A few short words—repeated with passion & intention—can unlock treasure upon treasure of healing, wisdom & love
‘Chant is a path for all of us who lead with our hearts, who are determined to seek out the truth that is buried deep beneath the ground of our lives, and who have made a commitment to live that truth, from moment to moment, breath to breath, ‘one little bit at a time.”
—from the Introduction
Chant is a meditative practice that fully engages the body, heart and mind, and facilitates healing and expansion of consciousness. Rabbi Shefa Gold, beloved teacher of chant, Jewish mysticism, prayer and spirituality, introduces you to this transformative spiritual practice as a way to unlock the power of sacred texts and take prayer and meditation into the delight of your life. She illuminates the usefulness, benefits and blessings of chant by:
- Teaching you the theory and foundations of chant—its relation to beauty, pleasure and the deep wisdom buried in sacred texts
- Providing—for the first time—complete musical notations for many of her popular chants and practical instruction for how to use them to cultivate self-awareness and love.
Table of Content
Foreword xiii
Introduction xv
Abracadabraxix
Fundamentals of Chant 1
Chant
What It Is 3
The Sacred Phrase
Or … How a Chant Is Different from a Song 7
The Ground of a Chant 8
Components of a Chant 9
Entering the Silence 10
Intention 11
Cultivating Four Pathways of Intention 13
Memory 14
Imagination 19
Presence 22
Attunement 24
‘That This Song May Be a Witness’
The Power of Chant 27
Entering the Mishkan 28
Developing a Chant 29
Obstacles and Traps 31
Meditative Practice in Relation to Prayer 32
The Lineage of Chant 34
Chant as a Core Spiritual Practice 41
Why We Value This Practice as a Core of Contemporary Jewish Spirituality 41
The Relationship between Chanting and Other Spiritual Practices 42
Meditation as the Foundation for Chant Practice 45
The Functions of Consciousness 46
Rhythm 49
The Secrets of Chant 51
The Inner Dimensions of Chant 53
Eight Functions of Consciousness in a Spiritual Group 56
Power and the Open Heart 67
Longing
Fuel for Spiritual Practice 73
Focus, through Pleasure, All the Way to Basking 77
T he Uses of Chant 81
Chanting as a Healing Modality 83
Chant in Ritual 86
Chanting During Taharah 92
Chant
Transformation, Purification, Healing, and Renewal 97
Inquiry and Shadow Work 104
Ecstatic Practice and the Establishment of Basic Trust 109
Soulful, Wholehearted, Embodied Text Study 113
Gratefulness as the Foundation of Practice 119
Healing the Spirit, Transforming the Mind, Deepening Love 125
Chanting—Alone and Together 131
The Practices 135
Liturgy 137
Scripture 159
Psalms 173
The Daily Psalms 205
Isaiah 209
A Few More Practices
Elements, Directions, Spirit Buddies 220
The Musical Notations 225
Introduction to the Musical Notations 227
Liturgy 231
Scripture 253
Psalms 266
The Daily Psalms 298
Isaiah 305
Acknowledgements 315
Appendix 1 316
Suggestions for Further Reading318
Index of Practices and Notations319
Index of First Lines323
About the author
Sylvia Boorstein is cofounding teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California, and a senior teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. She lectures nationally on Buddhism and mindfulness, and teaches Vipassana and Metta meditation.
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