Daily Devotion
I’m exhausted. Drained. Done for the day. Ready to stay in bed with the toddler at 8pm.
But – I didn’t do that. I had a promise to keep.
Three weeks ago I awoke from a dream with a chant ringing in my head:
Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha
The remover of obstacles, given to me as a response to my plea for help. I had hit a wall and couldn’t seem to find my way around it.
I googled the Sanskrit, not remembering what it meant, and found an article stating that one would do well to commit to chanting it each day for forty days. I took that to heart.
The mantra’s effect was immediate and powerful. So I’ve kept my promise, despite late nights writing, solar flares affecting my energy, fighting off a head cold, and all the rest.
A full mala: 108 repetitions daily.
That’s dedication to practice, or tapas. A daily devotion. And damn, it feels good.
Even though I teach yoga and meditation almost every day, multiple times a day, my own practice can slide. Teaching isn’t the same as devoting myself. Any teacher will tell you the same. It tugs at us, drains a bit of our life force energy, when we neglect our own practice in favor of guiding someone else’s.
My devotion is to myself, and to this chant, and the great One-ness to which it is sent. It feels a bit like prayer, or worship, or fiery austerity; and I am glad I have it.
Tonight, I was drained. But I kept my promise, even though it meant I had to sit on the kitchen floor in the dark because the kid was asleep in my room and my husband was watching TV in the other room.
That’s devotion. I get it, now.
Daily practice matters. Mine is everything; it fills an empty cup and gets me out of bed at 8pm. Yeah. I said PM.
2 Comments on “Daily Devotion”
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Live a magical Life 
How do you keep track of all 108. I know there are mala beads, but I worry that I’ll be so focused on the next bead that I won’t be able to focus on the chant itself. I want to follow your video with it, is it okay to do the full 108 with starting the video back over? Or does it not matter that there was a slight interruption? Just trying to figure it all out! I loved the video on this chant and it felt soooooo peaceful listening to it. I’d like to try it and challenge myself to even the quarter length for a certain amount of days.
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All great questions! And thank you for watching the video. You can definitely do this in portions, with the video or without it, taking as many interruptions as you need to do as many repetitions as you desire. You could do as few as three as a time, multiple times per day, and still get a great benefit from the practice. I do use mala beads. I find them less distracting than counting on my fingers, and I’ve also found that the more I do it, the easier and more natural it becomes. I hope you find what works for you. I’m here to help in any way!!!!!
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