Hi all,
If anyone is interested in creating their own local AI search tool which is trained on the AYP knowledgebase, the best way to do it is to use NotebookLM. This is a free tool offered by Google, and based on their AI search functionality (currently Google Gemini).
If you go to the NotebookLM website, you can upload any of the AYP books that you own in PDF format to a local NotebookLM instance. Up to 20 PDF’s can be uploaded to one instance and it will only be searchable by you. It is in chat format, so you can then ask it any questions you want, and it will base its replies on the texts that you uploaded to it. It will even give exact quotes without hallucinating. Of course it is not 100% accurate, so everything should be double-checked with the books themselves.
If you do not have the PDF versions of the texts, they can be purchased from this website here. In our experiments, uploading the Easy Lessons for Ecstatic Living volumes one and two only, will produce almost as good results as uploading all of the texts.
This is the NotebookLM website:
https://notebooklm.google.com/
I just tried this out the first time (after finally overcoming some non-yogic aversion against AI content 
). And I’m very impressed by how easy, accurate and useful the results are from notebooklm, and that in fact it doesn’t seem to hallucinate. The summaries are good, but even better are the links to the actual sources so that I can check the original and compile source material for personal review and teaching.
I uploaded all my AYP pdf files. But I noticed that the big pdf file I got for the full AYP Plus Lessons (bought from google play) does not work, even though it’s google’s own pdf. Most of the pages appear empty and white when inspected within notebooklm and that is reflected in the chat not being able to find anything useful in the book. My guess is that it might be related to some DRM baked into the pdf that the other pdfs I got from AYP directly don’t have.
It would be great if I could search that full AYP Plus lesson book. If anybody finds a way of doing that, please let me know.
Lastly, I want to show one example, using as source the Easy Lessons for Ecstatic Living volumes one and two. It’s the very first question I tried and it produced a confusing entry in the summary. So I would recommend to always check the original source material before following any advice from that software.
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I asked “How do I know if I’m ready to shift to an enhanced mantra?”
And it answered:
To know if it is time to shift to an enhanced mantra, consider the following points
-
Smoothness and stability in meditation with the current mantra for at least several months. This means experiencing steady silence during meditation and in daily activity.
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A feeling of spiritual desire compelling a move forward. This is also referred to as “bhakti”.
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Not having a lot of thoughts and sensations happening in meditation without a lot of silence. This indicates that purification is still actively occurring, and it’s not the right time to shift gears. Wait until there is some clearing in the meditation process, with more silence coming up and fewer obstructions coming out.
-
Several months of using the first mantra, at minimum. It could take a year or two before meditation with ‘I AM’ clears the nervous system enough.
It is important to remember that everyone is different, and self-pacing is crucial. There is no rush to step up too soon. The entire journey can be made with the ‘I AM’ mantra, or with the first enhancement, if preferred. If a shift to an enhanced mantra happens too early, it will feel like slogging through mud. There may be bogging down and a lack of good results in daily activity. If this occurs, shift back down to the previous mantra and continue with that for a few more months.
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The confusing part I highlighted in bold. Checking the reference notebooklm provides I learned that it took it actually quoted this from lesson 186: “having a lot of thoughts and sensations happening in meditation without a lot of silence” . Here is the snippet in its context:
With our present mantra, if we are having a lot of thoughts and sensations happening in meditation without a lot of silence, this is very good also. It means we are doing a lot of purification, and many obstructions are coming out. However, this is not the time to shift gears to a more enhanced mantra.
The problem is that it took the snippet and simply put a “Not” in front of it, which doesn’t handle correctly the meaning of any negations in the sentence, in particular the “without a lot of silence” part. At least my understanding of the bold sentence is at odds with the intended meaning that’s clear in the original.
Hi TensorTympani,
Yes, the source material (AYP Easy Lessons 1&2) on adding a mantra enhancement is correct, and it is surprising to see that NotebookLM added a “Not” in front of the answer. When in doubt, always best to go back to the original source material.
On the difficulty uploading the massive AYP Plus PDF ebook, I ran into the same issue. It must be too big. One way around it is to use the two separate PDF ebooks for AYP Plus Vols 1&2. That worked for me. Or if you have a PDF editor, you can split the big PDF you have in two. That might work, but not sure.
If it is any consolation, AYP Easy Lessons Vols 1&2 give answers almost as good as the AYP Plus lessons book, as long as you are not asking it when to do a mantra enhancement! 
All in all, the AI assistance is helpful when drawing on 20 years worth of writings, which are quite consistent throughout, making them a pretty good knowledgebase for AI research. Definitely a lot faster at responding than me, with an occasional glitch like you pointed out. It keeps us on our toes, not taking everything an AI says for granted.
The guru is in you.
PS: You might try asking your question again to the NotebookLM AI you have, worded slightly differently. Maybe it will fix itself.
For some additional input on your question, I asked the “AYP Plus” NotebookLM AI here, which has the two AYP Plus ebooks (Vols 1&2) in it, the entire Enlightenment Series (12 volumes), the Forum Posts book (very big, but it did upload), and the Secrets of Wilder novel. Below is what it said. Pretty good answer.
Q: How do I know if I’m ready to shift to an enhanced mantra?
A: To know if you are ready to shift to an enhanced mantra, consider the following points:
• Stability and Smoothness: You should have a stable and smooth meditation practice using your current mantra. This means your meditation is going well, and you are experiencing good depth and inner silence. If your practice feels clunky, you may not be ready for a mantra enhancement.
• Inner Silence: You should be experiencing some steady silence in both your meditation and daily activities. If you are having many thoughts and sensations without much silence during meditation, it is not the right time for a mantra enhancement. This indicates that purification is happening, but it’s not yet time to shift.
• Bhakti: You should have a compelling desire to move forward with your practice. This spiritual desire (bhakti) will also be a factor in deciding when to shift.
• Time: You should have been practicing with your current mantra for at least several months. It could take a year or two before your nervous system is sufficiently clear. It is important to be patient and not rush the process.
• Mantra Refinement: You should be able to pick up the mantra at very refined and fuzzy levels. This indicates that you are experiencing inner silence. The mantra naturally goes from clear pronunciation to a subtle sound in the mind.
• Daily Life: The true measure of your practice is how you feel during the day. You should be experiencing more peace, energy, and creativity in your daily life.
It is important to note that:
• If you shift to an enhanced mantra too early, you may feel like you are “slogging through mud” and not experiencing good results in your daily activity. If this happens, you can simply go back to your previous mantra for a while.
• It takes time for a new mantra to settle in. Avoid changing mantras too often.
• The mantra enhancements are designed to create a wider sweep through the nervous system, slowing down the movement of awareness into silence and back out again, leading to the cultivation of more abiding inner silence.
• The enhancements are like shifting gears in a car, allowing for more speed and efficiency, but only when you are ready.
• There is no need to rush to add mantra enhancements; you can make the entire journey with the I AM mantra if you wish.
In summary, smoothness and stability in your current practice, a growing sense of inner silence, a genuine desire to move forward and a sufficient period of time practicing with your current mantra are all good indicators that you may be ready to consider a mantra enhancement
PPS: The answer you got is also pretty good (and shorter), except for that one “Not.” The second part in that paragraph is accurate:
… a lot of thoughts and sensations happening in meditation without a lot of silence. This indicates that purification is still actively occurring, and it’s not the right time to shift gears. Wait until there is some clearing in the meditation process, with more silence coming up and fewer obstructions coming out.
Hi Yogani,
I think notebooklm added the Not in front of it because I was asking when to shift gears, whereas in your snippet you explained when not to shift gears.
So my guess is that it actually understood correctly but made a grammatical error, trying to negate the whole sentence by putting a Not in front of it. This would be correct, logically, but it’s not English:
Not (having a lot of thoughts and sensations happening in meditation without a lot of silence).
Pulling the Not into the bracket gives then
Not having a lot of thoughts and sensations happening in meditation with some silence.
So, maybe notebooklm has some trouble negating quotes?
I’m sure such glitches will improve soon.
I find it quite fascinating that it can explain subtle differences between concepts that are only defined within AYP writings and where I would have trouble articulating the difference. For instance I asked “What’s the difference between stillness in action and ecstatic radiance?”.
Drawing from the Easy Lessons and Forum Posts books it wrote:
“While ecstatic radiance is the expression of inner ecstasy, stillness in action is the manifestation of both stillness and ecstasy in daily living, as divine love and service. Ecstatic radiance is the quality, while stillness in action is the result.”
It makes sense to me!
It’s an incredible accomplishment to explain experiences and concepts of advanced stages of liberation that are so far removed from a common human experience in a way that are both sufficiently intuitive and logical that both AI and people in the beginning of their journey can make sense of it. Thank you, Yogani 