This month, as we return to Singing As Medicine, I would like to invite each student to choose a singing project that develops their devotional voice. I especially recommend Bhaja Govindam so that we can create another tapestry project together, although you are, of course, free to choose any piece that inspires you. You might find something that touches you in the Singing For God, Kirtan Masterclasses or Singing As Meditation modules.

However, we also introduce something new, which is consciously integrating the Kundalini experience into our Singing As Medicine journey. With that in mind, we will begin introducing the chakras into our work by drawing from our Chakra Immersion. We will also begin integrating the Tantric path through The Mystery of Ganesha, gradually weaving these dimensions into our singing process.

We meet for both Singing As Medicine and the Creative Collective on August 15. Since everyone is quite involved with developing their 60-day Mantra Practice, I suggest li...

When Your Practice Becomes Fragmented

There comes a point on every spiritual path when another teaching, another book, another mantra, or another meditation technique no longer satisfies us in the way it once did.

This isn't a sign that something is wrong.

It is often a sign that something deeper is trying to emerge.

When we first begin our spiritual journey, everything feels new. We are delighted by each discovery, inspired by every practice, and nourished by every glimpse of something greater than ourselves. We collect experiences much as children collect treasures, each one opening another door.

Over time, however, something changes.

Our library grows.

Our courses accumulate.

Our understanding expands.

Yet our daily practice often becomes smaller.

Many sincere practitioners find themselves surrounded by extraordinary spiritual resources—not to mention the vast amount of spiritual material now freely available on the internet—while struggling to maintain a consistent relati...

In 2018, an extraordinary article in the Scientific American on the "Sanskrit Effect" caught my attention. A neuroscientist studying MRI scans discovered, after 14 years of researching the brains of Vedic pandits, that memorizing ancient mantras increases the size of brain regions associated with cognitive function.

For decades, I have been teaching around the world that Vedic chanting is not about chanting in any way we want, nor is it about freedom of expression or creativity. Instead, it is about discovering the experience of the Rishis, the great seers of the Vedas. Now, we know that there is science behind the process that can assist us in a very worldly way, pun intended.

Traditionally, Vedic mantras were chanted for the well-being of the world and the well-being of all. Through this body of research, we have come to understand that chanting Vedic mantras in accordance with their unique rules can be beneficial. The personal benefits are even more significant than their altruist...

What better way to begin a new year than with fundamentals? At the heart of mantra practice, which for us in our Yogic Mystery School is quite sophisticated, is what we identify as our core mantra practice.

 In my book, The Yoga of Sound: Tapping The Hidden Power Of Music And Chant, I describe our core mantra as one that simultaneously, by its sound and its meaning, conveys to us a sense of the highest reality. 

This understanding is just the starting point of our process. The two significant forks on the road are: 

1. Do you have such a mantra?
2. Does it continue to serve its purpose?
3. Is this mantra sufficient for all your needs?

If you can answer yes to these questions, it is unlikely that you need mantras.  

On the other hand, most people will not answer no to at least one question. 

Each of these questions deserves its own process of discovery.  

Let's begin with the first.

1) Do you have a core mantra?

If you don't have one, here are two examples:

oṁ namaḥ śivāya |

oṁ...

Life is precious, and it is precious to be in a relationship with other humans. There is a beautiful mantra that we pray that goes, Sarvesham Svasthir Bhavatu.

It's a beautiful mantra to pray for the world because many mantras, Vedic mantras in particular, are praying for the well-being of all. Sarvesham means everybody, all creatures, all beings. Sarvesham Svasthir Bhavatu.

Svasthi is this beautiful word that connotes blessing on the one hand and well-being on the other. May there be a sense of well-being that prevails in our world with everybody. Sarvesham Svasthir Bhavatu.

Sarvesham Shantir Bhavatu. That there be peace, that there is this prevalence of peace in human consciousness. Sarvesham Purnam Bhavatu.

Again, the word Purnam, in the middle of these other words that are recurrent, Sarvesham and Bhavatu, means fullness, and we can interpret it two ways. On the one hand, we can say that this is a prayer asking everybody to be filled with the fullness of God's presence, and we ...

Science, we know, is constantly making discoveries in ways that reinforce some theories while others are either discarded or forced into being modified or upgraded. In Darwinian fashion, only the fittest theories survive. In this manner, science mimics the development of our consciousness in our lives.

As we evolve, some of our thoughts, behaviors, habits, and beliefs are reinforced because they align with the discoveries we make in life. In many instances, however, we are challenged to discard outmoded ways of thinking and behaving or upgrade them to be in alignment with our evolving consciousness. Many humans resist this process.

We often tend to embrace only those discoveries that align with our established thoughts, behaviors, habits, and beliefs. Adapting ourselves to change does not come naturally to us, especially when the rate of change is as rapid as it is in our post-modern civilization. It is our predicament today, and mantra practice can help.

The way to work with evolutio...

We can use any mantra for healing. However, understanding a mantra and, more importantly, cultivating a relationship with the power or intelligence behind the mantra can further the healing process.

Where does one begin with mantras and healing?

One way is to invoke the God of Healing: Dhanvantari.

Here are two variations:

om namo dhanvantaraye
or
om dhanvantaraye namaha

Learn more about sacred sound

In the video below, I share the pronunciation for this mantra for healing along with some chanting and other information.

Below the video, you will find reflections to help deepen your mantra practice around healing along with some questions for journaling.

Click the play button on the video below:

Questions for journaling and reflection:

When we need healing, we follow directions. What's the mantra for healing, we ask. Someone gives us a mantra, and we say it with faith.

What is it then that heals us: our faith or the mantra? Is the mantra a vehicle for our faith? Or is our fa...