monday's mantra
*OM Sri Ganeshaya Namah*
one of my favorite rituals growing up, was praying the rosary, a series of devotions and meditations - counted with beads.
and my grandmother was the one who truly introduced me.
after all, she was the one truly responsible for my birth. (mom and dad were incidental, according to her). you see, my mother was not to have children - the doctor stated as fact. so my grandma went over his head . . . and straight to her Lord.
armed with her beads, she began a 90 day novena - 90 days of prayer, with a very specific intention.
and on the 91st day . . . He granted. or this is how the story is told to me.
i would look with envy as my grandma would retrieve her beads. hers were ornate, the middle beads - crystal, like diamonds, with a large sterling crucifix at the end.
mine were plastic. (needless to say, i liked hers much much better).
despite the fact my beads were far inferior, i enjoyed praying this way. my grandma and i would break out our beads the night before my dad would be taken in to the hospital, for yet another operation. admittedly at first, i would anxiously work my way through the beads with speed, to get to the end so my prayers, too, could be answered. but after a while, a melodic rhythm would set in.
apparently, my cheap plastic version could still do the trick. the repetition became like a lullaby, gently luring my anxiety from me, and granting me the peace to sleep and believe all would be well.
each time, it was. he was.
i was reminded, last night, of the magical effects of ritualistic prayer . . . through mantra.
i had a fabulous opportunity to attend a playful workshop, led by the musically enchanting MC Yogi and his wife, amanda. our yoga practice was centered on invoking the essence of ganesha, the lord of success, the remover of all obstacles.
we ended our asana practice with another form of yoga: japa yoga - a mantra meditation.
beads and prayer, once again. offered with an intention.
mala beads, this time, to keep count - 108. and in place of my childhood prayers, this simple mantra:
om sri ganeshaya namah
we each wrote down our intention. mine wasn't hard - i'm all too aware of an obstacle i am facing.
but, i won't lie. this mantra was introduced about 5 minutes before the workshop was scheduled to end. and despite a beautiful practice, i still felt the residual anxiety i seem to perpetually carry. i started to do the math and realized we would not be done 108 repetitions in the next 5 minutes.
yet somewhere after the first 20, i felt myself transported to my youth. a little girl, praying with her grandma.
just a small child, with simple faith and a single prayer . . . willing to ask for help and believing in that divine intervention.
my worry seemed to dissipate, my sense of time was no longer. though i repeated the words of prayer, i was no longer keenly aware of the words as individual distinctions; as we strung them together, it was more like the song of old, lulling me to a place where i could, once again, trust the outcome.
om sri ganeshaya namah
hail mary, full of grace.
our father.
shanti.
and last night . . . i slept like a baby.
Posted by peg mulqueen at 10/5/2009 5:37 AM 
Categories: ganesha, yoga, monday's mantra
Tags: ganesha rosary mantra mc yogi
Categories: ganesha, yoga, monday's mantra
Tags: ganesha rosary mantra mc yogi
mmm... wow, Peg... by the time I got to the end of this entry, I felt calm, soothed -- the deep breathing of a sleeping baby. Thank you.
Interesting thing here -- just this morning, for the first time ever during my short (10 minutes) morning meditation, I felt the need for the comfort and focus of a mantra, a chant, a repetition of intention: "Confidence competence charisma... confidence competence charisma..."
Those are physically challenging words to say all in a row -- I almost stopped because it didn't feel like a flow. Then I realized my focus on saying each word without jumbling them all together kept me away from anxious thoughts... away from the to do list racing through my mind. And eventually the words fell away and only deep breathing calm remained.
May our obstacles today also fall away as we breathe into them with focused intention.
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pretty awesome how that works. and its those weeks, when we are most pressed for time . . . when anxiety weighs the heaviest . . . its the last thing we want to do. sit. repeat a mundane ritual of words. rather than continue to race, and keep pace with our thoughts. but *sigh* - it works. it heals. mediation, in any form, lightens the load to our spirit. (a big wink to rumi now!) xo
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Beautifully said, Peg. I'm sad I missed MCYogi - it sounds like you had an amazing experience.
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thank you . . . i did. what i didn't mention is that there were quite a few people i have not connected with in a while, in attendance as well. and i suppose that's how it goes - yoga becomes true union . . . true, its a connection to ourselves. but also with those we love around us. see you wednesday!
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