Simply put, in our western world - and for the purpose of this website, a mantra is a group of words that we use to set an intention, or cultivate a feeling in ourselves. It is a set of words that we repeat to ourselves to bring about a feeling of positive energy. Words like "I am focused" or "I am strong", can be used as a mantra in settings where we need to conjure up that energy in ourselves when we feel weak or scattered.
Sometimes, for me, a mantra is a "fake it 'til you make it" kind of move. Often, when going through my divorce, I felt very, very unloved. To combat this feeling, to fake it 'til I felt it, I would repeat to myself "I am loved. I have love. I feel loved. I give love. I am love." Or simply, "I am loved." At first run-through, I certainly did not feel loved. But, as I repeated it, over and over, I began to feel that weight of "unlove" begin to fall away. And as I said it more and more, I began to feel it - to feel loved, to believe it. Just like listening to a sad song to reinforce the sadness we feel, and wallow in it, we can do the opposite - we can listen to something positive (our own voice repeating our mantra) and we can believe it.
If you're like me, you probably have a negative mantra - an "unmantra" (not the technical term, ha) - that runs through your brain all the time. Unmantras come in the form of "I am so dumb", "I am so fat", "I have no money", "I'll never find love". I find that in January my unmantra of "I'm so fat" rears its ugly head, no matter how awful I know that it is. The weight of the holidays has come and I am working to take it off and get back to feeling good, but my unmantra likes to sneak in, in the most unsuspecting of moments. Unmantras like mine slide in at times when I'm bending down to grab something I dropped, or when I'm walking through the hall and catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Unmantras are mean and rude and negative and awful - but damn, we love 'em, don't we? We just let those unmantras roll through our mind on a loop that never stops, and we believe them.
Why not trade your nasty unmantra for a real mantra - for something that could actually change the energy in your body. Yes - I am still the same weight I was a minute ago when I decided to change my unmantra - nothing has changed immediately, but I don't need to walk around carrying that thought. It's heavy and I don't like talking to myself that way.
If you're not sure where to start with a mantra, then follow me every other Monday where I will send out a new one. Presented in a little picture you can save on your phone for quick reference, you can save it, and read it when you wake, before you go to bed, and in times of negative feelings. You can literally interrupt your unmantra with the Monday mantra.
So for today, and for the next two weeks, our mantra is:
Today, I choose faith over fear.
I release all doubt and worry.
I am free from anxiety.
My head is clear. My heart is calm.
Today, I choose faith over fear.
Simply put: when you say this mantra you are choosing to let go of the fear, to clear your mind, and to calm your heart. You choose to believe that things are working in your favor, and not against you. You choose to let go of the fear that you are unloved or overweight or broke or anxious or lost or broken. You choose to see the good and believe in the good.
If a certain line of this mantra resonates with you more than the rest, then choose that to say in a pinch. Choose that line to interrupt fear with faith. When your unmantra sneaks up and tells you that you are (insert negative word here), interrupt that thought with your mantra line.
Maybe it sounds crazy. Maybe it sounds ridiculous. Maybe it sounds silly. But why not try? Why not commit to a week or two of this mantra and take notice of how you feel when you interrupt fear with faith - when you choose faith over fear?
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