The importance of making mantras fun (mantras and mindfulness meditation)

Daniel Ingram was the first meditation teacher I ever heard who said that we should make meditation fun. He said something to the effect that when we sit down to meditate, we should try to sense vibrations as fast as possible — like playing a video game — and said, “Let’s bust some vibrations!”

Famous meditation teachers on staying mindful 24x7

As I think about trying to make meditation fun — and the use of mantras — I recall meditation teachers who have talked about the importance of staying mindful all day — 24x7 — to achieve enlightenment. For instance, here are just a few quotes:

• Thich Nhat Hanh:
  • “If we do not practice mindfulness while carrying a bucket of water, it is a waste of time to seclude ourselves in a monastery.”
     
• Shinzen Young:
  • “How deep can I get this morning as I wash these dishes? How deep can I stay as I rake the sand?”
     
• Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj:
  • “Give up all questions except one: constantly ask, ‘Who am I?’”
     
• Thich Nhat Hanh:
  • “If you want to know your own mind, there is only one way: to observe and recognize everything about it. This must be done at all times, during your day-to-day life no less than during the hour of meditation.”

I have over 100 quotes on mindfulness and meditation, so I won’t repeat all those, but hope you get the idea about that if you want to deepen your meditation practice, you need to stay mindful all day. And as you’ll see in a few moments, making your mindfulness practice fun can help you stay focused all day.

Mantras help you stay mindful 24x7

Once I learned the importance of concentrating 24x7, I realized the importance of phrases from teachers like Zen Master Seung Sahn, who taught us to constantly ask ourselves, “Who am I,” and also said that when we’re doing something — such as driving — we should constantly ask, “Who is driving?”

Once I put those pieces together, I realized how important mantras and mantra meditation were, and I eventually went all-in on it. The short story is that the use of mantras have been huge to my meditation practice and success.

I initially started with mantras from well-known teachers, and then once I felt like I understood things more, I started creating my own, typically based on quotes from famous teachers. For example, Maharaj-ji once said, “You must see God in everything,” so I made that a mantra: “See God in everything.” You can also turn a mantra like this into a song.

Putting the fun into mantra meditation with songs

Once I learned the importance of concentrating 24x7 and mantra meditation, I eventually added in the “fun” part — and that has been a huge key for me.

For instance, one way I do this is that when a song gets into my mind, what I do is I use that song as part of my mantra. A great example is the Pink Floyd song where they keep saying, “Run, run, run.” If that’s in my head anyway, I just replace “Run, run, run” with “Ram, Ram, Ram,” just like Ram Dass and his teacher, Maharaj-ji (Neem Karoli Baba) used to. (In several places I have read that Maharaj-ji could be see mouthing the word “Ram” over and over again, thousands of times a day.)

A key about this is just to lose yourself in the mantra and the song. Just walk around, do your chores or work and just keep repeating the mantra over and over, thousands of times a day.

But again, you really need to lose yourself in the mantra. Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj said that our effort needs to be earnest, and I think that’s a good word for our overall practice. Other words and phrases are even more relevant when it comes to describing mantra meditation, and to me those words/phrases are totally committed, getting lost, absorbed or absorption. Another way to think about this is that you drop all forms of self-consciousness while you do this; There is no “I” at this time, and you and the act are one.

Neil Diamond songs

I do this with other songs. For example, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj says something to the effect of constantly asking oneself, “What am I”, and there’s a song by Neil Diamond where he basically cries and sings, “I am,” so that’s another song you can use.

Actually, another good Neil Diamond song to use is Kol Nidre, which is also beautiful, and makes you feel like you’re almost crying while you’re singing. (A simple mantra like “What am I” is a favorite to use with this song.)

Runaway, by Aurora

The beginning of the song, Runaway, by Aurora, is another one I like to sing along with.

I do this with many other songs, and as I recall those other songs and mantras, I’ll be glad to share those here.