I have always felt a deep release, perhaps better articulated as comfort and peacefulness, from listening to melodic sounds whether in the form of the wind moving through the leaves, Tibetan Monks chanting \u201cOm Mani P\u00e4dme Hum\u201d or Ladysmith Black Mambazo singing \u201cShosholoza.\u201d The calmness is profound; it brings me into my heart space. \u00a0Sure, I love listening to music and enjoy singing along but there is something beyond the mere understanding of words that pulls at my inner being. The absence of literal translations creates the strength of how it resonates inside my inner core being. I like how Kalu Rinpoche explains it, “Through mantra, we no longer cling to the reality of the speech and sound encountered in life, but experience it as essentially empty. Then confusion of the speech aspect of our being is transformed into enlightened awareness.”<\/p>\n
The chant \u201cOm Mani P\u00e4dme Hum\u201d is a perfect example. In fact, the International Journal of Science and Research published \u201cFrequencies of the Buddhist Meditative Chant\u201d in April 2016 delving deeper into its affects on individuals. \u201cThe six syllable mantra generates vibrations that somehow interacts at a cellular level; where every fibre of the body feels connected as they vibrate in synchrony; resonating at the same wavelengths. The syllables when repeatedly chanted can make one hear it more than music, as the mind aligns to its vibrations and frequencies.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n In my early twenties, searching for new experiences, I asked my brother, Michael, for a chant CD, and he gifted me \u201cTibetan Incantations – Om Mani P\u00e4dme.\u201d I fell instantly in love with it and it became a high rotation CD; my \u201cgo to\u201d when I needed focus and balance. I even played it at work, although it was a bit too much for some of my co-workers.\u00a0I played it during labor as well as when Mathew was a toddler and needed to settle down. At one point, he also had had enough and would scream, \u201cNo more Om Mani P\u00e4dme Hum!\u201d<\/p>\n