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I spent 6 hours in mantra meditation last week, attending a very traditional South Indian temple pūja at the magnificent Hindu Monastery on Kaua’i. (The same temple we'll visit during our upcoming Kauai Hawaii Mantra & Nāda Yoga Retreat)

I’m here to report the power of mantra, the far-reaching past-present-future benefits I feel from sitting in the forcefield of the sound vibrations!!!

To set the stage, let me tell you specifically how I engaged with the ceremony:
I had brought my mālā with me, knowing I’d want to do my own jāpa even as I kept my...

ICYMI attending our monthly free sound bath online yesterday, it ended up being quite sweet, with a Mother's Day-ish theme. Find a comfy spot and tune in for about 40 minutes! (Video below!)

My  personal goal was to make it richly textured with musical and mantra nuance, while keeping it atheist-friendly! (A simple sound experience for nervous system self-regulation and mental stability, y'all. No woo-woo.)

Why a Mantra Sound Bath?
In the realm of holistic wellness practices, sound baths and mantra meditation have gained popularity for their ability to promote...

Join us to experience a nourishing sound-based practice with Anandra.

Our goal for this month's session is to invite you to totally "unplug" from the source(s) of your stress, so you can rest, relax, rejuvenate, and replenish in the yummy heart of sound vibration. Expect dreamy tanpura sounds and long slow tones that gently caress the subtle tension points in your heart/mind/body, layered with rhythmic Sanskrit mantra repetition to establish you in a steady, safe, sweet groove for whatever the rest of your day requires of you.

Cultivating a musical response to the symphony of dissonant notes screaming for attention in our world right now is not a distant, poetic idea. It’s a tangible, practical skill. Uncomfortable, yes. Difficult, yes. Full of the mess of aliveness, yes. A swift and tidy spiritual bypass would be much easier. But leaning in to listen deeply, to feel what’s truly alive in us, can also make this moment resonant with hope and possibility.

Have you been tempted to write off someone in your life who has (or hasn’t) adopted a particular conspiracy narrative...

If you’re looking to learn Sanskrit mantra, I highly recommend studying with someone who reads and writes in Devanagari (the script of Sanskrit). Because the letter forms in Devanagari are different for different tongue placements and aspirated/non-aspirated letters, it would indicate that the teacher is making the distinctions.

At the least, you’ll want to learn from someone who uses diacritical marks in the transliteration system when teaching (dots under and above certain consonants, and dashes above certain vowels, as in the example above). If...

Mercury retrograde rocking your world? This blog post is series of #lifejacketmantra approaches for those just getting started in the wonderful world of Sanskrit mantra!

Planetary movement may be beyond our control, but our perspective is absolutely
within our power!

When Mercury (the planet of communication and intelligent discrimination) goes
retrograde, we’re told to expect communication and technological difficulties, avoid
signing contracts, and be extra careful not to make mistakes.

I’d like to invite you to lift your perspective on this astrological...