I’ve only really started using mantras on a regular basis over the past year. My astrologer Vic DiCara (he also plays in hardcore punk band 108*) drew up my astrological chart using Vedic Astrology last year. After interrupting it he decided to prescribe a certain mantra that would help in manifesting my dreams to reality. You’re probably going ‘what the hell is a mantra?’ Let me explain:
Mantra is a practice that involves the repetition of a word or a phrase of words. At first it may feel mechanical but once you get into it you start to (hopefully) embody the quality or essence you are trying to invoke. You should try to be sincere when saying your mantra.
My friend Vic described the usefulness of mantras by telling me, “Practice the mantra with a given intention and need and you will find that need, will be addressed… the power of mantra is to open your mind and free it from habit. So doing the mantra enables you to learn the lessons of the planets as quickly and painlessly as possible, even enjoyably and blissfully in fact.”
I have found that putting both meditation and chanting a mantra (along with yoga) into my daily routine has helped give me a grounding and solid base in which to start my day in.
Mantra are used across many cultures (it’s not just an Eastern exotic thing), faith and philosophies. I have found that they help to give me clarity and boost my energy.
For more on mantras check out: The Power of Mantra, Gently Returning and History & Info on Mantra.
A song from the album Mantra by one of my favourite hardcore punk bands Shelter.
*108 trivia – 108 is a semi-permanent number; malas have 108 beads for use when reciting mantras; according to Ayurveda there are 108 pressure points in the body…
“There is a prayer that I say every morning, it’s actually a long sequence of prayers. The one part of it that really sums up my theology goes something like—actually I know exactly what it is but I’ll take it out of the scriptural language—“Whoever you are you made this energy in me. Whatever it is that keeps my heart beating, whatever in this world is or isn’t, whatever is an illusion or whatever isn’t, we’re alive, whatever that means. While this energy is here and in me for as long as it is in me, thanks.”
When Jonah told me the above, I thought it was one of the most beautiful and right on things I’ve heard anyone say. I believe that we are all energy and everything is energies and daily we come into contact with all types of energy that can affect our well being.
My pal Prue told me about ‘happy shields’ the other day. She was telling me how when you have your happy shield up you can deflect negative energy… ‘phew! phew! phew!’ that’s the sound of negative vibes deflecting off my happy shield! ha… ha.. ha! I definitely had mine up yesterday… in short it was one of those days where everything seemed to go wrong and all I heard was bad news. I put that happy shield up though and by the end of the evening I was back on track.
Waking up and giving thanks, giving gratitude, for our energy and being alive is the ultimate way to start the day.
Get those happy shields up!
PS – A great big Happy birthday must go to my dear, darling big sister Juanita de Valentino. I admire your strength, perseverance and positive outlook on life Juanita despite all the struggles you have endure. You inspire me incredibly by being you. I love you times a million and one and am thankful to have you in my Universe. Good luck with you film work this year Nita! xoxo
Every day is Saturday night, but I can’t wait for Sunday morning – K-OS
I try to make Sunday my day of rest although it never usually works out that way, by choice—well kind of by choice. Let me explain, most Sundays I like to take time out from my work and social schedule to reflect on where I’m at, where I’m going and where I’ve been for the week. I also ponder my place in the grand scheme of things. I like to step back from my work, take stock and give myself a break from everything. Meditation is something I’ve found that can help with this. I also like to take this time to plan my week ahead.
“It’s definitely time to take a break, to recharge my batteries. I’d like to take about six months and not go into the studio. I need to just live life, to be inspired by things again. I’m going to do random things. I want to go to restaurants, maybe take a class and see some movies and Broadway shows.” ~Beyonce
I find more often than not when I take this time out—when I attempt to have that break—I usually have some of my very best ideas; I feel incredibly inspired, hence why I don’t usually get to rest. Once I get an idea in my head I feel compelled to put the wheels into motion. I’m addicted (for better or for worse) to momentum. I have to be careful though because sometimes when you’re working on a project you can be so caught up in it that you actually miss the beauty of the process. And as the saying goes: it’s the journey, not the destination.
In general I find that when people have rest they’re a whole lot nicer. Rest also helps to boost your immune system, gives you energy and can affect your ability to concentrate and focus. And, when you have the world to conquer… cue Bad Religion lyrics…
I want to conquer the world / Expose the culprits and feed them to the children / Do away with air pollution and then I’ll save the whales / We’ll have peace on earth and global communion – Bad Religion
… it’s apt to have all of the above!
Sunday song playlist:
No Doubt – Sunday Morning
K-OS – Sunday Morning
Lily Allen – Sunday Morning Mark Lanegan – Ugly Sunday
Blondie – Sunday Girl
Jimmy Eat World – A Sunday
U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday
The Monkeys – Pleasant Valley Sunday Outkast – Sole Sunday
Stone Temple Pilots – Naked Sunday
Greenday – Church On Sunday
Billie Holiday – Gloomy Sunday
Etta James – Sunday Kind Of Love
Johnny Cash – Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down
Morrissey – Everyday is Like Sunday
So, my lovely friends try to spend time relaxing today… as much as you can. For all my people on the Gold Coast, Australia headed to the Big Day Out today don’t forget the sunscreen,sunglasses (I just got some cute rainbow love heart framed ones for $4.95! score!) and water; don’t forget to charge your mobile/cell phone so that if you get lost/separated from your friends you can call them… or if you’re like me you might skip that because you may enjoy getting lost ha ha… I’m good at making new friends and I like to go where I please… Acts to put on today’s BDO agenda = Lily Allen, Mars Volta & Girl Talk.
RANDOM MISS B STORY: In 1996 I went to the BDO with Custard. It took us 2 hours to drive from Brisbane (It’s usually a 40 minute trip). Half way there we pulled in at a service station to get fuel and snacks, Dave McCormak (Custard’s front man) crawled into a St. Vincent De Paul charity bin and pulled out a straw Mexican sombrero, later in the day he wore it on stage while performing. Custard shared their backstage dressing room with Rancid. I had a chat with Rancid’s Tim Armstrong that day that pretty much inspired me on the path to where I am now. We spoke of creativity; following your heart and the power of music… it changed my life! Thanks Tim. I also ran into Nick Cave that year and was a total fan-girl getting a happy snap with him, he told me that I had one of the most beautiful smiles (awww ha, ha… the man’s a charmer) and Zach De La Rocha commend me for helping prevent a girl from being crushed against the front of stage barrier during their set.
“Be yourself, don’t take anyone’s shit, and never let them take you alive.” ~Gerard Way
“Well there is that common misconception that punk was this negative nihilistic thing, but that was never what it was about. It was about empowerment, individuality and some kind of “politicalisation.” I’m not talking about the politics that people see on the TV; I’m talking about a global politics. Trying to be in touch with the planet, to me, is my kind of politics. There’s a trend towards this passive consumerism these days whereby most people are emotionally detached from the planet. Obviously that’s going to lead us nowhere.” ~Don Letts (excerpt from Conversations With Punx)
You my new friend (and of course my long-standing friends that read this) are one of a kind. You are unique. You see life in your own special one of its kind way. No one else can ever do things the way you do them, you bring your own unique style & flavour to the party. And, what a party that is! Magnificent, divine and full of life!
Even if someone else was given the exact same information as you, we all translate it differently and put our own twist on things depending on our past experiences, upbringing, beliefs, outlook so we can only really do things our own way.
A big part of ‘doing you’ is knowing who you are and what you stand for and staying true to that—not allowing yourself to be swayed by your friends, family, group pressure or trends. A huge part of me has learnt so much about myself and who I am thanks to punk rock and hip hop music, culture and those that contribute positively to it. And although music is one of my favourite things in the whole Universe, I make sure I don’t let it define me.
Many years ago (6 actually, at the beginning of my book project)… I found myself having been involved with punk rock for over a decade. I had written fanzines, put on shows, manned merch booths, been a publicist, music critic, and activist; I had interviewed hundreds of bands, attended countless live shows, had a mail order, and been a noise maker in various bands that never made it out of the garage. My social life revolved around shows and I had met all of my friends at gigs. I was in deep. After a while it all started to feel uninspiring. Nothing excited me or provoked me to think. I had to get drunk and be surrounded by my tightly knit social clique for shows to be fun. I was in a punk rock bubble and the bubble become very cloudy.
I had always attributed punk (and hip hop) as contributing to my personal growth. I began to feel my growth as a person stall and become stagnant. Punk had always been a platform from which I could explore and find myself. The platform had seemed to become limited. I thought, “Is this it? Is this who I am?” I realised that my whole life was sadly based around a music scene, which in the grand scheme of things is minute. I had lived, breathed, and consumed punk, until it had begun to consume me. My perspective started to shift. There had to be something more, something beyond punk. I started to disconnect from what was going on around me. For the first time, I was alone in my punk rock world. I started to turn inward.
For me this was a really confusing time, I really had to focus on me and who I thought I was, who I was, and who I wanted to become. My journey through that is in part my book projects. Meditation & my Morning Page rituals really helped me during this time of self-exploration.
Advice from amazing people also helped! Exene Cervenka the remarkable front lady of Los Angeles punk band X chatted with me for my book and had the following to say… which I felt was really spot on in relation to Doing You!
Exene: I’m trying to take care of that stuff. It’s complicated because as you get older you have a lot of stuff you’ve been through and you look back on it all and you get an image of yourself. It’s not always the best image. Maintaining a healthy self-image and really loving yourself is something that’s really important to me. People let life get to them too much and they get beaten down by it. They become cynical and jaded. It’s really important for me not to become like that. When I look back and say I want to love myself it’s not because I’m running from my past, it’s because I’m learning to accept who I am with flaws.
Being yourself isn’t always going to be easy (with so many distractions out there and people & things trying to influence you and your choices)… a big tip I can give you though on the road to Doing You! is: stop caring what others think about you. If you’re constantly fretting about what this person or that thinks about you, it’ll be impossible to be yourself.
In my experience, any lasting thing in life is built rooted in truth. Ask yourself, what’s your truth?
“If I’m going to sing like someone else, then I don’t need to sing at all.” ~Billie Holiday
“Cherish forever what makes you unique, ‘cause you’re really a yawn if it goes.” ~Bette Midler
And don’t forget one of the biggest truths of all: you’re unique just like everybody else! (he, he :))
I use the word ‘ritual’ when talking about the things I do (at least I try to do) every single day—practices or exercises that I have found on my adventures which over time have been developed, adapted and made to work for me. As the talented Mr Bob Vennum once told me “rework your inspirations to fit your own vision.” To me a ritual is a personal something I do that can really add value to my day and help me draw my dreams closer, faster by allowing me greater clarity and focus in both mind and heart. Think of a ritual as an option or tool to tap into your most-raddest self! Who doesn’t want to be their most rad self most of the time?!
Cultivating daily practices of self-discipline, self-nurturing and self-realization are key to creating a great foundation for a truly remarkable life. We all have the potential to enhance what we are. I’ve found, for me at least, daily rituals lead to peace of mind, and when my mind is clearer ideas flow and the sky is the limit.
RITUAL ONE: MORNING PAGES
Naturally, I have a tendency to think waaaay too much about matters, circumstances, tasks at hand etc. I have a tendency to get distracted easily (which is something I’m working on.) I think so much sometimes my mind becomes cloudy and I get bogged down with trivial things. I often find self-doubt, my inner-critic and censor (bless them) can appear in these moments too. All the obsessing can kill my productivity. It disburses and dissipates my energy and shifts my focus from where it really needs to be. I don’t get anything done! The following ritual helps me cut through all the self-defeating inner ‘chat chat’ to get things done more days than not.
One of my favourite weapons in my ritual arsenal is the concept of ‘Morning Pages’. Each day I wake up, stretch (I adore yoga) and brew a cup of yummy rose green tea. I sit down to write—handwritten stylee—kind of like journaling. I’ve been doing it on and off for years and things are always infinitely better when I do them. For the ritual I like to sit at a little desk I bought at a second-hand store and painted the happiest colour I could find, Aztec Gold. It’s always nice to have an inspiring area to work and create in (more on that in coming posts). A fancy pen and a pretty notebook can also make the process even lovelier—honestly though most times I find myself scrawling on whatever is handy, usually a dog-eared notebook like the ones I used to use in school. The most important thing though is to write.
The idea of Morning Pages is to write to get everything out so your headspace is free to focus on your hearts true path (the things that bring you greatest joy). Why not try it today? You have nothing to lose. If it’s not for you, you never have to do it again EVER! Move the pen from one side of the page to the other and allow yourself to write down whatever comes. There is no right or wrong way to do it. Some mornings I find myself writing, “I have nothing to say. I need to do the groceries today. Did I call my folks yesterday? Blah, blah, blah stuff, stuff, stuff…” Sometimes I just write “This is stupid” over and over until I have a breakthrough—it usually involves me laughing at myself for being so resistant to the process. Remember though what you write is never too silly, stupid, lame or weird, as the pages are for you to look at and no one else. If you’re persistent enough with it, let go and have fun with it you may just find yourself experiencing your very best ideas yet.
I find Morning Pages to be really liberating. It is an authentic, true expression of you, (hopefully) totally uncensored. You can really learn a lot about yourself. Some days I treat it as a meditation. Are there any rituals in your life that you find effective in living your best life?
There’s a great book, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron that I’ve come across in the past month or so that includes Morning Pages as one of the basic principles to helping make your dreams a reality. So what are you waiting for?
You never know, it could be great / Take a chance ‘cause you might grow ~ Gwen Stefani
Art by Chainsaw Panda
