92. A Survivor's Guide to Survival – Ethan Zohn
This mantra has been used for thousands of years, chanted to heal and to benefit people at all times, even when healthy.
I’ve known for a long time that perseverance is as much mind as it is body. As a competitive soccer player, I was a much better athlete when my mind and body were grooving together. That same philosophy served me well when I competed in—and won—the third season of the reality TV show Survivor. Then in 2009, I was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer. I underwent chemo and a stem cell transplant and was declared cancer free—only to have the cancer return.
When that happened, I panicked. I felt out of control. All I wanted was to survive, but I had lost hope. So as the doctors made a new plan to heal my body, I began looking for something for my mind. I’ve never been the most spiritual guy, but I met with a Buddhist monk, whose prescription for me was the Medicine Buddha mantra: Tayatha Om Bekandze. Bekandze Maha Bekandze. Randze Samu Gate Soha. This mantra has been used for thousands of years, chanted to heal and to benefit people at all times, even when healthy.
From this monk, I learned how mantras activate a self-repair mechanism in our bodies. When we’re stressed, we produce cortisol and adrenaline, but when we use a mantra, we release those negative emotions. Our bodies instead produce immune-boosting endorphins and serotonin, arming them against all sorts of imbalances.
I began by following the monk’s orders and reciting the Medicine Buddha mantra, but after awhile, I began to develop my own. My mantra during chemo was I am stronger today than yesterday, but not as strong as I will be tomorrow. I will be healed. I am healing. I am healed. Then last year, when I returned to Survivor: Winners at War, I was struggling through a brutal log challenge and had to develop one on the spot. I chanted over and over, Pick it up. Pick it up. You got this.
Right now, we are in a time of collective stress and uncertainty, and we all need tools to help us persevere. To keep the mind and body going—a mantra could be key.
– Ethan Zohn
Prompt:
Write about the biggest challenge you’re currently facing. Now think of a series of words, phrases or even part of a quote that have helped get you through some tough moments. Use those words to compose a mantra of your own. Chant it to yourself whenever you need it.
Katie Wesolek
Location: Nashville, TN
About: We all need a good mantra or two to get us through the day. Sometimes our struggles are weirdly specific and embarrassing, and sometimes they are universal.
Age: 35
Mantras. I have two.
The first one has quite literally saved my ass on countless occasions. It works wonders, except when it doesn't. You know the scene in American Beauty when Annette Bening's realtor character furiously cleans the house she's trying to sell while chanting I will sell this house today?
The other day, I shared that I have sometimes had an adorable little struggle with the ol' sphincter while running. To combat that problem, I didn't stop running, which is the logical and oft-suggested reaction. Instead, I run before eating whenever possible, and I never leave home without this handy mantra in my back pocket: I won't shit my pants today. You're welcome to incorporate it into your own life if you feel it would serve you. My gift to you.
The second mantra is an all-purpose, feel-good repetition. It works for any sort of protracted challenge, thought it seems especially apt for this year of our dark lord two thousand and twenty. It reminds you that we all struggle; whatever it is, we will get through it, unless we don't. The best we can do is give it everything we've got.
It's a lyric from The Mountain Goats song, "This Year." I am gonna make it through this year if it kills me. It works best if you scream along to the song in the car so you can slam your hand to the rhythm on the steering wheel. It's yours for the taking. Use it well.