{"id":858,"date":"2012-01-10T06:00:48","date_gmt":"2012-01-10T11:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/awakeintheworld\/?p=858"},"modified":"2012-01-01T12:56:58","modified_gmt":"2012-01-01T17:56:58","slug":"mantras-and-centering-prayer-to-focus-the-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/01\/mantras-and-centering-prayer-to-focus-the-mind.html","title":{"rendered":"Mantras and Centering Prayer to Focus the Mind"},"content":{"rendered":"

Using a centering prayer or mantra to focus the mind is an ancient practice that continues to bring peace and fulfillment. It helps to uplift the mind when all around are filled with worry and fear.\u00a0\"\"<\/p>\n

Using a centering prayer or mantra is easy. Choose a word or divine name that you wish to focus on. The word maybe \u201cpeace,\u201d \u201clove,\u201d \u201cOm,\u201d \u201cShanthi\u201d (which is Sanskrit for peace) or another word that elevates the mind. If you prefer a divine name like Buddha, Jesus, Allah, Rama, Krishna, Mother Mary or another, choose one that you\u2019ll remain loyal to and hold it in your mind.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the simple practice:<\/p>\n

1)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Choose the word or name.<\/p>\n

2)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Repeat it over and over for one minute. When the mind wanders, bring it back to the word or name. A mala or prayer beads may help to connect the physical movement to the mental practice. A bead is moved forward with each repetition.<\/p>\n

3)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Let the mind continue to dwell in the peace and joy of the word or name.<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 When worrisome or troubling thoughts enter the mind, return to the repetition of the centering prayer or divine name.<\/p>\n

This practice is deceptively simple. It trains the mind to remain focused and it helps to pull it up to elevated thoughts and feelings. It has a powerfully transformative effect. Give it a try for yourself and see.<\/p>\n

A mantra may be as simple as the word, “Om,” which is said to contain all the sacred elements of sound, or it may be more complex like “Om Namah Shivaya” or include mantras to the elements or specific deities. Mantras are considered powerful because sound invokes the energies of the particular element or deities. Find a mantra that holds meaning and power for you and repeat it over and over silently to yourself or aloud. This practice energizes and calms the wayward wanderings of the chattering mind and can be particularly useful in times of stress.<\/p>\n

Bio:<\/strong> Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life<\/a>. A visionary and teacher, she\u2019s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind\/body\/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http:\/\/www.awakeintheworld.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Using a centering prayer or mantra to focus the mind is an ancient practice that continues to bring peace and fulfillment. It helps to uplift the mind when all around are filled with worry and fear.\u00a0 Using a centering prayer or mantra is easy. Choose a word or divine name that you wish to focus…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":409,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,10,4,26,125,13,3],"tags":[346,22,345,577,578],"class_list":["post-858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buddhism","category-faith","category-inspiration","category-meditation","category-oneness","category-prayer","category-spiritual-practice","tag-awake-in-the-world","tag-centering-prayer","tag-debra-moffitt","tag-mantras-and-prayer","tag-repetition-of-divine-names"],"yoast_head":"\nMantras and Centering Prayer to Focus the Mind - Awake in the World<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/01\/mantras-and-centering-prayer-to-focus-the-mind.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mantras and Centering Prayer to Focus the Mind - Awake in the World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Using a centering prayer or mantra to focus the mind is an ancient practice that continues to bring peace and fulfillment. It helps to uplift the mind when all around are filled with worry and fear.\u00a0 Using a centering prayer or mantra is easy. Choose a word or divine name that you wish to focus…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/01\/mantras-and-centering-prayer-to-focus-the-mind.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Awake in the World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-01-10T11:00:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-01-01T17:56:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/%7E\/media\/DED7AA6376094E8FB26F98F35C8687EA.ashx?w=400&h=300\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"debramoffitt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mantras and Centering Prayer to Focus the Mind - Awake in the World","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/01\/mantras-and-centering-prayer-to-focus-the-mind.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mantras and Centering Prayer to Focus the Mind - Awake in the World","og_description":"Using a centering prayer or mantra to focus the mind is an ancient practice that continues to bring peace and fulfillment. It helps to uplift the mind when all around are filled with worry and fear.\u00a0 Using a centering prayer or mantra is easy. Choose a word or divine name that you wish to focus…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/01\/mantras-and-centering-prayer-to-focus-the-mind.html","og_site_name":"Awake in the World","article_published_time":"2012-01-10T11:00:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-01-01T17:56:58+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/%7E\/media\/DED7AA6376094E8FB26F98F35C8687EA.ashx?w=400&h=300"}],"author":"debramoffitt","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/01\/mantras-and-centering-prayer-to-focus-the-mind.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/01\/mantras-and-centering-prayer-to-focus-the-mind.html","name":"Mantras and Centering Prayer to Focus the Mind - Awake in the World","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/01\/mantras-and-centering-prayer-to-focus-the-mind.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/01\/mantras-and-centering-prayer-to-focus-the-mind.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/%7E\/media\/DED7AA6376094E8FB26F98F35C8687EA.ashx?w=400&h=300","datePublished":"2012-01-10T11:00:48+00:00","dateModified":"2012-01-01T17:56:58+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/#\/schema\/person\/02075581804fd841fea631836d89cb7e"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/01\/mantras-and-centering-prayer-to-focus-the-mind.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/01\/mantras-and-centering-prayer-to-focus-the-mind.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/01\/mantras-and-centering-prayer-to-focus-the-mind.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/%7E\/media\/DED7AA6376094E8FB26F98F35C8687EA.ashx?w=400&h=300","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/%7E\/media\/DED7AA6376094E8FB26F98F35C8687EA.ashx?w=400&h=300"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/2012\/01\/mantras-and-centering-prayer-to-focus-the-mind.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Mantras and Centering Prayer to Focus the Mind"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/","name":"Awake in the World","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Debra Moffitt","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/#\/schema\/person\/02075581804fd841fea631836d89cb7e","name":"debramoffitt","description":"Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary and teacher, she\u2019s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind\/body\/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at www.debramoffitt.com.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.awakeintheworld.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/author\/debramoffitt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/409"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=858"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":860,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/858\/revisions\/860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/awakeintheworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}