So, last time we talked, I misled you a bit.
I wanted to pass on a little information about the use of affirmations, short positive statements that help to hack your brain into believing them as true. I talked about my favorite affirmation from the Star Wars fiction, where Chirrut Imwe steels himself during times of stress by repeating the sentence, “I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me.” Say that at least once a day, and your brain will come to believe it.
So far, so good. Except . . .
I then told a story about how I use this phrase on repeat to get through stressful circumstances. And I'd already talked about how Chirrut uses this phrase on repeat to motivate himself in stressful circumstances.
Sigh.
That's not an affirmation. Or, well, it is, but it's a different kind of affirmation. Used like this, it's more of a mantra.
Everyone has a different definition of mantra. I teach focused-object meditation, so for me, a mantra is something onto which you can attach your awareness while meditating. As I described in that last sermon, I use repetition of Chirrut's prayer to distract myself from awareness of my acrophobia. It gives my brain something to focus on besides the Technicolor danger signal coming from my proprioceptive system. The danger signal is still there, even though I'm in virtually no danger – this being the nature of phobia, after all – but it’s not commanding my full attention.
You don't have to use Chirrut's prayer as a mantra, and you don't have to use a mantra only to calm yourself when you're under stress. A mantra can become part of your meditation practice, if you wish. Words or phrases can make fine mantras, but often the best mantras are a single syllable. Many practitioners use the syllable “om” or “aum” as a mantra – they're not pronounced exactly the same, but Google can explain the minor difference in pronunciation better than i can in this limited format.
Come to think of it, the “aum” and Chirrut's prayer share a striking similarity. But that's a story for another day.
If you have questions or advice on how to put this into practice, hit me up in the comments or over on the discord.
