I listened to your free download yesterday with a bit of skepticism (where were the mantras?) and was shocked today to have experienced a huge, unstuckifying shift. It worked.

You chant! Chanting informs our work, our play, our lives. It cleanses the heart and clarifies our intentions.

Your service is beautiful. Thank you from the heart.
.-= Rupa´s last blog ..A Butterfly and a Bird =-.

And very cool that you’re familiar with throat singing. It’s a beautiful art form and full of all kinds of good mojo too. When I first heard the music of Huun Huur Tu I was blown away.

I feel the same about the Tibetan throat singing. Ah-may-zing! There’s a lot of shifting that happens there.

I’ve found that healing practices in different traditions work with some people, not with others.

Incidently, I’ve been interested in mongolian throat singing. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?
I’m not sure how similar it would be to changing spiritually, but it may involve similar muscles/practices.

Since seeing KD live, my wife walks around the house singing Om Namah Shivaya, which makes me smile due to its serious coolness. Thanks for saying hi and for your kind words on the post.

@Tatty – I love Gregorian chant. When I first heard the recordings by the Benedictine monks of Santo Domingo de Silos I was floored. I still listen to the chant CD they did ages ago. It’s like soul food! I’d love to hear it sung live, and if that happened to happen in São Paulo all the better.

And the self-conscious thing? I get that. I don’t sing or chant around other people. In part because it feels like such a private thing. And in part because I’m seriously self-conscious about my voice. I like to chant in private. It gives me more freedom, even if I sound awful.

And a big yay for dancing the blues away and celebratory shimmies! Movement is such a powerful thing.

I came to it through asana practice, via pranayama and meditation… and it’s probably my favourite-of-all practice now.

Bring on the heart opening…

Thanks for making chanting sound so down to earth, so awesome, and so accessible!

Blessings,
KL

@Jennifer – I’m glad my post came even a little close to explaining why chanting is such an awesome and powerful practice. It’s hard to put it into words in a way that feels close to the experience, you know?

And the hip check? Totally awesome and totally smart! I’d have done the very same thing.

In fact, when we saw him in Cincy we were the first two people in line because we wanted to get as close as possible. Somehow two people managed to get in front us. Then they tried to sneak about 10 or 12 of their friends up there too. Suddenly, after waiting for an hour and a half, we were about 15 people back in line. Ack!

So when they started letting people in my uber fast wife shot around these line jumpers, and ran up three flights of stairs like an Olympic athlete, successfully securing us two seats in the front row.

The we-tried-to-sneak-10-people-in-front-of-you people gave us the stink eye all night. From two rows behind us.

So, yeah, a hip check at a KD event is absolutely appropriate!

@Lynn – I’m glad this post was a gentle reminder of the songs you love so much. Thich Nhat Hanh is incredible. A friend introduced me to Peace Is Every Step 15+ years ago, and I loved it. And the fact that you chose choir made me smile. I’d have made the same choice myself.

@Jennifer – Glad you found the site and dug the post. Thanks for saying hello!

Thanks for the inspiration! I had almost forgotten the chants I used to adore in Sangha – lovely, simple songs from Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village. But most of what we did was silent sitting. When there came a conflict between that and choir practice, I chose choir, feeling guilty, but I would rather sing than just about anything.

It looks like I might explore chants a bit further, especially like the idea of just doing it by and for myself.

Lynne