Tips for Living Wicca: Find Your Mantra

A mantra is a type of chant. In meditation, you'd use a mantra over and over again to bring yourself to a state of peace and harmony, to deepen your consciousness and direct your focus inward. A mantra is also a type of affirmation that you repeat to yourself over and over.

The human mind is a funny thing... it's easy to brainwash. It really is. This is why some people are so convinced life is hard, or people are bad, etc.-- because they keep telling themselves that and ignoring all evidence to the contrary. This is why a person with a bad attitude is genuinely shocked and perplexed by those who have a more rosy outlook-- when really the thought isn't a 'fact', it's a perspective-- and perspectives can be changed.

If you do research on how mind control techniques work, one element is to expose the person to a phrase, thought, image, etc. over and over and over again in attempts to get them to believe it. This kind of psychological warfare is usually used with bad intentions, but you can turn the principle around and begin using it on yourself deliberately to promote a better outlook and attitude.

My Tip for You Today:

Wicca is a religion that recognizes the power of nature, and part of that is the power of the human mind and what it has evolved to be. It is important to adopt a more positive attitude if you want to attract more positive energies into your life. 

Therefore, find your mantra-- find the one you need most. If you hate work, your mantra might be, "Work offers opportunities and I may seize them at any time." 

If you think life is depressing and always wonder why things happen to you, adopt a mantra like, "I am in control of my life; life is what I choose to make of it."

If you are struggling with a person in your life who is difficult, you might chant, "I cannot control others; I can control how I react to them."

Begin repeating your mantra daily, talking yourself out of your difficulties and into a better frame of mind to deal with them. Use your mantra when you meditate, when you get stressed, when you need to center yourself, etc. Do it daily for a week, or a month-- does it make a difference? Record the results in your Book of Shadows.

My mantra these days is, "In every moment of life, there is beauty to appreciate."This mainly comes from dealing with my auto-immune disease, and the difficulties it has piled on my family.What is your new mantra?

Tips for Living Wicca: Write an Invocation

There are many lovely invocations to various Gods and Goddesses out there-- be it in Wiccan books or on Wiccan and Pagan websites. You've probably seen them and used them. 

There's something to be said of saying something that comes from the heart, though. Don't you think?

My Tip for You Today: write an invocation from your own heart to your patron God or matron Goddess. Do a little research if you need to, but come up with your own words, saying what you feel you want to say to them.

It doesn't have to be fancy, it doesn't have to rhyme... heck, you don't even need to tell it to anyone, ever. It can be your personal invocation for your daily devotions or monthly esbats.

 

Some books and websites on Wicca get so wrapped up in all things magic or new age-- from astrology to crypto-zoology. It's so easy to forget that at the heart of Wicca is the relationship with deity that's important. 

Tips for Living Wicca: Take an E-break

Do you ever find yourself saying you have no time to meditate, do a ritual, exercise/eat right, get outdoors, read, involve yourself in other hobbies, etc.? Do you ever feel like you are not spending enough time with your family or closest real-life friends? Do you have chores you're always complaining you can't get to?

Is it possible you are wasting too much time in front of a screen?

Electronics have totally transformed the modern world and become a vital part of our everyday lives. I remember when you needed a phone number you turned to the phone book. For a recipe, you looked through books or files. To get directions, you got out a map. To pay a bill, you broke out your checkbook, and grabbed for some envelopes and stamps. Now we do all these things with electronics. For many of us, electronic devices are vital to work or get information quickly, and it'd be impossible to go without it.

That in itself isn't a problem-- what is a problem is the way electronics dominate some of us sometimes. Some of us just don't know when to shut down the computer, or put down the Ipod. Some of us don't even REALIZE how much time we waste on the computer in a day. Studies show that the average adult spends 8.5 hours per day in front of a screen!

If you deducted necessary tasks ( like working, paying bills or finding an address on GPS) from the time spent in front of a screen each day, how much time would that leave you on the computer for unnecessary tasks (like using the computer to goof off from work, watching TV, wasting time on Facebook or video games)? 

Would unnecessary time add up to more than an hour? More than two? More than 3 or 4? 

Are you sure you don't have time for things? Or are you wasting a lot of time on the wrong things?

In Wicca, we strive for a healthy balance in life in things that we do. There's nothing wrong with spending some time every day in front of a screen for entertainment/social media, but if it's more than 30 or 60 minutes and you find you don't have time for other things, it's fair to say you might have an imbalance you want to tend to.



My Tip for you Today: Schedule a daily hour-long "electronics break" and force yourself to drop all screen-based activities.  

Take a daily E-break and turn off, or turn away from, all screen-based electronics and phones (it's fine to listen to music while you do other things though). Now that you've freed up that hour-- what else can you find time to do? 

Maybe you can split it up-- 30 minute E-break in the morning and a 30 minute E-break after dinner. Put the time to good use and see if you can't find more balance in your life. You may decide to lengthen your E-break. 

Does the idea of getting away from gadgets frighten you or stress you out?

Do you worry you  might have an electronics addiction?

Discuss:

Tips for Living Wicca: Go on a Mindful Walk

It's amazing how fast life can pass us by. 

It's amazing all the millions of things going on around us, within just a few yards of us, without us even realizing. 

There are a lucky few who still live a slow enough life that they are aware of and in tune with the natural world. But for most of us, not so lucky.

We are born into busy world that has taught us to focus on our man-made problems and take nature for granted. We are trained to think about career, social networking, what we're making for dinner, and we run by a million miracles a day going on over our heads or under our noses. 

When learning Wicca, we have to learn to re-focus our attention in order to re-connect with the REAL world, and not the artificial one we've created on top of it. 


My Tip for You Today: Take a walk for 30 minutes or so in a natural area. 

Shut off the cell phone (not even vibrate. leave it home if it's too tempting). Don't even use an Mp3 player. Do it 'old school'. 

Walk slowly and mindfully putting all your awareness into the moment and into the natural things going on around you. What does it smell like? How does the wind feel in your hair? Is the ground hard or soft? What kinds of sounds do you hear? Notice how dappled light filters through leaves, or the insects racing up and down the trees. 

Try to do this a few times per week, living fully aware of nature and attune to the Earth in a way you haven't for a long time.

What have you experienced on your mindful walk?