The Whole Music Experience

image from Pix a Bay (free images) Often when we think of mantras, our minds turn to religious chants such as kirtans. We intentionally use mantras with our meditation practice or perhaps, when we feel frightened or alone losing our connection to the Divine, we chant mantras. However, this article is not about the warm fuzzy feelings we experience from sacred words and phrases. My definition of a mantra is a phrase that we repeat either mindfully or mindlessly. While some mantras are obvious such as the Moola Mantra or the Gayatri Mantra which are sung in Sanskrit, repeated words in everyday songs also act the same way on our brain as sacred mantras. While, a sacred mantra brings us closer to God or our god-self experience, a mundane mantra manifests our everyday life experiences. As modern-day humans, we surround and cloak ourselves in mundane mantras--ranging from the Rollingstones' "I can't get no satisfaction," to R.E.M.'s "I am superman and I can...

Wikipedia Anyone who has been involved with new age practices with a focus on the Law of Attraction already knows about the power of words.  But do you know about the power of words playing in the background such as with songs that play in the stores you shop or on your favorite radio station or during those trips to YouTube? While we lacked awareness about the power of words in former decades such as the 1950 through 1980s, we can no longer claim that ignorance.  We have witnessed and experienced how the words of popular songs have affected our lives collectively.  Words that transformed into twisted mantras backed by programmed drum beats and loud guitars that blasted through our chakras bringing us unease and imbalance. I listen to a lot of songs from various genres during my visits to YouTube.  Often times, I find myself wanting to understand why a certain song plays on the repeat mode in my brain when I haven't heard that song in years.  I ask mysel...

Sound Healing Jonathan and Andi Goldman Chakra Frequencies   Destiny Books Cosmic Hum Tara Trance   Healing Sounds The full title of the Goldman’s book, Chakra Frequencies (Tantra of Sound) might give the impression of tantric sex or that the book is just for partners.  However, as the Goldmans explain in the introduction of the book, in the Hindu and especially, the Buddhist tradition, Tantra refers to Unity Consciousness.  If you’re seeking a sexy book, this isn’t it, but for anyone just discovering sound healing or working with chakras, or even practicing sound healers will enjoy the chant practices featured here.  I have encountered the vowel sound and Bija chants in sound healing and voice workshops I took in the past, but I enjoyed the narrative style of the book and hearing about the chants used in practical everyday situations as well as, esoteric ones. And that’s just it.  Sound healing acts as a won...