om spirit
The Feel Good Festival
2019
Early Bird Tickets
now on sale
24th-27th May
The Big Retreat a feel-good festival, in every sense
of the word. – for us, feel good is just as much
about an icy gin and tonic as it is a yoga class,
because The Big Retreat is all about balance. It’s
relaxing and energising in equal measures, a place
to connect with others and with your own sense of
self. And with over 200hrs of classes, talks and live
music included in your ticket price its got to be one
of the best value wellbeing weekends in the UK.thebigretreatwales.co.uk
Chanting mantras is a way to transform
feelings; filling the heart and soul. The
repetitive sounds penetrate the depths
of the unconscious mind and adjust the
vibration of all aspects of your being. The
fantastic news for me, though, was I learned
that in addition to chanting them aloud, I
could use this powerful tool through writing,
mental practice or by listening to them.
To become comfortable with the idea I
created a ritual after walking my dog in the
morning that eventually became something
very creative. I listened to mantras I found on
YouTube that I simply played in my kitchen
while I was heating the water for my French
press coffee. The cadence and repetition
were soothing and comforting. I created a
playlist of Buddhist monks chanting, popular
Sanskirt mantras with devotional lyrics
floating by, and peaceful positive energy
mantras eventually selecting favourites
including the Gayatri Mantra and Om Namah
Shivaya Mantra as my top two.
Next, I decided I would teach myself how
to write my own mantras. Here’s my take on
this ancient idea: the exploration of sound
and consciousness can lead you to a whole
different understanding of your place in the
world and the world you create for yourself
every day. More than positive affirmations,
I rely on mantras to interrupt negative
thinking, navigate past fear and harness my
creativity. Used during a yoga class they can
heighten your experience.Here’s how to craft your own powerful
mantra to call in the energy that
pervades all life:1 Figure out your default. Is it negative
thinking, a critical voice, worry, or simply
checking out all together? This is a critical
step as most may not have spent the time
to see that the more you ‘practice’ seeing
this as an entry point (instead of a state you
enter into, like a victim, and stay there) the
faster you will become at defaulting to a
positive, life enhancing mantra.
2 Grab a sheet of paper and sit quietly^
for a moment to decide what you need/want.
3 Commit to writing one or two. Once you
get going you may write more, but don’t set
huge expectations only to quit. Start small.
Aim for better quality, not quantity. This will
help you change a few core beliefs that may
be holding you back from living your life at
its greatest expression.
4 Start with the words “I am.” State what
you want in the present tense. Be brief. The
shorter, the better.
5 Make it specific.6 Include an action word (usually ending
with -ing).
7 Keep it personal. There are loving
mantras for the whole world, which I highly
recommend at some point, but until mantras
become a habit, stick to something for
yourself, not others.
8 My test to see if I “wrote it correctly”:
It should be written as though you are
experiencing yourself differently right now.
9 I layer my own personal mantra over
existing sounds I’ve heard. No outward
judgement, I simply think of it as an
internal hum.
10 Take one with you onto your mat. I
think of this as moving visualisation. I
focus on having what I desire, the feeling,
as already accomplished. If I repeat “I Am
Joy” then I feel joy. Reflect on how you
feel after class.The power of Om
Om (or Aum) is the most basic and powerful
mantra you can chant. It is often combined
with Shanti, which means peace in Sanskrit.
A popular Kundalini mantra is Sat Nam which
is supposed to bring balance, awaken the
soul and bring your destiny present. If you’re
like me, I felt happy chanting these in various
classes I’ve been in, but the real ‘work’ for
me came as I cultivated multiple ways to
experience vibrational harmony. I had hidden
my fear of ‘not getting it’ only to experience
this spiritual tool in solitude.
My favourites at the moment are “I Am
Light and Love”, “I Am Worthy”, “I Am Love”,
“I Am” which I hum internally to myself during
my day, while hiking, driving, walking my dog,
and yoga (just to name a few) – whenever
I wish to stay grounded and present in a
positive way. It now makes sense that the
mantras I’ve heard in Sanskrit online or
during a workshop are powerful, drawing on
thousands of years of shared consciousness,
but I have come to feel more intimate with
my own creations. They seem more organic
and harmonious. If trance dancing in my
kitchen is about as public as I’m going to
get, so be it. At least now I feel like I tapped
into the mystical formulas of sacred
syllables without feeling like I had missed the
boat somehow.
Not unlike a positive affirmation, your
personal mantra can lift your spirits, shift
your life dramatically the more you repeat
it. In time, it can become a positive default
mechanism tapping into the greatness
within you.^Stephanie Spence is a yoga teacher and
writer based in the USA (one-with-life.com)T
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Worldmags.net