One day, while I walked in my neighborhood running errands, the word wonder popped into my head. I kept repeating the word wonder over and over. In that instant, I decided to live my life in wonder.
At the time, I researched affirmations and read about mantras. Using “om” is the most recognized mantra. That’s how I linked repeating the word wonder as an effective mantra.
The Very Well Mind website clarifies the difference between a mantra and an affirmation: “Mantras promote acceptance and spiritual presence. Affirmations are directive statements meant to overcome or challenge a particular set of internal or external beliefs.”
What’s the benefit of a mantra? According to the Harvard Divinity Bulletin: “The many benefits of chanting mantras include healing the body, protecting the mind, and connecting the chanter with the divine.”
Healthline also suggests these benefits: increased self-awareness, reduced stress, a greater sense of calm, increased self-compassion, and a more positive outlook. Per the Healthline website, a mantra like “calm,” “joy,” or “kindness” can be effective.
Per Very Healthy Mind: “The most effective mantras will be specific and individual to you based on personal significance and the energetic essence it uniquely carries for you.”
Like: “I am worthy,” “I am healthy,” or “I am strong.”
No wonder then that I chose the word wonder. A friend told me that thinking positively was the way to go. Seeing the world as frightening is no way for us to live.
Being open, receptive, and curious will sustain our mental health.
Wonder. Wonder. Of course.
Our mantras should be present tense and stated favorably, not “I am not.” Wording. Repeat the mantra throughout the day. In a private space, you can close your eyes and breathe deeply and slowly while saying the mantra. You can even use mantra beads. Or write mantras in an intention journal.
Monica C. Parker wrote The Power of Wonder: The Extraordinary Emotion That Will Change the Way You Live, Learn, and Lead. It’s a 2023 book worth checking out. Taking a once-a-day “Wonder Walk” sounds awe-inspiring.
Along with that book, try Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life by Dacher Keltner, PhD. Experiencing awe can be calming. Three ways to trigger awe are viewing nature, listening to music, and appreciating visual design.
In New York City, where I live, museums are the perfect places to find objects of awe. In Life in Five Senses: How Exploring the Senses Got Me Out of My Head and Into the World, Gretchen Rubin talks about her daily trips to the Metropolitan Museum to view the art through each sense.
Using our five senses might help individuals with emotional illnesses escape the “me.”
We should create space in our heads and engage in the world, too. To date, research has shown that reciting a mantra can likely reduce psychological distress in certain people.
What’s not to like about living in wonder and firing up awe?
Christina Bruni is the author of the new book Working Assets: A Career Guide for Peers. She contributed a chapter "Recovery is Within Reach" to Benessere Psicologico: Contemporary Thought on Italian American Mental Health.
8 thoughts on “The Marvelous World of Mantras”
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