Blog
Is it OM or AUM? Which is correct?
In my Sanskrit mantra workshops and sound healing yoga training courses around the world, one of the most common questions I hear is about the timeless mantra OM. It can be written in different ways, and there is a lot confusion about it, because different teachers like to share what has worked well for them, but they might not know the experience of others.
Especially with a mantra like OM, it’s important to understand different perspectives and open ourselves up to the direct magical experience of the sound, rather than get limited by dogmatic ideas.
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Cultivating a Musical Response to Divisiveness and Existential Fear
Cultivating a musical response to the symphony of dissonant notes screaming for attention in our world right now is not a distant, poetic idea. It’s a tangible, practical skill. Uncomfortable, yes. Difficult, yes. Full of the mess of aliveness, yes. A swift and tidy spiritual bypass would be much easier. But leaning in to listen deeply, to feel what’s truly alive in us, can also make this moment resonant with hope and possibility.
Have you been tempted to write off someone in your life who has (or hasn’t) adopted a particular conspiracy narrative...
The Healing Power of Voice
In this interview by Jeff Greenwald for The Nine Gifts, Anandra speaks about the Healing Power of Voice.
Jeff Greenwald:
We begin to control the sounds we make when we are babies—but when and why do we actually start singing?
Anandra George:
That's a wonderful question—but not being a developmental child psychologist or child linguist, I can't answer that with any kind of authoritative stance. But I can answer from my own perspective.
When I was a child, my mother told me that I was humming to myself all the time. She would always ask me, "What are...
Relationship decisions: Is it my heart’s guidance, or simply my trauma talking?
When you allow a lover to really get close, to rub up on your tender spots, do you tend to fight, flee, or freeze? Do you avoid or cling?
Ignited by a series of interactions I’ve had and witnessed recently, I’m sparkling with insight about that critical decision-making moment in a relationship. I feel excited to outline some specific ways that a vocal/sound/mantra practice can help us transform our patterns towards embodying the intimacy we all yearn for.
1. Foundational self-awareness
First of all, when we have a self-awareness practice that cultivates...
Is the Yoga of Sound Relevant for Today's World?
Between pandemic-related uncertainty, the deep unraveling of the racist patriarchal status quo through the #BLM and #metoo movements, the rise of "conspirituality" dividing the global wellness community, and more... we're in an unprecedented opportunity to cultivate a musical response.
Holding an empathetic space of deep listening in the midst of life's dissonant tension points might just be the superpower of the decade!
At a time when most of us are undergoing profound change, our Heart of Sound family is applying the sound-based yoga skills right where they...
A Visionary Way Forward for Abuse & Sexual Harassment Claims
Aren't we all so very tired of hearing about the latest guru gone down? The latest abuse or sex scandal in spiritual communities? As an act towards peace, I seek to present a visionary way forward:
How a Leader & Community Can Handle Claims of Abuse & Sexual Harassment
NOTE: This post goes with the Code of Conduct for Spiritual and Yoga Festivals, which I was inspired to develop as a contribution to the International Yoga Festival in Rishikesh. (A team of Heart of Sound volunteers runs the Sacred Sound Stage which I started in 2017.) It takes up where the...
