The Power of Chant

3/14/20

I just spent ten minutes listening to, and chanting along with, a recording by Jason McKean entitled “Serenity OM.” It’s just him with a group, chanting OM periodically, accompanied by gently repetitive electronic backing. You can listen to a 6 minute sample here on YouTube, and the full one hour track is here on Spotify. The impact of alternating slow, deep breaths, inhaling, holding, exhaling and holding in time to the rhythm of the music (I did each for approximately 8 seconds or so, but 4 seconds is an easier beginner practice), and then periodically chanting, was tremendous. I felt deeply suffused with a sense of calm, groundedness, and well-being. Before starting I was feeling quite destabilized, agitated, stressed and fatigued by the non-stop coronavirus chatter. This simple practice I’ve described utterly transformed my physical, psychological and emotional states (and, I’m inclined to believe, my spiritual state as well, although I’ll leave it up to you to decide for yourself what you think about that). But looking at it even from a strictly scientific materialist viewpoint, it’s well-established that breath control, mindfulness and chant can exert measurable effects on stress hormones and vital signs, which can then impact physical immunity and psychological resilience, among many other things.

There is something particularly empowering and enlivening about using your voice. Singing can be very therapeutic, but the simplicity of chant, the repetitive nature, its ability to physically vibrate the bones and chambers of the head, can create an experience of deep presence wherein one feels simultaneously connected to one’s body and to the outside world. Sound moves the air around us, and the vibrations in turn vibrate our own eardrums and the eardrums of those around us. Sound can be seen as a bridge between matter and energy. The experience of turning our own bodies into resonance chambers can produce a vivid sense of unity between body, brain and psyche. While chanting wordlessly, or using words we don’t understand, can be itself very powerful, there is an added power to chants which have meaning for us, whether assigned by us or by consensus through language, especially as employed by contemplative traditions. “Om” is a word familiar to most, which has rich and varied connotations, including “cosmic sound,” “oneness,” and “is-ness,” and can be seen to represent the entirety of existence in its unity. “Om” alone can be tremendously powerful, but another possibility is “Om shanti.” “Shanti” means peace, and the chant of “Om shanti” can be understood as a wish to manifest peace at a personal, social and universal level. Here is a lovely 10 minute rendition you can chant along with. The chanting starts around the 1:20 mark. Namaste!