Om: The Truth of all Truths, the Light of all Lights
When I was in college one of my roommates asked me, “What did you do with that money your mother gave you?” I said, “What money are you talking about?” She laughingly said, “The money she gave you for singing lessons.” It’s true; I can’t carry a tune, but I love to sing. I can’t begin to count the number of frowns I’ve received in church over the years by singing off key.
In addition to being unable to carry a tune, I also have extreme difficulty listening to someone pronounce a foreign word or phrase and then repeating the same word or phrase correctly. A few years ago, I was told by a woman in a chanting workshop that I needed to feel the vibrations through my bones. She proceeded to put her cheek against my cheek and repeat the Sanskrit word I was having difficulty repeating. She called it “bone conduction,” which I don’t completely understand. Still, by feeling the vibrations in my jawbone I was able to pronounce the word correctly.
I do like to chant but have always had difficulty with pronunciation as well as being self-conscious of the tone of my voice. Though lately, I have been chanting the Gayatri Mantra several times a day. The Gayatri Mantra is one of the oldest, most sacred mantras, most powerful, universal prayer. It is in the Vedic language that predates Sanskrit mantras and that has been chanted for thousands of years. It was written during the Vedic period (1,500-500 BCE).
When I began chanting the Gayatri, it involved a great deal of conscious effort to memorize the chant, learn the correct pronunciation, tone, and tempo, but as I began to learn it, something opened--there was a sense of letting go into the flow of the chanting. It was if the chant moved from my throat into my heart to deep into my abdomen. I found that doing the chant has had a profound calming effect on my entire system, and my sleep has improved significantly. Yes, feeling the vibrations of the chant through my body is very calming and does indeed settle my mind.
There are various translations of the Gayatri Mantra, but this one by Donna Farhi resonates with me:
Everything on earth, in between and aboveIs arising from one effulgent source.If my thoughts, words, and deeds reflected this complete understanding of unity,I would be the peace I am seeking in this moment.
The Gayatri Mantra translation given to me in my Yoga Therapy Program is “In that place where all celestial of all the spheres have received enlightenment, kindly enlighten our intellect.”
While this chant had been chanted for nearly 4,000 years, it entered pop culture when Cher began to chant it. Personally, I prefer Deva Premal’s chanting of the mantra, and I also like Suresh Wadkar’s chanting because it involves call and response.
If you aren’t ready to try chanting the Gayatri Mantra, you might try chanting “Om” a few times. Hindus consider “Om” to be the first sound that was made when the universe was created. It is considered a spiritual mantra for peace and calm. There have been several studies done on the benefits of chanting and some have concluded that chanting Om can act as a brain stabilizer and can be calming, especially when you are under stress. Another study done in in 2016 by Prof. Bill Thompson and Dr. Vince Polito found that chanting the universal mantra "Om" for 10 minutes improved attention, contributed towards a positive mood, and increased feelings of social cohesion.
Another study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in 2018, found that "mantram" repetition therapy — which involves silently repeating a spiritually-related word or phrase selected by each individual from a recommended list — was effective in treating veterans diagnosed with military-related post-traumatic stress disorder. If you aren’t ready to chant, why not try just listening to the Gayatri Mantra to see how it makes you feel. I wrote about chants in an earlier column which includes background on a few more benefits.
Feel free to share your thoughts with me: ashton@ashtoncannon.com.
Ashton Graham is an educator, book publisher, photographer, cowgirl and yoga teacher. She is currently studying to become a yoga therapist and lives on a ranch in West Texas. Visit www.ashtoncannon.com to learn more.
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This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Om: The Truth of all Truths, the Light of all Lights
