Continuing the Journey

I had a wonderful conversation today. It took place outside the Irish World Academy building with a fellow student from America. Alec is also working on an MA;he is a fine cellist, who is studying the Irish flute. Among the many topics we touched on, what was apparent is that we are both of the mind that one year here is not enough. I think that we are both finding the experience quite rich and rewarding, the learning meaningful, the opportunities for connecting with others on many levels so abundant; and thus, we are finding that the time is just too short to fully experience it all.

I came here with a mind to look at chant from a world perspective and I have not swayed from goal. I knew from the beginning that one year was just too short a time to tackle such a broad and deep topic. So I have begun the conversation in earnest regarding the possibility of studying for another year; making my MA program into two years instead of one, so that I can continue to work that I set out to accomplish. All I need to do is find the funding.

I met today with my program director and reiterated my goals and we have narrowed the scope of my thesis to looking at how chant plays a role in the contemplative practices of world traditions. For some religions this will mean a study of the esoteric or mystical traditions, such as Kabbalah or Sufism. This work is deeply personal and very important to me. It will give me the depth of knowledge to be able to work with others.

My entry into chant came spontaneously in 1999 through my own meditation practice. I was meditating in the middle-of-the-night and I just started to sing, to chant music from my own tradition. It was a defining moment, one that was a profoundly life changing experience as I think of it. Not only did the chant change the quality of my meditation, but it served to open avenues to deeper stillness and the arising of poetry and prose- poetry, something very new to me. It also was the answer to a very personal question, one that I had for a long time: what was I supposed to do with my singing? I had been singing all my life, enjoyed performing in musical theater, singing in choirs and with ensembles, and so forth. What next, what was the purpose of being able to sing? The answer came in that moment of spontaneous chanting. I knew that I was to use my voice to chant and to use the power of chant to help others to touch that deeper place within, where self-nuturing can take place and wisdom can arise. Chant is an avenue to peace, personal peace, and world peace. Music is a part of every culture and wisdom tradition. It has the power to transform and heal.

In further defining what I was to do with this new and joyful discovery I realized that my approach to chant was to be broad. I was not meant to stick to a single tradition. This made sense to me, since my approach to life has been to embrace and to celebrate the diversity of cultures and peoples. As a result of that night's discovery, and in a sense, of my true voice, I have been studying chant. I have taken courses in world chant with Robert Gass, Mongolian Overtone chanting with Jill Purse, Hindu chanting with Jai Uttal. I have attended an ecstatic chant weekend at Omega Institute and taught chant to others in Kabbalah groups, at the Foundation of Light in Ithaca, and in my home. And I have performed chant in a world music program and found it to be a most gratifying experience.

Now I am entering my second semester at the University of Limerick studing ritual chant and song. I have learned so much and am excited about the upcoming work,the journey deeper into Gregorian and world chant, liturgy, and ritual. I am certainly making progress and with last semester under my belt I have a better context for this semester's work. I am excited and I am grateful to be doing something I so love.

I leave you with a poem on chant and send my love from Glocca Morra.

On Chanting
Chanting is the voice of the Soul
rising forth in vocal express
to sing praise or prayer,
offer thanksgiving,
call the elements,
the spirits, and powers.

Chanting is G-d’s voice
rising forth in each of us,
to give expression
in infinite ways,
combinations of notes,
and sounds.

Chanting is melodious,
discordant,
repetitious,
flowing,
redundant, or
spontaneous.

Chanting is a call to prayer,
worship, meditation.
Chanting is devotional.
Chanting is unifying:
the joining of voices
as the soulful expression of ONE.

Whether as a direct communion with the Divine,
as a solo act, or
with a gathering of people whose voices unite in
song, cries, cheers, or charges,
chanting is joyous, energizing,
healing, and uniting.

Whatever chanting is,
most often it is an expression of love ~
of the love of Source,
rising from the depths of our souls.

Voice of my Soul sings through me, and
I am grateful for such a joyous
and blessed gift.

(Voice of My Soul:Wisdom from the Stillness-Eger, pg. 48)