Monday Mantra

Another week has come and gone, and it's time for the Monday Mantra!

This week's mantra is:

Waheguru Waheguru (wah-hey-goo-roo, wah-hey-goo-roo)

This is a Sikh chant used to invoke the name of God, the wondrous enlightener. The breakdown of the seed sounds is as follows:

Wahe- wonderful/awe-inspiring
Guru- teacher/guide

The chant is traditionally used to invoke Divine light in the removal of spiritual darkness.

Source

Below is a beautiful recording of this chant to sit and listen to in meditation or to chant along with. If you would rather do the meditation without the recording, go for 108 recitations or as many as you feel are needed to make a connection.





Cheers! And here's to a great week!

Monday Mantra

I call upon the Creator. I call upon Divine wisdom.

holding light

This week's Monday Mantra is one of my favorites, the Adi Mantra:

Ong Namo, Guru Dev Namo (ong nah-mo, goo-roo deiv nah-mo)

This mantra is used at the beginning of Kundalini Yoga practice in order to tune a person to his/her higher self. The words call upon creative energy and wisdom to manifest; I call upon the Creator, I call upon Divine wisdom. 

There is a divine light within us all. This chant invites us to awaken it, to tune our spirits to our higher vibrations. There is a lot of power in that. 

I will be practicing this mantra along with the following recording, as I find it more relaxing to follow someone's voice. This recording is a great one by Snatam Kaur, but there are plenty of others out there. If you find chanting with a recording isn't for you, you can practice the mantra with 108 repetitions, or simply as many repetitions as you feel you desire. Find a quiet space and time where you have about 10-20 minutes to yourself. Make sure you have a comfortable seat and a tall spine. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and let the meditation carry you.



Happy Monday, everyone! May your week be blessed, beautiful, and abundant.

For  more info on meditation practice, click here.

7 Things I Think About on Rainy Days

It's raining outside. The kind of rain that makes it hard to see in front on your own face. I've always been a fan of the rain, so I figured I'd give a think about why. Here's my list of 7. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments section. Cheers!

cloudy light

7 things I think about on Rainy Days

1.       How much I love the smell of rain. I was dating this guy once and we were taking a walk after the rain. I was in heaven. I said out loud, “I just love the smell of rain.” And he looked at me like I was nuts. Not everyone may relate to this, but the smell of the world during and after rain is something so refreshing and lovely to me. You can smell the water in the air, the soil soaking it in, the plants smell stronger. Everything smells earthy and refreshed. I just love it.

2.       Hot chocolate. Rainy days are cozy days, and what’s more cozy than hot chocolate? Whenever a downpour hits, I just want to break out a pot and melt some chocolate. That’s right, this isn't a Swiss Miss house (nothing against it). I want thick dark chocolate melted in cream with red chili and cinnamon. Perfect for a rainy day.

3.       Snuggle time! Rainy days are great for getting under cover and spending some time with a movie, book, or special someone. I don’t have a someone right now, so I’ll by cozying up to The Truth About Cats and Dogs J

4.       Taking photos. I've definitely got a yin to cover my beloved Nikon in some plastic and hit the streets to get some rain shots. I’m especially fond of hitting the beach at the tail end of a rain. The clouds and the sea are just spectacular.

5.       Sleeping. I taught a workshop in the mountains once, in this adorable house with a tin roof. One day it rained and one of my participants stop in the middle of the activity and said, “I’m sorry, but I have to go to bed now.” Something about rain on a tin roof took her there. I get it. Rainy days are great for napping. The temperature drops to perfect, and there really isn't much reason to go outside in a down pour.

6.       Unless you’re going to play. Once at a friend’s house it started to pour outside. I was cozied up on the couch with the cat, very close to sleeping, when I heard my friend’s five year old son ask his dad if they could go play in the rain. I don’t know who was more excited, dad or the kid. They rushed out the door and hit every puddle. When they came back in, they were both soaked and full of the giggles. Loved it.

7.       Sun. I love rainy days for many reasons. One being that it makes me appreciate the sunny days. There is a balance in everything. Darkness helps us appreciate light. Cold helps us appreciate warmth. And rain, with all its charm, makes the sun peeking through the clouds even more exciting. And when rain and sun get together and play, we get rainbows. You can’t be that.

Belief in All its Forms

Those of you who read my blog know that I'm a very spiritual person. I am always looking at the world through the lens of the Divine. Because of that, people rarely question my chosen religion. I am one of someone's fold, and that is a place of comfort in our society.

 I admit to bristling at even hearing the word atheist. It has such a negative association in our society. Which is why I was so heartened to see this video clip from Upworthy. I truly appreciate the beauty of Diana Nyad's view, and her honesty about her position. She wasn't cagey or defensive, but expressive and eloquent. I feel like she gave me a new perspective on atheism, and for that I thank her. Atheism doesn't have to be something dark or scary or defensive. These kinds of dialogues are valuable because they show us our sameness. Please take a few moments out of your day to watch. It is well worth it.

Monday Mantra

This past week has been a rough one. I am sad to admit that I didn't make it through the entire week with the Lakshmi chant. I got hit really hard with depression this week. I managed to muddle through the days by watching a lot of YouTube and keeping my hands busy. That said, I feel like I'm on an upswing, so this week's chant will hopefully give an even bigger push. Without further ado, this Monday's mantra is the Siri Gaitri mantra!

Ra ma da sa, sa say so hung (rah mah dah sah, sah sei so hung)

This Kundalini yoga chant, created by Yogi Bhajan, is one of the most powerful healing mantras out there. It is a combination of several seed sounds that bring balance and new energy to the body. It is also said to tune a soul to the vibration of the Universe. For more information on this chant, click here.

As with other mantras, the most common number of recitations is 108. Below is a link to a wonderful version of this chant by the lovely Snatam Kaur, if you would rather listen to the chant and absorb the energy that way. Also feel free to chant along with her.

Happy Monday, everyone!

The Bully Project

I love Upworthy's videos; so when this one came up in my queue, I watched immediately.



This young man, Caine, is one of countless children being harassed daily in school. As a school teacher, I've seen first hand the struggles that so many of our young people face. It is incredibly difficult to be a kid these days. There are so many more ways for them to be hurt. You would think that as our population becomes more open and more diverse that people would be more accepting. However, that is not the case for so many children in small town America.

What I love the most about Caine's message is that he is using the administrative channels available to him to make change. He's not just trying to end suffering for himself, but for as many kids as possible.

Caine is just one of the representatives for The Bully Project. Please check out their website; and if you're so moved, get involved. We only have one world, and it is imperative that we learn to get along with it and with each other.

If you've had any experience with bullying, please share in the comments below. The more we talk about these issues, the easier it is for us to deal with them.

Cheers!

Monday Mantra

This Monday's mantra is in devotion to the Hindu goddess, Lakshmi. Lakshmi is the goddess of wealth, prosperity, and fortune.

Source

Now that we've been blessed by Ganesha to remove obstacles, it's time to draw in some abundance through a mantra to Lakshmi:

Om Shrim Mahalakshmiyei Namaha (ohm shreem mah-ha-lahk-shmee-yei nah-mah-ha)

This mantra is most commonly translated to mean: Salutations to great Lakshmi. May you pour your blessings upon me. 

This mantra is used to draw abundance and prosperity.

As with most mantra practice, to be most effective this mantra is chanted 108 times. Below is one of my favorite recordings of this chant by the amazing Deva Premal. Feel free to chant along with her or to just listen and take in the energy.

Here's to another great week!
Cheers!

Ganesha Mantra *update*

This week's mantra was in honor of Lord Ganesha, remover of obstacles. (For details, click here.)

Source

I did this mantra all week, and I will admit it was tough. A lot of obstacles presented themselves this week, maybe because I was focusing my energy on removing them. In any case, chanting this mantra really helped me stay motivated. And oh, the things I was able to achieve:

*I moved into a new apartment.
*I worked on my photo portfolio.
*I painted my first sign.
*I finally found work.

And the biggest hurdle of all, I finally got my photos done for my yoga teacher business cards.

photos by Sandra Herrera, photo editing by me

I am excited about the next steps, but also terrified. It finally feels like things are in motion for me to reestablish myself, and the fear of failure is looming. Or is it the fear of succeeding? I can't be sure. What I do know, is that mantra practice is helping me to focus and keep my energy at a high vibration. Simply put, the practice works.

Be on the look out for a new mantra on Monday!

And please share your experiences with mantra practice in the comments below.

Cheers!