“I am NOT my thoughts” – Creating Mantras to Break Any Rumination or Negative Thoughts

Last week, I decided to do a little psychological experiment. For a very long time (probably since my teenage years), I’ve struggled with rumination. If this topic sounds familiar, it is because I wrote a blog post about my experience with rumination in the past. On a psychological level, rumination is deep thoughts about something and it usually is just your thoughts replaying a specific topic over and over again. It is pretty hard to break rumination because you begin to look at a situation in different ways and it begins to feel real; the mind is playing a convincing story. Honestly, it really feels overwhelming as well. This negative cycle seems to be embedded in the person’s subconscious. The only way to end the rumination is by breaking the cycle of negative thoughts, and mantras can help with that.

“A mantra is nothing more than a collection of words strung together to create a positive effect.” 

After thinking about my constant struggles with rumination, I had my “enough is enough” moment early last week (thank goodness). I am sure the full moon had something to do with it because I prayed for the realize of the ruminations. Therefore, I decided to discover a manta that I could repeat every single time a negative thought or just a thought of my old way of thinking pops up.  A little FYI about mantras: a mantra is a statement that is repeated over and over again. Mantras are common in the spiritual practice. So, my new mantra is “I am NOT my thoughts” and let me tell you, this mantra is super powerful. Every single time a thought begins to creep out, I would say the mantra to myself or even out loud, and I would feel a difference.

In all honesty, I really do believe we are not our thoughts. We are souls with a body and not a body with a soul. We are spiritual beings with hearts filled with love, compassion, and empathy – not hate, anger, and evil. So, when I have thoughts that seem to go against my morals and beliefs of love, forgiveness, gratitude, and happiness, I know I need to align myself with my morals and beliefs. I know deep down inside that I am a kind person; so, I shouldn’t give in to my thoughts just because my subconscious hasn’t caught up to my heart. With this in mind, I realized the mantra of “I am NOT my thoughts” would help retrain my subconscious and help me let go of feelings and thoughts associated with the rumination.

Anyone can create a daily mantra for any situation. Let’s say you are nervous about a job interview and you are afraid you’re going to stumble over your words. I’ve been there, but  you can say the following mantra: I am an effective communicator. As you repeat it to yourself, you will feel the power in the words and it will begin to shift your mood.

I’ve been inspired by last week’s mantra discovery, and I would like to encourage you to create your own mantras. As a way to help you, I will create a section in this blog dedicated to mantras. I am thinking about making weekly mantras just to help you along your day, and possibly making it a daily mantra post.

Let me know your thoughts, and remember, you have the power to control your mind, not the other way around.

Much Gratitude and Love,

Jeannie