The Heartbeat Mantra Practice is an excellent Practice for developing a state of calmness. It is especially good to do if you find yourself becoming excessive in your thinking, or if you are feeling stressed.

[You will need to understand how to perform the Heartbeat Breathing Practice in order to take part in this process. If you do not feel that you fully understand how to do Heartbeat Breathing, please practice Heartbeat Breathing until you can do so without requiring written instructions.]

If you are in your own space it is nice to do this practice with some low and slow background music playing. If you choose music with lyrics, be certain that the lyrics do not distract you.

As you go through this practice you might notice that your body takes on a subtle rocking motion. Although this rocking motion is not important in and of itself, please allow such rocking to occur if indeed it does start to happen.

From a seated position, take a minute or to and quiet your thinking mind. Usually, a good way to begin the process of quieting down, is to first slowly take several deep breaths.

When you are ready, engage in Heartbeat Breathing for at least two minutes.

Developing your heartbeat mantra
Now stop your heartbeat breathing so that you can read through the following instructions:

For general calming
Read through these instructions first before actually performing what is asked.

Start by taking the page of MANTRAS shown below and placing the page in front of you.
(You can of course make your own page of mantras. Adding colors and simple pictures/drawings, can also be excellent.)

Sit calmly and begin to feel into your heartbeat breath.
Take your time and get into the rhythm of your heartbeat breath.
Once you feel like you have a good feel for the rhythm of your heartbeat breath, just go with the feeling, and stop counting the duration of the inhale and exhale.
Just go with your feeling for a couple of rounds of breathing.

Now, look at the first phrase on the page of mantras, for your entire inhale and exhale.
Repeat the phrase to yourself each time your heart beats, as you look at the phrase and inhale and exhale. Do this for at least one complete cycle of inhaling and exhaling.

So, for instance: You look at "No meaning" for an entire inhale AND exhale, repeating the phrase "No meaning" each time you feel your heart beat.

When you are ready, go on to the next word or phrase.
If you feel like it, instead of moving from one word to the next in an ordered fashion, you can randomly go to any word or phrase on the page that draws your attention.
Look at this new word or phrase for at least one complete inhale and exhale, and repeat the phrase at the same pace as your heartbeat.

Go through the whole page at least once.

This is the whole process.

Note for yourself how you feel right now.
What is your emotional tone right now? How do you experience your breathing? How do you experience yourself? How do you experience the world around you?
Almost certainly, you will feel differently from when you started.
Most people will report feeling a good deal more relaxed, because they have been giving their attention to their breath and heartbeat, while keeping their logical mind occupied with the various phrases being repeated.
If for some reason doing this Practice has not helped you to relax, then you will know that this is an excellent Practice to work with over time.

If necessary read the instructions again, prior to actually beginning.