Playing mantra
sound and symbol
If you’ve spent any time on social media going down pop psychology or alternative spirituality rabbit holes, you will probably have come across the concept of the mantra.
In pop psychology, a mantra is a phrase that you say out loud to give yourself some encouragement or to try to change something about your life or mental state. It’s a little bit like cognitive therapy where you gain some kind of positive impact by changing the way you feel about things, by changing the way that you talk about them.
In alternative spirituality, mantras are often Sanskrit words or phrases that are chanted or intoned. This might be part of an overall approach to meditation or breathwork, or it may be more religious in character. The more religious version is where the mantra is there to invoke a specific deity and bring their powers into your life for some material benefit.
As many of you will know, I’ve been studying classical Tantra for the past few years. In particular, I’ve b…
