The Ms of Personal Success — Meditation Mantras and Mindfulness

By incorporating meditation mantras and mindfulness practices into daily life, individuals can reduce stress and anxiety, improve concentration, and enhance overall mental clarity. Here’s how.

Key Takeaways:

• Using mantras in meditation and mindfulness can help you achieve personal goals.
• A mantra is a sound, word, or phrase chanted to achieve a calmer state.
• Mindfulness is a state of being present in the moment.

As humans, we all strive to meet our personal best throughout our lives. Personal success means something different to everyone, however. For some people, it means running a million-dollar corporation; for others, it means living in a remote cabin by a stream in the woods. What matters, and what brings us true happiness, is living in tandem with our values.

The quest for personal success can be difficult, as life’s most monumental accomplishments typically are, but there are many tools we can use along the way. Meditation mantras and mindfulness are some of the most powerful tools at our disposal.

Let’s explore what these tools are, how they help us in the quest for personal success, and a few powerful techniques to incorporate them into your daily life.

Meditation mantras and mindfulness

Quieting the whirlwind of constant thought is the first step to personal success. We can use meditation and mindfulness as weapons against the confusing and intrusive thoughts we constantly battle.

Many people have trouble meditating. Learning to completely clear your mind and exist entirely in the present moment is challenging.

When people first learn to meditate, breath is typically the easiest thing to focus on. Paying close attention to the air coming into your nostrils and following it through your body to the lungs helps focus your attention on what’s happening in the moment.

The problem is that focusing on the breath doesn’t work for everyone. Some people still find their minds drifting off to troublesome thoughts. That’s where mantras come into play.

A mantra is a sound, a single word, or a phrase repeated or chanted aloud or silently in your mind. And for some, it’s the key to effective meditation.

Many religions use mantras in prayer and meditation, but religious affiliation isn’t necessary. Some examples include:

• The Sanskrit chant of Om
• Hindu chants, such as the Gayatri
• Christian chants, such as Our Father, Hail Mary, or a Psalms
• Buddhist chants, like Om Mani Padme Hum
• Secular declarations, such as peace or love
• Personalized affirmations, like I am loved

Mantra meditation involves using a mantra to help clear the mind and focus on the meditation.

Mindfulness works similarly to mantra mediation by bringing the mind’s focus into the present. It is a therapeutic technique in which we consistently redirect our mind to the present moment while still acknowledging the thoughts and emotions that pass through our consciousness.

Benefits of Mantra Meditation and Breath Meditation — Mindfulness Meditation

Both these common meditation styles provide immeasurable benefits and advantages. They are not interchangeable, however. There is a fundamental difference.

Mantra benefits

Repeating a mantra while you meditate initiates intense focus. Subtly at first, but with greater depth as time progresses. Patience, attention span, and focal abilities grow together until you can set negativity aside and concentrate on the most critical matters.

Painful pasts and embarrassing mistakes fade in importance as this tranquil experience creates joy by boosting endorphins and the happiness chemicals oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine. Without stress, fear, and worry, your body and mind can recover.

Breath benefits

Focusing on breath provides the same outcome as mantras: improved focus, peace, and recovery. There is one subtle difference, however. Awareness.

Mantras help us focus on the sound and its reverberations in our heads. In breath meditation, we focus on breath and the life it sustains. We see reality and what is in the present moment. We are afforded clarity and awareness that isn’t always present during the rest of the day.

Mantra meditations and breath-focused meditation are valuable tools for self-awareness. The primary difference is that breath meditation gives you the added advantage of spatial awareness and clarity.

The connection between the Ms and personal success

Focusing on your goals can be a distracting process. Clarity is key. Utilizing mantras and mindfulness helps make life more transparent.

When you focus on the present moment, other people’s intentions and behaviors are easier to discern. You also better understand your motives, emotions, and behaviors, leaving you in a better position to gauge your abilities.

Personal success is unattainable without a clear understanding of yourself. Mindfulness and mantras with meditation help to clear the clutter of thoughts and allows the truth of the moment to shine through. Success is easier to see when you have enough of these crystal-clear moments.

Employing mantras and mindfulness in real life

Clarity of mind doesn’t happen overnight. A daily mindfulness and meditation practice helps speed up the process. It also provides many physical benefits, such as lowered heart rate, less depression and anxiety, and improved sleep.

There are many effective ways to include these powerful tools in your routine, and the first step is finding a suitable location. It can be any quiet place where you feel comfortable and won’t be disturbed.

These techniques are helpful at home, work, public transportation, or anywhere you feel comfortable and able to proceed.

Here are a few tips to help make your daily practices easier:

Set a schedule

Decide a time and duration for your practice — this should be when you’re least likely to be interrupted. Set a reminder alarm so you don’t constantly check the time. Meditating every day at the same time helps build a strong practice.

Start simple

Mantra meditation and mindfulness aren’t complicated techniques. Their effectiveness lies in their simplicity. You can begin lying down or sitting up and simply breathe. When you exhale, emit a long low sound, such as “Ommm,” until your breath runs out. Take another deep breath and repeat.

Concentrate on relaxing your muscles and mind with each breath.

Go easy on yourself

Be prepared for your mind to wander. It happens to every just starting out, and it’s perfectly normal. Redirecting your thoughts to your mantra and the present moment is the answer — it’s that simple. There’s no need to feel bad or feel like a failure. The longer you maintain your daily practice, the easier it will be to remain mindful and present.

Beginning a self-transformation process is daunting, no matter how excited you are to start. It’s easy to get frustrated and fall back into old habits. The key is perseverance, even if your practice is less than perfect. The more you use these influential tools, the easier it gets.

Meditation mantras and mindfulness go hand-in-hand when it comes to your personal success. No other practice provides the sheer command over your mind and behavior that these two practices offer. When you’re ready to take control of your life, strengthen your daily routine.

Learn more about the power of mindfulness and meditation mantras

The power of the mind is so much more than many people realize. Harnessing it can help you achieve your wildest dreams.

My life’s purpose is to help people live more holistically and find their true power in personal transformation. Check out my Medium, Twitter, and LinkedIn pages to see what personal transformation looks like firsthand and what it can do for you!