I don’t want to drag this topic off-course, but if anyone is willing to share some insight into how mantras work scientifically, I would love if you could PM me. Yes, I can Google it, but if anyone has already looked into it, especially combined with personal experience, I would greatly appreciate the jumping-off point.
Mantras are not words they are sound vibrations and every mantra generate a different sound vibration. These sound vibrations are the building blocks of our universe. Mantras are the most ancient vibrations even before our universe existed these mantras were already there. We see them as words but the sound generated with collection of those words and letters generate a very powerful vibration. Try this- say AAHHHH with your mouth open and slowly close your mouth like closing the shutter it should sound like- AAAAHHHH OOHHHH MMMMMM you feel the vibrations on your stomach where sex chakra is there and you’ll also feel it on your solar plexus chakra which is just below the chest.
Mantras vibrate on atomic level and they bring about change in your DNA itself.
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The vibration theory is one such idea as @Starseed pointed out.
An attempt to stimulate certain states of consciousness.
An exercise in focusing and sustaining attention. The Buddhist might say “to eliminate monkey mind”.
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Yes, Cause Buddhist don’t believe in God they believe in the higher consciousness- As humans we are under the influence of the GOD and GODS are under the influence of the mantras and their vibrations.
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bro who told you this lol
No one told me- IT just came to me
understandable. have a nice day
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Very much appreciated! I see there’s been quite a few great things happening around here.
I personally can’t say exactly how mantras work. Mostly because, what makes them ‘work’ is similar to trying to explain how prayer works.
That being said, @Starseed got into the introductory aspect and @RVconsultant said something that was what got me interested in them months ago;
Let’s talk subliminals.
Ra Ma Da Sa Sa Se So Hnn (spelling may be off)
This mantra was one that I personally used with stacks of mine. It has multiple reported benefits but the one that I consistently saw using this one during work is that, it cleared my mind of frustration, irritation and so on with the more difficult customers we had.
Chanting this mantra aloud, I could go from tense, snarky, angry to calm, peaceful, serene, accepting within minutes. I haven’t chanted it so consistently lately, hence the past tense language.
Chanting this one within (silently, in other words) for me has too many benefits to really count but, I used to do it with this mantra, along with Om Mani Padme Hum and others before and during my stack queue.
What I used to call The Looming in older journals, a certain flavor of recon, dissipates like a whisp of black smoke floating into a clear sky; the longer I watched it while chanting, the more the clarity would be and less there would be of the intrusive, self-defeating, ‘projection-of-self’ commonalities in myself that we all experience.
I’m not an expert on mantras by any means. There is an artist named Ajeet and she incorporates mantras into her music.
One of my favorites is called Chattr Chakkr Vartee and I used to sing it to my youngest boy when he was in his earliest months to go to sleep. I learned this song and googled each of the lyrics in order to understand what I was saying.
All I can really say about mantras is, similar to things like subliminals, you can only truly appreciate their power by giving them a go 
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I’m looking more for clinical studies; for context, this relates to something I’m doing for my day job actually, not just a random query for my subliminal interests.
From what I’ve seen, there is a definite effect from intoning mantras… I’ve directly performed/experienced Om meditations many times, as well as Tibetan singing bowls both in-person and as recorded audio, as well as guided Japa meditations… originally with a recording from Wayne Dyer, but from others since then.
What I’m trying to sort out is how much is a physiological response to the resonance of the sounds themselves vs expectations (placebo…) vs something intrinsic to the words (or specific tones, in the case of the bowls, though this would probably fall under the resonance category).
I’m seeking any evidence of the latter.
This is the most interesting to me so far: The neurophysiological correlates of religious chanting | Scientific Reports
Science lags here. And some of the popular studies weren’t very good.
For a long time, it was Herbert Benson talking about the Relaxation Response.
Basically comes down to parasympathetic activation. Two required elements: repetitive stimulus and stable attention. Signals the body that it is safe to focus on parasympathetic activities.
Probably accurate, but that’s also pretty primitive.
Western science lacks highly developed paradigms for parsing consciousness or phenomenological processes in general.
this has been an info-dump.
Good night.
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Yes, Benson’s work has come up quite a bit already in my limited research. The quandary I’m in at the moment is even the best studies (that I’ve found so far at least) involved people who were conscious of the intended effect of the mantras or chants, so even when non-intent chants were used, the subjects knew they were the placebo ones… that’s problematic.
Without knowing (or looking up…) the meanings, 2 people might repeat the following mantras and have different effects from each other, or exactly the same…
Om Kriya Vira Shanti
Om Mani Padme Hum
Om Shanti Sat Jyoti
I’m really curious about what different people experience with those 3 mantras, without looking them up. The middle one is well-known, of course, but it’s plausible for someone to have heard of it without knowing what it means.
edit: …and I seem to have managed to drag this off-topic anyway. My apologies to the OP! We can take this to PMs or start a new topic.
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To be fair, you DID ask for PMs originally. So we’re the ones who dropped the ball there.
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(more chars)
I’m thinking tones and words have something to do with making chanting effective. Sort of like words impacting water molecules, and there is a lot of water in the body.
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Probably also has something to do with intention. I think that’s how the water study worked, since I believe they tried it with different languages too.
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Its a way to steady the mind. If you are relax you won’t have a hard time in hitting the nail with the hammer. When you achieve this, it will be easier for the mind to accept the subs.
Synchronicity alert:
@BLACKICE Not sure if you’ve already come across the work of Anthony Metivier. He brings a sophisticated but also a high-level adept perspective to this question. Apparently, he has a TED talk which I have not watched, but I am listening to him discuss his experiences and ideas with Guru Viking.
Just happened to be listening to this this morning as I repaired the toilet seat in our bathroom.
At around 12:38, they start to discuss potential neuroeffective properties of Sanskrit as a language/mental technology.
Here:
And here’s his TED Talk. Maybe I’ll listen later. (haha. listening now.)
I like the concept: PNSE: Persistent Non-Symbolic Experience
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Bookmarked to watch, thanks!
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One thing I would like to contribute to this cool little discussion (that seems Emperor Throne worthy, btw) is…
Attuning yourself to the master of that mantra (I call them calls, personally) is crucial to success with these forms of mantras.
Buddha, Shiva, Krishna are certain recognizable beings associated with some (Mol Mantra, for example).
The intent makes every bit of the difference for giving mantras. Giving, being very. Very operative.
You get what you put into them.
Now THAT’S interesting. I’ve considered teaching myself Sanskrit and Punjabi, gonna return to this video.
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