A Different Way Into Stillness

Using mantras and mudras when the mind refuses to slow down.

I’ve always wanted to meditate. Not because someone told me I should, but because I longed for what seemed to be on the other side of it. A deeper connection with myself and a connection with the Divine. A sense of peace that didn’t disappear the moment life became busy or stressful.

The problem was that my mind had other ideas.

I’ve tried many forms of meditation, such as staring at a candle flame, listening to white noise, or counting my breaths. I’ve tried various yoga breathing exercises, such as alternating nostril breaths. But my mind is just too active, and thoughts jumble through my head when I try sitting quietly. If you’ve ever struggled to meditate because your thoughts won’t stop, you’re not alone.

Meditation is something the mind can’t do, and because our minds are so used to being in charge and active. In this case, I like to think of my mind like a two-year-old child. When you ignore them or tell them to be quiet, they protest and want even more of your attention. But if you give them a job to do or make them feel important, they become quiet. I’ve found that if I can give my mind something to think about, rather than trying to force away thoughts, I have much better success in meditating.

Finding a Way into Stillness

I’ve found that using mantras and mudras helps me do this the most. For me, they became an alternative meditation practice that worked with my mind instead of against it. Doing the mudra’s the hand positions, and singing (or chanting) the mantras gives my mind something to occupy it. Something important. Since my mind now feels involved in the process, it doesn’t have to work to get my attention, allowing me to go into a deep meditative state. I’ve even achieved a state of no-mindedness, of no thought, and a sense of oneness. (Of course, as soon as I notice it, I fall right out of it. 🤣)

What began as a way to meditate eventually became something much more. It became a way to sit with myself, to listen, and to meet whatever was present without judgment. The more I worked with mantras and mudras, I became curious about why these practices affected me so deeply. What I discovered gave me an even greater appreciation for them.

Mantras and Divine Speech

 Mantra is a Sanskrit word that means “tools of the mind.” It also means “divine speech.” A mantra includes affirmations, but in this case, I’m referring to the ancient Sanskrit prayers and chants. Hindus have used these prayers in their spiritual practice for thousands of years. When I chant these prayers, I’m tapping into the vast wealth of energy from millions of people connecting with the mantra’s energy. For me, mantra meditation works because it gives my mind somewhere to rest. Instead of trying to stop my thoughts, I can focus on the sound, the words, and the intention behind them.

In Thomas Ashley-Farrand’s book, Healing Mantras, he talks about mantra as less of a language of direct meaning, but more of energy. It doesn’t matter if we understand exactly what we’re chanting, “because mantras are fundamentally about energy rather than meaning.” (pg 48). When we chant mantras, especially when we sing them, the power of sound vibrates the petals of the chakras. “This sets off a cascade of energetic effects.” (pg 48). While I can’t see those energetic shifts happening, I can feel them. Some mantras leave me energized and expansive. Others create a profound sense of stillness or connection.

Personally, I like singing mantras rather than chanting them monotone, like you hear Buddhist monks do. The sound vibrations created by singing fill my body, and I can better feel the effects. While mantras work through sound and vibration, I discovered that mudras brought another dimension to my experience.

Mudras and Sacred Hand Gesture

Mudra means to “lock or bind,” and they are sacred hand gestures. If you’ve never encountered mudras before, they’re simply specific hand positions used during meditation and spiritual practice. For example, the classic prayer position of holding your palms together in front of your chest is a mudra. Most of the images of Hindu deities show them doing a mudra—so do the pictures of Christ.

During my practice, I’ve found that the sacred gestures of mudra hold and lock the energy I’m creating while chanting a mantra. This forms a type of kinetic muscle memory. After I’ve sat in meditation doing the mudra for stillness consistently over several days or months, I now have the muscle memory for stillness. Then, when faced with a situation in my life where I need stillness and calm, such as a chaotic meeting, I can do the mudra. Instantly, I begin to feel calmness and stillness fill me. This mudra, and many mudras others, can be done unobtrusively, such as in my lap or under my desk when I need their support throughout my day.

Although I usually use mudras for their spiritual effects and for personal change, mudras can also affect physical health. The mudras touch different meridian points and trigger reflexology pressure points in our hands. There are mudras for helping with headaches, and even one that can ease the pain of a heart attack!

Understanding the theory is interesting, but experiencing it is something entirely different. After working with a mudra for a while, I can feel the energy moving from my hands and into my body. Sometimes this is soothing, and other times it’s like a pleasant electrical zing. Those moments of feeling the energy move through me were what first showed me that these practices were changing more than how I meditated.

Beyond Better Meditation

Mantras and mudras have been a powerful influence on my life, beyond meditating better. They’ve helped shape how I move through life, relate to myself, and connect with the Divine. When I do them with intention, they bring attention and energy to the areas I want to improve or transform in my life. The energetic and spiritual aspects of the mantras and mudras support the change of mindset, belief systems, and mental programming. In addition, many mantras are prayers to various Hindu deities, and thus help me to connect with the energies and qualities these deities represent and bring those into my life.

Even though these have had a profound effect on my life, the most important part for me isn’t the transformation. Rather, it’s the opportunity to meet myself again and again in a safe space. A space where I can be present with whatever I’m feeling, without needing to fix it, force it, or become something else.

This practice isn’t about perfecting my chant or gesture, but allowing myself to be in the moment and accept whatever that is. Some days, my mind settles quickly, while on other days, it constantly wanders. One day, I’ll practice the same mantra and mudra for ten minutes, and other days, I’m lucky to reach three minutes.

The most important thing is that I show up and practice over and over. Over time, I found myself returning to different mantra-mudra sets depending on what I needed most at that point in my life.

Each one carries its own focus and purpose, which helps me choose the set that best supports me in that season.

Practicing with Intention

The mantras and mudras have an inherent purpose, which I look at when choosing which ones to use. The power of mantras and mudras deepens when I add intention to my practice and when I do them consistently over time.

When I practice the mantra-mudra set for stillness, my hands rest in the mudra while I sing the accompanying mantra. How loudly I sing depends on my mood and energy for the day.

Before I begin, I set my intention, usually as an affirmation such as, “I am still. My mind is still. I am connected to the Divine.” After a few minutes, my attention naturally settles into the rhythm of the sound and the feeling of my hands. The rest of the world begins to fall into the background, and my attention narrows to the experience unfolding in that moment. My usual stream of thoughts begins to quiet, and a deeper stillness emerges.

Some days my thoughts still race, while on others they settle. Over time, the sound of the mantra and the gesture of the mudra became a doorway into a deeper stillness. One where, on occasion, I’ve dropped into a place of utter stillness and peace, where my mind is quiet, and I have a sense of oneness.

Stillness was one of the first gifts this practice gave me, but it wasn’t the only one.

Self-Love as Practice

One of my favorite mantra-mudra sets is for self-love. When I first started doing this, I didn’t love myself at all. I had a pattern of self-hatred and a belief that I wasn’t worthy or capable of love. But I wanted to love myself and to be in a place where I could love and be loved.

I knew it started with loving myself, so I practiced the self-love mantra and mudra, along with affirmations such as, “I love myself. I am worthy of love.” My self-loathing was so deeply ingrained that it took time—a lot of time, months—of doing this practice daily.

There were days when I wanted to quit because I was just going through the motions. I often didn’t feel like anything was happening, then I’d feel glimmers of energy flowing, enough to keep me going.

Then, one day, as I sat in meditation doing the self-love mantra-mudra, I realized my affirmation of “I love myself” wasn’t wishful thinking, but a statement of fact. A sense of love, like nothing I’d ever felt before, flowed from my upraised hands and into my heart. My entire body tingled with a love that I hadn’t thought possible for me to experience.

Looking back, that moment wasn’t the end of my journey toward self-love, but simply the moment I realized the practice had been working all along.

Transformation Through Repetition

I like to chant or sing a mantra and hold the mudra for at least three minutes, which is the traditional time suggested. I’ve found it takes time for the energy to build in my body and for me to feel the effects.

As with any energetic transformation, I’ve found it often takes time to see or notice the change. It isn’t like taking a pill and having the pain immediately gone. Rather, mantras and mudras act like herbal tonics. Over time, they effect change and transformation, and change habits of thought and behavior. Because of that, I’ve found it helpful to approach them as an ongoing relationship rather than a quick fix.

I particularly like to practice using the rhythm of the moon cycles. It takes a cycle and a half to reach the recommended time frame. I like starting on a new moon and going through the next new moon (about 28-30 days) and finishing on the full moon (about 14 days, 45 days in total).

To help me make this a consistent practice, I’ve made a “star chart”, or a calendar. I gave myself a star or other sticker for each day I practiced the mantra-mudra. Don’t laugh! Star charts work for adults as well as for children. They’re a graphic representation of my accomplishment and commitment to the practice. I receive a tremendous boost when I put that star on the calendar and say, “I did it!”

Living the Practice

Over the years, I’ve used mantra and mudra sets for stillness, self-love, creativity, abundance, peace, and guidance. They’ve helped me to change not only how I meditate but also myself and how I move through my life.

What surprises me most is that the stillness, the self-love, or even the transformation I found wasn’t the greatest gift I received from my practice. It was discovering a place where I could meet myself exactly as I was on any given day. Some days I felt connected and expansive. Other days I was distracted, restless, or going through the motions. My mantra and mudra practice made room for all of it.

What began as a way to meditate became a way of returning—to myself, to the Divine, and to the life I want to create.

And each time I return, I discover that what I’m seeking is never as far away as I believe.

As I wrote this essay, I realized that what mantras and mudras have given me isn’t simply a way to meditate. They’ve become a place where I can return to myself, regardless of what I’m thinking, feeling, or carrying that day.

Perhaps something in this reflection touched a similar place within you. If so, these questions are offered as an invitation to explore your own experience and relationship with stillness, practice, and connection.

1. What part of yourself do you most often find yourself trying to push away, control, or change when you sit down for a spiritual practice?

2. When you think about spiritual practice as a place to return to rather than something to achieve, what feelings, thoughts, or reactions arise within you?

3. If there were a practice that met you exactly where you are today, what would that experience feel like?

Going Deeper

Over the years, I developed a love for meditating using mantras and mudras. They’ve helped me to:

• Learn to love myself
• Embrace my creativity
• Reach a place of stillness and quiet
• Open to more abundance
• Receive guidance

Several years ago, I had an amazing opportunity to create an audio of my favorite ten mantras. I wanted to make it more than a typical meditation audio and created original music for these mantras.

I had so much fun stretching my creativity in this endeavor that I don’t think I’ll have the opportunity to repeat it. Since I also like doing mudras with the mantras, I also created a PDF booklet with pictures of the mudras and accompanying affirmations.

If this method of meditation appeals to you, Transformational Prayers is available as a digital download in my store, Tora’s Mystical Emporium. (You can listen to a sample of the “Love” mantra here.)

I invite you to join the conversation on my Substack, Lunar Ink & Alchemy, to share your experience and insights from reading this essay.