The Power Of 'Mantram'
_*Did the rosaries and prayer beads ever go out of fashion? There is a stage in every human being's life when these artifacts appear to hold no attraction. We decide that we do not need to believe in anybody higher. And then something happens, something that is beyond one's control, which makes one take refuge in prayer and prayer beads. We have all been through these times, one time or the other.
_*It is a known fact that HIV-infected individuals find it difficult to cope with their condition, and they tend to cope negatively: denial, depression, anxiety and stress become their companions. And in such a time, when they turn towards God, the attitude is "Oh, God, why me? Why have you done this to me?" The imagery is that of a God Who is punishing, and the attitude is that of resignation at having to bear this punishment. Continued dwelling on this negative thinking has been found to increase the cortisol levels in the body, giving the retrovirus an even more fertile ground to replicate. However, a growing body of research is now suggesting - that if we shift our thoughts just a little bit, then miracles begin to happen.
_*
"Spirituality" on the other hand is universal, and does not have any of this baggage - no doctrines, no rituals, no dogmas, no you-are-right-versus-I-am-right debates, no-being-held-accountable-for-this-or-that-deed, no-nothing. Spirituality only implies a very individual and very personal communion with an entity that is the Supreme Force and that guides us all. Purists of -isms tend to align spirituality loosely with agnostic theism. The focus in spirituality is finding meaning in life - a quest for Nirvana, if one may use another turn of phrase. [Here is an excellent attempt at defining spirituality: The language of spirituality: An emerging taxonomy.]
So the miracle I am talking about is this: when HIV-infected individuals shift their thoughts from "God is punishing me" and shed their baggage of accountability to "No matter what has happened, everything with me will be okay", and when they keep the mind immersed in positive faith that the Supreme Force - the Si dues si dea, the God that is Unknown and Whose Multidimensional existence our four-dimensions cannot even comprehend leave alone grasp - is all the time with them... then a significant drop in the HIV-markers takes place in their physiology. The cortisol levels go down, the conditions become less amenable for the retrovirus to replicate, CD4 count begins improving... and HIV progress slows.
_*This is the outcome of a study conducted by researchers from a clutch of institutes in San Diego (published in the February 2009 issue of the Journal of Psychosomatic Research), involving people from both the genders, in the age range of 18 to 65, and diagnosed with HIV for more than six months.
_*How were the participants made to shift their thoughts so that they could experience the miracle? They were all asked to attend face-to-face classes for five weeks, for 90 minutes per week. In these classes, the participants were given a copy each of Easwaran's book - "The Mantram Handbook". "Mantram" stands for "a sacred verbal formula repeated in prayer, meditation, or incantation...", as defined by Answers.com. Participants were encouraged to pick and choose the mantram they vibed with the most from the handbook. They were encouraged to practice repeating the mantram silently (not recite aloud), and as much as possible. The core part of the training, to my mind, was that they were asked to first perform the silent recitation during times of zero-or-minimum stress, such as before going to sleep or while idle. Then, later on, once the mind becomes conditioned, the recitation could be actively taken up during times of stress.
_*Another component of the training was "one-pointed attention", which required the participants to engage in only one task at a time, and keep the mind engaged on the sound of the mantram as it was silently uttered.
Finally, the participants were encouraged to adopt a "slow-down" attitude towards everything in life and not feel rushed in normal circumstances - the slowing down allowed one to make choices that were more wise, set priorities that were more correct, and thus reduce overall stress.
From the time the study began till the last day, cortisol levels were regularly checked. The outcome: Cortisol levels registered a steep decline in the group that was being subjected to the mantram intervention technique.These participants also reported a higher sense of ease with themselves and their condition, and projected confidence in overcoming their condition eventually.
_*See? All that they did was, instead of mentally self-flagellating themselves that "God is punishing them", they moved towards the positive thought of "no matter what happened, everything will be okay", and "I know that whatever happens with my illness, things will be okay." This helped them to cope with their condition, and improved the chances of other intervention strategies to do their job more effectively.
How fortunate the 36 participants in this study are. If the HIV progress slowed down for these individuals by following such a simple technique - a technique that does not require any special expertise whatsoever and does not cost a cent -, then surely HIV progress can slow down in all the other HIV-infected individuals, too - if they follow this same technique? Here is the paper, again: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2008.09.017.
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