Mantras …Tools for Empowerment

Throughout history, mantras have played an important role in bringing about states of peace, bliss and connection to the Divine. It is believed that mantras have power to elevate and transcend one from the lower frequencies of the human realm into the higher frequencies of a Godly realm. So, it’s no wonder that mantras of sound, prayer, meditation and song have become so popular. Time and experience has demonstrated this practice to be transformational.

Today, it is increasingly common for people to use mantras for the purpose of creating intentions and declaring affirmations into existence. Songs and sayings that empower and motivate have even been adopted as personal mantras. These are all great tools for raising one’s energetic frequency.

But not all mantras are created equal. Far too many times we discover that, unknowingly, we have been carrying around a mantra, or several mantras within our internal dialogue, that have been detrimental to our bliss and well-being.

As an example, these internal mantras might include any combination of the following:
“The world isn’t a safe place.”
“I’m all alone in the world.”
“I’ve got to do it myself.”
“I can’t trust anyone.”
“I can’t do it right.”
“I’m not enough.”
“No one cares.”
“I’m unlovable.”

On a semi-conscious level, these negative mantras run automatically and repeatedly as “white noise” in the background of the human psyche. The results these negative energy signatures produce are the continual and underlying feelings of doubt, insecurity, anxiety and disconnection.

While the above list is only a smidgen of a sampling, you may notice that they have their roots firmly planted in fear and scarcity. Not sexy! The feelings these disempowering mantras create can be stressful and deeply painful. If you were conscious of these doubts and fears, you could see how this knowledge would serve as an important advantage to you.

What if you could discover your most painful thoughts and your greatest fears and silence them?

Rather than listening to the lies and the disempowering fears of insanity, what if you could create a mantra that, again and again, would restore you to the deepest truth of your soul?

As long as you are already repeating something to yourself anyway, why not repeat something that will make a positive difference? 

While there are a variety of helpful mantras you could practice in your daily life, from meditation to devotional chants, when it comes to dealing with doubt and fear, a specific mantra I have discovered is what I call a “Re-membering Mantra.”

A “Re-membering Mantra” is an amazing tool of awakening! Its specific intended purpose is to remind you of your deepest and most powerful core truth. When remembered, and stated with conviction, this core truth (mantra) has the power to restore you to a satisfying state of complete wholeness, connection and sanity. As a result, all lies told of disconnection and insanity can no longer remain. If you are committed to doing the work, this is the promise a powerful and effective “Re-membering Mantra” makes to you.

There are three ways to go about having your very own restorative mantra.
1) You can create one completely from scratch.
2) If it’s a perfect fit, you can use an existing one that someone else has created.
3) You can tweak an existing mantra that you like, making it your own.

For a “Re-membering Mantra” to have the most power and effectiveness, it must have the following qualities.

  • It must affirm or reaffirm a deep empowering truth or “knowing” within your soul. It can be a belief based in faith, or may spring from a memory of an actual experience.
  • It must restore wholeness, connection and sanity.
  • It must be a perfect fit for you.
  • With the energy and power of its truth, it must have the authoritative force to diminish all fear in its presence.

You may have to set aside some time to think about this. Even meditate. Write ideas down until you can capture it. Just know that the time, effort and energy spent will be well worth it. You are doing this for you!

You can start by asking yourself, “What is the deepest and most powerful core truth of my soul that… if I knew what it was and spoke it, would have the power to knock down EVERY doubt or fear that I could ever possibly have?”

When you have found your “Re-membering Mantra”, it will:

  • Be meaningful and empowering
  • Be centering and balancing
  • Restore sanity
  • Restore integrity and wholeness
  • Immediately set things straight
  • Be uplifting and inspiring
  • Have the power to silence EVERY doubt and fear
  • Connect you directly to your Source
  • Give you an experience of love and peacefulness
  • Set you free
  • Satisfy

Your mantra could be simple.
“I am a vessel through which only love and peace flows.”
“I am safe, I am well, I am happy. All is well.”

Your mantra could be more complex.
This is the Mantra that was practiced religiously by Christian, whose death provided the inspiration for this website/blog.

Divine Light Mantra- Taken from Swami Sivananda Radha
I am created by Divine Light.
I am sustained by Divine Light.
I am protected by Divine Light.
I am surrounded by Divine Light.
I am ever growing into Divine Light.

Also, on the complex side, my “Re-membering Mantra” is a variation of the Divine Light Mantra. While I liked it, it wasn’t my complete truth, and it didn’t completely satisfy me, but it gave me a good place to start.

To give you an idea how my mantra was developed, and because it’s the only one I can tell you about, I will share the process that led me to it.
Please keep in mind that this is only my process. You process may be similar or entirely different. Do what works for you!

My Process
At the age of thirteen, I had lost my mother to Cancer. In the many years that followed, I lost other loved ones too. Then suddenly, almost two years ago, with Christian’s passing, there was the moment of truth! The deep pain I had been suppressing for most of my life wasn’t going to be suppressed anymore! Finally, I had to deal with my deepest fears, which in the end, turned out to be a great blessing to me.

After Christian’s death, I was shocked and stunned. This process had begun.
I began to wonder about my deceased loved ones.
For the first time, I wondered if I would ever see them again… or was this quick time spent together – all that we had?
The thoughts of a permanent separation from them, and from those loved ones who would someday follow, became unbearable to me.
I wondered about meeting them on the “other side.”
Then, I wondered if there actually was an “other side” at all. I mean, that’s what I was always told, but did it really exist?

Finally, I wondered about God. Like I had been told before, was there really a kind and loving God somewhere? Or would I find God to be a myth?
I thought, I read and I searched…
I felt so lonely.
Was I alone in the world?
Or worse, would I exist ALONE… FOREVER?

As you can imagine, I felt every disempowering feeling possible. I heard all their dark thoughts.
Then one day I finally reached “bottom.” Under the heap of these tormenting thoughts, I came to the most painful possibility; that I could be separated and disconnected from LOVE. To be without God’s love, self-love and the love of others WAS the most painful thought I could think!
And… my greatest fear was to be alone.

And then… I started to remember.

Bit by bit, I became stronger as I began to remember a brighter reality. As my attention was drawn back to some previous spiritual experiences that had once rocked my world, I remembered my first Near Death Experience. I was face to face with PURE LOVE itself. The love and acceptance I experienced in that moment was nothing I had ever felt on Earth. No, not even close.

I remembered times spent in the tunnel, between this world and the next. There, my loved ones came to greet me. Surely, LOVE had survived the grave!

I remembered seeing God and experiencing the pure love that God is, and thinking… “I am completely fulfilled! In God’s presence, there is nothing more I could ever need or want ever again!”

Having this knowledge was important. In the end, everything else, I either didn’t know or couldn’t understand about the afterlife, would eventually be worked out to perfection. I knew this. These were comforting thoughts for me.

Re-experiencing these profound realities again, gave me the courage to believe and trust my own experiences without doubt.
There is a God and I know it.
I will be reunited with my loved ones again.
Love not only exists beyond death, but also exists way beyond any love in this life.

So, with these small realizations I began to re-member. I began to restore the integrity of my deepest and most powerful core truth. A truth now so powerful, I have no doubt it will carry me through this life and into the next.

God’s Love Mantra
I am created from God’s love.
I am sustained by God’s love.
I am nourished and protected by God’s love.
I am surrounded by God’s love.
I am ever growing into God’s love.
Knowing this, all my wants and needs are completely handled.
I am so loved. Thank you God. I love you too!

If you want a “Re-membering Mantra”, but don’t have a belief or an experience to draw from, ask yourself this question. “What would it be if I did?” You can even make up something empowering until a truer version comes along to take its place.

Once you have found the perfect “Re-membering Mantra” for you, you will know it. It will become a great source of peace, empowerment and nourishment. Make it a practice, a discipline and a daily re-membering. If you do, the message and energy your mantra contains will have the power to restore you to wholeness, sanity and truth. First hand, you will know of its transformational power and wonder how you ever did without it.

But, be aware. Sometimes, without practice, and in a weakened state, you may forget your truth. Doubts and fears may creep up on you, and taking the best of you, may cause you to forget again. Whenever you feel this negative state, …. you will know.. it’s time for you to
re-member!

In the end, it’s ironic that discovering and facing your most painful thoughts and deepest fears could lead you to your greatest salvation of peace.

 

The Path Home

My friend Jared posted a beautiful message on Facebook, so with permission, I share it with you.

He wrote, “While walking home tonight…. I noticed a small memorial for a homeless person …lost to the streets.

Then, I saw a man crying.  So I walked up and hugged him. He said he couldn’t remember the last time someone hugged him. So I hugged him some more … and he hugged me in return.
I told him that I loved him.  He told me he loved me too.
Smiling, we parted ways.

Tonight I’m glad I chose this path. Life is beautiful…
Let’s not complicate it.”

As we make our journey back home, and with all the possible paths for us to take, WHY NOT chose the ones of beauty and love?

 

 

 

Kevin’s Journey into the Light

Last night, as I was waiting to drift off to sleep, there was Kevin, smiling at me in my mind’s eye. Apparently, Kevin wants me to share his story with you, as he keeps pushing his way up into the forefront of my thoughts. So, I will tell it to you.

It must have been1986 when we met. He was a costumer in an Italian restaurant I worked at. I was a single mother of two small children when we became friends. Kevin was a kind and loving soul. Besides being a great guy, Kevin was a pilot too.

Once, in a small plane, Kevin took me up into the night sky above our city. It was a warm and clear night. The lights below and above were most beautiful!

After that, I would see him on occasion, but gradually, with me getting married and both of us moving around, we eventually lost contact.

Later, I heard through the grapevine that Kevin met a special young woman with a child and they got married. A bachelor for a while, Kevin was delighted to have found his lovely wife and child, with which to start a beautiful new life. They were all very happy together.

Next time I heard about Kevin was in 1992, when I picked up the ringing phone. It was a mutual friend of ours. I could hardly believe the news! Kevin and two others had died in an airplane crash. Apparently the weather was stormy and foggy the day Kevin took 2 film crew workers from Moab to their destination. Except… they never made it. Their plane accidentally crashed into the mountain area called the Book Cliffs. They didn’t have a chance, as they died on impact.

It was a cold November morning when we stood in the long line waiting to get into the building where Kevin’s memorial was. My daughter, Jill, was with me. Being intuitive, I remembered thinking how strange the place felt. Like Kevin was there, but that he wasn’t at the same time. I remember saying something about this to Jill, but then forgot about this feeling soon after I left the funeral.

On Sunday afternoon, a few days later, I fell into a deep sleep. Well, I guess it was a deep sleep. In what seemed to be a vivid dream, I found myself in a large room. It greatly resembled a giant school cafeteria … like the one I had when I was in High School. There were shiny floors, fluorescent lights and those really long tables with the seats attached to them.

There I was, sitting at one of the tables. There was no one else in the room… except Kevin. He was sitting at the table next to me. Although I noticed him and wondered, “What on Earth is he here for?” He didn’t seem to notice me. He seemed to be in a world all his own.

I remembered vacillating to myself, “Should I say something to him or not? This is odd, he’s not supposed to be here among the living. He’s dead now.”

After a while, I got the courage up to draw his attention to me, saying to him, “Hi Kevin! You’re here!” He looked at me as though I was stating the obvious. “Kevin. Do you remember?” A very puzzled look came over his face. Again, I continued, “Kevin, you don’t belong here now. Remember? You crashed in a plane wreck!” Although he was in strong denial and was getting ready to launch a vigorous defense, I somehow knew that my purpose in all this was to wake him up to his new beautiful “next” reality. So I persevered.

Thinking about the circumstances of how quickly he died. How could he had known what had hit him? He hadn’t even realized it yet!

He began with his defense of denial- trying to convince me that what I was saying was very wrong. Thinking of something to convince this stubborn spirit of the truth of his situation, I reminded him of his funeral. I reminded him of his lovely wife, child, and the people who loved him, crying over his memory. But.. I think the actual clincher was when I reminded him of the songs someone sang for him on their guitar. One of them was The Dance, by Garth Brooks.

Slowly, I could see the scales of denial beginning to fall from his eyes. I could see him remembering something important…as though it were coming into focus from a foggy vague dream. Then… a moment of sudden realization. The fog had cleared! I could see it in his countenance. He had been lost and wandering in this perpetual fog; unable to make any sense out of his recent situation. Can you imagine?

Then, without remembering why or even how I knew to say it at the time, I said to him, “Kevin… Go to the light. Go into the light!” And with that, he was gone! And so was I, as I began to wake up from this realm we both shared together … one last time.

I love you Kevin! Until we meet again, I hope you have found peace, comfort and sheer bliss within the light.

 

EFT- Emotional Freedom Technique

I want to introduce you to, …or remind you of, EFT. I post this technique as one of many assisting tools that can lead you along the path of personal freedom. I know it has helped me, so I share this with you too.

EFT was developed by Gary Craig. It was adapted from Though Field Therapy and is based on the theory that the cause of all negative emotion are rooted in disruptions to the body’s energy system. Therefore, EFT is used to neutralized and clear negative emotional patterns, thus, restoring balance. It is simple to understand, easy to use, and is found to be highly effective by many.

EFT involves using the Set Up, The Sequence and The Gamut.  You don’t have to understand the details about how it works for it to work on you. You just need to do it and see for yourself. To give you an idea of how well it works, it has been used with a high degree of effectiveness on people suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. If people with PTSD can find relief and recovery, than I figure…. it’s worth a try.

IMPORTANT- Even though many perform EFT on themselves without difficulty, there are some circumstances when the emotional charge is so intense because of surrounding traumatic events and issues, that the use of a trained and skilled facilitator is advised. If you are in crisis now and need an emergency number for immediate help, please refer to my resource page for crisis hotlines.

Here is the EFT technique.  (Images created by Keith for Ascension Healing Therapies)

Pick an emotion or issue to be cleared. An example of an emotion could be anxiety, fear, sadness or anger. An example of an issue could be weight gain or loss, impotence, a memory of an event, or some habit or addiction you are having trouble with.

After selecting an emotion or issue, while focusing on it, check intensity level. (0 to 10) This is an important step. You will use this later.

#1. THE SET UP

Choose which one you want to use for this part – the hand to tap on the “karate chop” point OR both “sore spots” to rub.

While tapping “Karate chop” point or rubbing “sore spots”, say 3 times – while focusing on the issue, “Even though I have this _______________, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”

#2. THE SEQUENCE

As you tap each of the following points, repeat, “Even though I have this ______________,  I deeply and completely love and accept myself. (Tap each point 3-5 times from top of head down and ending with the “karate chop” point on hand)

The Sequence

  • Top of Head
  • Inner corner of Eyebrow
  • Outer corner of Eyebrow
  • Under Eye
  • Beneath Nose
  • Beneath Lower Lip
  • Collar Bone
  • Under Arm (Side of Chest)
  • Side of Thumb
  • Side of Index Finger
  • Side of Middle Finger
  • Side of Baby Finger
  • “Karate Chop” Point

 

 

 

 

 

#3. THE 9 GAMUT

Perform the nine actions while tapping the Gamut point. (This resets the brain)

  1.  Eyes open
  2.  Eyes closed
  3.  With head forward, eyes    down to the right
  4.  With head forward, eyes down to the left
  5.  Roll eyes in a circle
  6.  Roll eyes the opposite way
  7.  Hum a song for 5 seconds
  8.  Count 1 to 5
  9.  Hum a song for 5 seconds

 #4. REPEAT #2. THE SEQUENCE

Go back to #2 and repeat again.

NOTE:

When you have completed these four steps, check intensity level again. (0 to 10) If emotional charge is still present, you may start again at the beginning until negative feelings  dissipate. You can say, “Even though I still have this ____________, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”

It is possible for it to work after one try. More stubborn issues may take several repeats or take deeper cuts at the emotion or issue until root cause is accessed.  After you have completed the process by stating the negative emotions you chose to work on, you can also use “The Sequence” to introduce positive statements. I will explain this further, later in this article.

Below, is an example of how “The Sequence” could be done. There are other ways too. This is just the way I learned it. What is most important is to focus on the upsetting emotion, event or issue while tapping…. and, of course, to actually do the EFT tapping in the first place if you intend the negative energy to clear.

Example of #2. The Sequence:

Rubbing sore spots, “Even though I feel this anxiety, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.” (3 times)

Tapping top of head- “Even though I have this anxiety, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.” (3 times)

Tapping inner eyebrow- “Even though I am fearful, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.” (3 times)

Tapping outer eyebrow- “Even though I’m scared, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.” (3 times)

Tapping under eye- “….this fear….” (3 times)

Tapping under nose- “….this anxiety…..” (3 times)

Tapping below lower lip- “….this pain…..” (3 times)

Tapping both collar bones- “…..this distress…..” (3 times)

Tapping under arm- “…… even though I have this fear…..” (3 times)

Tapping side of thumb- “….this fear…. “(3 times)

Tapping side of index finger- “….this pain…. “(3 times)

Tapping side of middle finger- “…..this anxiety….” (3 times)

Tapping side of baby finger- “…. this distress…. “(3 times)

Tapping “karate chop” point- “Even though I have this anxiety, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.” (3 times)

Then… #3. “The 9 Gamut”  Continue to use sentence, “Even though I have this ____________, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.”

Then…#4.  Repeat #2. “The Sequence” again.  If you notice a vast improvement at this point, instead of focusing on the negative emotion, event or issue, you can insert a positive affirmation. For example: I will go back to “The Sequence” and while tapping on each point from top of the head to “karate chop” on hand, I will say, “I choose peace… I choose calm…. I choose freedom… I choose bliss…. I choose forgiveness….. I choose LOVE….” (Continuing to insert what is desired and appropriate for the goal of shifting fear to peacefulness)

May you be restored to the wholeness that you already are!

Our Struggles

Our struggles. Not always fun, but necessary… or we would never grow, develop and evolve into what we could eventually become.

It is within our greatest struggles that our greatest growth is realized. We find a way…. simply… because we have to. It is our nature to do so.

But….. thank goodness for the good and easy times! It’s funny…. when we are experiencing those times, we think they will last forever. I mean, how could life get any better than when we are having those beautiful moments? In those moments… they couldn’t.

Unfortunately, there are other moments too. These are the moments of struggle. Sometimes… we think those times will last forever too! And sometimes we are certain that they will!

The experience of our personal and collective development here on Earth, is based on Growth, then Glide, Growth, then Glide. I’m thinking… I like the Glide much better! But how could we get to such high places and learn what they teach us without visiting the low ones…. at least ….once in a while? We just couldn’t.  So really, in one way, you could say we exist in the Earthly school of Yo-yo experiences. You know, up… then down. Calmness… then chaos….. struggling, resisting and trying to navigate our way through it all in once piece.

I was wondering…… what would happen….. and what would be possible if we could take our “blissful moment” experience and bring it into the previously “not so blissful” experience of our new struggle? And …. would it still be called a struggle?

I know, I know…. easier said than done. But what if we could outsmart the “struggle attitude” that the “Growth” part has to offer us, and develop and evolve into some sort of “Eye of the Hurricane” type being that is impervious to having a negative attitude about it. Wouldn’t that be amazing? Everywhere you go, everything you do, and whatever is happening, your whole experience of life is viewed from the perspective of the eye within the hurricane. Or even better……  the eternal stillness that trusts the outcome of everything! Maybe this is really all there is to learn.

Just a thought!

 

The Struggle

A man found the cocoon of an emperor moth and took it home to watch it emerge. One day a small opening appeared, and for several hours the moth struggled but could’t seem to force its body past a certain point.

Deciding something was wrong, the man took scissors and snipped the remaining bit of cocoon. The moth emerged easily, its body large and swollen, the wings small and shriveled.

He expected that in a few hours the wings would spread out in their natural beauty, but they did not. Instead of developing into a creature free to fly, the moth spent its life dragging around a swollen body and shriveled wings.

The constricting cocoon and the struggle necessary to pass through the tiny opening are nature’s way of forcing fluid from the body into the wings.

The merciful snip was, in reality, cruel in the end. Sometimes the struggle is exactly what we need.

Thoughts on the Poem “Invictus”

On my last blog entry, I posted an inspirational poem called “Invictus”, by William Ernest Henley. Although I have always been positively impacted by this poem, I’ve never known about the man who wrote it or his inspiration.

In my mind, and as my previous post picture suggests, I have imagined a story about a Captain with his vessel – rocking back and forth upon an angry sea. In this terrible tempest, dark and ominous skies imply a foreboding fate.
Lightening flashes briefly illuminate the scene while monstrous waves crash against this tiny ship and the great sea waits to swallow it up.

But through hell and against all odds, this courageous Captain victoriously navigates a way through great peril – back to the safety of dry land. And there, with pen in hand, bravely records his experience.

But no, this is not how it happened…

Being curious to see how the story really went, I made a few Internet searches and found out that as a young teen, William contracted tuberculosis of the bone. This resulted in the amputation of one of his legs below the knee. Plans were being made to amputate the other. Luckily, this didn’t happen, a Doctor found a way to save it.
Then, while convalescing from this experience, this young man expressed the conviction of his soul through a poem entitled “Invictus.”

In the end, although these stories take place in two different settings, the character in them is one and the same. Under oppressive circumstances, each one is unwavering in their conviction. Each one demonstrates the courage of a lion. Each one has the strength of steel, and each one has the perseverance of a glacier.

Whatever storm in life you may weather, don the armor of courage, strength, faith and perseverance. For in the face of adversity, it is these qualities that make up an unconquerable soul.

 

Incidentally, as a side note, the author of Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson, made the confession to his real-life friend Henley, that the character of Long John Silver was completely inspired by him.

Invictus