Gayatri Mantra

My kids are back from their trip, and it is awesome to see them and get to spend time with them again. Being with my kids grounds me, it gives my life a greater sense of purpose, and it helps me watch less Grey's Anatomy.

The only downside so far has been the nightmares. Every night since they got home -- it's like something that I was trying to keep out of even my subconscious by filling it with fictional characters was right there waiting for enough breathing room to enter. It's unsettling, and it's scary, and to top it all off, it means that I don't get good sleep.

Luckily, I still have my yoga practice, which has recently been enhanced, thanks to one of my friends and fellow Ashtangis, with chanting the Gayatri Mantra:

Om bhur bhuvah svah
tat savitur varenyam
bhargo devasya dhimahi
dhiyo yonah prachodayat

And there's something really comforting about its mantra. Unlike other songs, it's not the words' meaning:

English Translation:

We meditate on the transcendental Glory of the Deity Supreme, who is inside the heart of the earth, inside the life of the sky and inside the soul of Heaven.  May He stimulate and illuminate our minds.

Maybe the meaning of the words is part of why the mantra is so resonant, I don't know. But I do know I'm grateful for the feeling that something bigger than me is in charge, and I know that when I repeat this mantra I feel more sure of that than when I don't...