Saturday, February 25, 2012

Singing Mantras to Kids When Sick: Medicine Buddha Mantra

The Medicine Buddha (image credit)
Last week, my son woke up in the middle of the night in a state of panic because he was wheezing, chest tight, having difficulties breathing.

As any yogi knows, the breath is so intimately connected with ones state of mind. When the mind is erratic and stressed, so is the breath. The sooner one can calm their mind, the sooner their breath will slow and deepen.

This is exactly what my son needed to do - take deep slow breaths. But he couldn't. He was too stressed, and locked in "fight or flight mode" with his heart racing, endorphin pumping through his blood, less and less oxygen coming in. ACK!

So I worked my mom magic to get him calmed down, and together we laid in bed while I sang to him. He loves me singing to him before he goes to sleep. Even to the point of wanting to leave a special night out early so I will still sing to him {melt}.

Tonight I decided to sing some mantras to him while he tried to stay calm and breath despite the obvious discomfort and noise. I find mantras easy to sing over and over again, and I don't get as bored with them as our regular lullabies. As I wrote about previously, I sung many Gayatri Mantras. He connected to this as he has been trying to get the second and third verses so I think it helped to calm his "rational" brain.

Then I sung some of my favorite mantra - the Medicine Buddha mantra. I used to practice the full sutra at my temple in Toronto, under the guidance of Rinpoche. He gave regular Medicine Buddha empowerments to help strengthen the power of the mantra for those who wished to practice it.

The practice of Medicine Buddha, the Supreme Healer (or Sangay Menla in Tibetan) is not only a very powerful method for healing and increasing healing powers both for oneself and others, but also for overcoming the inner sickness of attachment, hatred, and ignorance, thus to meditate on the Medicine Buddha can help decrease physical and mental illness and suffering.  (Source)

When I sing it now I am transported back to my beloved Riwoche Tibetan Buddhist temple, with its beautiful golden statues shining in front of me, and the pure light of Rinpoche beside me.  Above me, when I chant I visualize the Medicine Buddha himself - lapis lazuli in color, right hand in the mudra of supreme generosity holds an arura. His left hand in meditation mudra holds a begging bowl.

His sits on a lotus flower in the Buddha Field and his light rains down onto me. The light from his body combines with the healing nectar from his bowl pours down onto me like honey hitting my head. As I continue to chant his mantra - Tadyata Om Bekandze Bekandze Maha Bekandze Radza Samung-gate Soha - I turn into the Medicine Buddha himself. My voice purifies the air and all who are around me.

The Medicine Buddha (image source)

I stop and my son keeps requesting that I keep singing. I ask what he wants to hear and its the mantras. You sure, no twinkle twinkle little star, or rock a bye baby,  I say. But all's I get is a clear definite no, so I keep going. For hours in fact, listening to his labored breath us both half asleep, I lay there with him singing mantras and sending healing love hoping he falls into a peaceful sleep. Eventually we do, and he wakes up better, but still with a chest cold sounding like croup. But his breathing is definitely better, and I am so thankful.

HEARING THE MANTRA: 

Here is a recording of two Khenpo Rinpoches singing the Medicine Buddha chant. It is a different melody than I learned. The melodies differ according to your linage and teacher.

Here is a clip of me singing the Medicine Buddha mantra how I learned it, according the my teacher, Ven. Khenpo Sonam Rinpoche. (Just a sleepy audio clip from the wee hours in the morn)

VISUALIZATIONS:

"By visualizing yourself as the Medicine Buddha you are not pretending to be something that you are not, and that by visualizing the Medicine Buddha and his retinue in front of you, you are not pretending that they are in a place where they are not. By definition, buddhas are omniscient. Whenever someone thinks of them, brings them to mind, or supplicates them, they are aware of it and respond with their compassion and blessing...

In the final analysis, the situation is identical to their actually being present anywhere they are thought of. Therefore, it is always appropriate to regard a buddha that is present in one’s mind as actually being present in front of one. When you think that the Medicine Buddha, together with his retinue, is present in front of you, it is really true that they are."  Ven. Thrangu Rinpoche, Teachings on the Medicine Buddha Sadhana and Medicine Buddha Sutra.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

REWARDS: Good? Bad? Or maybe a little Gray?


Parenting question: I usually don't like to offer rewards. I agree with the belief that it can hardwire the child's brain, so every time they do something they expect a reward, instead of cultivating it intrinsically.

In adult life you don't get rewarded for everything you do. (Have you read Nurture Shock?)

However, I do reward at times, but try to use rewards sparingly and sneaky. Like, "oh I just remembered I have a treat in the car for you." Instead of, "if you come now into the car nicely, I will give you a treat." Let's face it, rewards are EASY.

It all gets so complicated in real life though. Especially the more you read about parenting philosophies. I find myself reacting on instinct and over analyzing my decisions.

For example, yesterday, for the first time ever, my son didn't want to go to his violin lesson. I mean, really really full on deep emotional reaction, which, if you know my son, is very unusual. We have been going for a year and have never had a problem. I think it is just because he wasn't feeling 100% after a week of sickness. Heck, I almost had the same reaction the day before not wanting to go teach yoga because I wasn't feeling on my game, but wasn't sick enough to cancel.

But such is life, we don't always feel our best when we need to "preform". We still wanted him to go so he could learn the lesson of commitment and doing something well even though he doesn't always want to do it.

I talked compassionately trying to advise and cajole with him for a good 15 to 20 minutes. The clock was ticking and he needed to start getting ready to get out the door. So I did it. I said it. I felt the moment called for a little love, and a little understanding and connection.

Early on in the process, I offered picking something special up for him, like a treat, he could look forward to when he come home. He didn't take the bait.

So, I thought about what I was saying to him: I need you to be brave and strong and go do something that  you really really don't want to do. And do it with an open heart so that you try your best when you are there.

And if you can do this, I will do something that I really REALLY don't want to do. Yes, I will do something I hate. 

I see him perk up a little. What could it be, he is thinking, and she said that bad word, hate.

Yes, I say, if you go to violin and try hard, then I will do something I hate, and I will do it with a smile... I will go to the mall with you tomorrow so you can play.... *shutter*.....video games.

That got his interest. You see, it's been over three months, since his birthday to be precise, since we've made the dreaded trip to the mall.  My four-year-old son loves more than anything to go there to play video games (at four! It has started already!).

We pass the mall almost every time we are in the car, and I have the discussion regularly to my son about why I don't like going to the mall. It usually ends with, it's okay if you enjoy the mall. Just know that I don't like it.

So he knows this is big for me. And he is the type of kid that would get the connection, and I think appreciate it.

I struggle here though. Part of me thinks we should of just told him to pull himself together and just made him go. No rewards. Tough love. That way he doesn't expect a reward every time he doesn't want to do something -life lesson.

I feel like I am too soft and too quick to jump in to save - you know, the typical parent thing.

But then, I also hear what the "more conscious parenting" realm are saying, and what the Teach Through Love people are saying about fostering connection and love.

So I ask you, what do you think? Rewards good/bad/ or okay sometimes?

I had to leave my son at that point to go out (and he was balling again at that point), but his father managed to get him to pull it together in five minutes and he did an okay violin lesson. My mothing instincts tell me that if I didn't offer this opportunity for connection and reward, that he would of resisted and gone to the lesson sulky and not really learned anything.

Parenting is tough. It rarely is black or white. Sometimes parenting makes US do things we don't want to. I am now off to the mall with a little smile on my face - sort of.

Let me know your thoughts!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Singing Mantras to Kids: Gayatri Part 1


The 5-faced and 10-armed
Goddess Gayatri who rules
over the five senses and
protects the sense of those
 who chant her mantra

Sing mantras to your little ones before bed. If it comes from your heart it may just replay itself through their dreams and show up unexpectedly.

Today I caught my 4-yr-old sweetly singing the gayatri mantra as he played by himself (and also heard him singing it while he pooped)!


The Gayatri Mantra:
AUM BHOOR BHUWAH SWAHA,
TAT SAVITUR VARENYAM
BHARGO DEVASAYA DHEEMAHI
DHIYO YO NAHA PRACHODAYAT.

Meaning:
Gayatri Mantra is known to be the foremost mantra in hinduism and hindu beliefs, and is known for inspiring wisdom. This mantra is based on a Vedic Sanskrit verse from a hymn of the Rigveda (3.62.10). Gayatri is a Sanskrit word, where Ga means to sing, Yatri means protection.

The meaning can be translated as,
"O thou existence Absolute, Creator of the three dimensions,
we contemplate upon thy divine light.
May we receive thy supreme sin-destroying light.
May Thou guide our intellect in the right direction."


Om: The primeval sound
Bhur: the physical world
Bhuvah: the mental world
Suvah: the celestial, spiritual world
Thath: That; God; transcendental Paramatma
Savithur: the Sun, Creator, Preserver
Varenyam: most adorable, enchanting
Bhargo: luster, effulgence
Devasya: resplendent,supreme Lord
Dheemahi: we meditate upon
Dhiyo: the intellect,understanding
Yo: May this light
Nah: our
Prachodayath: enlighten,guide,inspire


Who is Gayatri?
The Goddness Gayatri is a consort of the God Brahma and the goddess of learning. Gayatri, the five-faced Goddess, is said to have domain over the five senses or pranas, and protects these five life-forces of those who chant the Gayatri Mantra.

Here is a beautiful version of the version of the Gayatri Mantra sung in the traditional fashion in North India:


Thursday, February 2, 2012

What Arises from Mindfulness of the Hands

This post arises as part of mindfulness project over at LifeUnity.com called The Wild Elephant Project. It is based on the book How To Train A Wild Elephant and Other Adventures in Mindfulness by Jan Chozen Bays. Each week, over 70 participants attempt a simple practice in mindfulness that invites us to examine our habitual patterns. It offers us a way to bring more mindfulness even to our most mundane tasks, thus bringing more awareness into our lives.

This week's practice: Become aware of and extend an appreciation towards your hands.  

"Several times a day, when your hands are busy, watch them as though they belonged to a stranger.  Also look at them when they are still." (p.29)

As a yogi and teacher I am already fairly fascinated with my hands. Each yoga class I teach, I like to start off by warming up our hands and wrists in very unorthodox (can I say that?) way in a yoga setting.

Why? Firstly, because it helps get you out of your mind and ground yourself in your body.

Secondly, trying to get people to activate their hands during yoga is easier if you warm them up and bring attention to them through stretching and movement.



Lastly, I cue hands a lot in class because I believe that hands help transport a profound amount of energy throughout the body. And moving energy through cells in a conscious/positive manor, like yoga, is the key to healing and keeping healthy. Imagine an image of a dancer or actor expressing great boundless joy and bliss. Do you think their hands would be limp to express this?

The other day while teaching, an image snapped into my mind. While the students where breathing in a posture, I suggested they think of their hands and feet as light switches. Meaning, by activating their hands and feet, it was like activating the internal energy current that flows from one end of the body to the other helping to nourish and purify the cells. *Sneeze!* (Someone at that point sneezed.) Bless you. The hands and feet are the key to turning on the radiant energy current within.



I was validated in my hand (and feet) obsession when learning that "active hands and feet" are one of the four basics of Forrest Yoga  - founded by Ana Forrest, internationally renowned yoga teacher. In her book, Fierce Medicine, she goes so far as to say:

We use our hands to reach out to people or push them away. Our hands are intimately connected to our heart, so when we get them active, there are direct and wonderful consequences for the heart. This is especially true if we are aware that reaching out with our hands means we're also reaching out with our hearts. If you reach for the keyboard, you want to make what comes out matter. Become more aware of how your hands move through space, your life - what are they picking up? Frequently our hands will tell us if we're recoiling from some thing - they curl in, they get arthritic or cold and achy - all the signs of poor circulation. We're literally not moving energy through them. That's why we need active hands. (pg 25).

Not to mention that keeping your hands active helps to relieve compression in the wrist and hand bones. This compression is what leads to carpal tunnel syndrome.

As for how the practice of observing my hands is going this week? A few observations:
  • DEVELOPING THE WITNESS: When I notice myself observing my hands, it creates that "witness" or separation they always talk about in meditating. The observer is just observing, conscious but impartial. It's nice to create more opportunities in the day, even doing mundane tasks like folding laundry or washing dishes, where I can identify more as the witness. As opposed to identifying with the brooding that may arise from the little self.

  • INNER MIND STATE REFLECTS ON HAND MOVEMENT: The way people use their hands seems correlated to how they treat others and how they also treat themselves. For example. I have a friend who looks after elderly and disabled people and who was also a Buddhist nun. From using her hands to physically take care of people, she was gifted with a lot of healing and powerful loving energy flowing through her hands. However, it was as if she had no idea of her own inner and outer strength. Even if she did things mindfully, like poured tea or put down her mala, there seemed an absence of lightness in her movement and her hands. Her hands: thick, stocky and strong. When she touched, it was strong, heavy, direct with precise intention. Her inner world was equally intense.

    Interestingly enough, my 15 month-old daughter is capable of the lightest touches with her fingers and hands running across my skin. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, mostly with her eyes closed and half conscious, while trying to fall asleep. Sometimes her touch is so delicate that it is barely even noticeable. There is certainly a skillfulness in being gentle. But imagine, it is possible for even a baby to do, so why not anybody? (My daughter has been able to do this for a while now).

    However, when she is more irritated (teething, sick or what-not) the same falling asleep process with her hands on our skin can turn into the most intensely painful moments. She will pierce, jab and pinch my skin with her tiny fingers. It brings tears to my eyes at the intensity. It is like what I imagine it feels like to be stung by two dessert scorpions repeatedly for 10 - 20 minutes. She will grab the tiniest of tiny amount of topmost skin on my neck and squeeze it with her pinches with all her might. As my husband says, it just what little Scorpios do.

  • HAND LEADS THE BRAIN: Maria Montessori (founder of the Montessori schools) is known for saying, the mind can only develop as far as the hand.  She is quoted as saying, “the hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence." And, "the human hand allows the minds to reveal itself.” 

My Hands:

I truly believe that the way I move my hands throughout the day is a reflection of my inner state of mind, as well an expression of my most authentic self.

When I talk I am expressive and use my arms and have a keen sense of awareness in my hands. When I touch or lift objects or brush my hair, for example, I usually do so with lightness. However, when I am stressed, I tend to grip things more tightly or set things down quickly and clumsily. When my mind is elsewhere, my hands seem to take on a life of their own, going at a mile a minute.

Actually, even when I am conscious of them, my hands sometimes go so fast and seem to take on a life of their own. Do you remember as a kid racing, and when you tried to pay attention to your feet and make them go faster it just seemed to slow you down? It's amazing really how fast the hands and feet can go even without   being actively willing them to do so.

My hands are strong but feminine. They look like my father's, but prettier. I will always remember the way my father took care and used his hands with pride. I remember them clean, red in the cold, precisely resting just so on his desk. They were not hands worn through with calluses from labor. They were thinking man's hands, and he was proud of it.

Both my brothers, my dad and I have similar hands. One of the first things my dad did when he meet my son for the first time was check his hands. "Nope", he said. Meaning no crooked baby pinky. Not "his" hands.

I love my hands. Even with their funny shaped nail beds that don't grow out so well. Crooked baby pinky. Super flexible finger joints. They are my hands afterall, and as Ana Forrest says, they help me to give and receive love.

How do your hands express your inner feelings? How do your move through your life?