"If there were to be a universal sound depicting peace, I would surely vote for the purr."  — Barbara Diamond

In case you’ve ever wondered if meditating is a natural means for dealing with your stress, wonder no more.  People aren’t the only ones who meditate, it seems.  For example, cats purr.  There has been a lot of debate over the exact purpose of the purr, since cats purr at odd times.  They can purr while they give birth, when they are happy, when they are in extreme pain and even when they are dying.  One of the most widely embraced theories is that purring is a cat’s mantra.  Even the Encyclopedia Britannica (online version) defines a purr as "the cat’s mantra".

What Is A Mantra?

A mantra is not one of those big things that swims in the ocean — that would be a manta. No, a mantra is a sound repeated again and again to get you into a meditative state and to help you relax.  Mantras can be made up of just about any syllables that automatically trigger a sense of calm inside of you.  The most famous is "Om mani padme hum", said to be the mantra of Chenrezi, the Buddha of Compassion, of which the Dalai Lama is thought to be the living incarnation of.  Just the very sounds feel a bit like a purr inside of your head.

You do not have to have a mantra when you meditate, but it has helped a lot of people, including Gandhi, who is said to have recited his mantra "Rama" whenever he was scared, including when he was shot. 

Cats have to go through a lot of good times and bad in their lives.  They can’t physically afford to be too worked up by either getting too worried or too happy.  They need to keep their energy in reserve for when they need to hunt, survive a cold night or make litter boxes out of people’s flowerbeds.   They need to stay balanced.  So, perhaps, they purr the cat’s mantra.

Gradual Change

It can be hard to stick to meditation — whether you use a mantra or not — because there’s not a lot of immediate change apparent.  After a while, you wonder if meditation does any good at all.  Actually, it does.  But it takes time and practice.  What you are doing is changing the way your physical brain works.  You are making new neuronal connections, or automatic reactions.

Over time, the very sound of your mantra (or whatever you do to begin meditating) will relax you, no matter how stressful a situation you find yourself in.

So, if you are tempted to give up on meditation as a means of managing your stress, look to the cat’s purr, for inspiration, and keep on purring for inner peace.

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