Knowing what to say during meditation helps you to stay awake, aware and focussed during meditation. Mantras or words that are repeated over and over again has been the most used meditation strategy for centuries.
Guided meditation has become the norm these days. Most of us have phones and headphones that we use on a daily basis.
Using guided meditations has become really easy and simply sitting back and allowing someone’s voice to guide you through a meditation is really easy and convenient.
This is a very passive form of meditation though. I don’t believe that it has nearly the same impact as more active forms of meditation.
Your goal is not to battle with the mind, but to witness the mind.
– Swami Muktananda
This is when you are in charge of the meditation. You don’t rely on an external voice to guide you but instead focus and direct your own mind.
Active meditation usually leads to some obvious challenges and learning what to say during meditation will help you overcome most of these challenges.
Do You Have To Say Something During Meditation?
Many people obsess about what to say during meditation and the simple truth is that you can meditate without saying anything at all.
Therein lies the problem though. The ability to say nothing and think nothing is almost impossible.
Meditation is a way to empty the mind. It is a practise that helps us bypass the everyday conscious mind and helps us to get in touch with that part of ourselves that is beyond the conscious (waking) awareness of reality.
The conscious mind is always ‘busy’ and always engaged with your environment, your thoughts and your past (or future). This is often referred to as ‘chatter’.
The conscious mind is never still. Every thought gives birth to the next and then the next and this never ending loop of thoughts can easily keep us stuck in the superficial world of everyday awareness.
There is much more to life than just the reaction to what is happening on the surface level.
Life is very much like an iceberg. What you see above is minute compared to the depth and complexity of what happens underneath the surface level of life.
Meditation allows us to get in touch with the infinite part of ourselves and the infinite, Divine side of life itself.
This is the real juice of life.
Not only does it satisfy a built-in desire to make contact with this aspect of life but it leaves us feeling refreshed, invigorated and gives us insight and perspective in life.
Meditation is like a gym in which you develop the powerful mental muscles of calm and insight.
– Ajahn Brahm
Meditation helps us to see well beyond all our problems, desires and even life itself.
While this all sounds great, meditation can be tricky. The mind is always engaged in chatter and learning to truly still your mind takes practise and sometimes great effort.
If the mind is constantly engaged in this process of chatter, being still is not easy. Before you know it your mind drifts to some problem, concern or desire.
2 Strategies For What To Say During Meditation
Knowing what to say during meditation is usually dependent on your meditation practise or meditation strategy.
There are essentially two strategies.
The first is where you would say something to yourself – either out loud or quietly to help focus your mind.
The second is where you would use a mantra. A mantra is a specific word or phrase that has a sound and this sound centers around having a certain vibration that helps you focus on a specific goal in meditation.
1. Saying Something To Remain Focussed and Awake During Meditation
There are essentially two big challenges when you meditate. The first is to stay awake and the second is to stay focussed.
Sitting still and ‘doing nothing’ for more than 10 minutes can be a real challenge – especially if you are not used to it.
The mind can play tricks on you. You will feel the urge to get up and go and do something. Your mind will engage in chatter. You will often feel restless and unable to sit still.
An idle mind that is allowed to ‘run wild’ will conjure up all sorts of ‘urgent’ tasks to get you up out of what makes it feel uncomfortable.
Meditation can make you feel uncomfortable for many reasons – the main reason being that you are forced to look beyond the busy tasks or life, the mundane thoughts and the everyday issues that preoccupy most of your lives.
Look deep into your own mind and soul can be very challenging. The mind will seek a way out.
Knowing what to say during meditation can help you stay with it. It can help you silence the conscious mind who will incessantly try and get you up out of your meditation.
Another great challenge in meditation is in staying awake. Most of us simply fall asleep as soon as we close our eyes and start relaxing.
Although meditation is akin to a sleep state, it is not sleep. Being awake and aware is important to help you get the most out of ,editation.
So, what do you say during meditation to help you stay awake and stay engaged?
To be honest, it doesn’t really matter what you say, but what is important is that you say something to keep you focussed and aware.
Many practises encourage you to stay focussed on your breathing. This is an excellent strategy as it helps you to stay focussed, awake and engaged in the present moment.
You can use any phrase, word or even an affirmation to help you achieve this ‘aware and awake’ state during meditation.
An Affirmation:
You can use any short and meaningful affirmation and simply focus all your effort on repeating the affirmation. Here are some popular examples:
- I Am Light
- I Am Love
- I am enough
A Single Word:
- God
- Thank you!
- Love
- Peace
You can really make up your own and use your own. The main thing is that you use the word or phrase to help you focus.
If there is something in particular in your life that you want to manifest or overcome you can also let this inspire you and the words or phrases you choose.
It’s normal for your mind to drift but what is important is that you always come back to the word or phrase and your breathing. Like a plane, you are constantly correcting your course.
2. Saying Something As a Mantra
A mantra is a Sanskrit word that refers to the use of a specific word or phrase that is repeated out loud while meditating.
There are thousands of mantras from numerous religious and non-religious meditation practises that rely on the actual sound and the vibration of that sound during the meditation.
The use of mantras rely on the fact that sound has a powerful vibrational resonance.
The most common use of mantras is in a practise called Japa. It is a meditation practice that uses the repetition of the ‘name of God’.
- ‘Ahhh’ meditation
The sound ‘Ahhh’ is a sound that is common in almost every variation of the name of God. This sound of ‘Ahh’ is used and repeated either as a set number of times (using a mala or beads) or repeated for the entire duration of the meditation.
- Ohm meditation
The words (or sound) ‘Aum’, ‘Ohm’ or ‘Om’ comes from the Sanskrit word for creation and is said to reflect the original vibration of manifestation.
- Aham Prema
‘Aham Prema’ translates to ‘I am divine love’ and helps you focus on the transcendental idea that you are in fact part of the Divine and that you are by nature pure love.
- Ho’oponopono
Ho’oponopono is an ancient Hawaiian meditation practice that uses the phrase: ‘I Love You; I’m Sorry; Please Forgive Me; Thank You’ as a mantra. This helps you overcome resentment, anger and conflict and opens you up to Divine love.
Both mindfulness and transcendental meditation make use of mantras as a means to an end.
The mantra itself is not the powerful aspect of meditating.
There is a saying that you use the mantra to lose the mantra. The mantra’s main purpose is to transport your mind to a different place.
Not only does it solve the issue of what to say during meditation but it gives you a powerful thought and sound to hold on to during meditation.
Mantras are generally considered powerful words or phrases because of its sound and the vibration is aligns you to. Even if the words has no meaning to you, it is the vibration that matters.
