Happiness always follows

It has been a bit of a rough period in my otherwise quiet life. The studio I opened in July closed its doors January 30th. Though I have been sad I am bouyed by what is happening in this moment. The Universe doesn't seem to stop and dwell on the past but marches forward towards the future. And who am I to argue - while I miss leading practice every week, I am enjoying discovering my own practice, meditating and contemplating what next.

Several times in my life I have found that happiness and joy always follow pain and loss. I am excited about this new chapter. To renew the spirit of my blog I wanted to share with you The Happiness Chant. It helped me through this transition and I think it is helpful to to share why I believe chanting is a good thing.

To begin, I start with the brain, or mind: We have two sides - the side that is our rational and logical mind - the left, and the side that controls our intuitive mind - the right. The right allows us to appreciate creative endeavors. That intuitive mind that becomes inspired by the simple beauty in all things from the sun setting to the perfection of a child's smile. Though we use both sides of our brain, our intuitive mind sometimes takes a backseat to our rational mind. Chanting helps bring the mind back into balance:
(1) Physically, when we chant we breathe. Our breathing rate actually decreases and in turn affects our heart rate. We feel relaxed and calm.
(2) Chanting heals our mind. Remember as a child being lulled to sleep by your mom singing a lullaby. Soothing music, rythmic and repetitive in nature. Chanting has the same affect.
(3) Chanting actually relaxes the entire body. One thing I teach in my classes is to use the belly to breath. Chanting promotes deep abdominal breathing as well.
(4) Chanting releases negativity such as anger, jealousy or frustration. Proof: Ever felt pissed while belting out one of your favorite songs. Think of chanting in the same sense.
(5) Chanting focuses our thoughts. Each single word of a chant teaches us to focus our mind.

Convinced? Okay, this is the Happiness Chant and it has helped me keep my sanity and get me through the chaos of last couple of weeks.

Lokah Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu (repeat three times, followed by)
Om, shanti, shanti, shanti

It means: May all the beings in the world become happy; Om, peace, peace, peace.
You can also download a beautiful version of this chant by artist Sean Johnson from his 'Calling the Spirits' CD. It is available at itunes.

Peace and happiness,
Cathleen