Keeping the Talk Modules Quiet
Repeating mantrams can help control the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, have a calming effect in traffic and even ease the boredom of exercise, according to a study in the latest issue of Journal of Advanced Nursing.
83 per cent of veterans and hospital staff surveyed after a five-week mantram course told researchers from the US Department of Veterans Affairs that they found the technique -- which involves silently and continuously repeating calming words or phrases throughout the day - useful on a number of occasions.
"The people taking part in the study found that silently repeating a specific word or phrase helped them to handle a number of difficult situations" explains lead researcher Jill E Bormann, Research Nurse Scientist at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System in California. Most of the volunteers chose words or phrases that reflected their religious beliefs. People without specific beliefs chose other soothing phrases.
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The process is similar to other meditation practices. It is also similar to chanting, saying the Rosary, ritual praying, or trying to understand the illogical part of a koan. That last item I call the confuse-a-cat model after the Monte Python sketch. Give the verbal system something to keep it occupied and you may keep it out of the way while the rest of your brain deals with the problem.
The Thinkerer has several suggestions on using this method: Clear Your Head. The Relax Clipit. I do have one disagreement with the people who are actively selling this as a product. They tend to suggest that “more is better.” That is a Great American Marketing Phrase. But not even Budweiser tells you that. Personally, I prefer a less materialistic phrase: “Enough is enough.”
The verbal system does have its uses, of course. The important thing is to be able to turn it on an off when it suits your purpose. Just like your TV. On when you need it. Off when it interferes with what you want to do. That is what you do with your TV, isn’t it?
You could think of mantrams and meditation as the remote switch for your verbal system. Quieting the audio in your head. So you can hear from your quiet modules. If you try it, you might hear something important.
83 per cent of veterans and hospital staff surveyed after a five-week mantram course told researchers from the US Department of Veterans Affairs that they found the technique -- which involves silently and continuously repeating calming words or phrases throughout the day - useful on a number of occasions.
"The people taking part in the study found that silently repeating a specific word or phrase helped them to handle a number of difficult situations" explains lead researcher Jill E Bormann, Research Nurse Scientist at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System in California. Most of the volunteers chose words or phrases that reflected their religious beliefs. People without specific beliefs chose other soothing phrases.
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The process is similar to other meditation practices. It is also similar to chanting, saying the Rosary, ritual praying, or trying to understand the illogical part of a koan. That last item I call the confuse-a-cat model after the Monte Python sketch. Give the verbal system something to keep it occupied and you may keep it out of the way while the rest of your brain deals with the problem.
The Thinkerer has several suggestions on using this method: Clear Your Head. The Relax Clipit. I do have one disagreement with the people who are actively selling this as a product. They tend to suggest that “more is better.” That is a Great American Marketing Phrase. But not even Budweiser tells you that. Personally, I prefer a less materialistic phrase: “Enough is enough.”
The verbal system does have its uses, of course. The important thing is to be able to turn it on an off when it suits your purpose. Just like your TV. On when you need it. Off when it interferes with what you want to do. That is what you do with your TV, isn’t it?
You could think of mantrams and meditation as the remote switch for your verbal system. Quieting the audio in your head. So you can hear from your quiet modules. If you try it, you might hear something important.
posted by Selby Evans at 9:08 AM
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