Chanting the Wisdom Traditions/Judaism: Modeh Ani- The Blessing upon Waking

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.
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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.

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            Awakening to a new day
            The sun rising
            Mother Earth who feeds and sustains us
           
What can you add to the list?  
           
Gratitude opens the door to abundance consciousness because it gets you to the source, which is the source of all things, says Deepak Chopra, world-renowned mind-body healing pioneer. In fact, scientific studies have shown that people who have a grateful outlook on life get sick less often, exercise more, sleep better and have more energy.

Interested in learning to chant Modeh Ani along with chants from other wisdom traditions?  Join my class in July at the FICS.  More details here.