G is for Ganesh

I'm 5 days early as far as the Pagan Blog Project prompting is concerned but I'm in the middle of a big move so I'd rather be early than super late...

Ganesh (aka Ganesha or Ganesa, Ganapati, Vinayaka, Pillaiyar) is one of my Patron deities and is one I go to whenever I have a goal I want to achieve of a change that I desire in my life. He is known as the Lord of Beginnings or Lord of Obstacles.

Ganesh is the son of Shiva and Parvati. He is depicted as having the head of an elephant, which sets him apart from the other Hindu gods. How he obtained the elephant head is up for debate as it seems each story of his conception has a different way of explaining it. Some say he was born with it, some say he was born with a human head that disintegrated due to the evil eye or was cut off. Some stories and depictions even show him with multiple elephant heads. Either way, he obtained the elephant head and it, along with his big belly are very distinctive.
Ganesh is shown in many poses. Sometimes he is with his family, other times alone. He is shown standing, dancing, fighting demons, reclining, playing, sitting, elevated, holding a number of objects to show his many aspects, etc. So many depictions and views reflect the fact that Ganesh is one of the most recognizable and widely worshiped deities in the world.

I was first introduced to Ganesh by my dear friend Edward. He suggested I do a mantra to Ganesh 108 times a day for 108 days with a specific goal in mind. I did so and counted the days. To aid my mantra I used a string of rose beads I had bought at an antique store months before that had 110 beads exactly on it. These became my prayer beads.
108 days later of continuous mantras - my goal came through. Not only did it work automatically, Ganesh became an important symbol and figure in my life and I now go to him for any goal and new path I want to take.


I later had a dream of Ganesh. He was truly so large I could not comprehend him. His size was not all that was large about him, his very presence would bowl you over. It was one of the most intense and realistic dreams I ever had. He was golden in color and such a happy, mellow vibe came off of him. I'll remember the dream for as long as I live.


Ganesh Mantra Videos

Traditional Ganesh mantra with beautiful video by Sonu Nigam


Techno mantra (my favorite)

Experiment in Intention

I read in The Secret  Life of Plants about an experiment done by Marcel Vogel and Vivian Wiley that involved picking leaves off of plants (2 or 3) and ignoring 1 leave and every day willing the other to continue living. It worked. The ignored leaf withered up and died and the other not only stayed fresh and vibrant but he wound created on the stem upon picking healed!
I'm doing an experiment with the ivy growing in the house along the walls of the kitchen and dining area. I watered them today and charged the water with the intent to Grow and Thrive. I also meditated under the ivy pots with the same intent like a mantra. I will make this my experiment for the next week or so and see if there's any change in the ivy.

Grounding and Transformation

I was taught this Kundalini mantra by a friend to help me ground myself. Now I do it when I'm upset, when I feel my blood pressure rise, when I feel dizzy, etc and it works in a matter of seconds.

The Grounding Excersize

With both hands, press your thumb to your forefinger and say "Sa" (pronounced S-ah), then your middle finger and say "Ta" (pronounced Tah), your ring finger and say "Na" (pronounced N-ah), then pinky/little finger and say "Ma" (pronounced Mah) then back to fore finger and work your way through the procession again.

You do not have to say the mantra out loud for it to work so this simple exercise can be done in public, at work, where ever.

This works with the meridians of the body and by pressing each finger to the thumb is representative of pressing each element in the body to the earth element (the earth meridian resides in the thumb), thus grounding them.

The Sounds

SA TA NA MA represent the words Sat Nam, which is the bij mantra or seed mantra. It is the mantra that sows the seeds of truth in our consciousness. The sounds of the mantra, Sa Ta Na Ma, connect consciousness to the evolution of existence itself and can be transformational when used regularly with meditative practices such as Kundalini yoga.

Sa represents both beginnings and infinity - all that ever was or will be.
Ta is life, existence, creativity.
Na represents death and change
Ma is rebirth

SA TA NA MA is said to help not only ground and lead towards transformation but can be used to break bad habits and addictions because it strongly effects the subconscious mind.