Urban Rainbow
Isn’t it great when you don’t even have to leave home to experience delight?
Science and Spirit Agree
Mantras (repeated phrases) and mudras (hand positions) are not generally part of my meditation practices, but suddenly the time seems right to see if it fits.
Some years ago I was introduced to a practice called the Kirtan Kriya, which involves a coordinated series of hand movements and chants, sung aloud, then whispered, then repeated silently in cycles for 6 minutes, 12 minutes, or even more. It didn’t take then, but it has come back around for me recently and this time it seems to be sticking.
When I first heard about it, the benefits were described the same way meditation benefits usually are, but this time I heard something different. It’s not new, but it was new to me. Now, publications like Psychology Today and the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation are recommending regular practice as a means of lowering the likelihood of experiencing Alzheimers, and perhaps even slowing the progress.
It is not uncommon for people of faith(s) or wonder if forms of meditation conflict with their beliefs, so I’d just like to emphasize that the syllables that are chanted are not prayers to a deity. They come from a longer phrase, Sat Nam, which means Truth is My Identity, and is central to the practice of Kundalini Yoga.
Here’s what each word, derived from Sanskrit, signifies:
Sa: Infinity, or the beginning
Ta: Life and existence
Na: Death or transformation
Ma: Rebirth and regeneration
There are many resources and descriptions if you are intrigued. The Alzheimers Foundation offers this guidance for a 12 minute practice but as the Mediocre Meditator, I keep it even simpler. Some sources recommend a 15 minute daily practice, but I’m starting with 6 to see if I can stay consistent. If you’d like to try it out, here is a , here is a You Tube version you can use to sing, and whisper, and silently repeat along.
An Artist’s Date
I took myself on an artist date to the museum this week. Well, to tell the truth to the museum store.
Found these sassy sticker books. Not suitable for kids, maybe not suitable for work, but it was a delight to see all my feels laid out there, page after page.
Highly recommend! My morning journal pages will thank me.
A Poem, A Prayer, A Blessing
John O’Donohue was an Irish Catholic priest, until he wasn’t, and a beautiful writer of philosophical musings. His book of poems, or blessing, or prayers called “To Bless the Space between Us” is one of those I turn to again and again, and am rewarded.
Late Night Scrolling
Maybe it was the trip to Ireland several months ago. Maybe it’s the fact that it appears I am now the designated family source that the nieces and nephews are being sent to for ancestry information.
In any case, I’m not swabbing any cheeks but I am enjoying browsing old records. What have I learned? For one thing, when I was a kid we didn’t know anyone else named McEnroe (at least not until John burst onto the tennis scene), so we thought it was a rare name. Not so, turns out that there are many, many of them.
Also turns out that you can’t really count on people to have accurately reported their ages and birthplaces, or spelled their names, with any consistency. And that those Irish Catholics, whether in Ireland or in the U.S., really had quite a short list of names they chose from. Maybe that’s how Delia becomes a nickname for Bridget.
Makes for better late night scrolling than some social media platforms I could name.