Share your mantra here

* Don't Panic.

* Remember to keep breathing.

* Would an idiot do that?

One I hope to/plan to/should start using:

* I can make a difference

* breath in, breath out;
deep, slow;
calm, ease;
smile, release;
present moment, wonderful moment.

-"sassamifrass"

I LOVE this one! Thanks for compiling these.

Is to try to live in the now, don't worry about past or future. Especially things I CANNOT control.

I also like, What is the worst that can happen? I use this alot at work. My boss piles work upon work on me and when I start to feel stressed out, I say to myself, what is the worst that can happen? The worst is that I try my best and I don't finish everything and I continue where I left off the next day.

I could sure use a mantra for starting a business. I would like to start a business but don't even know where to start! Let me re-phrase, I know what I want to do, but just don't know how to go about starting it up etc. I need to go read some of Leo's past posts!

Easy Peasy...

... lemon-squeezy.

One I use when I'm scared is 'I am protected by God'. It actually helps, which was a huge surprise to me.

I'm with papercranes!

* Don't forget to breathe

I used to tell myself that a lot when I was into taking LSD and mushrooms. 8)

Now it makes for a great reminder about the fact that all is at it should be ... always.

Be Uncommon

Mine is

Focus. Simplify. Enjoy Life.

easy

wei wu wei

A selection of my favorites; when I meditate, I tend to use whatever is at the top of my mind. Is that the wrong way to do it? And I know most of these sound like jokes, but a major part of my philosophy involves taking frivolous things seriously and treating serious things like jokes.

From Discordianism: "There are no rules anywhere, the Goddess prevails."

From the anime Revolutionary Girl Utena: "Grant me the power to bring the world revolution."

From Paradise Lost: "The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven." (yeah, that one is pretty long)

I don't remember who said this, but it wasn't me: "Believe nothing, dare all; on Earth there is no reckoning."

I think I heard Henry Rollins say this once: "I am stronger than fire."

Nietzsche: "Man is something that must be overcome." "The Abyss gazes also into you."

Schrödinger's cat (a favorite motif of mine): "The cat is both alive and dead."

Yeah, my mantras are all quotes and/or references. Maybe I should come up with an original one or two.

EDIT: Just changed an 'i' to uppercase.

This is a verse that my minister uses sometimes as a benediction. She's never been able to find it for me in the bible, but I find it a wonderful comfort when I'm feeling lost.

"To God the darkness is as the light. Put your hand in the hand of the Lord, and you will feel yourself on a path well known. And you will have all the light that you need."

Another prayer I just love that a friend gave to me as a non-denominational "grace" to say before eating:

"God of power and might, give bread to those who are hungry, and hunger for justice to those who have bread."

"To God the darkness is as the light. Put your hand in the hand of the Lord, and you will feel yourself on a path well known. And you will have all the light that you need."

-"jocelain"

Reminded me of 'Put Your Hand In The Hand', one of my favorite Sunday morning tunes.

As for the source of this quote, "To God the darkness is as the light" makes me think of Psalm 139:12. The rest is from an old poem famously recited by King George VI (then-head of the Anglican church, which, combined with your mention of benediction, pegs you in my mind as Episcopalian, unless they have Anglicans in Canada now and nobody told me).

[quote:5f60762989="Christmas Broadcast 1939"]'I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year, "Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown." And he replied, "Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way."'

Meanwhile, I've been working on a variation of the mantra I mentioned above. It breaks down like this:

The Spirit guides me, (so I know what to do)
God protects me, (so I know He won't let anything happen to me unless it's meant to happen)
Jesus saves me. (if something does hurt me, I'm taken care of.)

Late at night when I think I see Samara in the corner of my room, this really helps. Still surprising.

Oh my, thanks so much for the background! There are Anglican churches in Canada for sure, but I attend the United Church of Canada, which is much more, hmmmm... let's say liberal. My cousin in Minnesota really wishes there was a United Church in the U.S.!

You got me curious about the history of the Anglican Church in Canada. Apparently it goes back to the early 1700's, and you can check their history on the website www.2anglican.ca. Are you a student of theology? I love all references to light and especially numbers in the bible, and am doing an amateur study on the relationship of numerology in the Bible.

Can I ask you about Samara in your bedroom at night?

Well, promised myself I'd keep on with the work today. Done some housework, and now I'm off to my office with a load of books, and intentions to work. Been following your discussions on diversions as a free-lancer. I've talked myself through a LOT today!

This is vastly in danger of going off-topic, so I'm splitting into this new thread.

Everybody here: Go back to mantras.

You guys have some awesome mantras on here. I've been going by:

"Will I finish this completely?"

any time I try to start/buy/agree to something new. Simplification doesn't just have to do with possessions, it has more to do with actions and outlook. I only want the most worthy things in my life, and I want to throw myself at them completely, so I struggle to take on only what I can realistically complete.

"Will I finish this completely?"

-"drummingpariah"

Great mantra. I think I might steal that one.

"Keep on keeping on."

It really helps me when things are rough.

Are we talking mantras or personal mottos?