There is no right or wrong mantra, Dahl stresses.
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"This may be based on a variety of factors, which might be that the student has an affinity for a particular kind of mantra or that they are at a point in their meditative journey when they might benefit from a specific mantra or form of meditation," he says. If you're just starting out, you might ask your teacher for a mantra you can try.
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Traditionally, a teacher or religious leader might give a student a mantra to use for a period of time, Dahl says. "Buddhist traditions have their own methodologies of selecting mantras." "However, in Eastern wisdom traditions, mantras can also be selected based on Vedic astrology," he says. You can choose your own mantra, and there are generic mantras to pick from.
#All mantra affinity for free
(Related: Calm Your Mind for Free with These No-Cost Meditation Solutions) How to choose your mantra "A mantra typically has roots in spiritual or religious texts and cannot be changed or altered, so creating an inspiring phrase and repeating it in one's mind, or taking a single word, like 'love, and repeating it over and over, can be a very helpful way to meditate, but it would not be considered a mantra," he says. These moments are referred to as transcendence." It's also important to distinguish a mantra from any word or phrase that you may repeat as part of a meditation, Dahl says. "There are moments where there is no mantra and no thought. Like breath work, "the mantra takes you away from thought processes ," he says. "'Tra' is an instrument of the mind that takes you beyond the mind to the source of mind, which is consciousness." "'Man' is etymologically related to man, human, woman, and mind," he says. Chopra, who is also a clinical professor of family medicine and public health at the University of California-San Diego and author of many books, including Total Meditation.
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The word 'mantra' has two roots: man and tra, explains Dr. Still, you'll find them in some Western religions, such as the Jesus prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, adds Cortland Dahl, chief contemplative officer at Healthy Minds Innovations and a research scientist at the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mantras are most commonly used in Asian meditative traditions. "Mantras have been used in spiritual traditions in the east and west throughout the ages and are also the basis of the centering prayer in Benedictine Christian traditions," explains meditation expert Deepak Chopra, MD, founder of The Chopra Foundation and Chopra Global. (Related: Think You Can’t Meditate? Try This) The origins of mantras To practice mantra meditation, all you'll need is a quiet place to sit, a comfortable position, and of course, your mantra. The overarching goal of all meditation practices is to shift your attention out of your head and into the moment.Īs with most, if not all, meditation practices, you don't need much in the way of tools or equipment.
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Some focus on your breath, a sound, or a calming visualization. There are many forms of meditation, and not all involve a mantra. You can speak, chant, whisper the mantra. It sounds mysterious, but here's the definition: A mantra is just a syllable, word, or phrase you repeat during meditation. And for many meditation devotees, a mantra is the key to unlocking the mental and physical benefits of meditation. Meditation is helping millions of people cope with the stress of day-to-day life, especially as they navigate the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.