the young lady beside her. They talked. She said “You owe for 3 breakfasts so we are happy if you do not pay the 66RMB.” I thanked her but said that I didn’t think that that was what their guarantee offered. She made a phone call then tended to another client who was checking out.

About 6 minutes later she approached e and said that they would give me a night free but of course I would have to pay for the breakfasts. I agreed.

She said that they hoped I would return to the hotel because they would fix the problems that I had encountered.

Maybe.

The people that work in this hotel were, apart from the officious guy on the front desk, very kind to me, thoughtful and helpful. If there was internet and air conditioning it is a very comfortable place to stay.

Life is good.

Please, how do I get another copy of you singing those wonderful songs about money and time?

Thanks,
Robin Shepperd in Austin, TX.

There are a variety of CDs with this mantra. a really slow version was recommended to me. Felt wrong. Is there a speed recommended by Yogi Bhajan? I was always taught 4 4 time. 1 syllable per second. Is this correct? is this arbitrary?

When I first started doing the Sa Ta Na Ma meditation I tried watching a clock, counting on my fingers and so on because I was concerned about the intrusive sound of a buzzer going off. But then I realized that I was more focused on the watching and trying to keep track of the finger counting. Heck I have a brain injury and juggling all this stuff was driving me nuts. hehehehe

So I use a kitchen timer set to 2 minutes that I place close at hand. The timer has a simple start/stop button that I just have to touch twice. I don’t find it intrusive as it is now just part of my routine.

There are meditation timers available that cost more than $100.

Thanks for asking this excellent question.

The short answer is that the volume of the mantra corresponds to the three languages of consicousness:

normal or loud voice: Human: the world

strong whisper: Lovers: longing to belong

mentally; silent: Divine: Infinity

I’ll write a more complete description of the mantras and mudras.

In other words, why whisper and then do it silently? Is there a reason?