Affirmations and Mantras: Planting Seeds That Feel True

Affirmations are everywhere. “I am enough. I am radiant. I am unstoppable.”Scroll through social media and you’ll find endless lists of them. And sometimes, they work beautifully. But other times, they don’t land at all. Instead of feeling empowered, they feel hollow like words you’re trying to force when you can’t yet see yourself that way.

That doesn’t mean affirmations don’t work. It just means we need to look at them with more honesty and softness.

During my yoga teacher training, I remember sitting early in the morning with a cup of lemon water beside me, tying malas bead by bead. In my earbuds, Sanskrit chants repeated, filling the quiet.

One of my favorites was Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu. May all beings be happy and free. I remember the peace of that moment. The vibration itself felt like the truth. I didn’t need to force the words to fit; they simply carried me.

Earlier in my life, I had tried affirmations, though I didn’t call them that. I thought I was just “talking myself into something.” But those affirmations rarely landed. If I had said, “I am happy because I am free,” it wouldn’t have been true. I wasn’t ready to see myself that way.

But saying “May all beings be happy and free,”  that was a hope I could hold for the world because it wasn’t just about me. The words were bigger than me, and because of that, they resonated in my body. They shifted my vibration in a way my early affirmations never could.

Over time, I realized something important: the mantras were teaching me how to reword my affirmations. Instead of repeating words I didn’t believe, I could soften them, shift them, and plant seeds of what was to come. I am learning. I am trying. I am changing. I am evolving.

Those words met me where I was, while still guiding me toward who I was becoming.

Affirmations vs. Mantras

• Affirmations are positive statements that reshape thought patterns. They often begin with “I am…” and speak to the mind.

  
  

• Mantras are sacred words or sounds, rooted in vibration and energy. They carry resonance, tuning us into frequencies larger than ourselves.

Both are powerful. But both require honesty.

When Affirmations Don’t Fit

If an affirmation feels unbelievable, like “I love myself fully,” when you’re not there yet, it creates resistance instead of healing.

But when you soften the words, they become possible:

• “I am learning to love myself.”

• “I am open to treating myself with kindness.”

• “I am willing to see my worth.”

  
  

This is how we plant seeds. Not by leaping into what we can’t yet believe, but by stating the journey we are actually on.

Culturally, affirmations often get treated like quick-fix magic: say it three times and everything changes. But healing is more like gardening. You plant. You water. You wait. Some seeds sprout quickly; others take years.

Collectively, we can’t tell communities harmed by injustice to repeat “We are healed” when wounds are still open. But we can affirm: “We are finding ways to heal together.” Honest words grow deeper roots.

In yogic philosophy, the universe itself began with the sound: Om. 

Mantras remind us that sound itself carries vibration. That’s why chanting "Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu" felt so different from forcing affirmations I wasn’t ready to believe. The vibration itself was the truth.

When affirmations are softened into honesty, they can work like mantras. They stop being empty words in your head and become resonance in your body.

SEED-Aligned Affirmations and Mantras

Here are a few pairings that can guide you:

• Self-Awareness

  • Affirmation: “I am learning to notice my thoughts without judgment.”

  • Mantra: So Hum (“I am that”).

• Embodiment

  • Affirmation: “I listen to what my body needs, one breath at a time.”

  • Mantra: Om Shanti (peace).

• Energetic Integrity

  • Affirmation: “I am practicing boundaries that honor my energy.”

  • Mantra: Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu (May all beings be happy and free).

• Devotion

  • Affirmation: “I am devoted to what nourishes me and the people I love.”

  • Mantra: Om Namah Shivaya (“I honor the divine within”).

    
    

Affirmations and mantras are not magic spells. They’re invitations. They don’t demand perfection; they remind us of direction.

And when the words feel too far away, don’t throw them out. Just step closer. Adjust them until they feel like seeds you can plant. Over time, those seeds will take root, and something beautiful will grow.