ON-LINE LEARNING PROGRAM Certificate in Sound Therapy (C.ST) Module 6 Voice Therapy with Tones and Mantras
CONTENTS Page Learning outcomes for Module 6 3 Background to mantra therapy 4 What are Sanskrit mantras? 5 Hindu and Buddhist practices 6 Working with mantras 7 Chakras and beeja mantras 7 Vocal Toning 9 Seed Sounds 10 Additional mantras 11 Mantras and sound therapy 12 Sound instruments and vocal toning/ chanting mantras 12 Personal mantra practice 12 Mantra therapy conclusions 13 Additional resources for Module 6 14 Colour of Sound Institute tutor contact details 15 Colour of Sound Institute, 2011 Page 2
LEARNING OUTCOMES FOR MODULE 6: To learn several Tibetan and Sanskrit mantras and how to incorporate them into your sound therapy work and meditations To learn the techniques of how to work with mantras and vocal toning the chakras To learn how to work with friends, family and on yourself for healing and personal development using mantra and vocal toning To gain firm and secure foundations with which to develop individual skills, experience, understanding and knowledge in order to be a professional, proficient and positive sound therapy practitioner, if that is your desired outcome Colour of Sound Institute, 2011 Page 3
BACKGROUND TO MANTRA THERAPY Mantras have been used throughout the world and in most native traditions. Mantras can have the same effect as the therapeutic sound tools. Mantras work on the same sound healing principles of resonance, sympathetic resonance, entrainment and the changing of brain wave frequencies. Mantras have been used for thousands of years as a tool for healing, transformation and to enter into altered states of consciousness. The mantras that we will be concentrating on in this course will be Sanskrit and Tibetan mantras. Sanskrit and Tibetan (which has a direct link to Sanskrit) is-an energy based language stemming from the ancient Hindu tradition which goes back many thousands of years and thought to be one of the oldest languages of humanity. Because Sanskrit is an ancient energy based language, there is not always a direct translation into English of the meaning. This Module of the distance learning course offers a basic understanding of mantras and therefore a limited amount of the many thousands of mantras are covered here. Module 10 of this course will enable you to go deeper into vocal toning and chanting mantras. As with all the therapeutic sound tools discussed in these courses it is the direct and personal experience of tools that will bring the greatest understanding and this is particularly true of mantras. No amount of talking about mantras can substitute the chanting of mantras in what is called a daily mantra discipline. It is through vocal toning and chanting of the mantras that their energy is taken into the self and therefore digested and understood by the self. Each unique person, regardless of the mantras innate meaning will have his or her own individual experience. Taking part in a daily mantra practice is just as, if not more, important than the understanding of the translation of the words of the mantra. Mantras have been used for many thousands of years and therefore their importance and potential is evident in their longevity and through the sages and masters who throughout our history, particularly in India and Tibet, have recognised them as having great power and potential. Some people, perhaps as a result of being criticised as a child, have developed a fear of singing and are reluctant to embrace vocal toning and chanting mantras. It is important not to dismiss something as not being good for you or your clients without having experienced it or from a fear based on using the voice. Colour of Sound Institute, 2011 Page 4
Working with mantras uses the voice in order to chant the mantras out loud, and therefore the building of confidence in chanting for clients, as part of the treatment is something that may be needed to be worked on. You don t have to be able to sing beautifully or perfectly to chant a mantra out loud, all you need is to be able to speak out loud (and if you can t or don t want to for whatever reason mantras can be repeated/chanted silently). Mantras can also be sung, and it is the rhythmic chanting of the mantras that is the traditional discipline that can bring about the most beneficial effects. Experience is the key to mantras and before you recommend anything to anyone it is always a good idea to have experienced it for yourself so you can not only understand, feel and identify with it but also that you are not giving something to someone else that you are not prepared to have tried for yourself. Mantras have amazing abilities to help to quieten the mind, heal and transform the body, mind, heart and soul. Mantras are available to all people and are not limited by space, price, location or time and are flexible and fitting to all situations and circumstances. Mantras are extremely adaptable to any and everyone, including clients of all medical conditions and situations. Mantras are ancient and wise beyond belief and the chanting of mantras can lead to profound transformational experiences both inwardly and outwardly. WHAT ARE SANSKRIT MANTRAS? The word mantra is believed to come from the Sanskrit words man, meaning mind, and trai, meaning a device for liberation. Therefore mantras can help to free the mind and liberate the soul. In religious scriptures of both the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, mantra is usually referred to as a spiritual sound formula. Specifically within the Hindu scriptures, mantra has been named that which, when contemplated and repeated, will offer protection. Study of Sanskrit mantras not only includes the saying of the mantras but the understanding of the physical and spiritual anatomy of the being. This teaching incorporates the mechanisms of the subtle energy systems of the body such as the seven major energy centres called the chakras. This is combined with the energy of the human voice, which has a powerful influence on all aspects of our being. Sanskrit mantras provide one of the keys to awaken Kundalini, which is a subtle power cell, located at the base of the spine. It is not necessary to take part in the Hindu or Buddhist religions to work with and benefit from the use of mantras. Colour of Sound Institute, 2011 Page 5
Many ardent and sincere spiritual seekers from many paths and many religions work with and find physical, energetic and spiritual transformations through the chanting of mantras. HINDU AND BUDDHIST PRACTICES Mantras are sacred words of power that have come from ancient Indian and Tibetan scriptures and masters. The Hindu scriptures are believed to be some of the oldest known religious writings. These epic scriptures retell the lives of countless mythical beings interlaced with spiritual philosophy. The Hindu religion incorporates many and varied rituals and ceremonies which honour the Hindu pantheon of deities. This ancient religion incorporates Sanskrit mantras as part of the religious practice. To the Hindus both the deities and their associated mantras are sacred and hold a powerful potential if the correct practice is upheld. As part of the Tibetan Buddhist practice mantras are used almost like prayers and incorporated into the daily puja practice which in essence is a daily spiritual purification. You will find Tibetan people all around the world but particularly in India and Tibet chanting mantras (often the om mani padme hung mantra). Most often they will be turning the Tibetan prayer wheel that is filled with thousands of written mantras as they chant. The prayer wheel is spun whilst the mantra is chanted and traditionally this would be done daily and for the benefit of all sentient beings. The mantra that is spoken and written is sent out to the world upon the breath and the air as it is released from the body and the prayer wheel. Colour of Sound Institute, 2011 Page 6
WORKING WITH MANTRAS Mantras are usually chanted in ancient languages e.g. Sanskrit, Tibetan or Jewish. They contain within the whole, powerful words whose energy can bring about immense changes to both physical and energetic bodies. Therefore it is extremely important to not only honour and respect the mantra and its associated deity, but to also chant the mantra using the correct discipline. As mantras can have powerful responses to the individual or the client it is important also to discern between the burning away of negative and unwanted energies and the overpowering of the system. Experience is the best teacher in discerning between the minds trickery and true agitation. Mantras used over a period of time will help to quieten the mind. The mind is like a monkey, which constantly chatters and fills us with useless, old and unhelpful information, words and thoughts. When you concentrate upon the mantras and practice them over time, they can assist in the removal of monkey mind, bringing clarity and calmness. Working with mantras can help you to work through, understand and remove crystalline thought forms stored in the physical and energetic bodies. Working with mantras is an excellent way to increase the energy and vitality of chakras. There are 50 letters in the Sanskrit alphabet and each of the chakras shown in the Hindu chakra pictorial representation has a number of lotus petals on them (see Table 1 below). It is when mantras are chanted that they create a vibratory connection between the letters used in the mantras and its location in the chakras. We can see, therefore, the meaning of mantras as being energy based, as the mantras create or manifest an energetic link within one or more of the chakras. The thousand petals of the crown chakra represents and is a reflection of, all the chakras and therefore any of the mantras will have a direct impact on the crown chakra which is linked to spiritual transformation, understanding and evolution. CHAKRAS AND BEEJA MANTRAS The word beeja means seed; mantra means mystical sound. Beeja mantras can be worked with to start off with and chanted as part of a daily practice in order to grasp the understanding of mantras and in order to plant the understanding of mantras within yourself and your clients. The beeja mantras can also be used in order to balance the chakra system, as each of the chakras has its own seed sound and the chanting of each of the beeja mantras as part of a daily discipline or as part of the therapy session allows the chakras to be maintained in a balanced and harmonic energy pattern and ensuring optimum balance. Colour of Sound Institute, 2011 Page 7
The beeja mantras can also be used independently in order to work with one or more specific chakras in order to bring balance and harmony to those areas. The selection of one or more separate chakra sounds can be done intuitively and or according to that which is ascertained as part of the case history. The chanting of one or more, or all of the beeja mantras allows the energies of the associated chakra to be brought into a state or resonance or balance through the removal of negative, stagnant or stuck energy. Table 1 details the beeja mantras for each of the chakras, along with their corresponding Sanskrit name, note / tone, colour, vowel sound and number of lotus petals. Table 1 Chakra Sanskrit name Note / Beeja Mantra Colour Vowel Number of tone sound lotus petals Root/Base Mooladhara C LAM Red UH 4 Sacral Swadhisthana D VAM Orange OOO 6 Solar plexus Manipura E RAM Yellow OH 10 Heart Anahata F YAM Green AH 12 Throat Vishuddhi G HAM Blue EYE 16 Brow Ajna A OM Royal Blue AYE 2 Crown Sahasrara B OM (silent) Violet EEE 1000 Colour of Sound Institute, 2011 Page 8
VOCAL TONING CERTIFICATE IN SOUND THERAPY - MODULE 6 Using your voice to tone the chakras is an extremely powerful way to create balance and healing as well as super-charge the energy system. You can work in this way both for yourself and for your clients. As a daily practice, vocal toning is one of the most simple, easy and effective therapeutic tool you can use. It s free, and fully mobile, so you can do it anywhere, anytime! Technique: For each chakra, begin by quietly in your mind say the beeja mantra or vowel sound, then take a deep breath and out loud, sing or say the mantra or vowel sound on any note three times for 5 10 seconds each, holding the note steady and feeling the vibration in the area of the chakra. Firstly, bring your attention to the root chakra and sing or say the beeja mantra LAM. Let your attention jump to the sacral chakra and sing or say the beeja mantra VAM. Let your attention jump to the solar plexus chakra and sing or the beeja mantra RAM. Let your attention jump to the heart chakra and sing or say the beeja mantra YAM.. Let your attention jump to the throat chakra and sing or say the beeja mantra HAM. Let your attention jump to the brow (third eye) chakra and sing or say the beeja mantra OM. Let your attention jump to the crown chakra and silently sing or say the beeja mantra OM (again). Then descend through the chakras repeating the above process, though this time focus on sounding the vowel sounds: Keeping your attention at the crown chakra sing or say the vowel sound EEE (as in me ). Let your attention jump down to the brow (third eye) chakra and sing or say the vowel sound AYE (as in may ). Colour of Sound Institute, 2011 Page 9
Let your attention jump down to the throat chakra and sing or say the vowel sound EYE (as in my ). Let your attention jump down to the heart chakra and sing or say the vowel sound AH (as in ma ). Let your attention jump down to the solar plexus chakra and sing or say the vowel sound OH (as in go ). Let your attention jump down to the sacral chakra and sing or say the vowel sound OOH (as in you ). Let your attention jump down to the root chakra and sing or say the vowel sound UH (as in huh ). SEED SOUNDS One of the first steps to working with and understanding Sanskrit mantras is the use of seed sounds. The seed sounds are energetically planted in order to allow other more complex mantras to grow from the original seed. Seed sounds create and support the system in order for other mantras to manifest from them and allow other mantras to be built upon them, creating ever more complex mantras. That is not to say seed sounds are not important or powerful in their right, and just as an acorn contains within it the blueprint for an oak tree, the seed sounds contain within them the seed of all other mantras and most importantly the deity, God or Goddess that the seed and subsequent mantras invoke. Seed sounds are short one-word mantras, and can be extremely powerful and transformational tools with which to work. Many of the seed sounds are linked with Hindu and Buddhist deities. The mind can accept the seed sounds as pure energy when they are linked with deities and can affect our lives forever. Table 2 below gives the seed sounds with their corresponding deity, principle and meaning. Table 2 SEED SOUNDS SOUNDS DEITY PRINCIPLE MEANING LIKE SHRIM Shreem Lakshmi Feminine Abundance Use to attract abundance in all its aspects such as financial wealth, health, friends, food, peace, love, children or family, etc. Be careful for what you wish for and ensure it is in accordance with the greater good. KLIM Kleem No specific Attraction The power to attract that which is desired. This seed sound is often combined with many other mantras. Focus on that which you desire in order to make it manifest. Again be mindful as to what and why you want to attract it to you ensure it is for the highest good of yourself and others. Colour of Sound Institute, 2011 Page 10
KRIM Kreem Kali Ego Power to invoke & resolve/dissolve ego grasping. Kali is the primordial feminine energy. DUM Doom Durga Protection Invokes feminine principle of Durga which brings protection from that which we fear. GUM Gum Ganesha Remove obstacles Removes obstacles which block our path. It also brings success to all endeavours. This is a good starting place in mantra as it removes all obstacles. EIM I m Saraswati Sound, music and education Helps with activities linked with sound, music and education to improve mental capacity as well as spiritual knowledge in terms of memory and intelligence. GLAUM Glah-own Ganesha Remove obstacles This time it assists in the removal of energetic obstacles between the throat and the base of the spine. HAUM How-m Shiva Transcendental consciousness HRIM Hreem Mahamaya Seeing through the illusion ADDITIONAL MANTRAS Seed for the abode of the transcendental consciousness and the masculine principle of Shiva. To assist one in seeing through the illusion of reality and through illusionary thoughts etc. The Sri Chakra Mantra: Om Shrim Shriyei Swaha This represents the power of the universe itself and attracts the universal primordial feminine energy and increases one s own abilities to receive it. Rama Healing Mantras: Om Apadamapa Hataram Dataram Sarva Sampadam Loka Bhi Raman Sri Raman Bhuyo Bhuyo Namam-yaham Or Om Rama Ramaya Namaha Or Rum (or sometimes Ram) Rama possessed the gift of being able to make something be, just by speaking it. Repeating certain Rama mantras carries similar energies and the healing potencies are very powerful. Tibetan Mantras: Om Mani Padme Hung (om man e paid me hung) This is the mantra of Avalokiteshwara (Chenrigzig intibetan) the bodhisattva of compassion. Working with this mantra invokes the quality of altruistic compassion. Om Tara Tuttare Ture Soha (Om Tara Two Tara Two Ray So Ha) Colour of Sound Institute, 2011 Page 11
This is the mantra of the 21 different aspects of the feminine principle of compassion. Tara it is believed to be born from the tears of Avalokishwara as a response to a plea. Heart Sutra mantra: Gate Gate Para Gate Parasam Gate Bodhi Soha (Gata Gata Para Gata Para Sam Gata Bow De So Ha) This mantra invokes the sutra of the heart and is a mantra that invokes the altruistic heart of compassion. Also helps to understand emptiness. Comes from Buddha s teaching (sutra) on emptiness. MANTRAS AND SOUND THERAPY You can use mantras as a personal practice and also when working with others. Mantras can be used at the start of the session to invoke the energies of the mantras, or incorporated throughout a healing session, meditation or performance and at the end of a session to invoke the energy of the mantra into the person or people. You can use mantras as an intention when working with therapeutic sounds. You can use mantras according to their meanings i.e. those for healing, use in healing work; those for protection use in protection; those for enlightenment use for enlightenment and so forth. Working with mantras is an amazing and life changing tool and something which you have available free of charge. Without carrying anything with you, and at any time you choose they are freely available. SOUND INSTRUMENTS AND VOCAL TONING / MANTRAS You can chant mantras directly into any sound instrument to invoke the energies of the mantras into the tool. This may take some time to fully energise the tool with the mantras and the traditional forty day discipline is best, as it will ensure energies of the mantras are strongly invoked into the tool. The benefit of this is that whilst playing the instrument the energies of the mantras will be invoked as well as the vibration of the tool. You can also chant a seed sound or mantra while playing a sound tool. For example, you can hold and play an F crystal bowl near a client s heart chakra to bring balance and healing to this energy centre, while also chanting aloud or silently the beeja mantra YAM, the vowel sound AH or the longer mantra OM MANI PADME HUNG. This will greatly enhance the effectiveness of the treatment. Colour of Sound Institute, 2011 Page 12
PERSONAL MANTRA PRACTICE A personal mantra practice can be undertaken in two ways, firstly you can chant the mantras as many times during the day and night as you possibly can, or secondly you can chant it 108 times (with the use of a mala) morning and night. If you intend to chant the mantras as many times in a day as you can, you do not necessarily have to do this in a set space and at a set time, you can do it upon waking, while in the shower, getting dressed, eating, working, driving and in all activities. You can say the mantras out loud or say it in your head. If you decide to do the practice of 108 times twice daily, it is best to set aside a set time and space with which to do this. Ideally this space should be a meditation or quiet area where you can do the mantra in peace, calm and quiet. The use of a mala, which is a counting tool, is helpful. The mala has 108 beads on it and is used as a counting device when you chant a mantra. The mala can be made from various things such as woods, crystals and pods and traditionally is made from the bodi seed, which comes from the bodi tree, which is the tree the Buddha, sat under when he found enlightenment and so has an essence of this infused into the seed. The discipline should be undertaken for a set period of time, normally forty days. You can do the discipline for longer if required, or you could choose mantras to work with throughout your life or for certain rituals, problems or disease etc. Forty days is the traditional Hindu discipline and is linked with the sacred number 40 that is seen in many ancient scriptures. You can say the mantras as fast or slow as you wish, as long as you concentrate on what you are chanting and maintain the right space within your mind, body and soul. Experiment with what works for you. MANTRA THERAPY CONCLUSIONS Sanskrit and Tibetan mantras can be an on-going spiritual discipline, which can be used throughout our life to bring greater understanding of the self, to quieten the mind, to bring us closer to states of enlightenment, and to see through the illusion of life. This is only a brief introduction to mantras which is extended in Module 10 of this course. THINGS TO REMEMBER: Choose appropriate vocal tones and mantras according to your needs. Work on the pronunciation to perfect the discipline. Work with the intention behind the tones and mantras. Know that mantras are energy-based tools. Colour of Sound Institute, 2011 Page 13
Work with a set length of a mantras discipline. Work with a mala for counting the 108-mantra discipline. Chant the tones or mantras daily to heal and transform the body, mind and soul. Incorporate mantras in your healing work, meditation and sound therapy. Be patient and trust that what is meant to be will be. Colour of Sound Institute, 2011 Page 14
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR MODULE 6 BOOKS AND CDs AUTHOR Healing with the Voice Creating harmony through the power of sound The Divine Name (with CD) The sound that can change the world Chanting Discovering spirit in sound Mantras Words of Power The Power of Mantra & the Mystery of Initiation Healing Mantras Mantras (CD) Sacred Words of Power James D Angelo Jonathan Goldman Robert Gass with Kathleen Brehony Swami Sivananda Radha Pandit Rajmani Tigunait Thomas Ashley-Farrand Thomas Ashley-Farrand Colour of Sound Institute, 2011 Page 15
COLOUR OF SOUND INSTITUTE: CONTACT DETAILS Course Director: Contact address: Tony Nec Colour of Sound Institute 12 Polscoe Lostwithiel Cornwall PL22 0HS United Kingdom Contact telephone number: +44 (0)1208 873 974 E-mail address: tony@colourofsound.org Website address: www.colourofsound.org Colour of Sound Institute, 2011 Page 16