Tonight is the first night of Chanukah. We celebrate by lighting the menorah and sending our prayers out into the world. We eat latkes with applesauce and play dreidel with chocolate coins. It is a time for us to pause as a family and think about our good fortune and freedom to celebrate the way we choose. Not everyone celebrates Chanukah his way, but this is the tradition Mike and I developed with Mathew over the years and it is very special to us. The Hebrew word Chanukah means “dedication,” which is an ideal name, as it celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple. Check out the video below for a nice synopsis of the events that catalyzed this tradition.
May peace prevail on earth so we all get to celebrate the way we want to.
I have always felt a deep release, perhaps better articulated as comfort and peacefulness, from listening to melodic sounds whether in the form of the wind moving through the leaves, Tibetan Monks chanting “Om Mani Pädme Hum” or Ladysmith Black Mambazo singing “Shosholoza.” The calmness is profound; it brings me into my heart space. Sure, I love listening to music and enjoy singing along but there is something beyond the mere understanding of words that pulls at my inner being. The absence of literal translations creates the strength of how it resonates inside my inner core being. I like how Kalu Rinpoche explains it, “Through mantra, we no longer cling to the reality of the speech and sound encountered in life, but experience it as essentially empty. Then confusion of the speech aspect of our being is transformed into enlightened awareness.”
The chant “Om Mani Pädme Hum” is a perfect example. In fact, the International Journal of Science and Research published “Frequencies of the Buddhist Meditative Chant” in April 2016 delving deeper into its affects on individuals. “The six syllable mantra generates vibrations that somehow interacts at a cellular level; where every fibre of the body feels connected as they vibrate in synchrony; resonating at the same wavelengths. The syllables when repeatedly chanted can make one hear it more than music, as the mind aligns to its vibrations and frequencies.”
In my early twenties, searching for new experiences, I asked my brother, Michael, for a chant CD, and he gifted me “Tibetan Incantations – Om Mani Pädme.” I fell instantly in love with it and it became a high rotation CD; my “go to” when I needed focus and balance. I even played it at work, although it was a bit too much for some of my co-workers. I played it during labor as well as when Mathew was a toddler and needed to settle down. At one point, he also had had enough and would scream, “No more Om Mani Pädme Hum!”
Now, it has become the musical wallpaper for when I process herbs. Ever so often, I put on some Lady Smith Mambazo, which brings me to the same place of peace and presence ~ my heart space, which is important when processing herbs and what I want to infuse into my products.
What brings you into your heart space? Please share and I will continue to share.
