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Mantra
Jan 31, 2007 11:21:25 GMT -5
Post by slb2 on Jan 31, 2007 11:21:25 GMT -5
gk mentioned reciting happy mantras to clear her mind after something negative had entered it. I use mantras, too. When I'm driving and need to concentrate on the road, but my kids are driving me dingy, I like to chant under my breath. Sometimes the kids will quiet down long enough to hear what I'm saying, then they start back in again. I will be gentle to myself. I will love myself. I am a child of the Universe, being born each moment.There's a river of birds in migration, a nation of women who sing.Nisa, nisa, nisa (repeat three times) Now I walk in beauty Beauty is before me Beauty is behind me, Above, below, within me (Native American chant) Does anyone else do this? Share your songs. And no one gets to tease me about my songs.
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Mantra
Jan 31, 2007 11:46:53 GMT -5
Post by liriodendron on Jan 31, 2007 11:46:53 GMT -5
When I'm driving and need to concentrate on the road, but my kids are driving me dingy, I like to chant under my breath. Does anyone else do this? Share your songs. I sometimes chant under my breath under similar circumstances, slb. I'm not sure that what I chant is suitable for sharing, however. ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png)
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Mantra
Jan 31, 2007 12:39:22 GMT -5
Post by Jane on Jan 31, 2007 12:39:22 GMT -5
As I breathe in, I breathe in peace. As I breathe out, I breathe out love.
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Mantra
Jan 31, 2007 14:05:23 GMT -5
Post by scotbrit on Jan 31, 2007 14:05:23 GMT -5
I don't go in for this sort of thing, but I might just use Jane's sentiments on occasion. I like that.
Thank you Jane.
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Mantra
Jan 31, 2007 14:20:02 GMT -5
Post by hartlikeawheel on Jan 31, 2007 14:20:02 GMT -5
The Packrat and I do this one together. It requires body language and is from a movie we once saw, "Meatballs."
Stand several feet apart, facing each other.
Bend your elbows and move your arms to about thirty degree angles from your waists.
Now clench your fists and make a pounding motion with both hands in synch with themselves and with each other. The upswing is on the first syllable and the pounding motion on the scond and like that.
Here's the fun part:
Chant in a fairly loud voice, "It JUST doesn't MATTER!"
Continue until you start to giggle at the absurdity.
IF this should fail, which it rarely does, "Oh thit!" is a decent backup."
(If I'm around a piano Chopin's "Polonaise" pounded at angry volume works for me, as well.) Perhaps not a mantra but it seems most of what has been said here is the soothing or purging quality of rhythm.
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Mantra
Jan 31, 2007 16:50:45 GMT -5
Post by juliastar on Jan 31, 2007 16:50:45 GMT -5
I will take the high road. And let the chips fall. I will take the high road. And let the chips fall.
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Mantra
Jan 31, 2007 21:14:35 GMT -5
Post by booklady on Jan 31, 2007 21:14:35 GMT -5
As I breathe in, I breathe in peace. As I breathe out, I breathe out love. Jane, is this Thich Nhat Hanh? A friend gave me Peace Is Every Step for Christmas. I'm only part way through it.
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Mantra
Feb 1, 2007 9:07:33 GMT -5
Post by Jane on Feb 1, 2007 9:07:33 GMT -5
Probably. We use it in church occasionally.
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Mantra
Feb 1, 2007 10:01:50 GMT -5
Post by gailkate on Feb 1, 2007 10:01:50 GMT -5
Thank you all for these lovely thoughts. My own mantras are either unprintable ( the old favorite "____'em if they can't take a joke") or sound more religious than I can pretend to be. There is truly nothing more effective for dark thoughts than "Get thee behind me."
I recite cummings's "....most this amazing day," the whole thing, which can really pull you away from the bad stuff. A faster and energizing mantra for me is "This is the day the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."
I also love to sing a camp song from my mother's childhood (early 1920s) "Little Sir Echo." The silliness is fun, with chirpy repetitions of "hello" that little girls must have loved. If you do this in the car with facial expressions and friendly nods, other motorists will give you a wide berth.
And then there's "I am the Master of my Fate/I am the Captain of my Soul." The capitals are important.
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Mantra
Feb 1, 2007 13:31:24 GMT -5
Post by doctork on Feb 1, 2007 13:31:24 GMT -5
Except for the point, the still point There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.
TS Eliot, The Four Quartets, "Burnt Norton"
I use this as a breathing mantra, triangular, with one exinhalation or exhalation for each line. Move the triangle around so each line has a "chance to be first." I meditate on how the meaning might change depending on the order of the lines.
My favorite for when I have to have an MRI, lying "in the box" immobile for 45 minutes. It goes by in what seems like seconds.
I might go back and read the whole poem too sometimes.
Also: Hare krishna, hare krishna, Krishna krishna, hare hare Hare rama, hare rama Rama rama, hare hare.
I'm partial to Ram Dass' concept "Be Here Now," though more as a motto than mantra.
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Mantra
Feb 1, 2007 14:17:05 GMT -5
Post by slb2 on Feb 1, 2007 14:17:05 GMT -5
Doc, do you ever listen to Kirshna Das? My little guy and I would sing his chant, Oh ma shee-vie-ah over and over. (I don't know the spelling, what I wrote is phonetic.)
I'd forgotten about it. Maybe I'll go play it, now.
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Mantra
Feb 1, 2007 15:25:08 GMT -5
Post by mike on Feb 1, 2007 15:25:08 GMT -5
I will take the high road. And let the chips fall. I will take the high road. And let the chips fall. You'll take the high road I'll take the low You'll get to heaven I'll be hanging out below
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Mantra
Feb 1, 2007 17:11:47 GMT -5
Post by brutus on Feb 1, 2007 17:11:47 GMT -5
You'll take the high road I'll take the low You'll get to heaven I'll be hanging out below Ohh Mike!! Double-ahhhhntahhhndrays?? ;D ~B~ Edited by Brutskie...just like Congress, too many "s's" ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png)
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Mantra
Feb 1, 2007 19:36:23 GMT -5
Post by rogesgallery on Feb 1, 2007 19:36:23 GMT -5
I will take the high road. And let the chips fall. I will take the high road. And let the chips fall. I like that Booky, I guess mine would be: I will speak the truth of an unjust world And hope the chips dont fall on my grandchildren I will speak the truth of an unjust world And hope the chips dont fall on my grandchildren
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Mantra
Feb 1, 2007 19:50:20 GMT -5
Post by rogesgallery on Feb 1, 2007 19:50:20 GMT -5
Actually I have a Native American flute, Sioux standard tuning, I like to sit out by the lake and play whatever notes come to me. It has a beautiful tone and I'm at a loss to explain why the air carry's the notes with such a different resonance at night than in the day.
I'm also at a loss to explain why night is referred to with 'at' and day always with 'in'.
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Mantra
Feb 1, 2007 19:56:59 GMT -5
Post by rogesgallery on Feb 1, 2007 19:56:59 GMT -5
[quote author=mike board=advisory thread=1170260485 Ohh Mike!! Double-ahhhhntahhhndrays?? ;D ~B~ Edited by Brutskie...just like Congress, too many "s's" ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) The devil you say Your ahhhhntahhhndrays The devil you say Your ahhhhntahhhndrays The devil you say Your ahhhhntahhhndrays
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Mantra
Feb 1, 2007 21:29:02 GMT -5
Post by booklady on Feb 1, 2007 21:29:02 GMT -5
I will take the high road. And let the chips fall. I will take the high road. And let the chips fall. I like that Booky, I guess mine would be: I will speak the truth of an unjust world And hope the chips dont fall on my grandchildren I will speak the truth of an unjust world And hope the chips dont fall on my grandchildren That was Julia, roges! ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) I don't have a cleansing mantra -- I just glower and holler and fuss and fume. My bad words then add to the overall negativity in those situations!! However, I'm reading this thread intently for ideas to help me change. If I can force myself to floss every night, I can practice (in the sense of regular doings) happy mantras.
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Mantra
Feb 2, 2007 13:04:44 GMT -5
Post by Trusty on Feb 2, 2007 13:04:44 GMT -5
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Mantra
Feb 2, 2007 14:16:04 GMT -5
Post by scotbrit on Feb 2, 2007 14:16:04 GMT -5
Roges wondered:I am not familiar with the landscape in your neck of the woods Roges, but could it be that at night or in the evening, the ambient noise is less than during the day?
Even in remote places, the sound of an auto engine will be heard clearer at night. I have concluded this is because during the day when there is a great deal of activity, the sounds compete with each other to get to our ears.
Conversely, perhaps our ears are attuned to blocking out negative sounds (auto engines, jet aircraft) and when the opportunity arises, as it can do at night, our ears pick up the nuances of which you spoke, and the timbre of your instrument sounds sweeter.
Whatever, I rather envy the image I have of you sitting out in the open and tooting your flute.
Bliss.
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Mantra
Feb 2, 2007 21:27:42 GMT -5
Post by rogesgallery on Feb 2, 2007 21:27:42 GMT -5
I am isolated from the sounds of the city and highways but the daytime does have a greater ambient volume from construction, commuters, birds and dogs.
I've pondered that same possibility Brit (I have no means fo+4=r testing it) and I'm sure that it is part of the answer. Its not only the volume of the sound though, it is the resonance. I think it is related to the product of the effect of the sun on the atmosphere; similar to the effect that the sun has on the propagation of radio waves.
Believe me Brit I try to count my bessings but they are innumerable and largely undeserved.
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Mantra
Feb 5, 2007 16:00:05 GMT -5
Post by hartlikeawheel on Feb 5, 2007 16:00:05 GMT -5
Mantras don't work well for me and I have tried several different meditaton classes with dilligent practice. They just make me restless and hurt my knees.
But stretching exercises are very calming. Or sit me down on a nice flat rock in the river and I can go into an alpha state fairly rapidly. I think this happens to me when I play the piano or read an absorbing book as well. To me these are comforting states and produce a prayer-like reverence.
I often find myself, with no prior intention, sitting in a cross-legged position with both hands conformed into the index finger and thumb set in the "ok" sign and the others extended. I know it is some kind of meditative symbol but I don't know what it means. But it feels right. Instinctive?
Another semingly instinctive body thing I have begun to do in the last few years, and which I have seen charismatics do, is to raise my arms to the sky palms flat up and seem to soak in a spiritual energy/strength.
Body mantras, I guess.
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Mantra
Feb 5, 2007 16:04:16 GMT -5
Post by hartlikeawheel on Feb 5, 2007 16:04:16 GMT -5
Oh, by the way, Suze? Unsolicited advice.
Don't ever use this mantra in the car, "Do I have to pull this car over? Don't make me pull this car over!"
I only did that once and then I didn't know what to do next! Good one, anj.
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Mantra
Feb 6, 2007 1:07:54 GMT -5
Post by slb2 on Feb 6, 2007 1:07:54 GMT -5
Oh, by the way, Suze? Unsolicited advice. Don't ever use this mantra in the car, "Do I have to pull this car over? Don't make me pull this car over!" I only did that once and then I didn't know what to do next! Good one, anj. All those negatives? Don't this and don't that... That's an odd sort of mantra. ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png)
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Mantra
Feb 6, 2007 8:52:40 GMT -5
Post by Jane on Feb 6, 2007 8:52:40 GMT -5
"Face it; do not run away. Accept; do not fight. Float past; do not arrest and listen in. Let time pass; do not be impatient with time."
Courtesy of Clare Weekes, for those who are afflicted with anxiety and/or panic. Sometimes they work.
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Mantra
Feb 6, 2007 10:33:58 GMT -5
Post by gailkate on Feb 6, 2007 10:33:58 GMT -5
Ah, Jane, the floating mantra may have saved my life. I think her little book should be left in hotel rooms like Bibles.
That thing about raising palms to the sky also opens up your chest and lets you breeeathedeeeep.
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Mantra
Feb 6, 2007 14:27:04 GMT -5
Post by hartlikeawheel on Feb 6, 2007 14:27:04 GMT -5
Okay, Smartypants Suze, I thought I could sneak a threat disguised as a mantra past you . But sly fox that you are - no luck.
Scratch out the "no" and replace it with "less than fortunate" please.
How about looking at yourself in the rearview mirror and saying to yourself, "I am one tough mommy and I CAN handle these offspring." ?
Scratch out the "tough" and replace it with "resilient" please. I already erased "little thits."
Then turn around, accelerating at the same time, and wave both arms vigorously in front of their wide-eyed, startled little faces. Get as close to their noses as you dare without child services getting involved. Empower the little darlings by affirming for them to observe what is possible for them to do with their playful little spirits.
This is guarenteed to bring EVERYTHING to a halt fairly rapidly. Problem solved and you don't have to keep repeating it over and over.
See? I can be a force for the positive.
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Mantra
Feb 6, 2007 14:29:20 GMT -5
Post by hartlikeawheel on Feb 6, 2007 14:29:20 GMT -5
Also one could use Rudyard Kipling's "If" for repetitive self-empowerment.
Now. If I only wanted to be a man. . .
Winkin' Suze.
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Mantra
Feb 6, 2007 14:50:45 GMT -5
Post by slb2 on Feb 6, 2007 14:50:45 GMT -5
Um, turn around in the car while accelerating?....this will bring everything to a halt? I really like living, anja. And I'm no Andrea Yates. Gulp. ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png)
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Mantra
Feb 6, 2007 14:52:01 GMT -5
Post by slb2 on Feb 6, 2007 14:52:01 GMT -5
I used to want to be a man. Very much. I wanted to be a priest. Now I'm thankful as all-get-out that I'm Female. It's much more fun. I know this for a fact.
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Mantra
Feb 7, 2007 13:51:13 GMT -5
Post by scotbrit on Feb 7, 2007 13:51:13 GMT -5
slb tells us:Not so slb.
I am not a female and that is a fact too, so how can you presume to have had more fun than me?
It's actually much more fun being a fact you know.
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