Mantras: Can they be useful at all?
Mantras, incantations, prayer or affirmations, repeated over and over again have been used in the east since eternity and are still in practice today. Having seen them being used first hand, I wondered if they were really useful or not.
Mantras and Psychological interventions:
Before we talk about Mantras in a negative manner it is important to note their similarity to other interventions in psychology, the most obvious of which are affirmations and therapeutic statements.
Affirmations are a common self help technique taught to clients undergoing not only therapy but also life coaching. Affirmations aim to disrupt habitual thinking and instill a new, more productive thought. Although affirmations can be more tailored to a particular need, than an affirmation, the principles of repetition are fairly consistent. There is also another difference as a Mantra may not be legible even to the person saying it as it may be in another language, while affirmations are generally in the person's language. However, Mantras may still work as the person using them has a certain 'intention', be it peace, confidence or whatever.
Prayer is another therapeutic intervention now commonly used even within the new age movement and hence secular minded individuals. The very act of prayer, it is deemed, is therapeutic and there are overlaps with mantras, in terms the spiritual aspect of it as well as the fact that prayers too are 'positive statements or invocations'.
Hypnosis is perhaps the best suited to the discussion on Mantras. Many mantras, such as those of the sufi's are said in a manner that can induce a trance. This aspect of 'altered state of conciseness' is definitely a trance and can leave one with a feeling of undergoing a 'spiritual' experience and hence create change. This may be related to the phenomenon of faith healing.
However, even less deep aspects of repetitive mantras where the mind wanders due to boredom after a singular focus on the Mantra is reminiscent of meditation and hence hypnosis.
So....Does it work?
Seeing how Mantras can be similar to known psychological interventions, it is clearly possible that Mantras can work for some people, under certain circumstances, for various reasons, ranging from believe due to repetition, all the way to placebo. As always, i would suggest to try it and if it works, then whats the harm!
Mantras and Psychological interventions:
Before we talk about Mantras in a negative manner it is important to note their similarity to other interventions in psychology, the most obvious of which are affirmations and therapeutic statements.
Affirmations are a common self help technique taught to clients undergoing not only therapy but also life coaching. Affirmations aim to disrupt habitual thinking and instill a new, more productive thought. Although affirmations can be more tailored to a particular need, than an affirmation, the principles of repetition are fairly consistent. There is also another difference as a Mantra may not be legible even to the person saying it as it may be in another language, while affirmations are generally in the person's language. However, Mantras may still work as the person using them has a certain 'intention', be it peace, confidence or whatever.
Prayer is another therapeutic intervention now commonly used even within the new age movement and hence secular minded individuals. The very act of prayer, it is deemed, is therapeutic and there are overlaps with mantras, in terms the spiritual aspect of it as well as the fact that prayers too are 'positive statements or invocations'.
Hypnosis is perhaps the best suited to the discussion on Mantras. Many mantras, such as those of the sufi's are said in a manner that can induce a trance. This aspect of 'altered state of conciseness' is definitely a trance and can leave one with a feeling of undergoing a 'spiritual' experience and hence create change. This may be related to the phenomenon of faith healing.
However, even less deep aspects of repetitive mantras where the mind wanders due to boredom after a singular focus on the Mantra is reminiscent of meditation and hence hypnosis.
So....Does it work?
Seeing how Mantras can be similar to known psychological interventions, it is clearly possible that Mantras can work for some people, under certain circumstances, for various reasons, ranging from believe due to repetition, all the way to placebo. As always, i would suggest to try it and if it works, then whats the harm!
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