Gorgeous Friday Goddesses,
The presence held by our circle yesterday was absolutely divine! Once again, I am in awe of the gifts that show up when we collectively tune into the energetic field. Deep, deep gratitude.
I hope you enjoy this collection of the treasures we dug up yesterday.
A gift from Michelle C...
Angel Michelle captured her experience of yesterday's class and the significance of Deva Premal and Miten in her most recent LOVE NOTE! For those of you who have not yet visited Michelle's Meditation Hut, I encourage (actually I lovingly insist) you do so! While there you will want to check out Michelle's incredible Hut Happenings.
Amongst the many gifts I received from my evening with Deva Premal and Miten was the invitation to experience the power of the mantra of OM. As Deva said, the widespread use of the word of OM need not diminish its power. Thank-you Lisa Marie for leading our spontaneous chant and for your incredible invitation to let our cells to drink it up!
Om is a mantra, or vibration, that is traditionally chanted at the beginning and end of yoga sessions. Coming from Hinduism and Yoga, the mantra is considered to have high spiritual and creative power but despite this, it is a mantra that can be recited by anyone. It’s both a sound and a symbol rich in meaning and depth and when pronounced correctly it is actually AUM.
Aum actually consists of four syllables: A, U, M, and the silent syllable.
The first syllable is A, pronounced as a prolonged "awe." The sound starts at the back of your throat and you stretch it out. You will start feeling your solar plexus and chest vibrating.
The second syllable is U, pronounced as a prolonged “oo,” with the sound gradually rolling forward along your upper palate. You'll feel your throat vibrate.
The third syllable is M, pronounced as a prolonged “mmmm” with your front teeth gently touching. You will now start to feel the top of your vibrate.
The last syllable is the deep silence of the Infinite. As intelligence rises from the deep silence, you have to merge your chant from the ‘M’ to the deep silence.
Symbolically the three letters embody the divine energy (Shakti) and it’s 3 main characteristics: (1) creation, (2) preservation and (3) liberation.
Why do we chant it?
Everything in the universe is pulsating and vibrating – nothing is really standing still! The sound Om, when chanted, vibrates at the frequency of 432 Hz, which is the same vibrational frequency found throughout everything in nature.
As such AUM is the basic sound of the universe; so by chanting it we are symbolically and physically tuning in to that sound and acknowledging our connection to all other living beings, nature and the universe.
In addition the vibrations and rhythmic pronunciation also have a physical affect on the body by slowing down the nervous system and calming the mind similar to meditation. When the mind is relaxed, your blood pressure decreases and ultimately the health of your heart improves.
- Sam Saunders, www.mindbodygreen.com
"Your relationship with the present moment IS your purpose, it is all that matters".
...my main take-away from my evening with Eckhart Tolle. I also enjoyed his shockingly hilarious statement: "Life could be considered a sexually transmitted disease with a fatal prognosis"
My evening with Eckhart called me to pull out one of my favourite books, "The Presence Process" by Michael Brown. Like Eckhart, Michael teaches that presence is the portal to spiritual awakening.
THANK-YOU for going inward to sense what presence means to you, during our stone passing ritual!
Here is the excerpt I shared in class...
“Present moment awareness is a state of being as opposed to something we do. The simplest definition of present moment awareness is to be fully aware of the moment we are in - or, to be present in the moment.
The emphasis isn’t on the moment, but on the beingness we bring to bear on our life experience when we pay full attention to the moment.
A reliable indicator we have entered present moment awareness is if our experience, no matter how comfortable or uncomfortable it may feel at any given moment, is infused with gratefulness.
When I speak of gratefulness, I’m not referring to the kind of gratitude that’s been founded on comparison, such as feeling grateful we are in better health or have more wealth than someone else. Neither is it the sort of gratitude that arises because life is unfolding how we want it to and everything is easy. Rather it’s gratitude that requires no reason - gratitude for the invitation, journey and gift of life itself.
Gratefulness is the one single marker we can depend on as an indicator of how present we are in our experience. When we lack gratitude for simply being alive, it’s because we have strayed from the present into an illusory mental state called “time”. In the world of time, it’s challenging to be grateful because nothing appears to unfold the way we think it should. The past holds regrets and the future the promise of improvement, while the present requires constant adjustment. We therefore spend our waking moments reflecting on what didn’t work in the past and planning those adjustments we believe are necessary to attain the peace and fulfillment we week. Because those adjustments are oriented to a “better tomorrow”, we’ve forgotten how to have a meaningful today.
Present moment awareness isn’t a concept - it’s an experience. The fact that more and more of are entering it now is a consequence of our accelerating evolution. For anyone willing to receive its blessings, its invitation is here, now, in this moment, this set of circumstances. It calls us in a silent voice that says” “STOP. THERE’S NOWHERE TO GO AND NOTHING TO DO. THERE’ SIMPLY EVERYTHING TO BE.””
Have a Divine week ladies! I cannot wait to see what magic arises at our next gathering. ;)
XO
Patti