According to Wikipedia, “a mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that are considered capable of creating transformation". A sort of go-to internal phrase that is used to bring you back to center and to draw attention away from troubling thoughts with the intention of turning will into action.
I’ve always wanted a mantra; something I could repeat to motivate myself to push through that last mile; a phrase to focus on during times when I’m feeling anxious or insecure—I’ve just never been able to come up with one that I thought fit. I think the problem is that I don’t need just one; I need a bunch. What I’d say to motivate myself during a run is different than what I’d say to remind myself to relax in a stressful situation.
So, I took a minute last night and listed the various situations in which I’d like to have a mantra for and came up with my own. I’m keeping what I decided on to myself, but I’ll share the categories I chose: motivation, anxiety, insecurity, depression, mindfulness and relaxation.
In addition to helping you through a particular situation, mantras can also encompass a broader life philosophy. I read about a woman in Whole Living who came up with this life mantra: SELF “an acronym for serenity, exercise, love, and food” which she called the “four roots of real happiness”.
A mantra doesn’t always have to be prolific or even make sense though. I’ve read that just focusing on something, even a nonsense word, activates the parts of your brain that are associated with control and attention.
Whatever word or phrase you end up choosing, remember the power of the mind and that thoughts can indeed become things.
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I love this post, thanks for sharing Danne. I know we had the mantra talk, and I find myself still obsessing over the "right one." I think it's a great idea to have different mantras for different times. Someone suggested me to have the mantra of Faith, as it has many meanings, so I used it an immediately felt anxious and emotional. But at the same time, that's a good thing, it will challenge my mind into forcing relaxation and challenging those thoughts. I would also like to have some others, to be named at a later time! I know someone that just says "Shoe" because it means nothing and vibrates well when you say it.
ReplyDeleteI think Faith is a great one actually, it can work for most of the situations that I came up with too. Having just one word to focus on is helpful too. During a yoga pose last night i tried to repeat "You can do it" but found that it worked much better when I just said "Can".
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