Not Now, Brain: Finding Your Own Meditation Mantras

I try to meditate every morning. Of course, it doesn’t always work out that way, but being able to roll with the day is an important part of the process as well. Some days, that means a nice, early morning meditation. Other days, it’s a little breathwork, intention setting, and prayer after I’ve had my cornflakes.

The truth is, it doesn’t really matter how you show up, as long as you show up.

As long as you set aside a little time for yourself, mission accomplished. Too many people are afraid to meditate because they “don’t know how,” fear looking stupid, or insist that “it doesn’t work for them.” Others know how, intend to meditate, but miss a planned session, and suddenly the Jenga blocks begin to fall. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

It doesn’t matter if you miss your morning meditation. I guarantee you that if it’s important to you, you can find 5–10 minutes somewhere in your day. In a park, in the bathroom, in a closet, or simply on a pleasant, slow walk through your neighborhood.

Just breathe. Intentionally. With purpose. Uninterrupted. With dedication to yourself.

Make a promise to yourself that for the time you’re in your meditation flow (or whatever you may call it), you’re going to dedicate that time to you. No calls. No emails.

And if your mind wanders, that’s fine. In fact, it’s more than fine. It’s part of the process. Notice the thought or thoughts that arise as you’re breathing. Let them pass through.

“Not now, brain.”

Forgot something on your to-do list? Nope.

“Not now, brain.”

You made a promise to dedicate these next five minutes to just breathing.

Connect with your breath. Find a little gratitude. Repeat an affirmation or a mantra.

Which brings me to the point of this post: finding your mantras.

You can research “mantras” online and find all sorts of suggestions. Some might resonate with you. Others might be too short, too long, written in Sanskrit, or simply make no sense to you.

The only guidance I can offer is this: if you find something that resonates with you, reflects how you’re feeling or where you’re headed, or gives you a sense of safety, peace, connection, or presence, then use it.

Try it out.

Try breathing in and out while repeating the mantra silently to yourself. And again, don’t overthink it. How you inhale and exhale with a particular word, phrase, or sentence is entirely personal. It may even change over time. In fact, it probably will.

Find something. Breathe with it. Let it evolve naturally, as these things tend to do.

With that in mind, I have a series of words and phrases that I breathe with when I meditate. Each has personal significance and has become a source of strength for me, through both good times and difficult ones.

Be

Breathe

Slow

Let Go

Trust

Ahimsa

I Am Love

Each of these words and phrases means something different to me. Each helps bring me back to myself in its own way.

In a series of posts, I’ll discuss each mantra in detail, not necessarily for you to adopt the same ones, but to inspire you to find your own version, your own words, your own mantra.