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 June,
2008 I had a gig of four trips to the beach community of Seymour Arm at
the north end of the Shuswap Lake in order to teach tai chi. The road
up the mountainous side of the Seymour Arm of the lake is a rough
creek-bed-like log-haul road; a rocky, treacherous nightmare for even
the bravest driver and I was not looking forward to the trips. To
prepare I made myself a ‘driving’ cd with lots of raucous music like
The Stones to play loudly and distract myself from the anticipated
fears of death by logging trucks barreling down at me on the single
track road.
As I reached the end of the pavement I
reached to put in my distracting music. By mistake I grabbed a new
Henry Marshall Playshop cd called Chants for Happiness. Then I was on
the road gripping the wheel and could not stop to find the loud
‘driving’ cd which would have kept me alert, aggressive, in a state of
high adrenaline watching for those dreaded tree-loaded trucks. Instead
I found my foot immediately eased off the gas, my grip loosened on the
wheel and the tension began to drain out of my shoulders. I have no
doubt my blood pressure lowered and my jaw slackened and I began to
sing along. “Sarve Jananan Sukhino Bhavantu”.
That first mantra on the cd was 20
minutes and I programmed it to play over and over for the entire trip
which, even though I drove seemingly in slow motion, went by in a
flash. The first logging truck appeared and at the same moment a
widening of the road. We glided by each other, me grinning and waving
up at the driver and he grinning and waving down to me from his lofty
cab. By the time I had reached the Shangri-La that is Seymour Arm with
its gigantic cedar trees and pristine white beach I was very calm and
very happy. I simply did the same thing on the return and all
subsequent trips and handled all obstacles the road and weather put in
my path with the same equanimity as that first trip. And I began to
really recognize the power of mantras.
Mantras have fascinated me for years
and, aside from that serendipitous example of their practicality, I
have designed circle dances, yoga and tai chi moves and created mudras
to fit with the words and melodies. This last fall I attended the
weekend workshop with Namadeva (Thomas Ashley Farrand) and was
introduced to the classical Sanskrit chanting and the vast potential of
Japa (mantra) Yoga. Since that workshop my mantra use is no longer left
to the blessed accidents but is working into a daily practice. I have a
mantra journal and lots of instructional tapes of Namadeva and a
terrific book by Swami Sivananda called Japa Yoga and what feels like a
lifetime of learning ahead of me.
The intention of the mantra “Sarve
Jananam Sukhino Bhavantu” is that all-who-have-been-born- be filled
with true happiness.
Namadeva (Thomas Ashley-Farrand
is coming to Maple Ridge this August 28-30th. For more
information please contact Shelly at shellyn@westgatewellness.com
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