Aysel Gunar - Everyday Mantras: 365 Affirmations for Happiness, Strength, and Peace

Everyday Mantras

365 Affirmations for Happiness, Strength, and Peace

Aysel Gunar

This book is designed for you to read daily, checking in with the corresponding date each morning or evening as a moment of reflection. If youd like to bring the spirit of the daily contemplation through to your whole day, you can read this book in the morning in a quiet moment with a cup of tea or coffee. If you prefer, you can reach for the daily dose of reflection at the end of your day instead, ideally once youve wound down and decompressed from the busyness of life.

You may find that it is helpful to integrate a journaling practice into your reading and reflecting. It may even be useful to incorporate additional time meditating on the phrases, their extended descriptions, and your own thoughts after reading. Let it create a moment of stillness, gentleness, and generosity for your spirit. Take it with you into your daily life to widen the horizons of your heart each day.

A new year that starts on the first of January is as arbitrary as one that starts on the twenty-second of June, but that doesnt make the ritual of the calendar new year any less powerful. The new year we all honor together has the weight of intention that every one of us invests in it. Treat this clean slate as a choice to be made, rather than a forced march toward change. You can be the same person in the new year if you want. You can change one thing. You can change more if you desire, but there is no obligation. Start whenever and wherever you are.

JANUARY 2

Make a resolution

What have you resolved to do? Whether you made a list yesterday or three months ago, or never made a list at all, you have things you want to do and be. Resolutions are just intentions, choices you make to honor your desire to change and be better. They dont require perfection, or even demand all of your commitment. But a resolution asks you to take a chance and try to chase after something you want. It is not a promise, nor is there any particular consequence if you dont achieve the goal. Its simply an invitation. Will you take it?

JANUARY 3

Give yourself permission to pause

Have you given yourself permission to pause? Its not easy to give yourself a moment to rest. But its okay to slow down. Your life can contain so much busyness, so much urgency and movement. The difficulty lies in choosing when to pause and then appreciating all of that movement in its absence. When the world pauses, allow yourself to pause with it. Everyone deserves these moments, and you deserve these moments, too.

JANUARY 4

Have courage

What are you waiting for? Its all well and good to chase things when they thrill you, but to chase the things that scare you is something else. There is no shame in fear, but you should not let it stop you from taking action. Your courage comes from running through the flames into new adventures. You do not need to set aside your fear. Let it be your companion if you need it. But leap anyway, even if you are holding hands with your fears to do so. Fly with bravery!

JANUARY 5

Use your tools

Your hands are not empty; they are full of tools and resources at your disposal. If you feel alone or ill equipped, sit back and consider what you might be missing. Who can help you take the next step, guide you forward, or give you advice? What latent talent or forgotten skill might help you solve your problem? You have the resources you need to move forward.

JANUARY 6

Be patient with the winter

The days are short and cold, but that does not mean they cannot be filled with joy. Winter is an opportunity to slow down, connect with our homes and ourselves, reflect on what we will do when the sun emerges again. Find ways to use your hands and occupy the long evenings. Enjoy the cozy feeling of socks, of blankets and sweaters and hot beverages. There are plenty of joys to be found in the cold, both indoors and out. Embrace the cycle of the seasons, and lean into the specific joys of winter.

JANUARY 7

Make plans

When life slows down, it is time to catch your breath and recharge. Your body needs the slow procession of the seasons, a time for energetic activity and a time to plan for the future. You do not need to be busy at every moment, creating and growing and stretching against limits. Even ambition needs time to percolate and coalesce into solid dreams and plans. Give yourself over to making plans, rather than carrying them out.

JANUARY 8

Dont let perfection stop you

Perfect is the enemy of completion. Its noble to want to achieve your goals perfectly, to want to be perfectly good or perfectly capable, but its not possible. Dont let a desire to pursue total perfection stop you from moving forward. Our imperfections are what make us human, and what build bridges between us. They are useful in their own way. You cannot shed them entirely, so look for ways to embrace them as an asset.

JANUARY 9

Allow yourself to be loose

Open your jaws wide, dropping your tongue away from the roof of your mouth. Roll your shoulders in their sockets, shaking free your shoulder blades. Gently tilt your head side to side, stretching your neck. Can you feel the release? So much of the tension and emotional load we carry is stored in our bodies, even when we are processing it in our heart. The body knows what you feel; it holds it for you to support you. Make sure you stretch out your limbs. Wiggle your joints, extend your body in space, and shake the tension free.

JANUARY 10

Build your patience

How long it can take for things expected to arrive at their designated hour! The moments of waiting need not be an empty vacuumeven anticipation and desire can be full of exquisite value and joy. Slowly the things we need and want come to us, but the waiting can be difficult. Cultivating patience can be a reward in and of itself. Anticipation has its own sweetness. The present moment moves quickly and slowly in turns.