Written Paper: Thinking and Behavior
Select a personal Mantram. For an entire day, practice arresting your negative thoughts. When you have trouble moving your mind away from negative thoughts, silently repeat the Mantram you picked to yourself repeatedly until your mind loosens its grip on the negative thought. This may take several minutes or more.
Take notes throughout your day, including: a) What negative thoughts were you tempted to repeat to yourself?; b) how difficult was it to loosen your mind’s grip on those negative thoughts?; c) how did you feel when you were able to put those negative thoughts down?; e) how did others respond differently when you avoided acting negatively?
Write a two-page and double-spaced paper describing at least two research studies about Mantram repetition and your own experiences with Mantram repetition. In your paper, include detailed descriptions of when you used your Mantram, your behaviors, how others responded, and how you felt. Finally, in your opinion, how might our society appear different if everyone learned how to arrest negative thoughts before these thoughts influenced their behaviors toward others?