Mantra

For the last few weeks, I've been listening to my beautiful yogini friend, Kristin Luna Ray, sing mantras on her latest album One Shared Heart, which you can find and listen to here.

Mantras are like prayers, and it's fun to hear Luna describe a mantra.

Quite simply, "Mantras are powerful shit, man."

They can be in English or Sanskrit, sung, spoken, chanted, or silently run through the mind.

You say them over and over and over...and over...again. And you start to change, you start to open and see with more than your eyes. Often you select a mantra based upon something you need.

So the one that has been on repeat in my head is Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Jai Ram.

You can't translate a mantra like you could a Chinese take out menu. Each word has a million meanings, it seems, and depending on what additional words you add, the meaning can change.

My interpretation of this mantra is truth seeking.

Ah yes, truth...

For me, it has been to be true to myself and who I am; to find honesty, and to see true colors; to be truthful in speech.

I find myself humming the tune that Luna put to these words--humming constantly. The words sometimes flow, while showering, while making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches; it's the beat I use to sway and rock Reid; it comes out and vibrates within the space, and within me.

So I wasn't entirely surprised when today in the car, while sipping a Capri Sun, I hear Will chanting, "Jai Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Ram."

He is my truth--the truest reflection of who I am.

Shanti Om.