For research purposes, a mantra should have been repeated and sanctified in a spiritual tradition

What is it about?

Repetition of mantras, holy names, or prayer words is increasingly used in health and human services interventions. Collectively often called “mantras” in empirical research, such sacred words possess health-promoting potential beyond secular phrases. For needed clarity for future research and practice, this article discusses definitions of “mantra” helpful for (a) research and (b) client communication. For research purposes, a mantra should have been repeated and sanctified over time in a spiritual tradition.

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Why is it important?

Mantras, sometimes called holy names or prayer words, are increasingly included and studied as components in health and human services interventions. In this emerging field, the term “mantra” has been implicitly defined over several decades in a way that has been useful, largely shared across research teams, and historically resonant. However, confusion has arisen in how “mantra” is defined and used in a small fraction of recent publications that depart from longstanding usage. To provide needed guidance going forward for researchers, editors, reviewers, and practitioners, the present article discusses historical, cross-cultural, conceptual, and empirical background and proposes a definition of “mantra” for use in empirical research on mantra interventions.