Yogi played a mantra in yoga class this morning and made the comment that “a mantra helps to get us through our thoughts and connect us to our heart.” I can tell you a mantra is a sacred verse or sound and symbolically represents a spiritual experience. The simplest is the humming vibration “OM”. “OM is different than my other basic instinctive “Mmmm” as my friend likes to note when I am eating something good. While I can’t tell you what mantra was playing as we practiced our yoga I can tell you it helped connect some dots in my life, some that have seemed to be spinning out of control lately.
First of all these mantras and their effects are no different than some other common experiences we share in life- singing, listening to music, exercising, saying our prayers together in church, or praying silently in a mosque. Even golfing can be like a mantra when we “get in the zone.” Why do negative thoughts based on our fears sometimes seem to occupy our minds? What if I lose my job? What if I lose my health? What if she doesn’t love me or want to be with me anymore? Once these types of thoughts take over it seems like we drop out of the world of the living or are somehow confined to a dark place of our own making.
Of course mindfulness and being aware of how we think is a big help to keep us on the right path in life. A thought becomes an idea we focus on and then sooner or later it seems to come out of our mouth and leads to a behavior. So we can be vigilant on what we allow into our minds. Are we taking a single event and drawing a big conclusion from it without any intermediate steps or evidence? Are we mistaking feelings for facts? If I feel like a failure am I really a failure? Are we making assumptions about other people’s thoughts, feelings and even behaviors without validating them first? Has our thinking become lazy or nonexistent and we are simply reacting to what seems to be happening to us. Sometimes as Yogi likes to say “things just happen” versus “things always happen to me.”
So our mind and the thoughts within can sometimes mask our real personal power and spiritual connections. How do we activate our hearts and lead with them in our lives? Is it as simple as having good posture with our heart up and shoulders back. How do we stop slouching our way through life?
Yogi and his mantra reminded me this morning- to be true to myself I need to be connected to and lead with my heart. Yes, there are worldly decisions to be made about income and expenses and being a responsible citizen. But we also have to make good heartfelt decisions in our life. After all it is not what happens to us, or the words or actions that impact us that really matter. What matters is what comes out of us- our words and behaviors. They impact the real me.
So today it seems like I have reconnected to myself through my heart. Once again I am not afraid of leading with my heart or “losing myself.” I am ready to live life as though I am not afraid of what happens to me. I will be a happy and fulfilled me if I live without fear. My existence in this world will be complete and meaningful.
So too I am sure will be yours.
Mmmm that is good…
Have a TROML Day Today!
Anonymous Andy
Your Personal Revivalist
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