Entering in to the Larger Goodness: Mah Tovu

05/15/2016 Alia Meira

Mah tovu ohalecha Ya’akov, mish’k’notecha Yisra’eyl.
Va’ani b’rov chas’d’cha, avo betecha.
Mah Tovu Hebrew
How good are your tents, Jacob;
your Divine dwelling places, Israel. (Numbers 24:5)
By your grace, I will enter your house. (Psalm 5:8)

There is a larger Goodness that holds all of the good and the bad, a Unity that holds within it all of the duality. When we enter into that larger Goodness, we can get enough perspective to be able to bless the process of transformation that is in play at this very moment. We are in the process of transforming our Jacob (the heel who is always trying to make a deal with Reality) into Israel (the one who encounters Reality directly). And we are in the process of transforming our plain old tent (body and material existence) into a Mishkan (a place where the Divine Spirit is invited to dwell). Trusting in this process of transformation, we can enter fully into God-consciousness, which can only be attained through Grace.

Rabbi Rami Shapiro teaches that “Grace is God’s unlimited, unconditional, unconditioned, and all-inclusive love for all Creation.” And yes, that’s exactly what opens the door to The Larger Goodness.

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 Entering in to the Larger Goodness PDF.

Chants, Psalms

A Steadfast Heart: Nachon libi

12/28/2015 Alia Meira

Nachon libi Elohim,
Ashira va’azamra af k’vodi

My Heart is steadfast, Oh God;
I will sing and chant even with my soul. (Psalm 108:2)

When my heart becomes steady, firm in its commitment, resolute in its love, unwavering in its loyalty to the Unity of Being… then the music of my soul can soar. When my song is anchored in the steadfast heart, each note expresses and magnifies my love. The energy of the heart unlocks the fullness of my soul’s glory.

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 A Steadfast Heart PDF. For the musical notation, click one of the musical notations for A Steadfast Heart Music: A minor, B minor, or B-flat minor.

NOTE: The provided MP3 versions are in B-flat minor.

Chants, Psalms

Yours: L’cha yom

10/19/2015 Alia Meira

L’cha yom af-l’cha laila

Yours is the day; Yours is the night.
Yours is the dark and Yours is the light,
I am Yours and You are mine;
where ever I look it is You I find. (Psalm 74:16)

There is a love inside me that is almost unbearable. It makes no sense, and I often just shut it down, bottle it up or let this force of love simmer within me. Sometimes, when I find a way to express this love fully, I let it out as a great wave of devotion and service. It is such a relief. When I came across this line in Psalm 74, I felt so grateful to have found a vehicle for this inner force of surrender to the One. The relief comes from releasing the illusion of control, letting go into the widest, wildest embrace, and dissolving the excruciating tension of Duality.

(To magnify the surrendering force of this practice I add bowing. In the downward motion, I give myself over and empty; and in the upward motion, I receive the gift that has been waiting for me.)

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 Yours PDF.

Chants, Psalms

Please God!: Ana Yah hoshiyah

10/07/2015 Alia Meira

Ana Yah hoshiyah na, Ana Yah hatzliycha na

Please God, grant us new Life; please God, make us successful! (Psalm 118:25)

Psalm 118, the concluding Psalm of Hallel, overflowing with extravagant praise and gratefulness, sends us our own strength. From here we call to God. Our calling is from a stance of fullness, calm confidence and the celebration of the ongoing Divine flow of abundance, justice and truth.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch translates “hoshiyah” not as save us, or deliver us… but grant new Life. “Y’shuah,” he says, is “undimmed vigor of one’s own life and existence; Yud-Shin-Ayin is the true, genuine YESH.” (is-ness) So, from the fullness of celebration we ask that this joy might invigorate our existence and then open us to the source of prosperity. As we receive the force of new life, we ask that it be channeled in ways that help us succeed, manifesting our highest dreams and most passionate purpose.

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

Please God

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Please God! PDF.

Chants, Scripture

Promise of Connection: V’hit’halachti

07/09/2015 Alia Meira

V’hit’halachti b’tochachem, v’hayiti lachem Lelohim

And then, I will walk within/among you, and I will be your God
(… and you will be my people). (Leviticus 26:12)

The Book of Leviticus tells us that when we walk in connection, listen well and act in accordance with that interconnection, then the Divine Spirit moves within and between us. We come into relationship not just with the parts, but with the Whole of Creation. This is the promise of connection.

By doing this practice, we are receiving that promise and opening ourselves up to the web of Creation.

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 Promise of Connection PDF. For the musical notation, click Promise of Connection Music.