PHRASES

Meditation Phrases

Guided Meditation Phrases

Meditation phrases, also known as mantras, can be used to focus the mind and enhance meditation practice.
They can be simple or elaborate, and can be used to cultivate specific qualities or intentions. Here are some examples: 

Freedom:

  • “There is suffering.”
  • “This is my suffering.”
  • “May my suffering be well.”
  • “There is Love and suffering”
  • “This is Life.” 

Self-Affirming:

  • “I am pure.”
  • “I am loved.”
  • “I am loving.”
  • “I am loveable.”
  • “I am forever.”
  • “I am good.”
  • “I am holy.”
  • “I am beautiful.”
  • “I am friendly.”
  • “I am forgiving.”
  • “I am that.”
  • “I am that I am.”
  • “I am loving and kind.”

General Mindfulness:

  • “May I be kind”
  • “May I be gentle.”
  • “May I be awake.”
  • “May I be at ease.”
  • “May I be wise.”
  • “May I be calm.”

Loving-Kindness:

  • “May I live and die in ease.”
  • “May I be well, may I be happy.”
  • “May I be free from anger, fear, and regret.”
  • “May my love for myself and others flow without limit.”
  • “May all beings everywhere be safe, be happy, be peaceful.”
  • “May all those who have helped me be safe, be happy, be peaceful.”
  • “May I accept this pain without thinking it makes me bad or wrong.”
+++
So look at it as winding the mind down to a fine point which you’re going to need as you meditate solely on the breath. Each thing that you do should be designed to lessen the amount of thought that your brain is having to do and winding it down to a slower pace and less-frantic pace of thoughts.

As you sit down, you can take an inventory of what your body feels like and whether or not you are in the right sitting position. You can query yourself and ask if there is anything that is bothering you as you sit there.

The next step is to bring in something that will help you calm the mind even further, so I suggested an incense stick that is slowly burning down. Or you can use a mantra in your head that you repeat over and over.

Breathing in, I live. Breathing out, I let go.

As you repeat these phrases over and over in your mind as you take each breath, gradually after five or ten minutes you will notice that your mind is starting to slow down a bit. Now, this might not happen for the first 10-20-30 sessions or more, but at some point, you will notice some progress as the mind begins to slow down.

Embrace the slow repetitive nature of the mantra with each part of the breath.

As you noticed the mind slowing down, start to make a transition from the focus on the mantra to a focus on only the feeling of the breath on the inside of the nostrils, or on your upper lip.

I encourage you to try many different things in your pursuit of calming the mind before you can begin really focusing on the breath in its entirety.

Using mantras or other tools to calm the mind is a useful but temporary method of slowing the mind down before real meditation on the breath occurs.