Affirmation · “The Subconscious Says Yes”
Ribono Shel Olam
To gather and quiet the mind by repeating a short Hebrew phrase — classically ‘Ribono Shel Olam,’ Master of the Universe — in steady rhythm with the breath.
Ribono Shel Olam in 5 lines: Sit quietly and let the breath settle. Choose one short phrase — “Ribono Shel Olam,” Master of the Universe. Repeat it gently on the breath, over and over. When the mind drifts, return to the phrase. Keep the same phrase daily for weeks; let it open into prayer if words come.
What it is
This is Kaplan’s Jewish form of mantra meditation: the repeated, rhythmic recitation of a short sacred Hebrew phrase to occupy and still the mind. His signature example, taken from Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, is “Ribono Shel Olam” — Master of the Universe.
The phrase can be spoken aloud, whispered, or said inwardly, and Kaplan teaches it joined to the breath, so that the words ride a slow, even respiratory rhythm. Crucially, Nachman offered this as a way into secluded prayer — when no spontaneous words come, you take one phrase and repeat it, “for weeks and months, until one found the right words with which to speak to God.” So the mantra is both a meditation in itself and a doorway to hitbodedut.
The Method
- Sit comfortably and settle. Choose a quiet place and an unhurried posture; let the body soften and the breath find its natural pace.
- Choose the phrase. Classically Ribono Shel Olam (“Master of the Universe”). Kaplan also taught audiences to say the Shema slowly as a related contemplative repetition — keep to one chosen phrase per session.
- Join the phrase to the breath. Let the words unfold across the exhale (or across a full slow breath), so that breathing and repetition become one steady rhythm. Do not force or hurry the breath.
- Repeat, gently and continuously. Say the phrase over and over. When the mind wanders — and it will — simply notice and return to the phrase, without self-criticism.
- Let it carry over many sessions. Kaplan, following Nachman, stresses staying with the same phrase day after day, for weeks or months. The depth comes from sustained repetition, not from variety.
- Allow it to open into prayer. If, in the repeating, your own words to God begin to surface, you may let the mantra give way to spontaneous conversation (hitbodedut). (Faithful, respectful summary; no copyrighted text is reproduced.)
Source & Lineage
Presented in Jewish Meditation: A Practical Guide (1985) — which surveys mantra meditation in a Jewish key — and in Meditation and Kabbalah (1982), which documents the repetition of words and divine names as a means to a meditative state.
The living source of the Ribono Shel Olam phrase is Rabbi Nachman of Breslov.
The Traditions' versions
Mantra & japa — the broad family of repeated sacred sound.;
- Sufi dhikr — rhythmic repetition of a divine name or phrase with the breath.
- Christian Jesus Prayer — a short sacred phrase synchronized with breathing.
- Abulafia’s letter-combination — a changing, combinatorial cousin rather than a fixed phrase.
Common refinements
Switching phrases too often. The benefit lives in staying with one phrase; resist the urge to “find a better mantra.”
- Forcing the breath. Let the phrase follow the breath, not the reverse; never strain or hold.
- Racing. Slower repetition deepens the effect; let it be unhurried.
- Judging wandering. Drifting attention is normal — the practice is the gentle return.