Some things that are useful for me are, unsurprisingly, things that other people don’t find useful at all. One is lack of sleep, and the other is when I’m feeling unwell.
For the mind, illness is a different thing from sleep deprivation. They have a different effect, I think, on pretty much everybody. Although the mind can be sluggish when we are tired or unwell, for some reason, thoughts seem to have more inertia. They resist clarity of mind more deeply.
Most of the time, I can neutralise unhelpful thoughts with my meditative tools. If I am tired or ever exhausted, hypnagogic meditation works if I have a few minutes; if not, I focus on my breath.
That approach works for sleep deprivation, but with illness, my thoughts require a different approach.
Today, with much to do, I needed to find a way to be productive despite my foggy thinking. So, as I walked along, I practised a mantra*,* and I continued for about 20/30 minutes. It did the trick. My mind cleared up.
There are different kinds of mantras, and I like to categorise them in various ways. One distinction is between simple and complex mantras.
Looking for mantras online, you will mainly find meditation music or Sanskrit mantras, which is fine. Some Sanskrit mantras I like*,* such as the famous ‘Om Mani Padme Om’. But for me, it’s more of a chant. I don’t slowly repeat the words of’Om-Mani-Padme-Om’ in my mind; it only seems to work as a continuous deep chant. It’s simple, easy to learn, and is neutral, so repeating it does help to neutralise thought.
Complex mantras and simple mantras
“Om Mani Padme Om” is a simple mantra. (It means “the jewel is in the lotus” — which it is, of course). A mantra can be anything that you can repeat as language. You can use things like the Serenity Prayer*,* or I sometimes use a quotation from Marcus Aurelius.
For me*,* a more complex mantra is “Rest in Natural Great Peace.” I often practise that as a way to deal with my mind if it is unruly*,* such as when I am unwell. It is complex enough that I have to stay focused, and I don’t use it often enough for it to be fully embedded, so I can’t repeat it on autopilot. I have to stay present.
If you want to try mantra meditation, my suggestion is to find yourself a couple of mantras; they can be any repetitive phrases you wish, which you can use to neutralise the mind if the thoughts become unhelpful.
Try it and see how that works for you. Mantra is a powerful tool that can work on many different levels and can really help with a busy or unruly mind.