At the Art as Meditation class of Chanting Wisdom at the Fox Institute for Creation Spirituality in July, David and I will be sharing the powerful zikr, La Ilaha Illa Allah within the Islam wisdom tradition. In the class, students will learn the pronunciation of the words and join in chanting the mantra.  Let me give you just a little taste of this mantra here, and I hope you are able to join us in the upcoming class!
 
A most treasured practice of the Sufi path is the zikr, a state of remembrance of the divine source of all of creation, Allah.  To be in remembrance is to be in unity with Allah, and to be in unity is to be in the state of surrender to Allah.  This is the true zikr, that which is the impulse of the Sufi path.  As a way to achieve this state, a practice was given as a gift to students of Sufism by Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam. This practice of devotion includes the rhythmical, repetition of the name of the Divine.
 

One of the beloved zikrs is La Ilaha Illa Allah. Translated it means, “There is no reality, but the One” or “If there is no God, we do not exist…. and if God exists, then this is our creator and we appear.”
 
Here is a tale that helps us to better understand this zikr more deeply. 
​
Once a Sheikh (Sufi master) came to Istanbul and went to the governing authority to ask permission to open a tekke or sufi lodge. The Sheikh was asked how many dervish members he has and the reply was only one dervish, and the master himself.

….An old rundown building was available and given to them. The Sheikh with one dervish accepted it with an open heart.

Very soon, radiant light was shining from within the building as the sound of zikr could be heard every night and as many came to join together in practice.

The governing authorities wanted to know what this man was doing to draw so many people to him and what was this light that was coming from the old building.
 
So the Sheikh was summoned. The officials said, "We are the educated ones and we want to question you to make sure you are doing things correctly."

"All right,” was the humble answer.

"What is the meaning of la ilaha illa Allah?" they asked.

"Do you want the meaning as you understand it, or do you want the meaning as I understand it?"

"We know how we understand it. Tell us how you understand it."

"For this I need my one dervish, the one I brought with me the first time I came to this building."

They agreed and say down as he and his dervish begin to practice the zikr. When he said, "La ilaha," his dervish disappeared. When he said, "ill Allah," he appeared. When he said, "la ilaha" again, they both disappeared. With "ill Allah" they reappeared.

The last time he said, "la ilaha, "the entire room disappeared. And when he said, "illa Allah," everyone appeared.

He turned to face the officials and said, "This is how I understand the zikr."

- adapted from the book, When You Hear Hoofbeats Think of a Zebra by shams Friedlander.​

Interested in deepening your work with mantras? Join my class on Chanting Wisdom at the FICS from July 23rd through July 27th. Find out more here

​David and I are looking forward to be teaching a Chanting Wisdom course at the FICS in a few weeks.  We’ll be sharing chants from 6 wisdom traditions. The 4th one that we’ll share is from the Christian tradition entitled This is the Day the Lord Has Made.  If you missed the posts on the first 3, you can still find them by scrolling down below this post. 
 
This is the Day the Lord Has Made is a celebration of this day, this one day, that we have been given as a precious gift from God.  It holds great possibilities and opportunities.  It reminds us that we only have this one day and not to dwell on the past days or become anxious about the future days.  But be completely present with this day. 
 
Let us celebrate this one and glorious day that the Lord has given us.  Let us look at it with fresh eyes and hopeful anticipation of what good could arise, no matter what has come in our days of the past.  

Here are some of the lyrics in the song that we will chant in class by Fred Hammond. 
 
Just clap your hands like this
Just clap your hands like this….
You know that He's good and His mercy endureth forever
And the people of God said, they said what
And the people of God said, yeah
And the people of God said, yeah…

Now we serve notice to depression, confusion
All manner of evil and every sickness
You came in to bind but you cannot stay
'cause the people of God we ain't havin' it
 
It's a good day, even though I cried last Tuesday
And I was out of cash by Friday
No matter what comes next, I'm gonna stand up
And give him the praise 'cause this is the day
This is the day, this is the day
That the Lord has made, that the Lord has made

I will rejoice, I will rejoice
And be glad in it, glad in it
This is the day that the Lord has made
I will rejoice and be glad in it
This is the day, this is the day
That the Lord has made
This is the day, this is the day
That the Lord has made, that the Lord has made
I will rejoice, I will rejoice
And be glad in it, glad in it….

Come join us and rise in celebration for this one wonderful day that we are given to live! 
Interested in Chanting the Wisdom Traditions?  Join my class starting soon at the FICS.  More details here.  

David and I are excited to be teaching a Chanting Wisdom course at the FICS in July. We’ll be sharing chants from 6 wisdom traditions. The third one that we’ll share is from the Jewish tradition entitled Modeh Ani. Let me introduce you to this chant if you’re not already familiar with it.

The Modeh Ani prayer is generally said by Jews when one first awakes, while still in bed. It refers to God as the eternal and living king. It offers thanks to God for returning the soul to the body after sleep, so that one can live another day. This awakening is a smaller daily experience of a death and resurrection. Out of the depths of sleep (a kind of death), we’re able to rise again (resurrection) for a new day.
​
Here is the translation, Hebrew, and transliteration.​

“I am thankful before You, living and enduring King, for you have mercifully restored my soul within me. Great is Your faithfulness.”

The Modeh Ani is one of the first blessings that a Jewish child is taught. This shows the significance of learning to express gratitude to God for the gift of a new day of life.

​We know that if we cultivate an attitude of gratitude, we can lead more enriching lives. It can help us to shift our mood and open our mind, body, and spirit to the flow of abundance all around.

Gratitude can be practiced no matter what is happening in your life right now. There is always something to be grateful for.

At the Art as Meditation class of Chanting Wisdom in July, my husband David and I will be sharing the powerful mantra, Om Mani Padme Hum from the Buddhist tradition. If you join us, you’ll learn the meaning and pronunciation of the words and participate in chanting the mantra in class.  I’ll give you a little glimpse of the work we will do in class here. 
 
The Om Mani Padme Hum mantra (sometimes called the Mani mantra) is at the heart of many Buddhist traditions. It’s believed that every one of the Buddha’s teachings resides within this potent mantra.  That it contains the truth of the nature of suffering and how to remove its root cause. 
 
According to the Dalai Lama, Om Mani Padme Hum has the power to “transform your impure body, speech, and mind to the pure body, speech, and mind of a Buddha.”
 
In the Heart Treasure of the Enlightened Ones, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche says, “The Mantra Om Mani Päme Hum is easy to say yet quite powerful, because it contains the essence of the entire teaching. When you say the first syllable Om it is blessed to help you achieve perfection in the practice of generosity, Ma helps perfect the practice of pure ethics, and Ni helps achieve perfection in the practice of tolerance and patience.  Pä, the fourth syllable, helps to achieve perfection of perseverance, Me helps achieve perfection in the practice of concentration, and the final sixth syllable Hum helps achieve perfection in the practice of wisdom.  So in this way recitation of the mantra helps achieve perfection in the six practices from generosity to wisdom… What could then be more meaningful than to say the mantra and accomplish the six perfections?” 

​Within the Buddhist tradition, sacred words, such as the ones in this mantra, are often repeated over and over until they acquire a certain emptiness. This doesn’t mean emptiness as nothing, but emptiness as inner awareness, free of attachment of the ego. 
 
By repeating this mantra to reach this level of enlightened awareness it’s believed that you can be freed from suffering and invoke your loving and compassionate nature. 

​While it’s a good idea to recite this mantra over and over again, according to the Dalai Lama, one must also meditate upon the meaning of each syllable. So, right intention and understanding of the mantra are needed as a foundation in chanting this mantra effectively. 

​This powerful mantra is often summed up as, “The jewel is in the lotus,” or “Praise to the jewel in the lotus.”
As the radiant lotus flower pushes through the muck and mire of the waters reaching toward the light, it opens its blossom of beauty, untouched and unsoiled. Connected, yet hovering just above the mud below. 

In using this mantra regularly in a spiritual practice, with right intention, it helps to dissolve the mud and muck in your life and uncover the jewel of your compassionate and wise self.
Interested in deepening your work with Om Mani Padme Hum? Join my class on Chanting Wisdom at the FICS in July.  Find out more here.