Gassho — A Guru Practice Bringing You Clarity, Calmness, Confidence & Success

Practicing gassho is a liberating reminder of your true capabilities.

But what is it?

Gassho is a commonly practiced ritual, the depth of which may not necessarily be understood by all who perform it.

Simply put, gassho is the simple, seemingly unaffecting act of bringing your two hands together in what is called the prayer or Namaste position.

In truth, it is powerfully so much more.

• Simple because you are simply joining your hands together. Something many do quite often and often with unintentional disregard.
• Seemingly unaffecting because on the surface, placing your two hands together in this prayer position doesn’t seem to be doing anything other than alerting observers you are in prayer mode.
• Powerfully so much more because the practice is really about acknowledging and reminding yourself of spiritual essence in everything and paying respect to it.

Let’s take a look at what’s going on within the space between your two joined hands.

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What Is Gassho?

Gassho is the physical act of bringing your two hands together. Symbolically joining the left with the right, the spirit with the physical, the creative with the analytical.

What Does Gassho Mean

Gassho means “to place two palms together”.

What Are You Doing When You “Do Gassho”

When you “do gassho” or bring your palms together, you are acknowledging and showing respect that you are not separate from spirit; that everything around you is of the same spirit; sameness, oneness.

In many Japanese practices gassho is done in greeting someone. In that sense you are humbling your ego to the reminder that the same spirit is within each of you. You are showing respect or honor to the spirit of the person that is in front of you.

When you deeply understand or reflect on the message behind this simple act of gassho, you should find the knowledge and the practice to:

• Humble you
• Calm anxiousness
• Build confidence
• Quiet the mind
• Offer clarity
• Negate the (ego’s) need for competition or comparison

Spiritual energy is your operating system. Without it you do not exist. It is always there to guide you. And that’s where your power, your true capabilities lie, in spirit.

There is no need to struggle, compete, compare. Doing so would mean that spiritual essence is competing with or comparing itself to itself. Makes no sense.

Meditate on the Meaning of Gassho

Taking a few moments to sit in gassho and meditate or think about its meaning and essence is calming and clarifying.

How to Meditate on the Meaning of Gassho for a Deeply Moving Experience of Clarity and Peace:

• Sit comfortably and close your eyes. (You do not have to sit on the floor, on a mat or cross-legged. You can sit anywhere you can be comfortable and in concentration)
• Do gassho (bring your palms together in front of your heart) the thumb of your hands roughly a fist length distance in front of your heart, fingertips touching lightly, pointed upward and leaving a slight space between your palms; body sitting upright and stern (not slumped over) but not stiff.
• Concentrate on the space between your hands or the tips of your middle finger.
• Sit quietly and reflect on the fact that: you are Divine energy, the same spiritual energy in everyone.

Sit still and quietly meditate on that thought. Keeping your mind’s eye focused on the tip of your middle finger or the space between your hands will help you maintain concentration. When you lose focus (you will) and find random thoughts popping up, just notice them and return back to focusing on your fingertip or that space.

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The first few times you sit in reflection of gassho you may feel a little silly, or may feel the practice is a little “out there”. That’s totally understandable. We’re consciously thinking, practical human beings.

But stay with it. Sit in gassho for 5–10 minutes every day for 21 days. That will be enough time for you to realize its benefits and guidance. And you will probably come to this realization before 21 days has passed.

It’s a spiritual blessing and conversation with your spiritual self, promoting clarity, calmness and confidence and The Way to success.

Enjoy.

Repeat daily.

If diving deeper into the understanding of your spiritual essence and capabilities is something you would enjoy, join us in the next Clearly Confident Workshop. This is a fun, informative, life-changing intensive.

Photo by Vinicius “amnx” Amano on Unsplash