This Wednesday Sandbox gathering we do Kirtan. Meditation doesn't come easy for many people. And that's where kirtan can help. Kirtan is an ancient participatory music experience from India. There is no need to mentally quieting the mind - kirtan can carry us effortlessly to a place of quiet, to stillness. The kirtan call-and-response chanting with ancient Sanskrit mantras calls upon sacred energies which serve to quiet the mind, remove obstacles, and bring us back to the center of our being.

By repeating simple mantras over and over, faster and faster, kirtan is an easy way for us to experience some freedom from the daily chatter of the mind. You may feel "buzzed" for days following such a chanting experience! So what gives us that buzz? Something about the kirtan experience goes beyond the music itself, goes to a deeper experience of vibration. We all resonate at different frequencies, and these frequencies change according to what we are doing and thinking. So when we are all doing the same thing-chanting, breathing, and moving to the same rhythms-our vibrations begin to synchronize and the resulting experience is very powerful and healing. The laws of vibration help us out here, because vibrations align themselves to stronger vibrations, so even if you're having a truly rotten day, it may be difficult to hold onto those feelings during the chanting. If you were only to sit in the room without participating, the idea is that you could still feel the shift. Something happens-the energy begins to activate the spirit that exists within us all.

(from  Kirtan with Ragani)


Not musically inclined? Don't worry. Although kirtan involves music, the underlying art of kirtan chanting is not actually about musical ability or training-it is about the heart. Everyone can participate, regardless of age or cultural background. The purpose of this music is to get us out of our heads and into our hearts. Typically, the songs can last for 20-30 minutes each with a few moments of silence in between each song so you can soak it all up. The longer songs allow for deeper experience of the effects, and with the simple, repetitive lyrics (it's a chant, after all!) we really don't have to think much about the words. If you have a drum, or other percusion instrument please bring to play along as you chant. And if you want to dance to the kirtan that is fine too!

The chants begin after dinner at 8pm.  I invite you to join us, though as always what ever choice you make you will be honored in.

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