Q. What is the music of “Gratitude” like?
A. It’s a collection of original songs and mantras. It is uplifting, bringing a feeling of calm and peace. You’ll hear beautiful vocals with occasional hints of tribal beats, blues inspired moments, and enchanting tranquility.
To purchase the album, please click here, or download on iTunes by clicking below:
I have been singing to my students in savasana for years.
Singing is part of my dharma, my spirit, my purpose in life, and a gift that I can freely offer out to the benefit of others and myself simultaneously. It feels good to sing, just as it is a joy to receive a song full of the purest, sweetest meaning.
Mantra is the repetition of sound, typically seen in the form of sacred song. One of the purposes of mantra is to take you into the heart of yourself, and also to help you recognize yourself in all that is around you.
This album, which I finally made after years of being asked to do so, is a collection of mantras.
However, though there is ancient tradition in all of these songs, many are original mantras in the way the words are combined, and all of the musical arrangements (i.e. melody, meter) have been inspired within my own heart.
Now, on to the words and meaning of the songs themselves.
Disclaimer: Attempting to explain the full potential and extent of the meaning contained in these songs would be a lengthy book. Instead, I give you a glimpse of their significance. Feel them in your heart—that is the best way to know them. And, please adapt the meanings so that they empower your own personal beliefs. For example, if the words God or Goddess don’t do it for you, substitute whatever word you prefer to use when you describe that which is beyond description. The whole point of these songs is to lead you into your own heart and the truth that shines within. That looks different for everyone.
(Also enjoy the incredibly inspiring art of George Atherton, which you can find at www.Geoglyphiks.com)
The Songs:
~~~ Shiva Shakti ~~~
Om Namah Shiva Shakti
Om Sarasvati Lakshmi
Kali Durga Radha Krishna
Om Namah Shiva Shakti
Om Gam Ganapate Namaha
This song dances with a tribal beat between these two different phrases, all describing different attributes and expressions of divinity. This song came to me in a meditation years ago.
Om ~ Om is the maha mantra—the great mantra. Om is always there. It is simultaneously the sound from which all things came, the sound that sustains, and the sound that dissolves everything lovingly into itself. Om is the resonance of the eternal Universe experiencing itself. It is the primordial sound; a call to a bigger energy.
Namah ~ Awe, honor, gratitude; a bow.
Shiva ~ Literally means “auspicious,” kind, gracious; intrinsic goodness. Lord Shiva is the Divine masculine; The Auspicious One; Universal consciousness
Shakti ~ Divine feminine; the creative power of the Universal; the Goddess.
Sarasvati ~ Goddess of beginnings, learning, self-study, music, art, purity; the one who flows. Mother Goddess; fertility.
Lakshmi ~ Goddess of abundance, beauty, benevolence, prosperity, generosity and wealth on all levels; light, good fortune, fertility, wisdom, and courage.
Kali ~ Goddess of time, transformation, destruction, great shifting; benevolent Mother Goddess.
Durga ~ Supreme Warrior Goddess; self-sufficient, invincible, overcoming obstacles with ease, equanimity, and a sense of humor.
Radha ~ Krishna’s companion; unconditional Divine love, loyalty; surrender to God.
Krishna ~ Embodiment of God; Divine love, limitless power, wisdom and guidance, strength and surrender, skillful play and daring, music and dance.
Om Gam Ganapate Namaha ~ This mantra invokes the loving assistance of Ganesha, who is the Lord of Beginnings and the Remover of Obstacles. He is also the Deva of Intellect and Wisdom. This song is a celebration of a fresh cycle, a flowing life, and a welcoming of blessings.
~~~ Om Mani Padme Hum ~~~
Om Mani Padme Hum
Varda Vesta Vitraya Gaia Hokule’a
Illuminate my Soul
Om Mani Padme Hum ~ Into the jewel lotus of the heart.
Varda ~ Queen of the stars, Star Mother
Vesta ~ Goddess of the sun and hearth
Vitraya ~ Earth Goddess of healing
Gaia ~ Mother Earth
Hokule’a ~ Hawaiian for “Star of Gladness” or “Delightful Star,” and the star that guided them on the long journey across the Pacific Ocean. This is also my middle name, signifying the individual. This verse goes from the most expansive part of the Universal aspect of consciousness (Varda ~ Star Mother) to the most personal while acknowledging the star-self that each of us truly are.
Illuminate my soul ~ Light it up! Shine on! What does it mean to you?
~~~ Gayatri Mantra ~~~
Om bhur buvaha suvaha
Thath savithur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dheemahi
Dhiyo yonaha prachodayath
The Gayatri Mantra inspires wisdom and contemplates the glory of light. It invokes and embraces love, radiant illumination, and Divine Grace of Universal consciousness. It is an ancient hymn that is used to bring protection and blessings to those who sing it with devotion.
~~~ All Is Love ~~~
Om
All there is is love
All we need is love
All there is is love
All we are is love
All you are is love
All I am is love
All there is is love
All we are is love
All there is is love
All we need is love
All we have is love
All we are is love
All is love
All is love
All is love
Om
You can figure the meaning out yourself on this one, I think. It came to me in a forest . . .
~~~ Gaia Ma ~~~
Om Shri Gaia Ma
Purnatva Gaia Ma
This mantra means “Beautiful, abundant, benevolent Earth Mother, you are the fullest perfection, Divine Mother Earth.”
~~~ Pachamama ~~~
Pachamama
Mama Kilya
Inti Tai Tai
Apu Apu
Sachamama
Apuchin
Otorogo
Amarau
Mother Earth
Grandmother Moon
Father Sun
Mountain Spirit
From the Earth to the Moon through the Water
From the Moon to the Sun through the Sky
From the Sun to the Mountains through the Fire
Through the Light into You
Get out your rattles, this is for the community of shaman and those who draw from the practices of this lineage.
Pachamama ~ Mother Earth
Mama Kilya ~ Moon
Inti Tai Tai ~ Sun
Apu ~ Mountain Spirit
Sachamama ~ Flowing nature of cycles and interconnectedness of life
Apuchin ~ Eagle-Condor, soaring consciousness, mind/third eye
Otorogo ~ Rainbow Jaguar, rainbow bridge between worlds, heart
Amarau ~ Shining Serpent, rebirth and growth, body/belly
~~~ Shri Ma ~~~
Shri Ma
Lakshmi Ma
Shakti Ma
Om Shri Lakshmi Namaha
All sweetness and love, this song sings to the beauty and nurturing power of the Divine feminine and Mother Goddess energy.
Shri – Beauty, abundance, benevolence; an auspicious energy.
Ma – Divine feminine; Mother Goddess.
Lakshmi ~ Fullness, wholeness, Goddess of abundance, beauty, benevolence, prosperity, generosity and wealth on all levels; light, good fortune, fertility, wisdom, and courage.
Shakti ~ Divine feminine; the creative power of the Universal; the Goddess.
Om Shri Lakshmi Namaha is an invocation of Lakshmi specifically, and a deep bow to the sparkling nature of wholeness that is the truth of who we are.
~~~ Om Namah Shivaya ~~~
Om Namah Shivaya
Om Namah Shivaya is a maha mantra, or “great” mantra.
Om Namah Shivaya is one of the most widely used mantras in the world of yoga. It has been given to students by gurus and teachers throughout time. It is extremely effective to use in meditation and is a powerful phrase to recall when you need support. In this song it is to the tune of Amazing Grace.
OM, of course, is the primordial sound. It is the sound of the Universe experiencing itself. It is vibrating within everything. When you sing or chant Om, you are simply participating in something that always is. Om contains within it all beginnings, every end, and all things in between. AUM is another way to write it. There are three parts to it: The ‘Ah’ sound signifies creation, or beginnings. U, or the ‘oooh’ sound is the sustaining factor, while ‘mmmm’ is the dissolution or end. So these three parts are contained in each moment, because OM is always present. The fourth aspect of OM is silence.
NAMAH is a deep honoring. It means “to bow,” yet it is a bow like no other—one that comes fully from the heart. It’s the awe you feel when you see great beauty like an ocean sunrise or a sparkling mountain lake. It is the gratitude within Divine love, or the wonder and miracle of a perfect starlit night.
SHIVAYA comes from the word Shiva, which literally means “auspicious.” Shivaya describes the intrinsic goodness that exists within all things, because it is the Nature of the energy that pulses and penetrates, creates and absorbs, All That Is. Truly, at the essence of every being and every part of creation, there is this auspiciousness. That is Shiva.
OM NAMAH SHIVAYA, then can be translated in many ways, but here are some of my
favorites:
~ I bow to Shiva—I bow to all of creation.
~ I bow to the goodness within myself.
~ I honor the goodness of my True Self.
~ I honor the goodness in myself and in the Universe.
~ May I reveal and express the highest part of my heart.
~ At its essence, everything is good.
~ I respect myself.
And you could continue along this line of meaning for quite a while.
~~~ Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu ~~~
Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu
This song is a metta mantra—one that engages your heart and being in the vibration of compassionate loving-kindness. It means:
“May all beings be happy and free, and may my thoughts, words, and actions contribute to the happiness and freedom of all.”
To purchase the album “Gratitude” and listen to the music, please click to download from iTunes . Here you’ll have instant access to these songs. Physical CDs are available locally in Kamloops at Nature’s Fare, The Art We Are, Golden Buddha, and from Jenami at Vital Point Acupuncture.
The album title, “Gratitude” holds many layers of meaning. Gratitude is the highest vibration next to love, and invokes love, awe, respect, and incredible connection. It is a feeling that shifts completely the experience of life. It describes my appreciation of my unique voice and the songs themselves, which come spontaneously into being. It describes my thankful respect of all who choose to listen and receive whatever the song carries to their hearts.
And, then there is more specific gratitude, and I would like to say thank you to Michael Turner from Turner Music Studios for being my engineer and coach, and for your patient good heartedness; to Christina Zaenker for adding the rich voice of cello to the album; to everyone who asked me to record for providing the motivation and support; and to each person who has felt moved by my singing in yoga class, which is my favorite place to sing other than the forest.