Monday Mantra

may all beings everywhere be happy and free. and may the thoughts, words and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.

one of the most beautiful ones to me. today, right here, right now, nothing needs to be added. started the day with this Mantra opens you in many ways.

if you're more into listening. a lot of wonderful interpretations can be found, I don't want to influence you in any direction - choose your favourite :-)

be happy, be free

week-end

I rose early on Saturday morning to get my body moving. baked delicious blueberry muffins and off I went to lead through 108 sun salutations to celebrate spring!

4 women flowing quietly, breathing together, creating wonderful energy - rest.

we shared thoughts afterwards eating muffins, drinking yummy fresh juices - a great start!

rain it was for the rest of Saturday. the little girl had to be at school for the dress rehearsal for her big cheerleading performance this week (very exciting!). the man of the house, the big girl and me went for a stroll through Geneva center (not so much fun in the rain though).

the girls watched this again. the man and I finally got to watch this - I prefer the book!

lazy Sunday morning. a walk to the bakery with the little girl. a little violin practice for me again, the girls busy in their rooms - raining again.

the big girl wanted to make pasta at night. pasta machine out and as usual I asked myself why I am not doing this more often, it just tasted so good.

now all that's left is some prep work for tomorrow. starting a busy week before the holidays.

how was your week-end?

Monday Mantra

Om
the sacred mantra of divinity, the guru of sounds.

Om is divided into 4 sounds and stages. A, U, M, and the sound that is beyond all verbal pronunciation.
A - the beginning of all sounds, a baby's first sound
U - formed moving forward in the mouth
M - hummed, with lips and teeth closed

AUM forms a trinity similar to other trinities: body-mind-spirit, creator-preserver-destroyer, past-present-future...
going further than the trinity, the last bit of breath after the "Om" continues to be released without an audible sound to go with it. this 4th part of "Om" is the unspoken sound, anahatha - the vibration before and after all sound.
if you listen closely after chanting, the resonance of the "mmm" sound can be felt.

all other Sanskrit mantras come from the root vibration "Om". as "Om" is so subtle, other mantric vibrations are added to allow the mantra to be more easily experienced - a good example: "Om Shanti".

by constant repetition of any mantra, the cells in our body and mind vibrate with the chosen sound and it's qualities.
in the Yoga Sutras it says:
repeating the sacred sound manifests Divine Consciousness


sit comfortable and choose a mantra or a prayer that fills your heart with love. it doesn't matter if you do know the exact meaning, the feeling is most important.
then begin to repeat the mantra/prayer aloud in a soft voice. let the vibration, step by step, fully take over until you only whisper, making it even further - let the heart repeat in silence. you'll still feel the vibration. try to feel the vibration moving in and out of your heart, nourishing yourself completely.
with that, even after you finished your quiet time of mantra repetition, the mantra will be with you and be repeated with each beat of your heart throughout the day.

why not give it a try?

truth is one, many are the paths (Vedas)

Monday Mantra

the following Mantra is special to me, not only because it's beautiful, it's also the first Mantra I ever lead chanting. oh, what an excitement it was...

Ganesha Sharanam Sharanam Ganesha

Vina Vinayaka Sharanam Ganesha

Ganesha, also spelled Ganesa and Ganesh, also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, Vighnavinashaka, Gajanana and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most widely worshipped deities.

Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is the Remover of Obstacles and more generally Lord of Beginnings and Lord of Obstacles, Vighneshvara, patron of arts and sciences, and the deva of intellect and wisdom. that's why he is usually honoured at the beginning of ceremonies or rituals.

"Gana" means troops or multitudinous spiritual attendants of Shiva, and "isha" means Lord, so Ganesha is the "Lord of the troops. Sharanam means refuge, protection.

Monday Mantra

one of my special, favourite Mantras is the Maha Mrtyunjaya Mantra.

it is a life-giving Mantra. in today's life, where accidents are happening every single day, this Mantra wards off death caused by all types of accidents. in addition, it has a great curative effect of diseases and should be repeated before travelling. a Mantra, that's traditionally chanted by family and friends for a person who is ill or approaching death.

the Mantra can be repeated 3, 9, 27, 54 or 108 times. on your Birthday you should repeat it as many times as possible to maintain/bring health, long life, prosperity, peace and total freedom.

Om tryambakam yajamahe

sugandhim pusti vardhanam

urvarukamiva bandhanan

mrtyor muksiya ma'amrtat

Om. we worship the three-eyed One (Lord Siva) who is fragrant and who nourishes well all beings. may he liberate us from death for the sake of immortality even as a cucumber is served from its bondage (to the creeper).

as usual there is lots of different versions out there to listen to. one of my favourites is from Janin Devi :-)

no matter if you listen or chant yourself - once you end, sit in stillness for a few minutes - eNjOy!