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Wednesday Challenge: Secular Mantra Meditation.

Posted by John on February 14th, 2007 at 4:41 pm · 17 Comments

I sometimes engage in mantra meditation or rote prayer. I pick a set prayer, poem, or scripture from a religious tradition, and recite it, out loud or quietly, seated or walking, over and over. One of my absolute favorites is this Buddhist prayer:

May I become at all times,
Both now and forever
A protector for those without protection
A guide for those who have lost their way
A ship for those with oceans to cross
A bridge for those with rivers to cross
A sanctuary for those in danger
A lamp for those without light
A place of refuge for those who lack shelter
And a servant to all in need.

I’ve also used St. Francis of Assisi’s “Lord, make me an instrument” prayer, the Hail Mary prayer, and many others. They help me to detach from my baser concerns and help me to focus on become my best self.

But some of my favorite mantras are completely secular, and are drawn from poetry, popular music, and fiction. They can be every bit as powerful as the ones explicitly tied to a religious tradition.

So here’s this week’s challenge:

  • Find a “secular” mantra, from poetry, film, literature, advertising, music, etc. Create one yourself if you can’t find one you like. Repeat this mantra meditatively for at least ten minutes. Return and report your choice of mantra and how it felt to meditate on it. If you’ve used religious mantras before, or if you’ve never tried a word-focused meditation before, how did it compare?

Tags: Spirituality · Weekly Challenge

17 responses so far ↓

  • 1 Rich // Feb 14, 2007 at 5:32 pm

    “Yield not thy neck to fortune’s yoke,
    but let thy dauntless mind still ride in triumph over all mischance”

    -Shakespeare (I believe it’s Richard the 2nd).

    Not exactly a mantra per se, but I’ve repeated that, and the following, to myself countless times (this one from Longfellow):

    “Let us then be up and doing,
    With a heart for any fate;
    Still achieving, still pursuing,
    Learn to labor, and to wait.”

  • 2 Bored in Vernal // Feb 14, 2007 at 6:13 pm

    I’m starting to look forward to Wednesdays!!
    I’ll return and report, but I just wanted to let John know: I can see the workings of that Buddhist prayer in your life.

  • 3 nee // Feb 14, 2007 at 11:14 pm

    This will be interesting to try. I’m just beginning non-podcast guided meditations. Thus far it’s been a process of focusing on breath alone. It’s been quite challenging to stay present. The thoughts keep coming. Perhaps a mantra will help to stay focused. I’ll report back.

  • 4 Miko // Feb 15, 2007 at 8:14 am

    I’ve discovered that mantras help focus my mind away from the task at hand. I’ve blogged before about my “fear” mantra (thank you, Frank Herbert). If I knew all of St. Francis’ prayer, I’d do it more often, I really really like it. I’ve also done, during my morning sun salute, a translated Egyptian prayer to the sun that I found s/where once upon a time. I recently found another mantra while watching the 1984 Dune: the mentat’s mantra. I shall do my best to find a “secular” mantra and try it out.

    btw, I always prayed the hail mary when I couldn’t sleep. Now it makes me tired just thinking about it…

  • 5 John Remy // Feb 15, 2007 at 10:27 am

    I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. You are all awesome. I have a couple of things picked out (including a poem by Yeats) and can’t wait to try this out as well.

    Miko, last night I read Bourdieu until I fell asleep. I didn’t get very far.

    BiV, thank you.

  • 6 Miko // Feb 15, 2007 at 11:10 pm

    I guess I’m picky about my meditations…I figured using my mentat’s mantra (which I’ve not used yet) wouldn’t be obeying the spirit of this, so I set about to finding a new one. I went through Rumi, which may have been a good meditation maybe on Wednesday, but in the moment, none struck me. But! Having had success in the past with lovingkindness meditations I found this one:

    May I be free from fear.
    May I be free from suffering.
    May I be happy.
    May I be filled with loving-kindness.

    to be repeated, replacing “I” with a person I love, then again with a person I don’t know, then for a person I don’t like.

    Again, I’m not sure I’ve obeyed the spirit of this since I’ve done similar meditations before, but I love the feeling of peace and oneness (with the universe/world at large) that descends on me after something like this.

  • 7 Bored in Vernal // Feb 16, 2007 at 9:06 pm

    I’m back…it took me quite a while to find a secular meditation, but after a while I found this, a quote by Ursula LeGuin:

    We are volcanoes. When we women offer our experience as our truth, as human truth, all the maps change. There are new mountains.

    It sort of fits some of my recent thoughts as I’ve pondered Jana’s Manifesto. As a mantra, I just shortened it to “There are new mountains.”

  • 8 pilgrimgirl // Feb 16, 2007 at 9:52 pm

    Well, this might not qualify as a secular meditation, but BiV’s comment reminded me so much of this quotation that it seemed apropos to share:

    From a well-known female Quaker activist, Elizabeth Fry:
    “I felt myself under the shadow of the wing of God …. After the meeting my heart felt really light and as I walked home by starlight, I looked through nature up to nature’s God …. I know now what the mountain is I have to climb. I am to be a Quaker.”

    Very often I repeat that last line in my head: “I know now what the mountain is I have to climb. I am to be a Quaker.”

    Though I do have to admit that “We are volcanoes” works for me, too. :)

    Very often I just repeat little affirmations. Things like, “You are so, so strong” which I first heard from a yoga teacher. When I say this I can _feel_ it.

  • 9 John // Feb 16, 2007 at 11:42 pm

    One of my favorite mantras is from Tennyson, and is similar to Jana’s little one:

    My strength is the strength of ten because my heart is pure.

    The last time I recited it in earnest, I was going through a marathon of pain and discomfort at the dentist’s.

  • 10 Miko // Feb 17, 2007 at 9:36 am

    Things like, “You are so, so strong” which I first heard from a yoga teacher. When I say this I can _feel_ it.

    One of my favorite mantras was unwittingly given to me by my step-mother-in-law, who, after learning about some of my family’s actions, told me “You’re an amazon, babe. You are.” I shorten it to “I am an amazon” when I meditate, but I have it written where I can see it near my desk.

    I really like that one, John, I may have to steal it…

  • 11 Miko // Feb 17, 2007 at 11:17 am

    Jana/Bored: Just read the Manifesto. Hear, hear! I don’t know if Catholic feminists have written such a manifesto, but there are a few out there who are being ordained. Do you know of any such sympathetic bishop? I know the first was ordained by a bishop who sympathized with the women and risked excommunication to do it. I don’t know if he has ever revealed his name, but from there the women started ordaining other women. I know there’s one on the East Coast who I would love to go to and to hear mass/give confession. It would be great if Mormons started something similar.

  • 12 pilgrimgirl // Feb 17, 2007 at 11:46 am

    Miko:
    Thanks for your praise of our Manifesto. :)

    In the early days of the LDS church there were women ordained to various leadership positions (e.g prophetess). I don’t know of any rogue ordinations happening nowadays. But what a provocative idea…..

  • 13 nee // Feb 20, 2007 at 6:02 pm

    I wanted to use something that would be in keeping with my efforts toward mindfulness and being present. For that, I opted to use the first verse of Enya’s song “Pilgrim”.

    “Pilgrim, how you journey on the road you chose
    to find out why the winds die and where the stories go. All days come from one day that much you must know,you cannot change what’s over but only where you go.

    I recited it whilst walking and even managed to turn off the tv and use it while knitting – a goal since reading Mindful Knitting.

    What I found was that it flowed best for me to recite it all once and then I found myself repeating only the last sentence.

    All days come from one day that much you must know, you cannot change what’s over but only where you go.

    It was challenging to keep on task in simply repeating this and not stopping to contemplate it. It is definitely easier when I have a podcast to follow when meditating though I think using a mantra is something I will do more as time goes by. It’s in the challenges that I strengthen my ability to get present and centered when not meditating.

  • 14 Miko // Feb 21, 2007 at 8:58 am

    nee: I find that when the mantras are shorter, they’re easier for me to concentrate on. I really like the piece “all days come from one day”. I may steal that. And you always give me such good music ideas!

  • 15 John // Feb 21, 2007 at 10:11 am

    I began meditating on one of my favorite poems, which I have memorized:

    I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
    And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
    Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
    And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

    And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
    Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
    There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
    And evening full of the linnet’s wings.

    I will arise and go now, for always night and day
    I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
    While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements gray,
    I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

    It really has lovely imagery and a great rhythm for meditating. Somewhere along the way, however, I fell into the contemplation trap nee mentioned above. I realized that I prefer to be connected, rather than isolated, so I fell back on the Bodhisattva poem.

    I agree with Miko–I focus better on shorter mantras are easier. They can also act as mental command phrases when I’m trying to get centered in a crazy or stressful situation.

    One more thing: it’s religious, but I really like this shortened version of the Bodhisattva Vow:

    The number of beings is endless. I vow to help save them all.

    The Truth cannot be told. I vow to tell it.

    The Way which cannot be followed is unattainable. I vow to attain it.

  • 16 Miko // Mar 5, 2007 at 11:05 am

    I ran across this poem about mantra which I think defines it perfectly.

    Meditating
    The mantra
    is the vehicle
    that knows
    the best shortcut
    when my mind
    is downtown traffic
    - Colleen Redman, 2005

    Having driven through LA on the 110 at all hours of the day, “downtown traffic” may actually be a better description than the untamed monkey. Certainly more apropos for a 21st century urban chica; after all, I’ve never had a monkey, tamed or otherwise…

    the Fine Print: It was published on today’s page in my favorite datebook, We’Moon. It is posted here without express permission under the terms of the We’Moon “free copyright”. It is posted in the spirit of We’Moon, from one woman, through this woman, to all women (and to the understanding & sympathetic men who are and who visit Mind on Fire). Each applicable entity has been notified of its posting here.

  • 17 Music Monday: the Prayer of St. Francis | Mind on Fire // Jan 25, 2010 at 9:17 am

    [...] like this prayer here at MoF: John recommended it for a secular meditation and I as a secular prayer for [...]

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