Category Archives: Liturgy

The Saving Power of God-Consciousness: Shiru Ladonay

05/27/2008 Alia Meira

Shiru Ladonay kol ha’aretz, Ba’s’ru mi’yom eyl yom y’shuato
Shiru la’shechina kol ha’aretz, Ba’s’ru mi’yom eyl yom y’shuateha
Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, HalleluYah!
The Saving Power of God-Consciousness Hebrew text
Sing to the Lord, everyone on Earth,
Announce His Salvation daily!
Sing to the Indwelling Divine Presence,
Announce Her Salvation daily!
Praise Yah! (Chronicles 16:23, Psalm 96)

I chant these words to both the masculine and the feminine aspects of God as I call forth an awareness of the Divine Presence that shines forth from the daily miracles of my life. I am saved by the light of this awareness.

To hear the various parts of the chant, use the audio players. To download a part, right-click a note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

To download the PDF file for this chant, click The Saving Power of God-Consciousness PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 247.

Chants, Isaiah, Liturgy

Kedushah: Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh

05/27/2008 Alia Meira

Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, Yah Tziva’ot,
M’lo chol haAretz K’vodo
Kedushah Hebrew text
Holy, Holy, Holy, Mother of Multiplicity,
The whole world is filled with your glory! (Isaiah 6:3)

This is the beginning of the Kedusha, an important and oft-repeated section of our liturgy which describes the prophet Isaiah’s vision of the angels who are chanting to one another. The Talmud (Sotah 49a) says that “The world is maintained by the Keushah.” This is an important proof-text affirming the power of chant.

When I chant the words Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, I lift myself up into the angelic realms, reaching beyond my normal perceptions into the subtle vibrations of “Holiness.” When I chant the words Yah Tziva’ot, I open my crown chakra and allow those high and holy vibrations to pour down into my body, filling me. When I chant the words M’lo chol haAretz K’vodo, I let the eyes of my heart open my physical eyes until I can see and point to the Presence of God everywhere.

To hear the various parts of the chant, use the audio players. To download a part, right-click a note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Kedushah PDF.

Chants, Liturgy

Pilgrimage Practice: L’yerushalayim Ircha

01/07/2008 Alia Meira

L’yerushalayim Ircha B’rachamim Tashuv

To Jerusalem Your city with compassion You will return.
(from the Daily Amida)

I composed this chant in preparation for a trip to Israel. I use this sacred phrase to open me to the call of Pilgrimage.

Richard Niebuhr (quoted in The Art Of Pilgrimage by Phil Cousineau p.14) says, “Pilgrims are persons in motion, passing through territories not their own, seeking something we might call completion, or perhaps the word clarity will do as well, a goal to which only the spirit’s compass points the way.”

Every pilgrimage is a journey inward, even if we travel clear across the world. We can use this chant, which is a “double round,” to prepare ourselves for pilgrimage, for journeying inward towards the Center of Awareness.

To hear the various parts of the chant, use the audio players. To download a part, right-click a note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Pilgrimage Practice PDF. For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 242.

Chants, Liturgy

Chanukah Chant: Let the flame be kindled

01/05/2008 Alia Meira

Let the flame be kindled within me,
Let Your Love burn bright,
I hunger for Your Light,
I hunger for Your Light.

When I light the menorah, I chant these words into the flames and then visualize the fire being kindled in my Inner Temple. There I do the work of clearing and cleaning and acknowledging whatever desecration has occurred within my energy-body, my Temple. I visualize the flame growing bright inside my Temple to re-dedicate my energy towards Holiness.

To hear the chant, use the audio player. To download the chant, right-click the note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

Chanukah Chant

For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 241.

Chants, Liturgy

Clearing the Way: Ana b’choach

01/05/2008 Alia Meira

Ana b’choach gedulat y’mincha Tatir Tz’rurah

Please, with the strength of your right hand, untie our tangles.
(Siddur)

This is the first line of a magical prayer ascribed to Rabbi Nechuniah ben Hakanah. The whole prayer contains 42 words, the initials of which comprise the secret unpronounceable 42 letter name of God.

With this practice we call on that aspect of God that moves through obstacles, dissolves resistance and opens the way forward for us.

Begin by asking, “What is the obstacle (inner or outer) that is getting in my way?” Lay that obstacle lovingly on the altar of the chant. As you chant, allow the power of God’s right hand to move through you forcefully opening the way ahead and delicately untying the tangles within you.

I composed this melody while a dear friend was undergoing quadruple bypass heart surgery, praying that the tangles in his heart be cleared.

To hear the chant, use the audio player. To download the chant, right-click the note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

Clearing The Way

For the musical notation, see The Magic of Hebrew Chant, page 231.