Many many years ago when I lived in California I received a mantra from my teacher:

om namah śivāya

Little did I know at the time how much this mantra was going to be part of my life from that point on. Om namah śivāya is my constant companion. I repeated at all moments during the day. I repeat it silently if I see something beautiful,  or if I am going through something challenging, or when I need to calm my mind down, or when I need to go deeper into myself in meditation, or when I am on the train, or sometimes when I am just walking on the streets. I repeat it eleven times before each meal and one hundred and eight times before falling asleep. Over the years I have come to feel like this mantra is an angel watching over me all the time.

Many of the yoga philosophy teachers tend to go through many different topics related to the process of self-awareness when they teach. Each time they come to one of these topics they pick a couple of main points to focus on. These points are not always the same and that is done purposely to help us learn to see the same thing from many perspectives. Eventually we get to understand self-awareness in many of its different facets and stages.

My teacher has been encouraging me to go deeper into my understanding of time since the beginning of this year. The word in sanskrit that I know for time is kala but this is not the word that she is using. In the teachings that she has been giving daily the word that she uses is Samaya. Samaya refers to time but more specifically 'the right time to do something'.

The Lunar New Year starts with a new moon this week on Wednesday January 29th. It is a reminder of the beginning of yet another cycle in time. For almost a decade now every new beginning has a stronger sense of importance and significance in its bearing on the future. My teacher reminded me a few weeks ago how life is unpredictable and it offers no guarantees. She also reminded us of abundance and how we have to be ready to receive it.  

This week we will turn to meditation as we continue to explore many different ways in which we can expand. This more internal way to expand can seem counterintuitive at the beginning since we all equate meditation to being free from thoughts. In a sense we look at meditation as a way to experience a void or emptiness so it looks like a letting go and not an expansion.

I have taken trips to several national parks over the years. One of the most memorable trips that I took was to the Rocky Mountains National Park in Colorado. I specially remember hiking a trail which at its highest point was close to 11,000ft. I remember feeling a sense of openness and expansion as I stood at that point. The unobstructed view of the park gave me a feel of infinity that brought a sense of lightness and awe.