A helpful, ego-dissolving mantra

Filed under Notes on 22. May 2007 »

I haven’t had much experience with using mantras, but lately I’ve been using a particular pointer I like as a mantra almost inadvertently. Not in the manner of repeating it over and over again to replace mental noise, but it is something I find helpful to repeat frequently over the course of a day, once every 15 minutes or so. It simply says: “I want nothing for myself.”

Contemplating this, the possibility of wanting nothing for myself, is a way of breaking the old conditioned habit of always being in the mode of asking “what’s in it for me?” I suspect that my conditioning is unusually heavy on this particular dysfunction, and so experiencing the shift into wanting to be of service, of wanting to give rather than wanting to take, or have, brings an incredible sense of relief.

The reason why it gives me such relief is that the habitual mode of perceiving, of always having an underlying motivation of wanting something for myself, is a major part of the egoic function. It is the backbone of the survival mechanism, always churning away trying to spot opportunities to extract some kind of gain from the world of form. Wanting something for ‘myself’ implies wanting something for my personal self, which is the ego. And because this way of thinking is based on the assumption that I am a separate entity in a world of competing entities, there is a built-in sense of tension that goes with it.

Now, it is important to know that the pointer, or mantra, is not saying that you should give away all your belongings and never acquire anything ever again. It’s fine to prefer red apples to green ones, or whatever, and it’s also fine to want this sweater or that book, etc. The function of it is to break the habitual pattern of thinking by reducing your self-importance so to speak. If I recall correctly, Jesus is to have said “deny thyself.” And what I take it to mean is basically the same as “want nothing for yourself,” namely to starve the ego of importance, not give it any reality and simply allow it to fade away.

When I contemplate wanting nothing for myself, I start to see the world in a different light. Everything becomes clear, because things and situations are no longer being seen through the layers of egoic bias and distortion, and everything seems to flow more smoothly. All your problems and dilemmas simply dissolve when you’re not thinking about what you want for yourself, and you may even begin to lose interest in personal gain — the pleasure of something is then seen as paling in comparison to the joy of nothing.

Give it a try and, whenever you remember, repeat the mantra “I want nothing for myself.” Contemplate it, meditate on it, allow it to work its way into your daily awareness and see what happens.