The Path of Light
Each Mantra & Medicine weekend is an initiation into a different season and thereby another aspect of our human selves. We take you deeper into the world of the transformative power of music.
In the beginning there was only sound, and the sound was Ohm.
Every culture on the planet has their unique type of music. Even though each culture is unique, music unites all races, and has been used throughout history in rites, ceremonies and prayers. In our Mantra & Medicine weekend ‘The Path of Light’ we draw upon Yogic and Buddhist traditions.
Singing is a powerful tools for self-realisation. Through sound, we bridge the inner and outer worlds, reconnecting us to the divine within. Mantra singing is an ancient practice that transcends time and culture, originating in some of the oldest spiritual traditions on Earth. The word mantra comes from Sanskrit, combining manas (mind) and tra (tool or vehicle), meaning “a tool for the mind.” Through the repetition of sacred sounds, words, or phrases, mantra singing becomes a meditative practice that calms the mind and opens the heart
In Yogic traditions, mantras were chanted to invoke divine energies and guide practitioners toward liberation (moksha).
Buddhism, too, holds mantra practice as a central path to transformation. Tibetan mantras, such as Om Mani Padme Hum (“The jewel is in the lotus”), are chanted to connect to higher states of consciousness.
When we chant as a group, supported by live music and the medicine of the moment, something shifts. You can feel the room change. You can feel yourself change. The power of the mantra magnifies, and all you need to do is surrender to it. And in that space, magic happens.
In ancient traditions, it’s said that a mantra only truly reveals its essence after 125,000 repetitions. Only thén you are embodying the mantra, letting it’s vibration carve new pathways into your being. Bit by bit, it transforms you from the inside out. That’s pure devotion. A surrender of identity. You’re not just singing a mantra, you become it.
Japa Mala Meditation
In the Friday evening program of this retreat we facilitate a chanting meditation that is a mysteriously spellbinding experience. In this Japa Mala meditation we are reciting a mantra carried by a simple melody, while using a mala (a string of beads). The mala has 108 beads, and is used to count your 108 repetitions of the mantra.
The word ‘Japa’ means ‘muttering’ in Sanskrit. Mantra means, “that which when reflected upon gives liberation.” Mantras were one of the earliest components of yoga and are quite possibly the first type of meditation that was developed. The meditative practice of Japa keeps the human mind steady and resistant to disturbance. The practice of Japa is practiced in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.
