Mantras

I used to be really resistant to affirmations (blame it on Stuart Smalley!) until the Akashic Records showed me how to work with them effectively. It’s not about choosing an aspirational affirmation–pretty words, a motivational phrase–and “using it.” Mantras are most effective when they choose you, and you allow them to work on you.

In your Records or in meditation you can set an intention, describe an issue of concern, or ask a question, and then simply open. See if you get a mantra that way. It may come perfectly formed or you may have to tweak it so it feels right. You want the mantra to be a little of a stretch, because the purpose is expansion, but not too much of a stretch that it becomes triggering (which is why repeating “I am beautiful” when you feel anything but might make you feel either numb or worse about yourself). You know you have hit upon the right mantra the way you know most anything else: by how it resonates in your entire being. To me it feels like receiving body work or energy work (which it is): ranging from really delicious to “kind of uncomfortable but it’s hitting all the right spots and will feel good later.”

And that’s it: you keep the mantra lightly around you. This is gentle work. You don’t have to look in the mirror and force yourself to be convinced of a new belief. You don’t have to meditate on it for an hour. If you’re inspired to sit with it, do so. But you can simply say the mantra aloud or internally every now and again as you go through your day, or sit with it for a minute or two, and FEEL IT (this is the most important part) working through your entire energetic field. You’ll know when it’s time to drop or shift the mantra when it starts to feel dead or empty. It’s not that it no longer rings true, but that you’ve integrated the energy so completely that it is now obvious, unstimulating, and maybe even boring to your system.

What have you learned about mantra or affirmation work that’s worked for you?