My Full Bön Chant Practice

Each morning, I spend 25 – 30 minutes with my Tibetan Bön Chant practice. Those who have used this chant for personal healing and transformation know its power and beauty. It weaves together sound and mental image, energy and spirit. I have been sharing this practice with you piecemeal and it is time to unfold it fully.

There are five syllables I sing: AAH, OM, HUNG, RAM, DZA, which come from the traditional Bön Chant, as taught by Tenzin Wangyal.

AAH, I envision moving from the middle of my head, deep within my brain and located where a line down from my crown and in from the center of my forehead meet. It carries the feeling of spaciousness and openness. Picture a broad open sky.

OM is at the level of my throat. Its image is light and I envision the growing light of dawn flowing over a hillside.

HUNG is at the heart. It represents loving kindness and compassion. The images that accompany this vary, but it is often waves of iridescent shimmering pastel colors moving outward in all direction.

RAM is at the naval. Its energy is “joy which feeds the well-being of all.” Joy bubbles and swirls, plays and scampers as it move outward.

DZA is at the level of pelvic bone/sacrum. As I learned the traditional chant this is associated with manifestation or bringing to birth. In my thoughts it has become, “The full expression of the highest well-being of all.” This reflects my personal sense that when all beings are free to thrive, harmony and unity are remembered as keys to life.

Over the months, I have moved beyond the traditional four repetitions of each syllable to a series of 7 at full voice and 5 whispered. The phrases I use to describe my focus for each tone shift and change, but generally represent interwoven aspects of the tangible world and the world of mystery.

At this point the repetitions follow this pattern.
At full voice using a pitch that is comfortable for me:

1. Everything that is above
   Here I focus on the tangible expressions: mountains, sky, stars, clouds and birds.
2. Everything that is below
   The earth and soil, the creatures and plants that live in and under the ground, the water that flows below, and all that provides a solid place for my feet.
3. Everything that is all around
   The landscape, trees, grasses, buildings, animals, insects, air, water and all the visible expressions of the tangible world.
4. Every aspect of who I am
   body, mind, spirit, soul, energy field, mental habits, ego, emotions and consciousness.
5. The Being of Humanity and the collective consciousness of humankind
   All human beings everywhere and all the thought forms, beliefs, values, myths, illusions, dreams and perspectives that form our self-understandings.
6. All elements, energies and vibrations of this cosmos
   This includes everything we experience on this planet: fire, water, air, minerals, the chemistry of life and the vibration of light and sound and all the forms they take.
7. The Web of Life
   This overlaps all of the others including animals, plants, fungi, microscopic beings and humankind… This is a way of blessing all of the expressions of life that we experience.

Whispering brings a sense of the unseen mystery to my chant:

1. Throughout the Unseen World
   The energies, mysteries, wisdom, spirit that exists outside our ordinary reality. There are many unknown forces in the Unseen World, but as with all living beings, my intention is to bless them all.
2. Throughout the soul and collective consciousness of Gaia
   For me this affirms that the planet that births us all has a soul and intelligence of Her own. The collective consciousness of Gaia includes Her vast wisdom as well as that of every species of plant, animal, microbe, mineral, and molecule… of this world. I find joy in blessing a consciousness informed by elephant and tree, stone ancestor and microscopic web of life.
3. Throughout the entire evolutionary unfolding of humankind
   This blesses all expressions of humankind from the beginning of our time on this planet until we reach the fulfillment of our journey here and move on. As the vibrations of the chant move through, they are forces of healing that help us remember who we have always been within the web of life.
4. Throughout all time, space and dimension of being
   This provides the broadest image I can hold at this point. This is my hearts way of releasing the blessings of the chant to anything, anywhere, in any form in or beyond time. I sometimes envision a starburst moving freely in all directions.
5. Throughout the process of creation of all of life:
   This idea takes my imagination to the Void out of which everything emerges into form. All that is about to come from energy and formlessness into tangible existence is here. All that is moving through the process of taking form is here. All that has fulfilled its existence in tangible form and is returning to energy is here.

As I chant, my thinking mind boggles and my heart soars. I enter an alternative way of perceiving connections and relationships within Creation and beyond. This is my way of nourishing the inner garden of my soul with openness, light, loving kindness, compassion, joy and the experience of the highest well-being of all life. It reminds me of who I am within this astounding complexity of reality.

I invite you to make this practice your own. You will find your own words and images, your own way of sensing connections with form and element, vibration and spirit. May you be reminded of who you have always been and know the feeling of being forever at home.

Spaciousness, Light, Compassion, Joy and Well-being be yours,

Nancy

 

How can I help you explore this practice of energy, vibration, connection and healing? Please contact me if I can assist you as you develop your Bön chant practice.