If you didn’t have a tongue, you could still vocalize these three sounds: A (as in father), U (as in moon) and M (lips closed, nasalized). AUM is the primordial sound, the oral equivalent of the three primary colours. To reset the entire system, I recommend a few minutes of AUM in the morning and a few minutes in the evening. Children should be taught AUM in school. They’d be a lot more peaceful.
The cultural mantra “Provide for my family” begs the question: Who is my family? This was Jesus’ wake-up response to his disciples when they told him his family was waiting to see him.
Everything has a relative importance, as a horse does, or a blade of grass. But nothing matters absolutely.
For the perfectionist—hyper-critical, righteous, preoccupied with himself—a healing mantra: “I’m not that important.”
The worst thing we can tell ourselves is “hurry up.” Buddhism’s allopathic is “hurry slowly.” The hurried are harried, headlong and hapless. They know where they are going but have surrendered the sense of how to get there. They are the reason for high insurance premiums.
Walter Carrington, an old-school Briton and famous in his day as a teacher of the Alexander Technique, told his students to say “I have time” prior to the performance of any action. Would you like to have an experience of arising? Say those words before hoisting yourself out of your chair.
Men's Work 