Healing Mantras: Using Sound Affirmations for Personal Power, Creativity, and Healing

by Thomas Ashley-Farrand

Mantras, or simple chants, are short phrases packed with energy and intention, specifically designed to generate powerful sound-waves that promote healing, insight, creativity and spiritual growth. The transformative power of sound has been passed down to the present day from the sages of India, the scientists of ancient Greece and medieval monks. Mantras and chants have inspired, comforted and mended the lives of cultures, religious orders and individuals. This is the first book to explain and adapt ancient Sanskrit mantras to Western needs. In 'Healing Mantras' the author shows how and why mantras work, and how to use them for everything from curing specific ailments to finding inner peace. In each of more than fifty mantras, all translated from the Sanskrit, Ashley-Farrand unlocks the power of every word, explains its appropriate application and tells you how to pronounce it in easy-to-follow, phonetic symbols. The mantras can be repeated aloud or silently by everyone anywhere, to help and to heal. Beginners will find here a lucid and solid grounding in sound meditation, but even those who already practise some energy-based techniques will discover much to enrich their spiritual journey to healing and freedom. * The book includes a free CD to help you on your way.

Genres: Spirituality, Nonfiction, Meditation, Buddhism, Self Help, Religion, Audiobook

Paperback & Audio CD

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

The works of Thomas Ashley-Farrand give unprecedented, detailed instruction in how to empower yourself using the techniques of the ancient sages and rishis. After many years of teaching and sharing, he has been persuaded by his friends to publish the techniques of mantra sadhana in which he was initiated over the course of decades by Eastern masters. Additionally, as we enter the new millenium, he has decided to share some of the moving experiences that he has had with spiritually advanced beings, as well as the lessons that he learned from each encounter.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, the way I came to this book is much like I do any other book on philosophy and/or religion...I stumbled upon it. However, timing was on my side and so I purchased the book along with the CD. I've never been so impressed by an introduction book in a philosophy/religion as I was with this one. Not only was it easy to read but they used the traditional terms immediately followed by very clear meanings and usage! Usage! Who would have guessed....yes, meditation fans...usage instructions. I've been on my practice for 4 days and I'm already seeing results in my person. Meditation is the way to go and this book is the way to help you get there - especially if you are like me and tend to get interrupted by "mind chatter" alot! Having a mantra quiets the mind chatter. Plus, the sounds are actually soothing and easy to make. And no, it's not so weird.

I love it and am excited to see just how far I can take this practice!

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Changed my life. I was feeling stuck and uncertain about my future. While reading this book, I began chanting om shri shaneshwaraya swaha. Every day, in all the spaces in my day when I was able, out loud and silently to myself. It calmed me, helped me confront past issues, and ultimately gave me Peace. About six weeks in, I landed an amazing new job halfway around the world and became engaged. I am certain that what I learned from this book, the chanting and my openness to change all contributed to my blessings.

[Sotiris Makrygiannis · Rating 3 out of 5]

You have chants, prayers, wishes, etc in every religion. If I compare the Christian to the Indian tradition must admit that the short, melodic chants is something that we dont have. We have prayers that are short, we have fantastic melodic but long prayers but not this kind. Plus that the marketing, packaging on this issue should be considered as role model to be copied. As for the content, well, they have a chant for everything, from getting money to get well. A plethora of issues are covered.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful, life-changing. Buy it, read it, put it to work, and watch amazing things happen.

[Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading about Thomas Ashley-Farrand, I purchased two of his mantra CDs. After listening to them, I was hooked but wanted to learn more. The books "Shakti Mantras" and "Healing Mantras" provided the information I was looking for. I use them both as a reference books, looking up things I have questions about, as well as reading straight through. For me, re-reading helps me better understand the layers of mantra.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

On my shelf! Invaluable guide to enhancing your life through the practice of Sanskrit mantra! A go-to guide for just about any health or emotional issue needing an extra jolt to resolve and transform.

[Kat McKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Very insightful, profound and well written. I'm now looking for it in audio form because although it gives pronounciation guides in the book, I still would like to hear the mantras 1st hand.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this book...! Am enjoying practicing my healing mantras and looking forward to transformative results. This is an accessible, informative and interesting read; filled with fascinating stories, ancient wisdom and practical advice. Relevant to everyone.

[Erin Durange · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, well written and informative. Mr. Ashley-Farrand delivers instruction on the meaning, purpose and practices of mantra clearly and concisely. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject, whether you are new to mantra practice or an experienced practitioner.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and inspires me to chant.

[Teresa Kintner Gunderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic. I will read parts of it over and over.

[Donale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life Changing
A must have reference

[Kay Shapiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderful introduction and on-going reference for Sanskrit mantras, their properties, and using them for meditation and transformation.

[Louise Gale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book and often revisit for mantra reference.

[Inês · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book for beginners wanting to learn about mantra practice. It also contains some information on the power of sound based spiritual practices and how they affect the spiritual/subtle body. I found the little stories associated with some mantras to be really helpful in understanding the teachings and ancient knowledge of each sound and word.

[Marcy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The part of this book (and accompanying audio CD) that teaches you about the importance of mantras and how to recite them is really useful. So is the part that gets into the history of mantras and the discussion about why they are so powerful and healing. But then there is the part of the book that gets too New Age-y and that really detracts from the rest of the book.

[Kattie Compton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great information

Great book, a little misleading with the title. I was not expecting an autobiography. Much of the information I was after was hidden among personal stories that are often repeating the basic idea of what the mantra did in his experiences. Some of the practices aren't very practical, but I plan to modify it to suit my needs.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent mantra resource for beginners or more those more experienced. Includes explanations of the mantras and real-life examples. It's one of those books that I refer to regularly. It is required reading for many yoga teacher training programs.

[Wendy Solomon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Book to Begin Study

This is a great way to begin the exploration of mantra. The book is easy to understand and mixes stories with scared and historical information to provide a good foundation

[Shawna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Accessible to all levels of people interested in mantra practice. Excellent break down to pronounce words/phrases as correctly as possible

[Ross Aliente · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heal my soul and soothing.

[Siddhartha Paul]

good book

[Phaibun · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good inspiring book.. Interesting one..

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of great material in this book. Docked a star for overarching heteronormativity. Would be interested in a wider perspective.

[Eleonore · Rating 1 out of 5]

😵

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent description of mantras and stories to put forward to explain background of what one should do.

[Gabi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was interesting. I skimmed through the entire book the first day but I will likely be referring back to it often.

[Pinar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bu kısa sesli kitapta, ağırlıklı olarak Hinduların çeşitli amaçlar ve sesli meditasyon için ve özellikle çeşitli niyetler (sağlık, eş bulma, çocuk, para, bolluk, bilgelik, mutluluk, engelleri kaldırmak, spiritüel gelişim vb.) için kullandıkları mantralar listelenmiş. En sonda çok bilinen budist mantralar da var. Bir miktar mantra okunduktan sonra dinleyiciye hece hece veriliyor ve dinleyiciyle beraber tekrarlanması isteniyor.

Bu tip mantraları youtube'dan veya akıllı telefon uygulamalarından da aratıp bulabilirsiniz. Hatta bir ara diyete başlayan bir arkadaşım, acaba "kilo verme mantrası var mıdır?" diye araştırıp, bulduğu mantrayı bir ay boyunca sabahları dinlemişti (işe yaramadı sanırım).

Mantralar diğer dinlerde de kullanılan (budizm, hristiyanlık, islam vs.) sesli meditasyon teknikleri. konuyla ilgili hiç bilgisi olmayanlar için hızlı bi giriş kitabı olabilir belki ama benim için kitapta yeni ve enteresan neredeyse hiç bir şey yoktu.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very understandable introduction to using sound affirmations for personal power, creativity and healing, thus the title. I particularly enjoyed the beginning of the book that covers the history of sound/mantras in various cultures through the ages. The author also provides solid definitions of karma, and the various types of karma, and what, if we believe we can, we can do to change our karma using mantras. While the author gives many examples of working with gurus or spiritual teachers to help our personal growth his most important statement comes toward the end of the book when he says we possess the power to make a difference in our own lives: the inner teacher uses the outer world with all its contents as a school for our development. The book is easy to read and digest as well as incorporate into one's journey.

[Jason Baldauf · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mantra for everything. After a brief but meaningful introduction of yoga and specifically the sound component (nada yoga), the author offers explains how mantras work and how to use them. Seed mantras (bija) are extensively introduced, followed by specific mantras for attracting love, health, fear , anger, abundance, as well as for planet. Applicable stories that demonstrate the effect of mantra in the author's personal life abound. I found this to be a good introduction to the subject, and one that may become a reference in the future for my personal practice.