Meditation is supposed to be all about simplifying your focus and calming the mind. And yet, even in my approach to meditation I find myself complicating it. I think, “Which meditation strategy should I use today?” And my mind starts racing. Not exactly the way to begin meditating. Since I’ve been reading some great books on mediation, I’ve learned several strategies. So I decided to take the decision making out of it and make up some flash cards. This way I can shuffle them and just pick one and be on my way to mindfulness. After putting them together I thought it would be nice to share it with you all. So click to read more and grab your free download of these mediation flashcards.
I’ve collected a few of the strategies mentioned in the books I’ve been reading on mediation and put them into flashcards. I’ve also put each of them in this post below as well.
Click here to download your free PDF of “Mindfulness Meditation Mantras.”
If you’re interested in learning more about mindfulness meditation, I recommend these books and audio:
Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying: The Spiritual Classic & International Bestseller: Revised and Updated Edition by Sogyal Rinpoche
Genuine Happiness: Meditation as the Path to Fulfillment by B. Alan Wallace
The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation
Mindfulness for Beginners by Kabat-Zinn, Jon Unabridged edition [audiocd(2006)]
Here are the meditations that are in the flashcards:
Mindfulness Meditation Mantras
1. Watch the Breath
Mantra
Breathing in I know I am breathing in.
Breathing out I know I am breathing out
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
2. Letting Go
With each breath focus on releasing clinging to things.
Release avoiding things you don’t like.
Mantra: “Release”
3. Focus on an Object
Pick the first object that comes to mind.
Stay visually focused, but allow thoughts to simply float by without holding them.
Examples: spiritual person, a symbol, a picture, a flower, a crystal, a candle.
4. Padmasambhava Mantra (founder of Tibetan Buddhism)
Om Ah Hum Vajra Guru Padma Siddi Hum
Translation: Om Speak I Thunderbolt WiseTeacher Lotus/Enlightened Mind Accomplishment I
(click here for more detailed explanation of this mantra)
5. Om Mani Padme Om
(Hail the Jewel(Buddha of Compassion) of the Lotus)
6. Om Shanti Shanti Shanti (mantra)
(Om – Peace in body, mind, spirit)
7. Ho’oponopono (Hawaiian Prayer Mantra)
I love you. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. Thank you.
8. Aum (OM)
(The primordial sound of the cosmos. Om = all that is.)
9. Love (mantra)
10. Be the Change (mantra)
11. Just Be (mantra)
12. Just. Be. Kind. (mantra)
13. Just. Be. Love. (mantra)
14. Om Namah Shivaya (mantra)
(I bow to Shiva (the diety who represents your highest self))
15. Breathing in I follow my breath beginning to end.
Breathing out I follow my breath beginning to end.
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
16. Breathing in I am aware of my whole body.
Breathing out I am aware of my whole body.
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
17. Breathing in I am aware of some tension/pain in my body.
Breathing out I calm and release the tension/pain in my body.
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
18. Breathing in I feel joy.
Breathing out I know joy is there.
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
19. Breathing in I feel happy.
Breathing out I know happiness is there.
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
20. Breathing in I know that a painful feeling is there.
Breathing out I calm that painful feeling.
(hello my fear, my sadness. I am going to take good care of you.)
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
21. Breathing in I calm my mental formations (thoughts).
Breathing out I calm my mental formations.
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
22. Breathing in I am aware of my mind.
Breathing out I am aware of my mind.
(just recognize. No grasping)
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
23. Breathing in I concentrate my mind.
Breathing out I concentrate my mind.
(on impermanence, emptiness, interbeing)
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
24. Breathing in I liberate my mind.
Breathing out I liberate my mind.
(free from grasping or aversions)
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
25. Breathing in I observe the impermanent nature of all Dharmas.
Breathing out I observe the impermanent nature of all Dharmas.
(no self, emptiness, interbeing)
(focus on one object to go deep into this: flower, pebble, a person, yourself, your pain, etc)
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
26. Breathing in I observe the disappearance of desire.
Breathing out I observe the disappearance of desire.
(look deeply into your craving to understand)
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
27.Breathing in I observe cessation.
Breathing out I observe cessation.
(extinction of all notions – touch reality, interbeing, knowing of no-birth/no-death reality, knowing we are part of the whole cosmos)
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
28. Breathing in I observe letting go.
Breathing out I observe letting go.
(look deeply at giving up craving, hatred, fear – liberates us from fear, anger, despair. You are nirvana, just as the wave is already water.)
(Thich Nhat Hanh)
29. Metta Meditation
(with heartfelt enthusiasm + kindness)
May I be peaceful, happy – light in body/spirit.
May I be safe + free from injury.
May I be free from fear, anxiety, anger, & affliction.
(Say for yourself several times, then for individuals you know, then for groups of people, then for all)
(Visualise in yourself & others as you say it: the physical body, their feelings, their perceptions, their mental formations (ideas tendencies that motivate thinking/behavior))
Please Share
Do you have a favorite mantra or meditation practice? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments below or over at Facebook or Twitter. Thanks!
[…] then I have learned mindfulness. I’m a beginner and feel like I will always be a beginner but that’s okay. The idea of […]