How Mantra Is Powering My Success
This is all my girlfriend, Jacq’s fault, as are all positive things I end up doing.
Supposedly, if you learn how to be more mindful and calm your brain down, etc, business will improve.
You can read all over the place about how businesses are starting to embrace meditation and mindfulness, etc. I found articles at the WSJ, the Financial Times, the Harvard Business Review, and more. And yet, it’s not exactly easy to just sit still and breathe out and try not to think about anything. I know. I’ve tried.
But then I tried mantra meditation and this worked. It came to me in a strange way, but I’m pretty happy with how it’s changing how I do business, and how I live my life. For that, I thought I’d share.
WHAT EXACTLY IS MANTRA CHANTING AND WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Okay, bear in mind that I’m not the expert in this stuff. Jacq is. But basically, it’s 5000+ year old Sanskrit chants that are prayers of intent to specific aspects that you’d like to strengthen within you. The truth is, I don’t have to know very much about it. I don’t have to understand exactly the definition of each word. I don’t exactly have to believe in the Hindu pantheon of gods and deities (especially since the premise is that you’re praying to these aspects of yourself within yourself, and that made sense to me).
I just have to say the mantra, out loud preferably but I do both out loud and quietly, and after saying it hundreds of times a day (this goes by faster than you think) for 40 days or so, benefits will come to me. Now, that’s what I understand is technically true. Here’s what I know.
It works a lot faster than 40 days.
What I Do With Mantras and Chanting
Essentially, I use this meditation to stop me from going all over the place mentally. Ever have a sales call or project call go bad and then have to perform almost immediately on your next important task? Resetting your head is ridiculously difficult. Not for me. I just close my eyes, say a few dozen or more repetitions of my chant in a row, and get myself back to a place where I’m not thinking of what just happened or what’s about to happen, and instead, I just focus on the sound of the chant.
That’s one application. I also chant in the morning before I do anything else, and in so doing, I clear my head of all the “what’s going to happen” questions and thoughts and worries for a little while. Instead, I just focus on my specific phrase and chant it over and over again, at least 108 times (there are prayer beads I use called mala beads that are kind of like a Christian Rosary that make this easier to count). And then, after that chanting, I organize my thoughts in a much more calm way.
When I’m on the way to something that might be getting me anxious (like an important meeting), I chant. When I’m late to a connecting flight, I chant. When I read something disparaging online, I chant. Every single time, it does the magic trick I need it to do. It resets me, and evidently strengthens my spirit and soul.
My business productivity has changed greatly since learning this. My output has become more reliable and steady. My ability to perform at the top of my brain’s capacity on cue is through the roof.
So, you can think of it as something woo woo, or like me, you can call it a secret (not any more) weapon. Either way, it’s worth checking out.
If you see Jacq on Twitter, talk to her about it. I can’t tell you the specifics. I can just tell you that it’s what I do and that it works for me.
