Thread: Mantras, affirmation and languages

Hey guys!

Since I am backpacking through Down Under at the moment, I haven't really been active the last couple of months. I really want to get back to LDing so I decided to give it a go again. I spent a year abroad in the USA so my English was really, really fluent but after my time in AU I reckon it is almost as good as my german. I wanted to start out with mantras and affirmation because that used to work very well for me, but a question came up. What language to use for my mantras?? On top of that everything I learned about LDing was in English, so maybe my mental connections are activated better if I use English?

What do you think? And what language do you use, native or English? (If you're not from an English speaking country of course )

Thanks a lot in advance and hopefully we get a nice discussion started!

lucidmats

Interesting question. I for one think it might be best to use your native language for things like mantras.

Because a mantra's power rests in its ability to keep you focused on your goal without needing to think about the mantra itself, it helps if the phrase you are repeating is understood and accepted by your mind at the basest levels...and what could be more basic than the language you have been using since early childhood to understand and communicate your thoughts, actions, and perceptions?

I don't think that using mantras ought to be an intellectual exercise, so the fact that you are reading about and discussing lucid dreaming in English really shouldn't hold much weight in deciding which language to use for your mantra. Indeed, I'm not even sure it matters if you've found yourself thinking in English lately, for the same reason: effective mantras are not based on the words you are currently using to process your thoughts, but on something a bit deeper; a bit more metaphoric. In a sense, the mental connections you've developed through all the English websites, literature, etc, are intellectual in nature, and really are a handy film of information that covers your lucid activity, but it is not the actual activity itself.

Affirmations, on the other hand, are more of an intellectual exercise, and I would imagine you can feel free to say and think them in whatever language is most comfortable or relevant to your goals.

Originally Posted by Sageous

Interesting question. I for one think it might be best to use your native language for things like mantras.

Because a mantra's power rests in its ability to keep you focused on your goal without needing to think about the mantra itself, it helps if the phrase you are repeating is understood and accepted by your mind at the basest levels...and what could be more basic than the language you have been using since early childhood to understand and communicate your thoughts, actions, and perceptions?

I don't think that using mantras ought to be an intellectual exercise, so the fact that you are reading about and discussing lucid dreaming in English really shouldn't hold much weight in deciding which language to use for your mantra. Indeed, I'm not even sure it matters if you've found yourself thinking in English lately, for the same reason: effective mantras are not based on the words you are currently using to process your thoughts, but on something a bit deeper; a bit more metaphoric. In a sense, the mental connections you've developed through all the English websites, literature, etc, are intellectual in nature, and really are a handy film of information that covers your lucid activity, but it is not the actual activity itself.

Affirmations, on the other hand, are more of an intellectual exercise, and I would imagine you can feel free to say and think them in whatever language is most comfortable or relevant to your goals.

I love this post. I wish there was a love button. People often don't use a mantra because they are doing affirmations accidentally instead. Or people refuse to use affirmations because they don't know about them. I find both of them extremely helpful. Wish I would have seen something similar when I first started LDing.