I've been meditating using the NSR manual for some time now with minimal success. I don't hear the syllable when meditating. I don't try to hear it and I don't try to think it. I just wait for it. Sometimes it occurs in the vaguest form, not sound, or visual,just aware that I had the thought of the syllable. After meditating like this, stress is lessened, but not to the degree that I need to be able perform well in my daily life.

When I have had a good meditation session, I notice that I have been in a good, relaxed mood to begin with and that I have tried to hear the syllable, especially as it sounded on the MP3. Then I have the vibrational effects of the sound throughout my body and blissful feelings emerge as if from within. But that is a rare experience, and one that I had only during the first months of practice.

I think maybe the problem is that I'm not innocent when I meditate. I don't know how one would remedy that.
Thanks,
Erik

Erik,

Don't just sit and wait. This is a waste of time, since the mind will just wander and little if any transcending will take place.

After the initial period of silence, start thinking the syllable. This is explained in the manual, along with other details of the practice. Perhaps you need to read the manual again?

If this problem continues, I recommend a private consultation by email, phone, or Skype (see the order form at www.nsrusa.org).

David Spector
NSR Meditation/USA