The long weekend is almost here. Now it's a good time to pick up that book you've been meaning to read and sit for long lingering hours in a shaded park bench or belly down on the grass and just - (insert breath here) - relax. As for me, I am trying something new: Poetry. I don't normally read poetry (well, actually, I never read poetry - closest thing to poetry I read is Japanese Manga), but I just recently discovered (thanks to Yoga Journal) a cute little book called
Malas of the Heart. This small hard cover is a collection of 108 "sacred poems" from around the world, its subjects are universal: God, Nature, and Love. What I most enjoy about the book is that the poems are simple and actually easy to remember so I've been using some of the poems as mantras throughout the day to liven it up a bit
. Here is one of my current favorites:
If you circumambulate every holy shrine in the world
ten times,
it would not get you to heaven
as quick
as controlling your
anger.
- Kabir (India)
Note: Mantras are instruments of thought in the form of a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that are considered capable of "creating transformation" in the self. Similar to the application of positive thinking in Cognitive-Behavioral psychology, where you are prescribed to repeat to yourself a catch-phrase througout the day such as "I am a good person" whenever you find yourself falling into thought cycles focusing on self-criticism in order to break the cycle.
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