Anyone else's monkey mind go on the rampage during that? Who knew an inner debate on the "perfect mantra" could last an entire mantra meditation 🤦♀️ fyi, my monkey suggested I retry with "we are" in the spirit of interconnectness. Will practice again tomorrow 🧘♀️ Happy Sunday!
Ha! Well, there is a whole philosophy of finding the perfect mantra, including a very rich and nuanced and perceptive inner science of exactly how each syllable and frequency affects the nervous system, good science of yoga stuff. None of which I know!
And I’ve been in many a cognitive loop wondering if I should change up the vibration too. In the end, I just go for what appeals to me in the moment and is a little bit soothing. And sometimes I’ve got major monkey mind throughout and do it anyway, other times things get pretty quiet.
Just did the 20m version w "we are", and it was blissful (if not a bit piratey as I experimented with the pronunciation). Sat outside I could hear the dog wandering around, the rustle of squirrels and chipmunks in the trees, the song and flight of birds, and cars passing in the distance. The mantra amplified the connections to- and between them. Particularly impactful on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Thank you 🙏
You are not alone! I struggled with I am, grew increasingly frustrated as I tried out several other mantras, and ultimately settled on a 3-syllable nonsense sequence that felt comfortable.
Same Jules. How to find the perfect mantra?!! Eventually I succumbed to “I am” and kept getting hung up on the “I” part because that’s pretty loaded. I love the “we are” idea. 🩷
How different I feel! Every comment I’m reading is with me too. I actually feel like this has given me a calming, concentrating time - just for a change! I’m having to deal with so many things health wise along with things we all come up against as we potter through life but I think this will help me so much. I can’t remember feeling this calm for quite a while! My mind loves to scramble! Thank you 😌🩵
Jeff! This was so incredibly transformative for me. So much so, that I shared this letter with my writing community. “ There’s a cruel human calculus where every time attention splits, the thing we’re paying attention to becomes exactly half as rewarding.” The way you worded this allowed an image for form in my mind. I could literally see the reminder that being in the moment vs being splintered across time, is where all the juicy stuff is. The concentrated nectar. The joy, the ability to be surprised, the opportunity to experience awe … the braid image was incredibly appealing to me. Strand over strand over strand we thicken. And random aside, the act of braiding hair is incredibly meditative ; )
Great to hear from you Chelene! Cool you’re sharing that with your writing students. I think one of the reasons I was attracted to meditation in the first place is bc so many if the dead simple observations from the practice - a practice of seemingly doing nothing - have so many profound implications for almost everything we do. One of them def has to do with the dynamics of attention and fulfillment. There are others. See you on Bowen soon I hope!
Jeff, thank you for continuing to offer us additional doorways for entering a calm, meditative space. My first sit with a mantra was with you last night during the DNP. I was initially sidetracked because I focused too much on my discomfort with the sound/feel of the syllables. But after a few minutes of experimenting I stumbled onto mantra syllables that didn’t feel forced. After that the repetition began to flow with a cyclical rhythm that mirrored my breath…… and then I was immersed in a calm that seemed to muffle thoughts that wanted to intrude. Wondrous! And just now in the middle of my day after trying to settle down and attend to various obligations, I sat with the mantra practice a second time. Not so easy to enter that wonderful space again, but I will have to be patient. Sometimes the pressures of work are difficult to pause once they get going. Maybe just now I need to shake them out, rather than quiet them. I think for me the mantra practice will better either early morning or in the evening. Thank you for this.
Thanks Jeff, thanks for this. I was given a mantra by Anna which I use. Love you meditation support. As a diagnosed ADHD brain your work is really beneficial to me. Beth
LOVED THIS! Not to mention the vibration of my own voice repeating the mantra is so soothing to the nervous system…which I need a lot of! Similar to the Sa-ta-na-ma only easier! Felt really great! So grateful for your meditations! 🙏
Thank you so much for this Jeff! I have never tried a mantra meditation before and it was amazing! (Once I got myself to stop worrying about if I was using the ‘right’ mantra ☺️). It was like I was a train just gliding along and my thoughts were passing scenery that appeared and then faded away - instead of me having to keep noting “thinking, thinking, thinking” like I usually do. Going to explore this way of meditating some more and sending much gratitude for your wonderful guidance 😊
Hey Diane, I’m glad this one worked for you. You never know what willl land. I do have an extended version for paid subscribers, 20 minutes - I do these for each meditation. If you like , send us an email and we will give you a free paid subscription 🙌
Anyone else's monkey mind go on the rampage during that? Who knew an inner debate on the "perfect mantra" could last an entire mantra meditation 🤦♀️ fyi, my monkey suggested I retry with "we are" in the spirit of interconnectness. Will practice again tomorrow 🧘♀️ Happy Sunday!
Ha! Well, there is a whole philosophy of finding the perfect mantra, including a very rich and nuanced and perceptive inner science of exactly how each syllable and frequency affects the nervous system, good science of yoga stuff. None of which I know!
And I’ve been in many a cognitive loop wondering if I should change up the vibration too. In the end, I just go for what appeals to me in the moment and is a little bit soothing. And sometimes I’ve got major monkey mind throughout and do it anyway, other times things get pretty quiet.
I like your new mantra “we are“– gonna try it!
Just did the 20m version w "we are", and it was blissful (if not a bit piratey as I experimented with the pronunciation). Sat outside I could hear the dog wandering around, the rustle of squirrels and chipmunks in the trees, the song and flight of birds, and cars passing in the distance. The mantra amplified the connections to- and between them. Particularly impactful on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Thank you 🙏
You are not alone! I struggled with I am, grew increasingly frustrated as I tried out several other mantras, and ultimately settled on a 3-syllable nonsense sequence that felt comfortable.
Same Jules. How to find the perfect mantra?!! Eventually I succumbed to “I am” and kept getting hung up on the “I” part because that’s pretty loaded. I love the “we are” idea. 🩷
How different I feel! Every comment I’m reading is with me too. I actually feel like this has given me a calming, concentrating time - just for a change! I’m having to deal with so many things health wise along with things we all come up against as we potter through life but I think this will help me so much. I can’t remember feeling this calm for quite a while! My mind loves to scramble! Thank you 😌🩵
Jeff! This was so incredibly transformative for me. So much so, that I shared this letter with my writing community. “ There’s a cruel human calculus where every time attention splits, the thing we’re paying attention to becomes exactly half as rewarding.” The way you worded this allowed an image for form in my mind. I could literally see the reminder that being in the moment vs being splintered across time, is where all the juicy stuff is. The concentrated nectar. The joy, the ability to be surprised, the opportunity to experience awe … the braid image was incredibly appealing to me. Strand over strand over strand we thicken. And random aside, the act of braiding hair is incredibly meditative ; )
Great to hear from you Chelene! Cool you’re sharing that with your writing students. I think one of the reasons I was attracted to meditation in the first place is bc so many if the dead simple observations from the practice - a practice of seemingly doing nothing - have so many profound implications for almost everything we do. One of them def has to do with the dynamics of attention and fulfillment. There are others. See you on Bowen soon I hope!
Also, I’d like to learn to braid hair.
Jeff is a WONDERFUL writer, indeed.
Always learning from you, Jeff! Everyday at Calm and now here! Thank you!
Jeff, thank you for continuing to offer us additional doorways for entering a calm, meditative space. My first sit with a mantra was with you last night during the DNP. I was initially sidetracked because I focused too much on my discomfort with the sound/feel of the syllables. But after a few minutes of experimenting I stumbled onto mantra syllables that didn’t feel forced. After that the repetition began to flow with a cyclical rhythm that mirrored my breath…… and then I was immersed in a calm that seemed to muffle thoughts that wanted to intrude. Wondrous! And just now in the middle of my day after trying to settle down and attend to various obligations, I sat with the mantra practice a second time. Not so easy to enter that wonderful space again, but I will have to be patient. Sometimes the pressures of work are difficult to pause once they get going. Maybe just now I need to shake them out, rather than quiet them. I think for me the mantra practice will better either early morning or in the evening. Thank you for this.
Thank you, Jeff! This was amazing. Your wonderful work and teaching has improved my experience of life enormously. I really can’t thank you enough.
Thanks Jeff, thanks for this. I was given a mantra by Anna which I use. Love you meditation support. As a diagnosed ADHD brain your work is really beneficial to me. Beth
This was fantastic! Thank you for you 🙏
LOVED THIS! Not to mention the vibration of my own voice repeating the mantra is so soothing to the nervous system…which I need a lot of! Similar to the Sa-ta-na-ma only easier! Felt really great! So grateful for your meditations! 🙏
Thank you Jeff. You are awesome!
Mmmm is my mantra
After the mantra practice this morning 🙏
My husband and I shared in this gem 💎
And when we came too
This was on the tv screen
- Snoopy was meditating with us too!
You mentioned that there is a 20 minute version of the mantra meditation. Where can I find it?
Thank you so much for this Jeff! I have never tried a mantra meditation before and it was amazing! (Once I got myself to stop worrying about if I was using the ‘right’ mantra ☺️). It was like I was a train just gliding along and my thoughts were passing scenery that appeared and then faded away - instead of me having to keep noting “thinking, thinking, thinking” like I usually do. Going to explore this way of meditating some more and sending much gratitude for your wonderful guidance 😊
Hey Diane, I’m glad this one worked for you. You never know what willl land. I do have an extended version for paid subscribers, 20 minutes - I do these for each meditation. If you like , send us an email and we will give you a free paid subscription 🙌
Great! email info@jeffwarren.com
❤️
Hi there Diane! The correct email is info@jeffwarren.org :)