I discovered the Breathe Easy Deck while looking for meditations and affirmations to share in my yoga classes. This little deck is perfect – each of the 36 cards contains a theme, such as compassion, meditation, floating, sacred space or balance, as well as an affirmation related to that theme. For example, the “openness” card reads:

I am open.
When we open ourselves up to the truth, we show real faith-and then miracles can happen.
I breathe in the faith that things that I do not know and cannot see at this time will work out for the best. I am filled with receptiveness. I breathe out close-mindedness.

I use these during meditation time in my classes. Since meditation can be challenging, I like to read an affirmation for the class to reflect upon as a way to guide the meditation. These work very nicely!

If emotions fell on a sliding scale from sadness to happiness, with neutral in the middle, I think my natural state would fall somewhere on the sadness side. It’s not intentional, though. I do try to be optimistic, and sure, I can have fun and be happy, especially with my friends, family, and pets…but at night before bed, when I’m just sitting still and being me, sadness tends to creep in.

I used to think this was weird, and that there was something wrong with me, but then I started paying attention. I work in a library; we have an entire section of books dedicated to finding joy in life. At our all-staff meeting last week, the keynote speaker’s speech was about how to be truly happy. The number one class at Harvard right now? How to find happiness. In my particular circle of family and friends, I know more people who are on anti-depressants than who aren’t.

So what’s the cause of all this? Why do people need to learn how to be happy? I mean, shouldn’t that come naturally? Is it the capitalist American lifestyle, wherein people throw themselves into the highest-paying job, regardless of whether it’s fulfilling, and then divvy up the few remaining hours left among family, friends, and hobbies (i.e., the fun things)? Is it the seemingly apocalyptic world out there, full of poverty, famine, war, disease, earthquakes, plane crashes, etc.? Is it the state of the planet, with global warming, endangered species and thousands of homeless pets? Is it perhaps the Standard American Diet (the SAD acronym is no coincidence!) with its unhealthy, overprocessed “food?” Are we not eating the nutrients that release dopamine and other feel-good chemicals into our brains?

I don’t know the answer. And I don’t really know how to stop the blues that seem to strike me for no apparent reason. Maybe we’re programmed this way; perhaps we need a little sadness in life so that we can fully appreciate joy when we find it. I know for sure that chemicals are not the solution for me, so anti-depressants are out. So here is how I cope: I try to eat an abundance and variety of fresh fruits and veggies and limit the processed crap (hey, I said try); I try to live as green as possible and leave a positive environmental footprint. I try live a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle and donate my time and money to worthwhile causes. And I’m trying not to let my capitalist nature win. I have a job that pays well, but is ultimately unfulfilling. There used to be a time when I enjoyed helping customers, even when the bureaucratic aspects of my job bothered me. But even that time has passed. Now I get irritated when customers need help, even though that’s the whole reason I’m there. I know the time has come to find a new path, and I’m working on that. I was just offered a very interesting job last week, but at less than half my current salary, and with no health benefits. I turned it down, because taking it would have made paying my bills difficult and cut into the kind of lifestyle I’m used to. I feel trapped: I hate my job, but it pays just enough to keep me hooked. So I’m trying to find a balance: a job that pays well enough to make ends meet, and that also rewards my soul/spirit. I haven’t found it yet, but I am going to school in October, and after that I should be able to start my health counseling business, which has long been a dream, and which I know will be rewarding. Until then, I guess I have to focus on the good points of my job: it pays fairly well, I get to work with two of my best friends, it’s indoors, and I have an inside track on all the latest books. I guess, for now, that’s not too bad.

So, until I find the key to lasting happiness, I will focus on appreciation: trying to find the good in all the things in my life, and as well as the best aspects of the bad things. Of course, I’m also going on a beach vacation in April, and that makes me very happy! So I guess there’s still hope for me.

My mom is a big believer in mantras and chanting. Every day she gets out her mala and chants for whatever we need (lately it’s been the removal of obstacles–I hope she’s chanting to Ganesha!). Anyway, in order to facilitate her knowledge, she purchased a really cool audiobook about the power of chanting. It’s called Mantra: Sacred Words of Power, by Thomas Ashley-Farrand (he usually has a small chant featured each month in Yoga Journal). She sent me a copy of the discs, which I’m now listening to for the second time around. His premise is that sound is extraordinarily powerful, and that it was the spoken word that created the universe. Although I’m not a regular chanter, I do enjoy mantras, especially before a yoga class. In the spirit of that, I thought I’d share the one that Nancy always used (and maybe still does) in her class.

Asato ma sad gamaya
Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya
Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya

I think it’s spelled correctly, although my Sanskrit spelling isn’t stellar. Here’s the (loose) English translation:

Lead me from the unreal to the real
Lead me from darkness to light
Lead me from death to that which is immortal

Years ago when I worked at a bookstore, one of my responsibilities was to organize the New Age section. This was where all the tarot and divination, wicca, and astrology books were (and still are) kept, and it was a fascinating section. Of course, the trouble with being responsible for that section meant I frequently shopped from there, and I snagged a lot of stuff. Books about astrology and love, Atlantis, a vampire encyclopedia and more (after all, I got an employee discount!) I also picked up my first set of tarot cards there: The Goddess Tarot. This is a beautiful set that I love to look at, but not once in six years have I ever tried to read a spread. I bought them for looks alone. Recently however, I’ve started to get into the New Age stuff again…

I’ve been hanging out with my wicca-practicing friend lately, and one rainy day she whipped out her cards to do a reading for me. She uses the tarot standard: the Rider Waite deck. I really like these cards: they are easy to find and easy to interpret. The results of my reading were fascinating, so naturally, I picked up a deck for myself and did a reading for my husband. It turns out that his reading and my reading were the same: proceed with the move to Texas and pursue changes in terms of our careers. I guess our future really is in the cards! This just might be better than the online magic 8 ball.

In light of my new (attempted) eating habits, I thought this was a really great DailyOm:

Know Your Food
Eating Close To The Earth
The food we eat is a multidimensional aspect of our lives. Food provides us with the energy that enables us to grow and prosper. Yet it can be, and frequently is, much, much more. Our food can be an experience in and of itself if we allow it to be. The dishes we remember from childhood offer unmatched comfort. The act of preparing meals can be an art form of the highest caliber. And the nourishment we derive from this fare promotes wellness within us. But many of us, distracted by daily affairs, forget that the profound pleasures of eating go beyond simple sustenance. We eat foods that are convenient or we eat unconsciously, snacking on whatever happens to be on hand. To understand the true value of food and the impact it can have on our lives, we should acknowledge and honor it by eating close to the earth.If you have ever shelled and eaten garden-grown peas or bitten into a sun-warmed apple freshly plucked from its tree, you likely understand that there is a marked difference between these foods and those that are processed and stacked on supermarket shelves. Food recently picked contains more of its original life force and thus has a greater store of energy and nutrients. You can ensure you are eating close to the earth-and enjoying the many benefits of doing so-by shopping at a local farmers market and getting to know the individuals who grow your food. If you make the experience of shopping in this way enjoyable, you will be more apt to reject more convenient canned, packaged, and frozen foods in favor of the real delight you feel while browsing stalls of fresh foods nourished by the same soil you can find in your own backyard. You will soon learn what foods are in season in your area and how to prepare them.

As you savor the vivid flavors of juicy ripe fruits and the hearty crunch of unprocessed vegetables, you can also take pleasure in the fact that, by eating close to the earth, you are supporting farmers in your region, connecting with your local ecosystem, discouraging those who would waste precious fossil fuels by carting produce cross-country, and helping to preserve healthy culinary traditions that have existed for centuries.