A music review from Susan Carr

Wings Music department is pleased to bring you a newly released CD called Hidden Sky, which is a prayerful tribute to the elephants by electric cellist Jami Sieber. Jami recorded Hidden Sky in Thailand with the Thai Elephant Orchestra, and on several tracks you will enjoy hearing the elephants playing xylophones, gongs, drums, and cymbals in accompaniment with the soothing sounds of her cello. As an added bonus, track 13 is a video for playing on a PC or Mac, where you can watch the elephants gently dance and sway their bodies and trunks in response to Jami’s music and then perform on their instruments. It is both amazing and joyful to see and listen to these incredibly intelligent animals expressing themselves so beautifully.

A portion of all proceeds benefits the care and preservation of the elephant.
 
Jami Sieber writes: “I could never have predicted that an animal such as an elephant, would summon me to awaken and recognize the inherent connection underlying all that appears separate. In the midst of the sheer joy that permeates life with the elephants, one must walk with the constant grief of their captivity and the perpetual threat of their extinction. In this CD, my mission has been to embody both the grief and the joy I knew while in their presence.
 
There, at the Thai Elephant Conservation Center, I met Phong, the young elephant who played a xylophone and kissed me on my nose with his trunk, and Prathida, the drummer who followed the movement of my bow with her trunk as I played. With them and at least eight other orchestra members, I experienced a mystical collaboration I had never known before. This communion has forever changed the way I see and feel the natural world.
 
I have come to know that elephants have a creative rhythm, intelligence and language. It doesn’t matter whether or not their music fits our definition. What matters is that music is a bridge that connects us. The ineffable richness of my meeting with the elephants in the shared moment of our music sustains me and gives me hope that we may remember our connection to all beings on this beloved earth.”
 
So come visit us at Wings, sit on our comfortable red sofa, hook yourself up to a listening station, relax, and listen to a demo of Jami Sieber’s beautiful music with the elephants, as she invites you to “go to your elephant self.”

by Susan Carr, Music Department Manger

Every Wednesday night at Wings Bookstore, our Deeksha Oneness Blessings are deepened through the meditations and musical chants and mantras that are sung and played during the evening blessings.

The Wings Music department is excited to be able to bring you many of the popular Deeksha CDs to further enhance and deepen your awakening-into-oneness experience at home. Come visit our Music department, hook yourself up to a listening station, and sample some of this beautiful and healing music.

I've listed some of my favorite CDs below. But first, I'll explain a little bit about how the meditations, mantras, and chants help us to achieve a state of Oneness.

"Chakra Dhyana" is a meditation that Michael Milner uses in the Deeksha Blessing class. When we clear our chakras with the Chakra Dhyana, we are offering ourselves as a more pure and open vessel with which to receive the Oneness Blessing. This allows the blessing to have a more profound effect upon us.

The "Moola Mantra" is an ancient chant consisting of beautiful Sanskrit words that are overflowing with the power of Divine consciousness. This powerful mantra transports us into bliss and gives us freedom from the incessant chatter of our minds.

When we sing or listen to the "Moola Mantra", we are invoking the Divine Presence, as the tonal vibrations resonate throughout our bodies, allowing us to reach even higher levels of conscious awakening and the flowering of our hearts into Oneness.

Here are some of my favorite Deeksha CDs:  

"Deva Premal sings the Moola Mantra" ~ Deva Premal
Everyone loves this CD. Deva's pure, clear voice resonates with the beautiful melody of this mantra. She says "I see unity-in-diversity as the only way for humanity to live in harmony, and the Moola Mantra is an expression of this understanding". She has devoted this entire CD as a sacred offering to Amma & Bhagavan's vision of Oneness which honors all spiritual paths, religions, creeds, and traditions.

"Sharanam"  ~ Sudha
A beautiful CD. Sharanam means to bow at the feet of that which is our Creator, our Guide, and our True Essence. Sudha has a pure, sweet, and enchanting voice as she sings the Moola Prayer, Moola Meditation, and Om Bhagavan. She says "This music is an offering to that Divine Presence which is everywhere, within and around us".
  

"Moola Mantra Meditation" ~ Annette Carlstrom
I love all the Moola Meditation CDs, but this one is my favorite. Anette has received an extraordinary gift, that as you listen to her perfect, angelic voice singing this mantra, you are able to ignite your own Supreme connection with Source through the power of Deeksha, a gift given to her by Amma Bhagavan in India. This mantra is intended for all spiritual paths, religions, and non-religions. This CD is also infused with a frequency that balances right and left brain, and as you listen, you will easily flow into a deep state of peace.
  

"Invocation of Oneness" ~ Annette Carlstrom 
Every song on this CD is a Oneness Blessing, designed to take you into a deeper state of consciousness. Each invocation is sung carrying only the voice from the heart as a prayer to the Divine. There are 10 Invocations: Invocation of the Presence, of Bliss, of Removing Obstacles, of Healing Relationships, of Prosperity, of Protection, of Transformation, of Purification, of Divine Mother, of Oneness ~ Moola Mantra.

"Chakra Dhyana"  ~
A guided meditation to assist you in clearing the seven chakras, from root chakra to crown chakra. It is similar to the meditation that Michael Milner uses in the Wednesday Deeksha class to prepare each of us for receiving a blessing.

Translation of the "Moola Mantra"  

OM   - the primordial sound of the universe
Sat   - truth
Chit   - pure consciousness
Ananda  - bliss
Parabrahma  - the supreme creator
Purushothama - the energy which incarnates as an avatar to guide us
Paramatma  - the divinity present in every being
Sri Bhagavati - the female aspect of creation
Sametha  - in communion with
Sri Bhagavate - the male aspect of creation
Namaha  - salutations
Hari Om Tat Sat - OM, the divine absolute truth