The silent repetition of a mantra, or “mind vehicle,” is one method of transportation we can mentally hop into in order to navigate beyond our thinking mind. Mantra meditation is not meant to stop your thoughts altogether. Instead, the goal is to expand your awareness so you can get more comfortable observing your thoughts (and any other external stimuli) without getting immediately involved in them. The more you practice, the more you’ll start to notice that you are inherently more present, with less mind-wandering to the past or future. You’ll live in the moment with a greater degree of mindful (nonjudgmental) witnessing awareness. You’ll also likely notice that your self-referred thinking decreases, cultivating a greater sense of compassion for others. This is due to the reduced activity in the brain’s default mode network1, which regulates both of those experiences. Unless you were raised speaking the dead language of Sanskrit, meditating with a Sanskrit mantra will feel like silently repeating a “meaningless” thought. These mantras carry an energetic essence, though, and can help to support your intentions. A really powerful universal mantra that is great to use is SO HUM, which distills down to the English essence “I AM.” This mantra is great because it can be linked with the breath, which gives your mind two things to anchor to—the sensation of your breath and the silent repetition of the mantra. To practice this, simply silently repeat “SO” as you inhale and “HUM” as you exhale. Two more of my favorite mantras are Shivo’ham (Shee-voh-hum), which embodies the essence of consciousness (I am consciousness), and Aham Prema (Ah-hum Pray-ma) which embodies divine love (I am love). I’m the first to admit that in the beginning, before you start to see the benefits show up in your life, meditation feels a lot like “sitting and doing nothing,” so find time when there isn’t anything else fighting for your attention. Before you start, try to minimize any avoidable distractions: Turn your phone on silent, close a window, or ask anyone living with you to respect your space while you meditate. You don’t need a perfectly silent space to meditate, so don’t stress about creating a mountaintop cave vibe in your living room. Lastly, set a timer for 20 minutes or move into eyeline with a clock that you can peek at when you think it’s been about 20 minutes. If it helps to have music playing, go ahead and use that as part of your experience. Just stay away from music that invokes emotions or has words: Think more nature sounds. You could also choose to add an aromatherapy element: Maybe you light the same candle each time or use the same essential oil before each meditation. Always remember, though, that while this practice may develop into a ritual, you can meditate anywhere and don’t need to have every single element present to practice. And then, start to silently repeat the mantra “So-Hum.” Spoiler alert: Your attention will drift away. You’ll find yourself all of a sudden thinking the most random thoughts, engaging with some sound you pick up on or maybe with a physical sensation you start to notice. When you drift away from the mantra, simply notice without judgment where your attention has gone, and then gently return to the mantra. Imagine that you’re out to dinner, and your mantra is your dinner partner, and the conversation that you’re in. Of course you can hear words from other people’s conversations, but you likely wouldn’t get up from your table and sit down to join their conversation. This is all you’re going to do in your meditation. When you notice that you’ve left the conversation with your mantra, notice it and then find your way back to silently repeating it. That entire dance between the mantra and the other activity is your meditation. And know that it’s in the drifting and coming back that you build that muscle of awareness to be able to notice where the attention of your mind has gone and to be able to bring it back to where you want to be. You power is in the space between. The space between your breath, your thoughts, your moments. If you can cultivate present moment awareness, you harness the ability to direct your energy and attention to the things that will support you and not sabotage you. Mantras have been used to unlock that potential in us for thousands of years, so I’d be willing to bet on your success with it any day of the week.
