Mudra of Peace

This is another Vessels of Peace practice. 

The Mudra of Peace is an outward symbol of your inner intention to presence peace in and for our world.

To begin, stand in front of your altar or outside in nature or wherever you are guided to be and take a few seconds to center yourself.

Breathe slowly and rhythmically through your nose throughout the practice, coordinating your movements to your breath. If you know the yoga form of audible breathing called ujayii breath, feel free to use it.

1. Breathing in, bring your hands together in prayer pose out in front of you about 8 to 9 inches. Breathing out, bring them toward you and rest them, still in prayer pose, at your heart center, bowing your head slightly towards your fingertips.
2. Breathing in, slowly move your hands upward, still in prayer pose, until they are above your head.  Breathing out, stretch your arms into a V, as if doing the sun salutation, and look slightly upward and out.
3. Breathing in, with your arms still stretched in the V, slowly bring your hands towards each other, palms facing, until they are about 6 inches from each other. Breathing out, slowly lower them to 8 to 9 inches in front of your heart center again, bringing the base of the hand/wrist area together to form a V or vessel shape. Your hands are not rigidly straight but curved slightly so that the vessel is softer, as if lovingly cradling that which it holds.
4. Breathing in, bring your hands, still held in this vessel pose, slowly towards your heart center. As they are almost to your heart center, begin to breathe out and let the right palm turn inward against your heart center with the left palm lying on top of it as if enfolding the vessel and its contents into your heart center.
5. Breathing in, keeping your hands close to your body, turn your palms back towards each other, forming the prayer pose position at your heart center again. Breathing out, close your eyes and bow your head towards your fingertips in gratitude. 
6. Breathing in, let your hands gently move apart out of prayer pose until they are down by your sides, palms facing out/forward. At the same time, let your head come up, looking out again. Breathing out, stay in that position and whisper or repeat silently one round of the peace mantra "Peace, Om Shanti, Salaam, Shalom."  As you do this, have the intention and awareness that the healing power of peace that comes form the global heart is streaming out through your palms into the world. 

Repeat this sequence at least four times, more if you are guided. When it feels complete, spend some time in quiet contemplation or meditation.

Working with the Vessels of Peace practices will strengthen your ability to choose peace in all your thoughts, words, and actions and will act as a catalyst for the process of partnering with the Divine Feminine.

(Source: Vessels of Peace Journal [online], 9/17/2006, Merging with the Global Heart through the Mudra of Peace, by Lynda Terry, author of The 11 Intentions: Invoking the Sacred Feminine as a Pathway to Peace)

Bring Yourself into the Present Time Mantra

If you ever find yourself "lost" in the past, try this mantra to bring yourself into the present time. While it is useful to know about past lives and learn from past events, it is not helpful to dwell in them for long periods of time.

A useful visualization for this is to think of your life (or lifetimes) as a gauge where the pointer can move through different times, years, or ages. This mantra will help you keep your pointer in the present time by bringing you back from where ever you are to the present time.

First, speak this prayer aloud:

• Help keep my pointer in the present time.

Next, speak this mantra aloud while visualizing the statements. Fill in the brackets with the current year and date and information about your location.

• It is [year]. It is [month and day]. It is [season]. I am in [continent]. I am in [country]. I am in [state]. I am in [city]. I am at [street address]. I am sitting in [location] on [piece of furniture], which is on the floor, which is on the Earth.
  

Walking With Peace, A Peace Mantra

This is another lovely Vessels of Peace practice. The Peace Mantra can be used in many situations or as a walking meditation.

Working with the Vessels of Peace practices will strengthen your ability to choose peace in all your thoughts, words, and actions and will act as a catalyst for the process of partnering with the Divine Feminine.

Peace Mantra
Peace, Om Shanti, Salaam, Shalom

The mantra comes from four languages - English, Sanskrit, Arabic, and Hebrew – and offer a multi-faith way of invoking peace, since they are commonly used by the Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu traditions.

Repeat the peace mantras, aloud or silently, as the focus of a sitting meditation or as a contemplative practice while walking (see below) or when in stressful situations.

Pronunciation:

Peace (pea-sss)
Om Shanti (oh-mmm shawn-tee)
Salaam (saw-lah-mmm)
Shalom (shaw-low-mmm)

Cadence:
There is a particular cadence or pace at which the mantras are repeated, and it's important to try to stay with that rhythm, for it creates a vibrational effect in your being and in the atmosphere around you. You are literally aligning with a peace frequency and building the strength of that frequency in yourself and on the planet.

To create the cadence, pause for about two seconds after the repetition of each mantra and before beginning the next round of repeating them: Peace (pause) Om Shanti (pause) Salaam (pause) Shalom (pause).

Walking With Peace Meditation
Walk at a pace that is comfortable for you, then begin repeating the peace mantras.  You will find the mantra cadence fitting with your walking pace in some way -- every other step, every third step, etc. Just let it evolve over the course of your walking. The main thing is to keep the mantra repetition slow no matter how fast or slow you are walking.

You can repeat the mantras silently or out loud. If walking with others, repeating them softly out loud together, and walking at the same pace, is one option, or letting each one walk and repeat silently as guided is fine too. Try to refrain from interrupting the meditation with other conversation -- the power of the meditation is in the continuous focus on the mantras, the rhythmic movement of your body and the intention you hold to presence peace within yourself and in the world.


(Source: Vessels of Peace and Lynda Terry, author of The 11 Intentions: Invoking the Sacred Feminine as a Pathway to Peace)

Walking in Beauty, A Navajo Prayer

How often do you pause to experience something beautiful? When you are focused on something beautiful, you are in appreciation, which creates a connection to your higher self, your intuition, inner peace, God, Goddess, and so on.

This Navajo Prayer reminds us that beauty (connection to divine) is all around us, even as we walk through our everyday lives. Here are a couple of the many versions of this prayer.

Closing Prayer from the Navajo Way Blessing Ceremony
In beauty I walk
With beauty before me I walk
With beauty behind me I walk
With beauty above me I walk
With beauty around me I walk
It has become beauty again
It has become beauty again
It has become beauty again
It has become beauty again

Hózhóogo naasháa doo
Shitsijí' hózhóogo naasháa doo
Shikéédéé hózhóogo naasháa doo
Shideigi hózhóogo naasháa doo
T'áá altso shinaagóó hózhóogo naasháa doo
Hózhó náhásdlíí'
Hózhó náhásdlíí'
Hózhó náhásdlíí'
Hózhó náhásdlíí'

Walking In Beauty (Blessing)
Today I will walk out, today everything unnecessary will leave me,
I will be as I was before, I will have a cool breeze over my body.
I will have a light body, I will be happy forever,
nothing will hinder me.
I walk with beauty before me. I walk with beauty behind me.
I walk with beauty below me. I walk with beauty above me.
I walk with beauty around me. My words will be beautiful.

In beauty all day long may I walk.
Through the returning seasons, may I walk.
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk.
With dew about my feet, may I walk.

With beauty before me may I walk.
With beauty behind me may I walk.
With beauty below me may I walk.
With beauty above me may I walk.
With beauty all around me may I walk.

In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk.
My words will be beautiful.