Why Repeating A Mantra Is So Powerful And How To Do It

A mantra has several sacred and profound meanings in the Buddhist and Hindu spiritual traditions, but here it is simply adopted as a phrase with no special meaning to replace the incessant thinking of thoughts. You use the mind by giving it something to do, namely think about that one sentence over and over again, which is something that everyone is naturally quite good at.

To delve a little deeper into why this simple method works so well, you need to understand what causes emotional suffering, that is, disturbing emotions such as anger, jealousy, fear, anxiety and even depression – all of these disturbing emotions are caused by thinking. Thoughts have their own emotional charge, which researchers have even found to last about 90 seconds ( 90 seconds of secret here
The problem is that we keep thinking about things that rekindle the emotional charge until we become sick, weak and drained of all our energy. As Eckhart Tolle so insightfully said:

“It is never the situation that causes suffering, it is your thoughts about it.”

Or like the great 17th century Zen master Bankei when he said to a woman who asked him: “…how can I stop all my suffering because of my dead husband. Every time I think about him, I become sad and depressed,” the Zen master simply replied, “don’t think about him anymore.” This may seem callous, disrespectful, or even suppressing the emotion rather than “dealing with it,” but there is a profound and uncomfortable truth to it. I was studying counseling therapy at the time I read that passage, and it just blew me away as incredibly simple, effective, and a huge slap in the face to modern psychological techniques that usually reframe things, pour over past histories, or actively engage. To challenge the legitimacy of thoughts, the Zen master exploded all that nonsense with one decisive “stop it.”

Of course that is easier said than done. To just stop it, to simply drop the last thought and focus on the present moment as it is, is a key skill in meditation, especially in the practice of mindfulness. But I found myself in desperate times constantly thinking about my problems and worries and thinking about people who made me angry or thinking about tragic world events, my meditations just seem to fail me. This is where Mantra has really helped me in these times of crisis and I think it can help anyone who practices it too. Buddha taught this simple technique 2,500 years ago and it is still powerful today. As Buddha taught, I now include teaching all beginners to repeat the mantra inhaling and exhaling
in combination with their breathing as an aid to focus, relaxation and transcending everyday thoughts. You can try the technique here with my guided meditation.

As I have discovered on long meditation retreats, you can get rid of the superficial thoughts, but then there is an undercurrent of quiet thoughts that always penetrate just beneath the surface of normal thinking, keeping the emotional charge of disturbing emotions alive. So this is where repeatedly thinking of a mantra has the power to drown out both the surface noise and eventually even the quieter undercurrent of thoughts, until all that is left is the repetition of a neutral mantra and the serene state of natural consciousness that comes naturally. manner begins to emerge. .

There is the opposite effect that positive affirmations take advantage of, by repeating empowering and “feel good” statements over and over again. They make you feel good, and there is nothing wrong with that, it is just not a method that takes you all the way to the clear heart of yourself. Just as worrying about worries sends a negative, disturbing charge through your body, thinking positive thoughts sends a pleasant and positive energy through your body.

Like I said, there is nothing wrong with wanting to feel powerful, courageous or abundant, but these are artificially created feelings that do not arise naturally from your true self; they are created by the mind, temporary and like recreational drugs you need higher and higher doses to maintain the initial high of good feelings. It is a limited approach that tries to think positively all the time to maintain good feelings; there must be a more direct and sustainable way.

Our natural state of consciousness, uncontaminated by the thinking mind, is naturally clear and peaceful, dare I say happy. It’s not that radical an idea, except that it challenges the classic Descartes’ idea of ​​”I think, therefore I am.” A more accurate reformulation of this would be: I think that stresses me out
. It also challenges the self-development movement, because I think the scientific research proving the effectiveness of meditation points to what mystics have been saying for thousands of years: namely, that we are already the peace and happiness we are looking for. If we can quiet our minds and look within, we can discover what has always been there. Happiness is more of a discovery than a creation.

The “I am,” as some Eastern teachers call it, is the foundation of our being: the clear existential consciousness that exists in every moment. It is obscured but never lost by what Robert Anton Wilson de’ reality tunnel. These are simply the thoughts, ideas and beliefs that bias and color the living clarity of the present moment.

A great Zen Koan points to this original mind before mental interpretation or before obfuscation through a reality tunnel by asking “who are you before you are named?” In other words, there is existence before thoughts, which is not only the heart of the matter, but finding it is precisely the purpose of life and the ultimate pursuit. This is the eternal philosophy exemplified by Aldous Huxley.

“Repeating a mantra helps to transcend all mental activity and experience the ‘source of thought’, which is said to be pure silence, ‘pure consciousness’ or ‘transcendental Being’, ‘the ultimate reality of life.’

Accessing this enlightened, clear presence behind all thoughts is the purpose of repeating the Mantra. One teacher has even stated that this is the goal of all meditation techniques. Repeating the mantra is just one way to get there, or to go beyond thinking.

Importantly, repeating the mantra not only stops worrying about problems, but also suspends deeply held subtle beliefs like personal identity and cultural narratives, allowing you to experience a moment without these labels.

Once you have repeated the mantra long enough to stop all other compulsive and subtle thinking, you can slowly allow the mantra to quiet down to a whisper in your mind until it eventually stops altogether. You can start the mantra again when thoughts invade your silence, but eventually you can still all thinking long enough that all that remains is the peaceful and joyful emptiness of consciousness. This is not dull or passive, but instead vibrant with creative potential, sensitivity to others and a deep primal wisdom that is as old as the universe itself.

The key is that when thoughts and plans inevitably arise again, you can stay in touch with the vastness of the silence that is always and forever in the transcendent background.

Chad Foreman is the founder of The Way of Meditation and has been teaching meditation since 2003, determined to bring authentic meditation practices into the lives of millions of people in the modern world. Chad is a former Buddhist monk who lived in a retreat hut for six years and studied and practiced meditation full-time. He now has over twenty years of experience teaching meditation. Chad likes regularly
Meditation retreats on the Sunshine Coast, Australia
Online meditation coachingprovides three online programs – The 21 Day Meditation Challenge to gradually guide people from the basic principles of mindfulness and relaxation to profound states of consciousness.
Breathwork to help manage stress and go deeper into meditation and
The bliss of inner fire This is a Buddhist tantric method to clear energy blockages and connect with the clear light of bliss. You can also get Chad’s free ebook now Insights on the go.