The holidays are a crazy time of year for many. All the hustle and bustle of office parties and buying gifts, the dread or excitement of spending time with family members. We sometimes can get caught up in thinking, yet again, that our source of happiness lies outside of ourselves and so we get slack and lazy with our spiritual practice. Ah! Samsara…. she’s so seductive.

For others, the Holidays are a time of sadness. Maybe they lost a loved one during a past holiday season. Or they find it a time of loneliness and separation from the rest of humanity and isolate. This is the other side of Samsara’s coin.

If we feel we are losing our centeredness, we can call upon the help of the Great Tara. Arya Tara will come swiftly to our aid.

Arya Tara – the Noble or Divine Tara – is called the Mother of all Buddhas, because she is the emptiness out of which they all appear. She is the great Prajnaparamita – the perfection of wisdom. She is the Mother of us all, for we all to have Buddha Nature – though, for most of us, it’s buried under a lot of ‘stuff’.

When we chant Her simple Mantra, She can bring us right back to our own centre. Her Mantra is:

OM TARA TUTTARE TURE SWAHA

Chant it 108 times morning and night, or whenever you need for as long as you need. If chanted sincerely Arya Tara will come to your side.

I have always found the holidays a great time to let the world whirl on with all its crazy beauty and to settle into some more extensive practices. Sitting in my meditation box, with my blankets all around me, I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to practice. May it always be so and may it be for you also.

I wish you a wonderful holiday season – an opportunity to go within and rest there.

With Love,

Aly M. Dunne