The talented and gorgeous Deva Premal, who I recently had the great fortune of getting to hear in concert, spoke these words. Along with her partner Miten and the astounding Manose from Nepal on the bamboo flute, they played to a sold-out crowd of 250 in Sedona, AZ. While they play some more traditional songs, most of what they do is based on the 5000-year-old tradition of chanting mantras in ancient languages like Sanskrit. They put the traditional chants to lovely music and the audience sings along with their angelic voices. I know this might sound weird if you’ve never experienced it, but it is surprisingly powerful as millions of their fans can attest. Chanting in a foreign language actually helps free the mind of clutter, as there are no thoughts associated with the words. And unlike more traditional concerts, there is plenty of silence in between songs for people to just feel what they’re feeling in that moment.

Something that really stood out for me happened at the end of the evening. Before the last song, Deva announced that this would be the last song and for people to please not clap at the end of the evening. She explained that, like all the other chants, this one had been specially crafted to carry a specific vibratory, healing energy and that the noise of clapping would cancel out any gifts we might have received from the chants. After the lovely song finished with all of us singing along, and the last note of Manose’s flute drifted away, the lights in the hall were dimmed and I sat with 249 other people in exquisite silence for 5 or 10 minutes. It wasn’t the uncomfortable kind of silence where people are restless and just waiting for the next thing or already on to the next thing via their electronics.   This was a deep, contented, delicious silence that felt sacred somehow and amplified by all of us experiencing it together.

The music and chanting had transported me, and presumably many others, into a place within that was complete and whole. The traditional, and “polite” act of clapping would have caused all of us to miss this moment entirely.

This got me wondering how many sacred moments we miss because we’re blindly following traditions, or distracted by meaningless noise, either outside or inside ourselves.

How can you find some stillness in your day today? Maybe you can give yourself 3 breaths right now that take you underneath the thoughts. Are there traditions you’ve been blindly following that actually distract you from the sacred? When we remove all the distractions, there’s only peace underneath. My invitation to you is to get slightly closer to your deep peace today.  And if it feels good, keep digging.

In stillness,

Erin

10-1-14

http://www.devapremalmiten.com/index.php

John Lennon-The deeper you go, the higher you fly.

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