Source: Mind Valley Academy

Sound is vibration. What you may not be aware of is that each of your chakras has a specific vibration as well – and you can use mantras that are known to be in vibrational harmony with each chakra, with the purposes of opening and harmonizing the system.

Using chakra mantras during meditation can have a very powerful effect.

Imagine a chakra as an instrument, and the mantra as a tuning fork – strike the tuning fork, and the instrument will come into vibrational resonance with it, clearing out any energies that do not share the same resonance.

5 Seed Mantras

Let’s begin with basic mantras called bija mantras, or seed mantras, that have been universally used in meditative practice to harmonize one’s energy.

OM: The most well known and universal of the bija mantras it is the sound of creation and causes energy to gather and flow upward and outward.

OM is the mantra of acceptance and assent. It helps you to accept your higher self and allow energy to flow openly and freely through you. It also serves as a gathering mantra, gathering your inward energy and preparing your energy for movement.

KRIM (pronunciation “kreem”): Chanting this mantra stimulates your lower chakras to awaken and begin purifying your body.

SHRIM (pronunciation “shreem”): Its associations lie with the head and third eye. It promotes bodily and spiritual health but can also be used to bring beauty and happiness to one’s senses.

HRIM (pronunciation “hreem”): This holds powers of healing and creativity. Chanting this mantra awakens compassion and purifies the heart.

HUM (pronunciation “hoom”): This evokes the breakdown of negative feelings and spreads positivity and vitality through the body.

Read the list and choose the mantra(s) that you intuitively feel you need. Don’t worry about using all of them – you may be very ‘energetically healthy’ in some respects and not so much in others.

Just pick the one(s) that resonate with your needs (you can ask yourself, “is this sound beneficial to me?”) and use it to begin your meditation.

This literally ‘sets the tone’ for your meditation; then, you can incorporate the healing energies of the cleansing mantras below. Each of the cleansing mantras correspond to one of the 7 chakras in your body.

7 Cleansing Mantras

LAM: The cleansing mantra chanted for your Root Chakra, which keeps us grounded and linked to the earth. Chanting this mantra will cleanse impurities that can collect in the root chakra

– literally opening you up to feelings of security, prosperity and belonging – and clearing any blocked energy that is being prevented from moving through to the other six main energy centers.

Chant “LAM” if your energy is low, you struggle financially, you suffer from low self-esteem and you suffer from adrenal fatigue and other stress-related ailments.

VAM: The cleansing mantra for your Sacral Chakra, which is associated with sexuality, pleasure and creativity. Opening this chakra will open you up to others, give you the courage to express yourself and to embrace change.

Chant “VAM” is you have poor self-image, find it hard to open up in relationships, feel unsatisfied sexually and suffer from low libido.

RAM: This opens your Solar Plexus Chakra, the seat of your personal power. Chanting “RAM” will increase your ability to stand up for yourself, control negative impulses, and exercise greater self-control.

Your self-esteem will increase as you chant “RAM” and you will become more confident and self-assured – and your frequent stomach anxiety and pains will subside!

YAM: The cleansing mantra for your Heart Chakra. You give and receive love through the energy center that is your heart chakra. If you’re not feeling loving, lovable, compassionate or experience relationship difficulties, you could use some YAM!

Chant “YAM” to heal both the physical heart and the spiritual (emotional) heart center and open yourself up to unconditional love and compassion.

HAM: The mantra to unblock your Throat Chakra. This is your physical and spiritual voice, your means of communicating who you are and what you need and want from yourself and the universe.

The throat chakra governs your ability to express yourself – if it’s closed, you will find yourself frequently frustrated as you cannot voice your needs and desires (closing yourself off to opportunities and having your needs met).

And a closed throat chakra makes honesty and integrity difficult traits to embody. The vibrations from “RAM” will open your throat chakra so that your communication energy can flow strongly.

AUM (or OM): This opens your Third Eye Chakra. This is the center of your forehead and is directly in line with the center of your brain.

While OM is one of the most common mantras and can be used for a wide variety of mantra meditations, it is particularly important to the cleansing and healing of your third eye chakra.

The third eye chakra (or brow chakra) is the seat of intuition and life purpose.

Chanting “OM” will break loose the constraints that you have imposed upon yourself by not allowing yourself to listen to your inner wisdom and using that wisdom to chart the best course for a life of purpose and passion.

OM or AH: The mantras for your Crown Chakra, the connection to the divine.

A closed crown chakra brings about feelings of insignificance and pointlessness, leading to a disconnect from spirit and an overly strong attachment to possessions, relationships and the physical world.

Some find that silence is a more effective practice for opening the crown chakra but OM may be used to open it as well. Chanting AH represents a release. Think about taking a deep breath, then letting it go. AH is the sound of releasing and letting go.

Chakra mantras help you to clear your energy pathways so you can thrive, not just survive; this allows you to make the most of your physical life experience, creating positive physical, emotional, mental and spiritual change.

By: The Astro Twins / Source: Mind Body Green

Just say baa! Today (Feb. 18, 2015) kicks off the Year of the Sheep (or Goat) in Chinese astrology. Bid adieu to the prancing, pompous Horse and all its 2014 fanfare.

Instead of galloping hooves and in-your-face flair, we have the contemplative and indirect Sheep ruling the cosmic vibes.

New to Chinese astrology? Here’s the bottom line: In addition to your Western-based Sun sign, you also have a Chinese astrology sign.

Based on a completely different system (which includes lunar calculations), the Chinese astrological calendar changes annually each January/February at the Aquarius new moon.

This is also the second Aquarius new moon in a row this year (the first, a supermoon, was on Jan. 20). Normally there is only one new moon per zodiac sign each year, so dial back a month to see what seeds you may have planted then.

You could experience a second round of developments as those seeds begin to bear fruit.

In Chinese astrology, the year of your birth can tell you a lot about your personality, interests and life path.

The last Sheep Year was in 2003, so look back to that time for clues — you may see some recurring themes in your life. Meantime, here are eight ways to make the most of this new lunar year:

1. Watch for passive-aggressiveness.

The Sheep can be a “woolly bully,” dominating others with mood swings and brooding. It’s associated with the Western sign of Cancer, which also exhibits these traits.

Take extra pains to say what you mean and mean what you say, but still approach everything with kindness.

2. Nurture a creative talent.

The Sheep Year can be a richly artistic time. If you can’t beat the overall sensitive mood, roll with it. Dive into your imagination and dreamy inner landscape.

See what kind of gorgeous creations come of it. Pick up Julia Cameron’s self-study guide, The Artist’s Way (or join a creative workshop) to get the ball rolling. Or, try journaling or even photography to let your right brain lead the way.

3. Healer, heal thyself.

Got baaaaaaggage? (Sorry, couldn’t resist another Sheep pun!) The Sheep Year can foster emotional and spiritual breakthroughs. While your emotions are this raw, you might as well examine and process them.

4. Don’t be afraid to take risks.

Superstitious lore in China, which is taken rather seriously there, considers this an “unlucky” year. Legend has it that Sheep are unlucky in business, marriage and love. Yikes!

Perhaps a more refined interpretation is that Sheep are incredibly sensitive, not steeped in the same material-world concerns as others. And when they follow that dreamy instinct, they can be pretty damn successful.

After all, both Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were born in Sheep Years, and well, they both did OK financially, didn’t they?

5. Hire an agent.

Another superstition is that Sheep are self-sabotaging, failing to protect themselves properly in business. So if during the Year of the Sheep, you feel overwhelmed by legal or professional regulations, team up with a pro to represent you.

6. Kick an addiction for good.

Escapism falls under the Sheep’s traits, and at the far end of the spectrum, this zodiac sign CAN be prone to addiction. (Kurt Cobain and Whitney Houston were both born under the Sheep sign.)

If you self-soothe through an unhealthy vice or dependency, the Sheep Year is a good time to seek treatment.

7. Find your flock.

As Mother Teresa said, “The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved.”

While Sheep have earned a negative reputation as followers, let’s question this. Human beings have a basic drive to belong. No, we shouldn’t mindlessly conform to the status quo.

But our culture of rugged individualism has also maligned the basic human need to commune. In the Sheep Year, indulge in the urge to rub woolly shoulders with like-minded peeps.

8. Do … nothing. Seriously.

Laziness — another big no-no in our uber-productive world — might be underrated, too. If you’ve gotten caught in the overscheduled, success-driven trap, it might be time to scale back.

Doing “nothing” (meditating, getting proper sleep, resetting, etc.) can actually create more positive results than being on the non-stop treadmill of life.

By; Barbara Biziou / Source: Mind Body Green

Why are the first 12 days of the new year so important? According to my spiritual teacher Master Omraam Mikhael Aivanhov, the first 12 days of January represent the whole year. Jan. 1 stands for the month of January, while Jan. 2 stands for February, and so on.

By practicing loving kindness, openness, and generosity while giving thoughtful attention to the significance of each day, you can consecrate the coming year.

But first, here are two rituals you can try to invite more love and prosperity into your life:

1. Ritual for love

Wear new red underwear on New Year’s Day to bring in love.

2. Ritual for prosperity

For good luck and prosperity, you can throw money into your home the first time you enter it in the new year. If you are staying home on New Year’s Eve, go to your front door at 12:01am and throw coins or paper money into the front door.

Bless it with your “inspirations” for the new year.

On Jan. 2, you could give some money away freely as a sign to the universe that YOU ARE PROSPEROUS.

Now, focus on the following keywords each day for the first 12 days of the new year. Each of these words can evoke a special energy that will make your new year special.

Jan. 1: Breath

As you focus on your breath, you actually can breathe in the inspiration you desire. Breathe in love, creativity, joy, health and prosperity. Allow the universe to gift you with energy to invite your best self forward.

Jan. 2: Love

Today is the day to be more loving and compassionate toward yourself. Learn to be compassionate in the areas where you tend to resist. Ask yourself.

How can I be more loving today? Then reach out to others. Smile, be kind and send a loving note to a friend or family member.

Jan. 3: Renewal

Use nature to renew your body and spirit. Nature is a window into the world of the divine — with the four great elements representing the physical manifestation of spirit into matter.

Spend some time just looking at the sky, or take a walk in the park, on the beach or in the woods, listen to birds sing, hold a rock or crystal to remind you to ground your energy and of course, watch a sunrise or sunset.

Jan. 4: Smell

Of all of our five senses, smell is the only one that goes directly to our brain. Experiment with different scents to see how you feel. Vanilla works well to lift your mood.

Orange boosts your energy, while chamomile or lavender may calm you down. Jasmine is a wonderful aphrodisiac and rose is often associated with opening your heart.

Jan. 5: Play

When we get over-serious and try to figure everything out, we lose our spontaneity and creativity. Fun is a good thing, so allow your playful inner child to come out.

Go to a playground and swing on a swing, ride a bike, get some Legos and build a castle, take out the finger paints and let it rip, or put on some upbeat music and move.

Jan. 6: Present

Life can pass you by if you are so busy making plans and doing stuff. We forget to just BE.

Focus on one thing at a time, unplug from your smart phone and computer for five minutes every hour if you can, take a deep breath every time your phone rings, be conscious of walking on the earth — one step at a time, really listen to yourself and others.

Jan. 7: Purify

You wouldn’t think of going to an important event in dirty clothes, so why not pay attention to cleansing your energy field, as well as your physical space.

Do some spring clearing, throw out old broken items, spray lemon water around your office, use your morning bath or shower as a ritual of purification, let go of old emotions that no longer serve you, shred old letters that hold negative associations, delete any email that is not positive.

Jan. 8: Honor

By loving and honoring the body you have, you can bring more health and flexibility into your life. Be conscious of what you put into your body, and try starting the day off with gentle stretches.

You can also walk instead of driving or taking the elevator, rest when you are tired and take short breaks during the day.

Jan. 9: Creativity

Doing something new builds new brain cells, so experiment with something you would normally consider “out of the box.”

Jan. 10: Wisdom

Read inspirational books, talk to an elder, mentor someone, honor your inner wisdom and pay attention to your intuition.

Jan. 11: Abundance

Say this affirmation 27 times today:

Huge sums of money flow to me rapidly, abundantly and effortlessly. I am truly needed and my talents, services and products are always in great demand.

Jan. 12: Gratitude

Bless everything you have, including your body. Send notes of appreciation to friends and family members; see how many times you can say “thank you” to the universe for the many blessings you have in life.