Come Home to your Cosmic Self
I know this photo. I recognize it from the inside out.
When I gather with others at Soul Sanctuary to sing the chants from the kundalini yogic tradition, something happens to me. My breathing and heart rate slow, along with my thoughts. My mood brightens as the world within and around me feels complete. Resting within my body, so comfortable within this peaceful sensation, I’ve come home to myself.
I know this photo. I witness this harmony on the faces of those around me.
Opening my eyes while chanting, I see only beauty as some sit in stillness and others sing. Relaxed bodies with beatific expressions translating the harmony of the cosmos. Candlelight softening the outlines in the room as an experience of floating in the heavens captures my attention, inviting my eyes to close. So I may float.
I know this photo. I hear it translated as each person shares their experience.
Another layer of restoration emerges as each participant shares a personal experience. How an insight shifted a view of self, life, situations, or the world. Or the contrast of how they felt before and after chanting. The simple to profound nature of these comments never fails to delight and inform all who are present.
One hour singing prayers of devotion in a candlelit salon activates a stillness so deep that wholeness is rediscovered.
This is a beautiful research study: each participant a subject in their own experimental design. It begins with noticing how you feel, what is on your mind (active in your life), and identifying your intent for the evening. It ends with a very real awareness that something has shifted in your body, emotions, cognitions, and outlook.
This isn’t a formal research project. We’ll leave that to the scientists.
The field of neurotheology studies the relationship between the brain and spiritual practices.
There is no requirement to follow a particular religion or spiritual belief system. It’s not that kind of exploration.
As researchers explore the effect of chanting upon the brain and nervous system, they suggest there are benefits to your wellbeing. As this field grows, I expect more findings and wider exploration.
Chanting has been found to effect the brain differently than prayer or meditation.
Some reported benefits include improvements in sleep, mood, blood pressure, and cognitive health. Reductions in symptoms of general stress, anxiety, and depression have been identified.
While it is encouraging that the study of chanting, prayer, or meditation is expanding, you can explore these benefits on your own.
Do your own research. Every brain, body, and life is different. Same for belief systems and preferences about how to connect with that which is meaningful. Yet, across this variety, the research suggests that when you chant, pray, or meditate, your brain, heart, and nervous system are positively affected.
How to proceed, then, with the idea of improvement through chanting or any spiritual/secular practice you choose?
Get curious. Try out different styles of chanting, mantra meditation, yoga, meditation, sound healing, or contemplation in nature. Discover what feels best for your body, mind, and mood. If something feels good, keep exploring. If it leaves you flat, let it go. No monks, fMRIs, or complex statistics required. You are in the N=1 research project with you as the only subject.
If you’re local to Soul Sanctuary and want to Chant in the Light Cathedrals, please join us.
We’ll be celebrating the light by chanting on November 17th and December 15th.
Sharing a practice with a group enhances the experience. It allows you to sink deeply within the activity of chanting until you become the energy of that sacred prayer. As this happens organically, you remember something at all levels of your being.
You belong to this cosmic harmony because you are the song of the universe.
If chanting isn’t for you, I hope you find that sweet spot that leaves you feeling as if that picture above captures your experience perfectly.
Peace be with you and with all. No exceptions.
HeartWarming
News
Can chanting to contribute to brain health and cognitive decline? Researchers Dharma Singh Kalsa and Andrew Newberg outlined a new concept in medicine called Spiritual Fitness in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (2021). Suggesting the importance of incorporating practices which address stress reduction, basic wellbeing, and psycho/spiritual wellbeing to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. The authors report that the Kirtan Kriya (Kundalini yoga meditation involving chant and mudra)may have an effect on Alzheimer’s disease prevention as it’s been shown to mitigate effects chronic stress cognition, addresses memory loss, and supports spiritual and psychological wellbeing. Do your own research. Click here for instructions and search for a recording you can sing with.
