Have you got a special thing that always helps you relax, cast your worries away and gain more clearness of thought? If yes, you're lucky and blessed, if not, you still have time to discover this unique element that can be your cure and refuge.
I like to call such things mantra, due to a direct association with the original meaning of the word. Mantra is a little bit of a buzz word nowadays that western people embrace yoga and meditation with absolute delight as a weapon against stress. However, if you've never been sure what the real meaning of mantra is, remember that the dictionary defines it as:
"Originally, in Hinduism and Buddhism, a word or sound repeated to aid concentration in meditation"
Nonetheless, if you don't practice yoga and meditation or adhere to any Oriental spiritual practice or philosophy, it doesn't automatically mean you can't have a mantra.
In my view, one's personal mantra is the though, action, or object that has a constant soothing effect on that individual. Just like meditating while uttering a mantra in order to reach a higher level of concentration and awareness, a "profane" mantra can help you calm down, be more at ease with yourself, clear your mind of negative thoughts and think more effectively.
I found my personal mantra a little less than a year ago when I started going to the swimming pool more regularly. The simple thought and sensation of immerging in water is utterly relaxing to me and helps me put my thoughts in order. As I started going to one particular swimming pool more often, I also realized how soothing, almost hypnotizing it is to look beneath the water at the shining blue patterns painted at the bottom of the pool. Their colour, enhanced by the effects of the lights laid beneath the water's level, combined with the soft touch of the surrounding liquid simply have a mantra effect on me. I can swim in there and get lost in my thoughts and in the blue water for over an hour without realising. Hundreds of ideas run trough my mind during that time, but none of them is stressful, none of them requires immediate action. All of the thoughts seem to melt and give way to a state of tranquility and clarity.
So how do you find your own mantra if you haven't done it by now? The answer is you have to look and when you'll be in the presence of it, you'll know it. To get hold of your mantra, you have to know what it is that makes you feel more at ease with yourself. And, to do this, you might need to get out of your comfort zone and try new things. A particular song or type of music, the way you feel when you practice a sport, visit a particular place or indulge in a game, a good meal or someone's company are all good occasions to discover your mantra. When you do, don't ignore it or try to convince yourself the moment was unrepeatable. On the contrary, try to re-live that moment of exaltation so that you can reassure yourself that's your mantra right there.
Your personal mantra doesn't have to be connected to your religious beliefs or your spiritual side, it simply has to be that thing that picks you up when you're down and gets you going.
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