Om
There was never enough Om. Like nourishment, one needed Om all day, all night. There was no end to the need for Om.
Om was meditation. In a lifetime, there will never be enough time for meditation, even if one sits, focuses on the breath or remains mindful, for Om works the self.
Om was the hum and drone of cosmic existence, the subtle machinery of the sound of the spheres. Patanjali's yoga system was derived from Om. The Sanskrit mantras of the Vedas spoke of Om. Sitting meditation was not possible without Om. It was vibration, the innermost oupost of existence, where the flesh was formed from word.
It was possible to meditate anywhere, in closets, even in parking lots. A respected Tibetan teacher said as much. The world of noises and irritants poseed no obstacle to Om. Yet, there was a reason why meditative retreats were located in isolated and peaceful settings of a bucolic nature, for they eased the mind, the transition into Om.
With worldly distractions muted, the mind easily heard Om. "White noise" also functioned to ease the transitional state between silence and noise. It filtered both, especially the latter which was prevalent in modern socirty: random conversations, mobile phones, sirens, barking dogs, leaf blowers, traffic, construction sites.
I enjoyed nature sounds as much as anyone: the lull of ocean surf, the wind in the trees, a slow, light rainfall, a fire crackling...but if you wanted straight Om, no chaser, I offered two possibilties: the first unfortunately went the way of the LP and cassette tape (kaput!) with the digital era. Then, no Om CD followed either, it seemed. The only analog recording I heard was marketed by (SR) Syntonic Research, the "environments series," #12, or "Intonation: meditation sound." I still have two copies.
In the liner notes, Syntonics asked, "Know how to meditate? You don't have to. This powerful sound has proven to be a highly useful tool for achieving most of the benefits of contemplation without specialized training. Massed voices intone a single syllable, taking your thoughts away from the bothers of the day. All you need to do is listen." Syntonics specialized in nature sounds also: English meadows, wood-masted sailboats, country streams. et cetera.
In the digital age, there were surprisingly few Om's. Most were cluttered with nature sounds, flutes, Zen bowls and animal languages. Honorable mention went to Suzanne Doucet for "The Om Sound," although I found her Om a bit dour. It was on iTunes and worked if you felt strange or needed a different Om such as the winner below.
My on-going, repeat champion was Jonathan Goldman's "Ultimate Om," also on iTunes. It was somewhat like the environments #12, "Intonation," my all time favorite "OM." Jonathan's care to produce a human-voiced Om was impressive. It also did not transgress my rule that Om must be personal and warm while cosmic and beyond. One should hear the Om without any artistic signature or interpretation.
So let it be written, so let it be Om.
