How to Choose a Mantram​

 

Much care should be taken in choosing a mantram. Take your time and choose it wisely.  Avoid words that evoke negative associations or bad memories. Choose one that appeals to you or offers strength and support. Choose one that is compatible with your religious background and/or spiritual beliefs.

 

Some people have no difficulty choosing a mantram, such as when a word or phrase jumps out at them immediately. Others have to “try it on” and practice repeating it silently for a few days or even weeks to see how it feels, only to discover that when they decided to pick a new one—they couldn’t! Their minds automatically reverted to repeating the first one! Using that mantram had already become a habit.

 

​Using a Mantram for Slowing Down​

 

Our culture values speed and doing many things at once or multitasking. People groan that there are “not enough hours in the day” to accomplish all they want. Such thinking promotes a sense of urgency and the need to hurry through life.

 

Slowing down involves discrimination. Yes, there are many things to attend to — daily maintenance of household and career, caring for relationships with family and friends.  Discrimination is needed to decide what is most important, and then do those things at a moderate pace to avoid carelessness and error. Contrary to what most of us believe, slowing down means efficiency!  One makes fewer mistakes, has fewer accidents, and becomes more creative.​

 

Discrimination really means setting priorities and learning to “let go” of the non-essentials. This alone takes time for reflection and evaluation, and for some people, it involves risk-taking. It may feel threatening to evaluate one’s pace and realize the need to change and slow down. Nevertheless, slowing down involves making a conscious effort to choose wisely each day and in each activity—all aspects of life. The end result is living more fully, consciously, and intentionally.

 

​Using a Mantram for Developing One-Pointed Attention or Mindfulness

 

​Mantram repetition forces the mind inherently to become one-pointed with focused attention and serves to raise awareness of the thinking process.​

 

Many times, people are unaware of their thoughts and how poor decisions and bad habits are made. The mantram is a very concrete, practical tool whereby “you know when you are repeating it, and you know when you are not.”  Each time your mind wanders, and you bring it back to focus on the mantram, you have an opportunity to increase mindfulness and your ability to control attention.

 

Attention, explained in this way, is a valuable resource that is often wasted. Just as sunlight can be focused through a magnifying glass to create a laser-sharp point capable of burning a leaf, attention can be focused on completing one task at a time with efficiency and carefulness.