Selecting Mantras.

Question: Dear Dr. Chopra, Firstly, may I say how grateful I am to you. You have changed my life, as indeed I am certain you have done for millions of other people. Thank you. My question is: Is it appropriate for me to select different mantras each day, as in the guided mediations which utilize a plethora of mantras. I ask this in regard to the “mood” or “needs”, as it were, my true self is telling me each day. And, is it necessary to read my list of intentions/desires daily before or after each meditation? They are well engrained into my thinking that I need only think of the list and I “see” it before me. I don’t wish to become confused in regard to the letting go/detachment aspect of meditation by needing to refer to a list. However, if this is vital to the process , I will continue this. It is by no means a true disruption; only perhaps unnecessary? Meditation is truly the most powerful tool that can give rise to the level of self-awareness. It has been life changing. Having been a singer most of my life, I am well aware of the elements of concentration that occurs in those moments of music making/expression, which do in fact take one to “another place”; a transcendence, if you will. But now, having incorporated the practice daily of meditation for the past six months, I am being connected to the level of consciousness which is allowing me to resolve negative patterns of thinking, that, in all honesty, throughout my life have caused disruption. Again, I thank you most humbly for all that you contribute. I listen to you and read your numerous books every day. It is been a Divine gift. ….And I thank you for taking the time to read my rather long email! Response: It’s not necessary to select different mantras for your daily practice. In fact, typically one is given only one mantra for everyday meditation. The guided meditations use a variety of mantras because of the development of a particular theme to the meditation. But for simply meditating on your own and going within, using one mantra has advantages. By becoming more and more familiar, thinking the mantra becomes so second-nature that it practically goes on all by itself. That frees up the subtle attention of the mind to become more aware of the fine details of expanding consciousness. A similar mental mechanics applies to your question about reviewing your intentions before meditating. Once they become so thoroughly familiar and internalized, they are automatically operating at that quiet level of the mind. It doesn’t help to go through the deliberate steps of reading them. As you say, it can even feel like a disruption, because that process is actually taking the mind out of that quiet realm where the intention is already close to the field of all possibilities. Love, Deepak