and the mantra of the day is...

Om Vakrantundaya Hum.

I've been catching myself chanting this a lot on my drive to work. My radio is broken in my car and I've decided that driving with one earbud in, trying to listen to my MP3 player is a super bad idea. And, it doesn't do any of the music justice if you can't hear it in surround sound!

So, on some mornings I've taken to chanting while driving. It's about a 20 minute commute and it gives me something to do. I've also noticed that it seems to help keep me focused on just driving instead of getting so caught up in the frustrations of having to deal with Other Drivers.

Other Drivers are the ones that we all know and love who just make us so damn mad when we're driving. At least, they can really get to me. Especially when I haven't planned ahead like I should have or am dealing with too many things on my plate to care about someone else's well-being and Karmic consequences.

This particular mantra is related to Ganesh-the symbol of breaking down barriers and a really wonderful figure in Hindu spirituality. He is the one-tusked elephant and he's my personal favorite because I find that I am always running into some sort of road block-creative, emotional, communicative. It was first introduced in the Ganesh Purana, one of the Vedic texts.

I heard this mantra at a Yoga Retreat at the Shoshoni Ashram. A lot of what was being practiced there was over my head and a little out of my comfort zone (it was my first time at an Ashram and boy is it different!) but it really resonated within me.

So, on particularly slow drives into work or ones where it just doesn't feel like it's gearing up to be my day, I chant. I'm sure Other Drivers think I'm crazy, but I'm too busy trying to keep track of how many repetitions of the mantra I've done to really worry about.

Another thing I discovered while at the Ashram was the automatic sense of calm that chanting brings to me-it's like the best of both worlds! I get to talk and meditate at the same time?!?! Awesome! Sign me up! It's a way for me to interact with my environment, both externally and internally, while still cultivating some of that much sought after peace.

I'm hoping that as I continue down this path that I seem to be on that I'll discover more resonant mantras.

Until then, just look for the girl who seems to be talking to herself while driving down the road. It might be me!