Sound of Creation: OM

(waves crashing) Namaste friends. We are at a very interesting point of our exploration with the different sounds. And we have looked at simple sounds, compound sounds like the ahs and then the ehs and then even the sounds like um and uh. And we have allowed these sounds to fall into our being, and see what they do to us at different dimensions of our emotions, our thoughts, our physical well being. But what we are going to do today is very special.

It's the sound that is said to be the sound of creation itself. It's the sound om. It's the sound which they say if one can master, then one has all the knowledge of the universe. Everything is said to be contained in the sound om. But what exactly does that mean?

What we are going to do now is try and understand how such a, such an attribution would be possible for a sound. How can a sound teach us, or reveal to us, all the possibilities of the universe? So let us go to the sound om, which as we have seen earlier is composed of ah and ooh. So when one tries to go from ah to ooh, one comes across the sound oh. Let's try doing that again.

Ahh, oh, ooh. And the sound om therefore contains all the vibrations from ah to oh and then oh to ooh. What you see therefore is that the sound oh helps to stimulate this entire range. Ah being the first sound that the human vocal instrument can produce, and ooh is the very last sound that the human vocal instrument can formulate. The sound oh therefore helps to vibrate the entire range of the human vocal system.

Except for the sound ee, but the sound ee also gets contained within that. Now, when we do the sound om it's almost as if everything starts resonating. It is only in this part of the human being that we can reproduce all the sounds of creation. So when we do the sound oh, it is as if it contains all the sounds of the universe in potential. And therefore, the om when we pronounce this, we in a sense help the entire universe to start vibrating, and then with the mmm, we establish it.

And we hold it in a manner that it leads to greater creation after that. So it is said of the om that it is the sound which helps us to experience all the forces of the universe. It is a sound that helps to clear the mind and gather it to experience meditation in a more profound manner. It is a sound that helps to vibrate the entire being and to attune it, to bring it into tune with the vibrations and patterns of the universe. It is a sound that helps bring deep healing in the subconscious mind, and thereby removes all negative vibrations and addictions, et cetera from within us.

So you can see in a very simple sound, lies the potential of a great release. So when we do the sound om, we stimulate all the sounds, and then hold it as if in a pregnant silence with the mm. Let us experience that by joining our hands together. Palms together in the gesture of prayer, or namaste. Take a deep breath, and do the sound om.

(inhales deeply) Om. The sound om as we saw, is also broken up into the three components of the ah, the ooh, and the mm. So another way of chanting this same sound in a more elaborate and more expanded form is the aom. So we'll try and do the sound aom together. (inhales deeply) Aom.

The relationship of these sounds with our breath is that when we do the sound om, we should try and keep at least 2/3 of our breath with the oh, and then with the mm at least reserve a whole 1/3 of it for the mm. When we do the sound aom, 1/4, a quarter for the ah, ooh, mm, and then at the last quarter in silence. But there are different ways of doing it. This is just one of them. As is my favorite way of experiencing sounds, I'll add another dimension to our practice of the om by including certain gestures.

So we'll do it in a particular cycle, and I'll explain it to you. I'll talk you through it. So relax your feet, keep them a little apart. And then as you do the aom, imagine that you're from the sides gathering all the energy of the universe. So take your hands from the sides up over your head with the aom, and then as you do the sound mm become a channel of that sound and put it into the earth.

So with the ao, you gather it. You gather the energy from around you, and with the mm you put that energy into you and into the earth. And then when you do the om, gather the whole energy from the earth in a seed form. Om. And then as you do the mm, you straighten up, take your hands over your head, and release that energy into the universe.

Got that? That is the vertical cycle of this practice. We will alternate it with a horizontal cycle as well, and that is the experience of the sound aom with your hands outspread first. Aooh. As you do the ooh, bring your hands together, and as you do the sound mm, bring your palms in towards your heart and establish that sound in your heart.

And then when you do the sound om, imagine that from the core of your heart with your hands folded, you are giving that energy out into the universe, so stretch your hands out from in front of your heart and then release it into the universe. All right, so that is the horizontal cycle. So we'll do a combination of this. We'll do it three times, and then just bring our hands and feet together and do the sound om. I'll talk you through, so just relax and follow.

So stand with your feet slightly apart, and as you do the first cycle, stretch your arms from the side over your head with the aom, and put the energy through your body into the earth with the mm. And then gather the energy from there with the om, straighten up, and then release it into the universe, bring your hands down from the side as you do the sound om. The second time, on a horizontal level, stretch your arms out with the aooh, as you do the ooh, embrace, bring your hands in the gesture of embrace and with the mm, bring your palms to your heart and establish that sound mm, to the core of your being. And then with the oh, open up from the heart and release it outward into the universe with the om. Let's do it together, ready?

Take a deep breath. As you do this, imagine that you're gathering all the energy. Aom. Om. Take a deep breath and horizontally.

Aom. Om. Vertically. Aom. Om.

Horizontally. Aom. Om. And last time vertically. Aom.

Om. Horizontally last time. Aom. Om. Bring your hands and feet together.

Take a deep breath and do the sound om. Om. This is said to be the most powerful sound in the universe. And whether you get to do any other sound or not, a regular practice of this sound alone can help to liberate you, and find your real self, enjoy.