http://bretcohen.com/blog.cfm Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:30:26 GMT http://bandzoogle.com http://bretcohen.com/blog.cfm?feature=2451642&postid=1588219  Laughter is spiritual health. And laughter is very unburdening. While you laugh, you can put your mind aside very easily. For a man who cannot laugh the doors of the buddha are closed. To me, laughter is one of the greatest values. No religion has ever thought about it. They have always been insisting on seriousness, and because of their insistence the whole world is psychologically sick. Everybody knows from his own experience that after laughter, good laughter, a belly laugh, you almost feel that you have taken an ice-cold shower; a peace, a silence, a freshness... The same is true about crying, but very few people know the secret of crying because it is more repressed than laughter. Laughter is such a healthy exercise. Somebody is laughing -- that's perfectly good exercise, join him. Somebody is being playful -- if you have time, join him. Millions of people have tried meditation and dropped out of it because they took it very seriously. Religion has been thought to be a very serious affair -- it is not. One has to understand -- at least those who are with me -- that religion is a playfulness, a laughter. Take it easy; then things blossom without any tension. You are not taking it easy, you are making it difficult. Existence loves laughter. You may have observed, or not, that man is the only animal in the whole of existence who is capable of laughing. Laughter is the only distinguishing mark that you are not a buffalo, you are not a donkey; you are a human being. Laughter defines your humanity and your evolution. And the greatest laugh is at your own ridiculous things. I would like you to accept only one prayer, and that is laughter, because when you are totally laughing you are in the present. You cannot laugh in the future and you cannot laugh in the past. All those people who have created this retarded humanity have taken away all juice, all laughter, all smiles, and dragged everybody into being inauthentic. And if you are inauthentic, insincere, you can never grow the seed that has been given to you by this great compassionate universe. I want my people to understand that because only man is capable to laugh, that means laughter is the highest point of consciousness, the highest point of understanding, the highest point of evolution. That's why I have started calling laughter "the prayer time." I want my people to laugh like a lion's roar. Then even laughter becomes a tremendous experience, because it is intelligence at its peak. I want to be taken playfully, not seriously -- not with a long British face, but with beautiful laughter. Your laughter, your playfulness is the recognition that you have understood me. Your seriousness shows that you have misunderstood me, you have missed it -- because seriousness is nothing but sickness. It is another name of sadness; it is a shadow of death. And I am all for life. If it is needed for your laughter, your dance, even to reject me, then reject me -- but don't reject the dance and the song and the life, because that is my teaching. But laughter is in some way unique; when you laugh, you are also total in it. A laughter which is not total will be phony, a pretension, just a performance. So when you laugh, you also laugh totally. That is the only act you do totally -- so you know that laughter is total. If you see me laughing, it is a natural conclusion that it is a total act, because it corresponds with your experience. You cannot laugh partially. Try, and you will fail. You can laugh only totally. That is a unique quality about laughter. That's why I had made a meditation of it -- because of its unique quality: in laughter you are total without anyone saying to you, "Be total." Laughter certainly is very special. Your whole body laughs. Each atom, each cell of your body laughs, participates in it. I have always been against seriousness. I have never compared them, but you can see why I am against seriousness. Seriousness can never be total. It is always partial, the very other extreme of laughter. It goes on becoming narrower and narrower and narrower. The more serious you are, the more narrow you become. The more you go towards laughter, the more wide and the more open, the more vulnerable, the more total, you become. Laughter has something religious. Seriousness is sick and irreligious.

Everybody knows from his own experience that after laughter, good laughter, a belly laugh, you almost feel that you have taken an ice-cold shower; a peace, a silence, a freshness... The same is true about crying, but very few people know the secret of crying because it is more repressed than laughter.


Laughter is such a healthy exercise. Somebody is laughing -- that's perfectly good exercise, join him. Somebody is being playful -- if you have time, join him.


Millions of people have tried meditation and dropped out of it because they took it very seriously. Religion has been thought to be a very serious affair -- it is not. One has to understand -- at least those who are with me -- that religion is a playfulness, a laughter. Take it easy; then things blossom without any tension. You are not taking it easy, you are making it difficult.


Existence loves laughter. You may have observed, or not, that man is the only animal in the whole of existence who is capable of laughing. Laughter is the only distinguishing mark that you are not a buffalo, you are not a donkey; you are a human being. Laughter defines your humanity and your evolution. And the greatest laugh is at your own ridiculous things.


I would like you to accept only one prayer, and that is laughter, because when you are totally laughing you are in the present. You cannot laugh in the future and you cannot laugh in the past. All those people who have created this retarded humanity have taken away all juice, all laughter, all smiles, and dragged everybody into being inauthentic. And if you are inauthentic, insincere, you can never grow the seed that has been given to you by this great compassionate universe.


I want my people to understand that because only man is capable to laugh, that means laughter is the highest point of consciousness, the highest point of understanding, the highest point of evolution. That's why I have started calling laughter "the prayer time."


I want my people to laugh like a lion's roar. Then even laughter becomes a tremendous experience, because it is intelligence at its peak.


I want to be taken playfully, not seriously -- not with a long British face, but with beautiful laughter. Your laughter, your playfulness is the recognition that you have understood me. Your seriousness shows that you have misunderstood me, you have missed it -- because seriousness is nothing but sickness. It is another name of sadness; it is a shadow of death. And I am all for life. If it is needed for your laughter, your dance, even to reject me, then reject me -- but don't reject the dance and the song and the life, because that is my teaching.


But laughter is in some way unique; when you laugh, you are also total in it. A laughter which is not total will be phony, a pretension, just a performance. So when you laugh, you also laugh totally. That is the only act you do totally -- so you know that laughter is total. If you see me laughing, it is a natural conclusion that it is a total act, because it corresponds with your experience. You cannot laugh partially. Try, and you will fail. You can laugh only totally. That is a unique quality about laughter. That's why I had made a meditation of it -- because of its unique quality: in laughter you are total without anyone saying to you, "Be total."


Laughter certainly is very special. Your whole body laughs. Each atom, each cell of your body laughs, participates in it. I have always been against seriousness. I have never compared them, but you can see why I am against seriousness. Seriousness can never be total. It is always partial, the very other extreme of laughter. It goes on becoming narrower and narrower and narrower. The more serious you are, the more narrow you become. The more you go towards laughter, the more wide and the more open, the more vulnerable, the more total, you become. Laughter has something religious. Seriousness is sick and irreligious.]]> Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:30:26 GMT BA3F12446C2C377A2486636A01647474 http://bretcohen.com/blog.cfm?feature=2451642&postid=1534040 Questioner: What do you mean by love? Jiddu Krishnamurti : Love is the unknowable. It can be realized only when the known is understood and transcended. Only when the mind is free of the known, then only there will be love. So, we must approach love negatively and not positively. What is love to most of us? With us, when we love, in it there is possessiveness, dominance, or subservience. From this possession arises jealousy and fear of loss, and we legalize this possessive instinct. From possessiveness there arises jealousy and the innumerable conflicts with which each one is familiar. Possessiveness, then, is not love. Nor is it sentimental. To be sentimental, to be emotional, excludes love. Sensitivity and emotions are merely sensations. A so-called religious person, who weeps over the object of his adoration, is indulging in sensation. Sensation and emotion are the process of thought, and thought is not love. Sentimentality as emotion is a form of self-expansion. Emotions are cruel; in them are like and dislike. An emotional person can be stirred to hatred and to war. Mercy and pity, forgiveness and respect are not emotions. There is love when sentimentality and emotion and devotion cease. Devotion is not love; devotion is a form of self-expansion. Respect is not for the few, but for man, whether he is low or high. Generosity and mercy have no reward. Love alone can transform insanity, confusion, and strife. No system, no theory of the left or of the right can bring peace and happiness to man. Where there is love, there is no possessiveness, no envy; there is mercy and compassion, not in theory, but actually to your wife and to your children, to your neighbor and to your servant. When you are respectful to your servant as well as to your guru, then you will know love. Love alone can transform the world. Love alone can bring about mercy and beauty, order and peace. There is love with its blessing when 'you' cease to be.
Jiddu Krishnamurti : Love is the unknowable. It can be realized only when the known is understood and transcended. Only when the mind is free of the known, then only there will be love. So, we must approach love negatively and not positively.

What is love to most of us? With us, when we love, in it there is possessiveness, dominance, or subservience. From this possession arises jealousy and fear of loss, and we legalize this possessive instinct. From possessiveness there arises jealousy and the innumerable conflicts with which each one is familiar. Possessiveness, then, is not love. Nor is it sentimental. To be sentimental, to be emotional, excludes love. Sensitivity and emotions are merely sensations. A so-called religious person, who weeps over the object of his adoration, is indulging in sensation. Sensation and emotion are the process of thought, and thought is not love. Sentimentality as emotion is a form of self-expansion. Emotions are cruel; in them are like and dislike. An emotional person can be stirred to hatred and to war.

Mercy and pity, forgiveness and respect are not emotions. There is love when sentimentality and emotion and devotion cease. Devotion is not love; devotion is a form of self-expansion. Respect is not for the few, but for man, whether he is low or high. Generosity and mercy have no reward.

Love alone can transform insanity, confusion, and strife. No system, no theory of the left or of the right can bring peace and happiness to man. Where there is love, there is no possessiveness, no envy; there is mercy and compassion, not in theory, but actually to your wife and to your children, to your neighbor and to your servant. When you are respectful to your servant as well as to your guru, then you will know love. Love alone can transform the world. Love alone can bring about mercy and beauty, order and peace. There is love with its blessing when 'you' cease to be.
]]> Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:29:32 GMT B3540F2F8034EB19FD6BE153B6D34AEA http://bretcohen.com/blog.cfm?feature=2451642&postid=1201747 All night, a man called “Allah” Until his lips were bleeding. Then the Devil said, “Hey ! Mr Gullible ! How come you’ve been calling all night and never once heard Allah say, “Here, I am” ? You call out so earnestly and, in reply, what ? I’ll tell you what. Nothing ! The man suddenly felt empty and abandoned. Depressed, he threw himself on the ground and fell into a deep sleep. In a dream, he met Abraham, who asked, “Why are you regretting praising Allah ?” The man said, “ I called and called, But Allah never replied, “Here I am.” Abraham explained, “Allah has said, “Your calling my name is My reply. Your longing for Me is My message to you. All your attempts to reach Me Are in reality My attempts to reach you. Your fear and love are a noose to catch Me. In the silence surrounding every call of “Allah” Waits a thousand replies of “Here I am.” ~ Rumi Until his lips were bleeding.

Then the Devil said, “Hey ! Mr Gullible !
How come you’ve been calling all night
and never once heard Allah say, “Here, I am” ?
You call out so earnestly and, in reply, what ?
I’ll tell you what. Nothing !

The man suddenly felt empty and abandoned.

Depressed, he threw himself on the ground
and fell into a deep sleep.
In a dream, he met Abraham, who asked,
“Why are you regretting praising Allah ?”

The man said, “ I called and called,

But Allah never replied, “Here I am.”

Abraham explained, “Allah has said,
“Your calling my name is My reply.
Your longing for Me is My message to you.
All your attempts to reach Me
Are in reality My attempts to reach you.
Your fear and love are a noose to catch Me.
In the silence surrounding every call of “Allah”
Waits a thousand replies of “Here I am.”

~ Rumi]]> Thu, 18 Aug 2011 02:11:41 GMT 8758470B3CA048003571E944038C10BB http://bretcohen.com/blog.cfm?feature=2451642&postid=1170574   "Since things neither exist nor do not exist, are neither real nor unreal, are utterly beyond adopting and rejecting - one might as well burst out laughing." ~ Tibetan Nyingmapa Master - Longchenpa Rabjampa - C14th ~ ~ Tibetan Nyingmapa Master - Longchenpa Rabjampa - C14th ~]]> Mon, 08 Aug 2011 23:11:36 GMT 6AD6F3AB47B824038479D607BCE0571E http://bretcohen.com/blog.cfm?feature=2451642&postid=1021570 As our experiences and beleifs continually change thorughout our lives, it can be easy to forget the nectar in the center. But we find ways... We find ways to forget the illusion for a moment, to feel again... to experience again. Painting, watching, listening, writing, singing, smelling, tasting, warming, cooling, hugging, kissing, loving, breathing... Whatever works. But we find ways...
We find ways to forget the illusion for a moment, to feel again... to experience again.
Painting, watching, listening, writing, singing, smelling, tasting, warming, cooling, hugging, kissing, loving, breathing...

Whatever works.
]]> Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:15:00 GMT 6CC619DB18E3068DB7768AE93B8ADD5C http://bretcohen.com/blog.cfm?feature=2451642&postid=1012516 Her perception is like the ocean. It's glistening little specks of light. It's listening closely to the heart. is like
the ocean.

It's glistening
little
specks of light.

It's listening
closely
to the heart.]]> Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:51:14 GMT 7D40B369F53EF5A3AA3F9BF407B7D9A0 http://bretcohen.com/blog.cfm?feature=2451642&postid=1012512 I give you my heart. It's as genuine and just as fragile as yours... It's as genuine
and just as fragile
as yours...]]> Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:48:57 GMT 13F307F7487FA4C639478C105B641A5E http://bretcohen.com/blog.cfm?feature=2451642&postid=1012511 I can see a bird. She's Dancing on the windowsill to my drum. She's Dancing
on the windowsill
to my drum.]]> Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:47:38 GMT E77E1C049592D5AA2EC44F887887F84B http://bretcohen.com/blog.cfm?feature=2451642&postid=1012510 In the spur of the moment is where I wanna stay. Right now is the one time. Never was yesterday. Why wait until later? It's really far away... We got you a present. And we are living here. Endless variations even closer than near. Just as they all have said, right here is where it is. Not going anywhere. Right here is where it is. We got you a present. It's all that ever was and it's all that will be. Bees are sounding their buzz... Listening you are free. Homeless you're finally... In the spur of the moment is where I wanna stay. Right now is the one time. Never was yesterday. Why wait until later? It's really far away... I think when you wake up it'll still be today. There is no tomorrow. We're staring at the way that has been recycled through changes and decay. Forever and ever for a zillion todays... Today is the greatest day we've ever known... In the spur of the moment is where I wanna stay. Right now is the one time. Never was yesterday. Why wait until later? It's really far away... is where I wanna stay.
Right now is the one time.
Never was yesterday.
Why wait until later?
It's really far away...

We got you a present.
And we are living here.
Endless variations
even closer than near.
Just as they all have said,
right here is where it is.
Not going anywhere.
Right here is where it is.
We got you a present.
It's all that ever was
and it's all that will be.
Bees are sounding their buzz...

Listening you are free.
Homeless you're finally...

In the spur of the moment
is where I wanna stay.
Right now is the one time.
Never was yesterday.
Why wait until later?
It's really far away...

I think when you wake up
it'll still be today.
There is no tomorrow.
We're staring at the way
that has been recycled
through changes and decay.
Forever and ever
for a zillion todays...

Today is the greatest
day we've ever known...

In the spur of the moment
is where I wanna stay.
Right now is the one time.
Never was yesterday.
Why wait until later?
It's really far away...]]> Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:45:00 GMT 570A83E22D93D0C9E4EF7EA55BC74E7F http://bretcohen.com/blog.cfm?feature=2451642&postid=1005961  Peace, This's my first offering in what will be a series of free lessons about music, chanting, spirituality, life etc.  I'm moved to discuss, because I feel these subjects have lots of parrallels throughout the universe and life, and they're so much fun to explore!  I'm gonna try to focus on the important and more infrequently discussed things most of the time and hope some people will enjoy these writings.  Language is limited.  And since to me these topics are very deep, multi-faceted and probably much bigger than any one person can fully understand I, of course, can only do my best to clearly present my little piece of it all.  Also should point out that these are only my perspectives.  Not everyone finds significance in the same stuff.  This info is not "the" way or anything like that.  To each their own.  And please feel free to comment or email me with any questions, additions, criticism etc.  We'll see where this goes...   Now a short piece on sensitivity: What do we think of when relating this word to music?  Sensitivity...  (Insert long, etheric metallic sound here) All too often the we're presented with the idea that a technique, concept etc. is taught, learned and then we have it.  Done, finished... it's yours.  Can be deposited in the bank and forgotten about.  But many of these subjects can be so much deeper than that if we make them to be.  For example, tones on a musical instrument:  The instrument can be just about anything.  Could be a guitar, voice, the body of a dancer, or a feather.  But let's suppose we're learning to play some type of drum. There's probably a low pitched tone, a higher tone, maybe a midrange, open strikes, closed and so on.  There's immense power in each of these sounds and all sound for that matter.  A whole world of variation lies within each tone on that drumhead.  Sound is movement and vibrates contiuously through the entire universe, through every level of ourselves!  You can close your eyes and ears and still be altered by it.  You can put up your fists and can't stop it.  A rhythm faster than the heart can be exciting, slower can be soothing and to varying degrees of subtlety.  Even the smallest, tiny little sound has these qualities. Doesn't all this suggest that in life sensitivity to the small details might be worth considering, might be very worth considering?  We're effected by the subtleties of sound and can effect a willful development of control and perception.  And, it's a subject that's pretty much neverending.  It can be developed over a lifetime.  With a wise and caring voice in my memeory a man named Baba Crowder who was once a teacher to me sings these words, "Eventually it comes down to how sensitive you can be." Thank you Baba.   How closely can we listen?  How closely can we listen while speaking at the same time?  How precisely can we control sound, volume, the metronome, pitch and timbre of the drum, the intensity and quality of emotion.  What's the most minute detail that we hear?  How comfortably do we execute each technique?(sensitivity to small bodily discomforts in posture etc. and then the ability to correct them)  Sensitivity to what you're lover needs without the need for a verbal cue.  What are we listening for? Asking ourselves these questions I feel can be valuable because the directions they point us to might contain artistic nourishment.  These infinite treasures that we all have inside are waiting to share themselves.  It's up to the individual to figure out and choose how.  As soon as the way to get through the locked doors inside us are found, then the endless sea of infinite names can rain.  It's all about opening doors... Anyway I could go on much longer, but I think it's been said already.  Curb your enthusiasm Bret!  Sensitivity: an essential vocabulary word full of playful contemplation and self discovery.  Peace, Bret p.s. I'm remembering this... "Whatever it is that you are unnecessarily carrying... Try to get rid of that" (And then he smiles)
This's my first offering in what will be a series of free lessons about music, chanting, spirituality, life etc.  I'm moved to discuss, because I feel these subjects have lots of parrallels throughout the universe and life, and they're so much fun to explore!  I'm gonna try to focus on the important and more infrequently discussed things most of the time and hope some people will enjoy these writings.  Language is limited.  And since to me these topics are very deep, multi-faceted and probably much bigger than any one person can fully understand I, of course, can only do my best to clearly present my little piece of it all.  Also should point out that these are only my perspectives.  Not everyone finds significance in the same stuff.  This info is not "the" way or anything like that.  To each their own.  And please feel free to comment or email me with any questions, additions, criticism etc.  We'll see where this goes...  


Now a short piece on sensitivity:

What do we think of when relating this word to music?  Sensitivity...  (Insert long, etheric metallic sound here)

All too often the we're presented with the idea that a technique, concept etc. is taught, learned and then we have it.  Done, finished... it's yours.  Can be deposited in the bank and forgotten about.  But many of these subjects can be so much deeper than that if we make them to be.  For example, tones on a musical instrument:  The instrument can be just about anything.  Could be a guitar, voice, the body of a dancer, or a feather.  But let's suppose we're learning to play some type of drum. There's probably a low pitched tone, a higher tone, maybe a midrange, open strikes, closed and so on.  There's immense power in each of these sounds and all sound for that matter.  A whole world of variation lies within each tone on that drumhead.  Sound is movement and vibrates contiuously through the entire universe, through every level of ourselves!  You can close your eyes and ears and still be altered by it.  You can put up your fists and can't stop it.  A rhythm faster than the heart can be exciting, slower can be soothing and to varying degrees of subtlety.  Even the smallest, tiny little sound has these qualities.

Doesn't all this suggest that in life sensitivity to the small details might be worth considering, might be very worth considering?  We're effected by the subtleties of sound and can effect a willful development of control and perception.  And, it's a subject that's pretty much neverending.  It can be developed over a lifetime.  With a wise and caring voice in my memeory a man named Baba Crowder who was once a teacher to me sings these words, "Eventually it comes down to how sensitive you can be." Thank you Baba.  

How closely can we listen?  How closely can we listen while speaking at the same time?  How precisely can we control sound, volume, the metronome, pitch and timbre of the drum, the intensity and quality of emotion.  What's the most minute detail that we hear?  How comfortably do we execute each technique?(sensitivity to small bodily discomforts in posture etc. and then the ability to correct them)  Sensitivity to what you're lover needs without the need for a verbal cue.  What are we listening for?

Asking ourselves these questions I feel can be valuable because the directions they point us to might contain artistic nourishment.  These infinite treasures that we all have inside are waiting to share themselves.  It's up to the individual to figure out and choose how.  As soon as the way to get through the locked doors inside us are found, then the endless sea of infinite names can rain.  It's all about opening doors...

Anyway I could go on much longer, but I think it's been said already.  Curb your enthusiasm Bret!  Sensitivity: an essential vocabulary word full of playful contemplation and self discovery. 

Peace,
Bret

p.s. I'm remembering this... "Whatever it is that you are unnecessarily carrying... Try to get rid of that" (And then he smiles)


]]> Thu, 02 Jun 2011 09:30:00 GMT 9B58A12329BA758080124E060D93CFE3 http://bretcohen.com/blog.cfm?feature=2451642&postid=1000786 People have asked why do you chant. And with these words I hope to communicate some of what it is to me. In various ways throughout history life has addressed the one... This great, great mystery that's all around us and is us. We've used art, philosophy, poetry and lots of other approaches. One of those is by chanting and drumming. Throughout the world there's many styles of chanting.  Different forms of repeating names over and over again. In my view, the reasons and effects vary but the concept is the same... There's various ways people experience this: Some find it meditative, a way to get away from our constantly running thoughts. A way to rest. Some sit, some sing, some dance. Others are moved to tears, nourished and healed. For some, it's just a nice thing to listen to. People from all walks of life do this sort of thing, regardless of religious background, class, color etc. At 4 Corners gatherings our version of this practice is very simple --chanting from the heart. A melody is sung and then those who want to sing it back. Then it's sung again and repeated again. And this just continues for a while... There's no dogma, just what is felt. A heartful reminder that people aren't that different from each other and from other life forms. Some call it mantra, kirtan, kozen-rufu or by other words. It's an ancient practice of immense depth and I'm honored to be a part. Chanting is timeless.  Chanting is universal. People have asked why do you chant. And with these words I hope to communicate some of what it is to me.


In various ways throughout history life has addressed the one... This great, great mystery that's all around us and is us.
We've used art, philosophy, poetry and lots of other approaches. One of those is by chanting and drumming.

Throughout the world there's many styles of chanting.  Different forms of repeating names over and over again.
In my view, the reasons and effects vary but the concept is the same...

There's various ways people experience this:
Some find it meditative, a way to get away from our constantly running thoughts. A way to rest.
Some sit, some sing, some dance. Others are moved to tears, nourished and healed.
For some, it's just a nice thing to listen to. People from all walks of life do this sort of thing, regardless of religious background, class, color etc.

At 4 Corners gatherings our version of this practice is very simple --chanting from the heart.
A melody is sung and then those who want to sing it back. Then it's sung again and repeated again. And this just continues for a while...
There's no dogma, just what is felt. A heartful reminder that people aren't that different from each other and from other life forms.
Some call it mantra, kirtan, kozen-rufu or by other words. It's an ancient practice of immense depth and I'm honored to be a part.

Chanting is timeless.  Chanting is universal.]]> Mon, 30 May 2011 21:35:00 GMT 0A6310B47C006961EB15E4EA938A37DD http://bretcohen.com/blog.cfm?feature=2451642&postid=1000748  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Chant (from French chanter) is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes (e.g. woah woah) to highly complex musical structures (e.g. woah woah wo wo woah wo wo wo woah wo woah), often including a great deal of repetition of musical subphrases, such as Great Responsories and Offertories of Gregorian chant. Chant may be considered speech, music, or a heightened or stylized form of speech. In the later Middle Ages some religious chant evolved into song (forming one of the roots of later Western music). Chant as a spiritual practice Chanting (e.g., mantra, sacred text, the name of God/Spirit, etc.) is a commonly used spiritual practice. Like prayer, chant may be a component of either personal or group practice. Diverse spiritual traditions consider chant a route to spiritual development.  From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chant (from French chanter) is the rhythmic speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes (e.g. woah woah) to highly complex musical structures (e.g. woah woah wo wo woah wo wo wo woah wo woah), often including a great deal of repetition of musical subphrases, such as Great Responsories and Offertories of Gregorian chant. Chant may be considered speech, music, or a heightened or stylized form of speech. In the later Middle Ages some religious chant evolved into song (forming one of the roots of later Western music).

Chant as a spiritual practice
Chanting (e.g., mantra, sacred text, the name of God/Spirit, etc.) is a commonly used spiritual practice. Like prayer, chant may be a component of either personal or group practice. Diverse spiritual traditions consider chant a route to spiritual development.
]]> Mon, 30 May 2011 21:17:01 GMT DD769D815082ADE3545188628064B2D8