04 Oct Mantra
A mantra usually takes the form of a word or short phrase which is repeated over and over or used as a form of meditation. The practice of repeating a mantra has been used by people all over the world, from different wisdom traditions for thousands of years. Examples of mantra are: Rama, used by Gandhi; My God and My All, used by St. Francis of Assisi; and the Buddhist mantra Om mani padme hum.
More recently mantra meditation has been studied by the scientist Herbert Benson. Benson is largely credited for demystifying mantra meditation and helping to bring it into the mainstream by describing the effect of mantra meditation as the “Relaxation Response”. His studies in the 1960’s and 1970’s were able to show that mantra meditation promotes better health, especially in individuals with hypertension. Practising mantra meditation lowers stress levels, increases well-being and has even been shown to reduce blood pressure levels and resting heart rate.
The mantra can sound a bit mysterious, but once you start using it, you’ll realise it’s an effective and practical tool to steady your mind.
The way that it works is simple. When you start dwelling on negative thoughts which make you feel worried, stressed, or angry, you can choose to repeat your mantra silently instead, over and over. This process takes the energy that you would have spent on negative thinking, and redirects it to your mantra. Over time, repeating your mantra will help you feel calm, steady, patient, and secure in any situation.
After thousands of repetitions the mantra will operate automatically without you having to think about it. At that point your mantra will be calming you at all times, even when you sleep.
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