Day 14 - The Power of Mantra

Today’s Tarka Practice
This week we will be discussing and practicing several mantras.

Mantras are used during meditation because they can help us change our thoughts. Whatever we think, we say and whatever we say, we act and whatever we act, we become. If we constantly think and tell ourselves that we are afraid, we will be afraid. If we constantly think and tell ourselves we are happy, we are happy. If you tell yourself you are a teacher then that is what you will become.
Because our thoughts control who we become, we want to be careful about what we think. The practice of using mantras can help us to focus on living in a love filled, positive environment in which we are in harmony with ourselves.

In a practical way, we can use mantra to change our thinking patterns. We can use mantra to replace bad habits of thinking and/or negative thinking into thinking patterns that are much more useful to us. Because it can change our thinking, it can change our actions. When we think more peacefully about ourselves and the world around us, we act more peacefully. Instead of acting from a place of anger, we can act from a place of contentment. In other words, you can think of it in this way. When you are angry, this manifests itself in an irritation with others. When you are feeling good and having a good day, your interactions with others are more positive.

For today's journal entry, please reflect on some of the thoughts you think that are not helpful to you. Write them down. Pick one that stands out to you and see if you can evaluate how this thought manifests itself negatively in your mind and in your actions.
Shanti