Active Meditation: The Secret Antidote to Quiet your Monkey Mind
Want to meditate but can't seem to quiet Your “monkey mind”? Here's a secret strategy!
Have you ever tried meditation but couldn't manage to quiet your mind? Does your mind go into super-chatter mode whenever you try to calm it down? You're not alone! Many aspiring meditators encounter this common hurdle, often feeling defeated and discouraged before they even begin. But fear not! The path to becoming a great meditator is not reserved for a select few with naturally calm minds; in fact, most people face this very challenge. However, there's a secret strategy to overcome it.
The Myth of the "Empty Mind"
One common misconception about meditation is that to do it correctly, you must "empty your mind." This is probably the most common myth about meditation. In fact, the powerful benefits of meditation can be experienced through the exact opposite: assigning your mind an activity. More specifically, mantra meditation is a mentally active form of meditation that keeps the mind focused and active, thus offering the perfect antidote for Monkey Mind.
What is Mantra Meditation?
Mantra meditation is a straightforward practice that involves repeating a word or phrase, either out loud or in your mind. Although you may think of this as some esoteric practice used by monks in remote mountain caves, mantra meditation is accessible to everyone and is simple to do. It has roots in various spiritual traditions worldwide and has been embraced by people from all walks of life. During this meditation, you simply choose a word or phrase that resonates with your intention, and gently repeat it either silently or aloud. The repetitive nature of the mantra focuses the mind, enabling a wide range of benefits throughout all areas of your being.
Choosing a Mantra
You can choose any word or phrase as a mantra, and you can even change it whenever you like. I find that choosing a mantra focusing on the Highest Power or "the Divine" or "Source" can bring forward extremely profound results and far-reaching benefits. For example, you could inwardly repeat a name for the Divine such as “Hu” (an ancient name for God, pronounced as “hue”) or “Divine God.” Whatever name you choose, make sure that as you repeat it you hold an intention to reawaken to the highest power by allowing it to fill all areas of your being and by shifting your awareness into “your Self” as a Divine soul.
The Spiritual Mantra Meditation Process
How to Enhance Your Meditation Experience:
You can improve your meditation experience and the resulting effects by taking certain steps before and during your process. Before you begin, release any expectation of any particular experience or results. Also, set an intention for the quality of process, such as “I intend to be open to any beneficial effects this process can bring forward” or “I intend to relax and go with the flow during this process.” If you lose focus while meditating, simply redirect your mind to your mantra. Be gentle with yourself and immediately release any self-judgments that arise.
The Process:
Find a quiet and comfortable space and take steps to reduce the chance of distraction (tell others not to disturb you, get a blanket if you’re cold, drink water or eat if you need to, empty your bladder, etc.). If it’s noisy, you can dampen sounds with noise-cancelling headphones, white noise, fan noise, etc. (but not music because it can limit your expansion beyond the mental and emotional levels).
Sit comfortably or lie on your back.
Close your eyes.
Call in the light by saying inwardly something like, “I ask for Divine light to fill, surround, and protect me for the highest good of all concerned.”
Begin inwardly repeating your mantra, while holding an intention to center yourself in the highest power that exists. If a thought appears in your mind, simply observe it until it floats away. If you experience an interruption, gently bring your focus back to your mantra.
Keep going as long as you can. You’ll eventually reach a point when you become aware of your physical surroundings again and feel complete with the process.
Write down anything valuable that came forward and you want to remember.
What to Know Before Starting your Meditation Practice
Before embarking on your meditation journey, consider the following tips to jumpstart your process, help you stay engaged, and maximize your benefits.
It Takes Practice
When starting meditation, remember that it is a practice, which means the more you practice it, the easier and more natural it will become. Even experienced meditators deal with doubt and resistance. If you think you’ve “failed” or it “didn’t work” (no such thing in either case), try it again. Practice will help your experience feel more comfortable and natural. (If you were learning baseball and the first time you swung the bat you missed, you’d keep swinging. That’s part of the process. Just keep picking up the bat.)
Commit to the Process
Once you've decided to try meditation, give it a good go: start with a short time (even just a minute) and extend a little longer each session. Be consistent by doing at least one session per day (even if it’s just a few minutes). As you continue, you’ll likely begin to see greater benefits. Be patient with yourself, stick with it, and keep moving through any resistance that may arise.
Boost Benefits Through Repetition and Consistency
With most types of meditation, the longer and more often you meditate, the more enhanced the effects. Practicing meditation can also help you learn to navigate more easily between levels of consciousness, which gives you more flexibility and control over your inner state. For example, your ability to shift into a calm, neutral inner state in any moment can improve your ability to access intuition (which is most accessible when you’re calm).
Moving Through Meditation Resistance
The mind’s resistance to meditation is super common. In fact, resistance and procrastination have become a sort of a running joke among some meditators. It seems that the mind will try to find any excuse to avoid sitting down and meditating. Here are some tips to help you work through resistance anytime you encounter it:
Remind your mind that this is going to be an active process, not a “waste of time” or attempt to deny the mind’s usefulness. In fact the mind is a key player in mantra meditation.
Make a deal with yourself that you’ll do 5 minutes and then you can stop if you want to. Chances are that you’ll keep going, and even if you stop you’ll still experience benefits.
Shift your mindset. Remind yourself that spiritual mantra meditation is a restorative and healing process in which you get to bask in the luxurious spiritual replenishment of your inner resources. This is the ultimate “me time.”
If you’re tempted to procrastinate, set a specific time (like 5 minutes from now, or after I eat lunch) and stick to it. Practice honoring the promises you make to yourself; integrity is key in building self-trust.
A routine can make it much easier to avoid resistance and procrastination. For example, you might choose to meditate every morning after you wake up, right before you go to sleep each night, or after you eat lunch each day. Then the mind knows what to expect, when.
In this blog post we've explored the incredible benefits of spiritual mantra meditation, including its power to help overcome the challenge of Monkey Mind during meditation. By focusing on a repeated word or phrase, this form of meditation helps focus the mind and prevent it from wandering. We debunked the misconception that meditation requires emptying the mind, emphasizing that active engagement through mantra repetition can be just as effective (or even more so). The steps to begin a spiritual mantra meditation practice were outlined, from selecting a mantra to finding a quiet space and gently refocusing the mind when it wanders.
Remember, don't be discouraged if meditation doesn't feel amazing right away. Stay persistent to experience the incredible transformation it can bring to your life and inner environment over weeks, months, and years. Practiced regularly, spiritual mantra meditation can lead to heightened spiritual- and self-awareness, enhanced intuition, deeper peace, and an ability to shift into profound peace at any moment - ultimately elevating and illuminating your meditation journey.
(WARNING: Do not meditate or chant your mantra while driving, operating heavy equipment, or doing any other activity where your attention or focus is important. Practice meditation only in situations where it’s safe to do so, as in situations where it would be okay if you fell asleep and nothing detrimental would happen.)
(You can read more about spiritual meditation and many other tools for stress management and self-enlightenment in Nancy Wagaman’s book, Soul In the Storm: Stress Management Through Mindfulness and Inner Transformation, available from Amazon and other online booksellers. About this book)