The Sacred Art of Chant: Preparing to Practice

by Ana Hernandez

Overview

Open your mind and heart, lift your voice, and discover how the sacred art of chant can enrich your spiritual life.

"Chanting with an intention to open our hearts and minds to the presence of God in us helps us to be quiet in the face of mystery and learn how to hear what it has to say to us…. Chanting is holistic. It will transform you, you will embody the change, and people will notice the new, more grounded you. More important, though, you will notice the new, more grounded you."
—from the Introduction

The Sacred Art of Chant invites you to use your own voice to create sacred sounds—no matter your religious background or vocal ability. Drawing on chants from several different faith traditions, this invigorating guidebook is ideal for anyone who wants to enliven their prayer experience in a unique way and navigate a path to a conscious relationship with God.

Chant isn't just about monks or ancient Hindu gurus—this dynamic spiritual art continues to be developed and practiced today. Like other spiritual disciplines, chant can lead to limitless and unexpected benefits. With a steady practice and an open mind, you may find that chant helps you to:

• Cultivate clarity, focus, and compassion in your daily life
• Improve your listening skills
• Raise your energy level
• Improve your receptivity to other people
• Transcend the limits you impose on yourself
• Feel more comfortable in your own skin
• Ultimately, lead a more complete spiritual life

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594730368
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	10/01/2004
Series:	The Art of Spiritual Living , #3
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	2.17(w) x 3.35(h) x 0.51(d)

About the Author

Ana Hernandez is a composer, arranger, and performer of sacred music. She is also a member of the recording group HARC. For more than a decade, she has conducted workshops that encourage people to explore the effects of rhythm and chant on their bodies. Her Web site is www.anahermusic.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. Why I Chant and How I Started (A Pretty Road into a Thicket)
2. Who Chants, and Where? Finding Your Voice
3. How to Chant: In the Beginning Was the Sound
4. Quiet Your Head and Hear Your Heart
5. Incline Your Ear and Pray Like Hell
6. Listening beyond Hearing
7. Now That You're Chanting: Nuts and Bolts

Resources
Index of Chants
Acknowledgments

Editorial Reviews

The newest installment in SkyLight Paths' series on sacred practices opens the door, and the mouth, to chanting. The author is a composer and performer of sacred music who also conducts workshops on the subject. All the basics are here: instructions for warm-up through meditations and vocal exercises, 21 straightforward chants and a simple explanation of what happens to the body during chanting, based on Eastern traditions' teaching about body energy. The book cruises religious traditions, since chant is an important practice in the world's religions. Christianity yields taize and liturgical chant; there is mantra chanting, Jewish and Hindu devotional chant and a Zuni sunrise call. Although Hernandez writes that "beautiful and fun aren't usually the first words I think about when I think spiritual discipline," this call to practice is indeed inviting. Some may find the author's breezy writing style a little too girlfriendishly casual ("If God were normal, that would be the end of it, right?"), while others will welcome her informal approach to a subject so often associated with high-raftered solemnity. Minimal musical notation is included with the basic chants, which may be useful for those who read music and unintimidating for those who don't. With a helpful bibliography of text, CD and Internet resources, this is a fine cross-traditional introduction for those exploring a profound and ancient practice. (Jan.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

"This is a marvelous touchstone of heart-song for all who feel the spirit singing in prayer, meditation and daily life. Ana Hernández brings the personal powers of chant to light for the neophyte, the curious as well as the monk."
—Don Campbell, musician and author of The Mozart Effect and The Roar of Silence

“One can hardly imagine a more engaging introduction to the practice of chant! Ana Hernández, with honesty, humor and musical expertise, provides the reader with all that is needed to begin immediately to draw upon this spiritual resource.”
—Katherine Le Mée, author of Chant and The Benedictine Gift to Music

“This call to practice is indeed inviting.”
—Publishers Weekly

“This book about chant is much more than that, and it reads like a letter from a fascinating and unusual friend. I started humming to myself as I read it.”
—John McQuiston II, author of Finding Time for the Timeless: Spirituality in the Workweek

“Even if you're convinced you can’t sing, Hernández’s refreshing and unpretentious book convinces you that you can chant, awakens your wish to do so and shows you how to begin. You won’t be able to resist her joyous invitation to enter with her into the realm of sacred sound and silence.”
—Lorraine Kisly, author of Prayer of Fire: Experiencing the Lord’s Prayer and editor-in-chief of Parabola: The Search for Meaning

From the Publisher