MANTRA
A Powerful + Protective Practice
to open, nourish, cleanse, connect
using the voice or in silence.
ॐHave you ever had the experience of hearing a sound simultaneously so powerful and so nurturing, that it resonated deep beyond your rib cage and your blood vessels and moved you in what feels like your soul? As a musician, music lover, and dancer, I have had that feeling while playing my drums, dancing to deep house music at the club, as well as while standing near, or if I am lucky, underneath a waterfall.
In the ancient Vedic texts, there is a beautiful explanation of the way all life came to originate. It is called “OM”
It is said that life as we know it, all came from this “primordial sound”. This sound is almost impossible to explain or translate, but some poetic descriptions of it are,
The Soul Within Itself- Universal Consciousness- Source- The Sacred Sound Of Spiritual Awakening-The Sound Of God-A Sound Which Includes All That Has Happened And All That Is To Happen-The Eternal Sound-The Sound Which Created All Other Sounds-Wind, Fire and the Sun, as well as the Past, Present and Future
ॐ
Purnam-Wholeness. The Vedic Peace Mantra.
We are part of the divine, we are no less than the divine. Everyone is a microcosm within ourselves, part of the whole, complete and divine. We are wholeness.
OM Purnamadah Purnamidam
Purnat Purnamudachyate
Purnasya Purnamadaya
Purnamevavashishyate
OM Purnamadah Purnamidam
Purnat Purnamudachyate
Purnasya Purnamadaya
Purnamevavashishyate
OM Purnamadah Purnamidam
Purnat Purnamudachyate
Purnasya Purnamadaya
Purnamevavashishyate
OM Shanti Shanti Shantihi
English translation:
OM Purnamadah Purnamidam: That is the whole.
Purnat Purnamudachyate: This is the whole.
Purnasya Purnamadaya: From wholeness emerges wholeness.
Purnamevavashishyate: Wholeness coming from wholeness, Wholeness still remains.
OM Shanti Shanti Shantihi: Peace in my heart, peace with each other, peace in the cosmos.
We chant OM to open and close the day, to begin and end a practice, to still the mind before a meal; allowing us to open to the present moment and take in the Prana- breath of life- before we attempt all action.
Chanting OM in these moments brings a circle to a close, and opens the loop of infinity at the same time.
OM grounds, blesses, and connects us to the reality of life eternal.