Well-Being Practice: Repeating Your Mantra while Walking or Having a Conversation

Repeating a mantra is one of the oldest and simplest of all meditation practices. Every meditation tradition includes some form of this easy and straightforward practice: silently repeating a word or phrase in harmony with the breath. Mantra repetition calms the mind. It also promotes concentration. Mantra repetition can also evoke feelings of contentment, love, and joy that give us a window into the fundamental nature of reality.

This week, experiment with repeating your mantra. You can do this while you are walking, driving or on public transportation, or when you’re doing household tasks like cooking or cleaning. At first, this may feel awkward or artificial, but over time you may begin to find your mantra can easily “run in the background,” adding its flavor to your actions without taking over your attention.

If you have a mantra already, feel free to use that. Otherwise, two mantras to practice with are: “let go” and “be here.”

You may want to experiment and see if you can continue to repeat your mantra while speaking to someone. You may find it actually makes it easier to concentrate fully on the conversation!

Notice how repeating your mantra affects how you experience your daily activities. Does mantra repetition during the day make it easier to settle into your sitting practice? Note any effects of the practice in your meditation journal.