Accessing the Highest: Va’azamra

12/18/2017 Alia Meira

Va’azamra Shaym-Havaya Elyon

I will sing praise so that I may know the highest Essence of Divine Existence. (Psalm 7:18)

When I chant, I can lift myself up into a soul perspective and enter into the highest level of perception of and communion with the One. Instead of just focusing on the content of my Life’s drama, I can glory in the miracle of existence itself.
The four letter name of God is unpronounceable, just as the Divine is unfathomable. When I chant, the music, rhythm and intention lift me up beyond Reason, and connect me with a Mystery. There I can experience the Essence of soul which was there before “I” was born and will be there beyond death.

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

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Accessing the Highest PDF.
To download the chant’s notation, click Accessing the Highest notation PDF.

Chants, Psalms

Relax and Know: Harpu u’d’u

12/04/2017 Alia Meira

Harpu u’d’u ki anochi Elohim

Relax and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:11)

There is a war raging within, and this world is a reflection of that struggle. We are holding tension in our bodies, minds and hearts and we’re not even aware of it. It’s this unconscious tension that stands between us and the experience of intimacy with God.

When I began chanting this sacred phrase, I was filled with joy at the possibility of Divine connection (Devekut) so available, so close. That joy bubbled up into a very celebratory melody. Later when I chanted it slowly, it felt like a completely different practice. I include both tempos for our practice..

I am learning that letting go of the struggle doesn’t mean disengaging with life. The process of surrendering and releasing the tension around “getting it right” actually creates a new vibrant spaciousness at my center that allows for a deeper awareness of miracle and Presence.

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

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Relax and Know PDF. To download the musical notation for this chant, click Relax and Know Notation PDF.

Chants, Psalms

Heart Reflections: Imru vilvavchem

11/29/2017 Alia Meira

Imru vilvavchem al mish’kavchem v’domu selah

Reflect in your hearts upon your beds and be still. (Psalm 4:5)

A life of spiritual practice is built around pivotal moments of transition. We want to wake up into gratefulness and continue to wake up into awareness of miracle and blessing throughout the day, sanctifying moments of nurturance, pleasure, surprise or connection. Each moment has the potential to bring us into awareness, reverence, and remembrance of God’s Presence. Even difficult moments of missed connection can awaken our yearning for Oneness. Each moment is a doorway where the mezuzah waits for recognition.

I have been somewhat obsessed with lifting up my morning moments of awakening with practices of gratefulness and inspiration. And now I find myself turning towards the mysteries of bedtime, sleep, and dreaming. I’ve learned that how we fall asleep matters and that the quality of our sleep can set the stage for tremendous healing and rejuvenation.

In this practice, we commit to awareness even as we fall into the reverie of sleep. And that commitment leads us to a profound stillness where God can find us, as we relax and surrender into the Divine embrace.

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

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Heart Reflections PDF. To download the musical notation for this chant, click Heart Reflections Notation PDF.

Chants, Scripture

Surrendering the Small Self: Kach-na

10/07/2017 Alia Meira

Kach-na et-nafshi mimeni

Take my soul (nefesh) from me. (Jonah 4:3)

On the afternoon of Yom Kippur, we read the story of Jonah, the reluctant prophet who ran from his calling because he didn’t want the people of Nineva to repent and be forgiven. When, after a tumultuous storm and a forced retreat inside the belly of a whale, he finally prophesied to the people of Nineva; they did indeed repent and God forgave them. Jonah was quite unhappy about all this and his suffering that was caused by attachment to small mind/small self, was unbearable. Jonah says “take my soul from me because I would rather die than live.”

The word for “soul” that he uses is “nefesh,” which, in our tradition refers to the lowest level of soul, the part of us that is completely attached to our separate identity, and immersed in the dualism of materiality.

This is a powerful and potentially dangerous practice of surrender of the small self. When we say to God, “Take my soul from me,” we want to be very clear just what we are surrendering. Before you begin chanting, identify your pettiness, the small-minded habits, the old un-conscious reactive and repetitive patterns that you are ready to release. Lay them on the altar of the chant. Offer up the small self. Open to the Big Self.

(Don’t chant this while driving or using heavy machinery or spacing out. It is powerful!)

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

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Surrendering the Small Self PDF.

Chants, Psalms

Whole-Hearted: Odeh Yah

10/07/2017 Alia Meira

Odeh Yah b’chol libi

I thank God with my whole heart. (Psalm 9:2)

To be whole-hearted is to step all the way in to the life I am given. It means I must let go of my resistance, and surrender to “what is.” The practice of gratefulness can take me to this place of whole-heartedness.

On the inhale I am breathing in the gift of my life exactly as it is.
On the exhale I am saying “thank you!”… for this breath, this very moment.

Each breath takes me deeper. Each breath allows me to include more of my voice and presence as I respond to the gift. I give the fullness of my heart. I stop withholding. And I open wider to receive the heart of God.

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

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Whole-Hearted PDF.