Popeye... My first enlightened encounter.

   Great sages and spiritual teachers often use the phrase I Am, I Am. I Am is a mantra used in single mindedness  meditation.  Sohumm is the  sanskrit word for  "I Am That." Sooooo...used as an inhalation breath and Hummmmm...used as an exhalation breath. I am also stems from the Sanskrit word self pride.

   I first heard repeatedly "I yam, whats I yam and thats all that I yam" from an endearing carton character named Popeye. My siblings and I often repeated Popeye's expression in response to just about everything, but we said what we heard "I am whats I am and thats all that I am" with self pride! Also, none of us knew what a yam was at the time.