Traditionally, a mantra is a phrase or sound repeated to assist with focus throughout meditation, initially seen in Hindu and Buddhist traditions.
As sound healer and meditation professional Susy Markoe Schieffelin tells mbg, “Mantra means ‘mind vehicle.’ Mantra is a vehicle in the form of a word or syllable that uses vibration and sound to help us move beyond the thinking mind.”
Different mantras have completely different meanings and results, and Markoe Schieffelin explains that meditating on a mantra silently, or chanting it out loud, might help deliver you into the extra peaceable, unconscious thoughts. “Over time,” she provides, “working with mantra can help you to create positive shifts in your mindset and therefore create positive changes in your life.”
Mantras will be repeated any time, with mantra meditation being a well-liked apply for mantra fanatics. “I find that for people who believe that they ‘can’t meditate’ or have especially ‘busy’ minds, chanting a mantra out loud gives the mind something positive to focus on, which can then allow it to slow down and bring a sense of stillness in meditation,” Markoe Schieffelin provides.