There is ample evidence that sound vibration can have significant effects on both our emotions and brainwave patterns, such as in the so-called “Mozart Effect” or simply in the positive feelings we get from our favorite music. In theory, bija mantras awaken the latent energy centers in our spine called chakras and stimulate the evolutionary energy called the kundalini stored at the base of the spine. However, the practical value of repeating a mantra may lie more in its ability to occupy the mind, like the curly hair in our story of the genie. And with the mind focused on the mantra, there is no room for worry, anxiety, or pessimism.
Affirmations
When I first met him, he was broke and depressed. Just out of rehab for alcohol abuse and recently divorced, he was living out of his van. An amazing artist, he was looking to make a few bucks by painting a mural in one of our homes. Over time, as we became friends, he asked my advice on how to turn his life around. One of the first things I suggested was to repeat the following affirmation incessantly: “I am happy, healthy, wealthy, and free.”
He did—and the transformation began. Within a couple of weeks he had assembled a few roommates and rented a four-bedroom house. Over time whenever he got a new roommate he raised the rent on that room. Within a year he was living in the master bedroom of this house completely rent-free. All the while he kept repeating the affirmation. Soon he had a job teaching mural painting in a program at the Juvenile Detention Facility, and another one working with the developmentally disabled. He was back on his feet, living rent-free in a beautiful home, doing what he loved, with enough money to do as he pleased and the good health to enjoy it with.
For years his mind had been working against him. A never-ending loop of blame and regret coupled with a continuous stream of worry
as the OM MANI PADME HUM of Tibetan Buddhists and NAM MYOHO RENGE KYO of the Japanese Buddhists in the Nichiren tradition.
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