According to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantra), “a ‘Mantra’ is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit believed by practitioners to have psychological and spiritual powers (that) may or may not have syntactic structure or literal meaning.”
While a mantra can be a word or sound repeated in meditation, it can be, simply, a statement or phrase one repeats frequently. It can be a daily affirmation or a phrase that gives one focus.
Daily meditation is a practice that I have never quite mastered. I journal daily (most days) and this gives me some level of meditation and reflection. Journaling helps me focus to start the day, but focus is often quickly lost—especially as I enter traffic in my daily commute. I strive to get better at “hitting the pause button”, as Jim Harshaw calls it, and just shutting out the crap going on around me and centering myself. When I do set aside 15 minutes or so in the day for “prayerful meditation and reflection”, I find my mind often drifts, and I am not effectively using the time. I am working on this.
Reciting a daily mantra can help. I end my morning journal entry with the same two phrases every morning: “To God be the glory” and “Grace and Peace”. I try to let these set the tone for the day, but….
I have been considering the notion of mantras lately. I realize that there are four statements that I use a lot in my writing that reflect my desire to be more centered spiritually, physically, intellectually, emotionally, and socially. These are:
“I am third.”
“Grace and Peace.”
“Be your best today; be better tomorrow.”
“Carpe momento.”
I am sure there are better phrases I could select, but these have meaning for me. They serve both as daily affirmations and daily reminders of the person I want to be.
“I am third” comes from the book with the same title by Gale Sayers. I have an autographed copy that I have read numerous times over the last 40+ years. The premise of “I am third” is that my God is first, my family and friends are second, and I am third. My greatest weakness is that I am inherently selfish. When I get frustrated and mad it is usually (when I really admit it to myself) because my ego has been bruised. This will likely be a theme for a future post, so I won’t dwell on it here. This phrase, however, is one that I like to have before me to remind me of the importance of my spiritual and social dimensions and of why I put effort into the physical, intellectual, and emotional dimensions.
“Grace and Peace” comes from the greetings that begin all the letters from the Apostle, Paul. They reflect the attitude with which I should (though rarely do) approach others. I try, especially when I know that I am walking into a tenuous situation, to repeat these words prior to interactions with persons who tend to frustrate me. I say, “I try.” This is not as regular as I would prefer. Too often it is an after thought, so I keep working at making it a regular “mantra”.
“Be your best today; be better tomorrow” began more as a marketing phrase I used when I owned a performance sports training facility and as a motivator for my son in youth sports. It is a phrase that I use often in my writing, but it also serves as self-motivator. I begin my day with this as a goal, but I need to remind myself throughout the day.
“Carpe momento” (seize the moment) is, of course, a theme of this blog. It evolved from my use of carpe diem (seize the day) as an effort to add emphasis (my dad, rightfully, didn’t like “carpe friggin’ diem”, and I couldn’t find a creative alternative). To me it emphasizes the importance of the here-and-now. It tells me to be present in the moment. It tells me to be fully engaged with others and to take action. It is a reminder of the immediacy living an (extra)ordinary and successful life.
I am new to the mantra-thing—at least to making a concerted effort to recite daily mantras. It is said, “practice makes perfect.” So, let’s get at this!
I encourage the reader to find his/her manta phrases and keep them at them before you. Post them where you regularly see them. Recite them often. Keep focused and do (extra)ordinary things today!
Be your best today; and be better tomorrow!
Carpe momento!
Feel free to share your mantas with me in the comments. I’d love to hear from you (and know that people actually read this!).
Grace & Peace.