Category Archives: Psalms

Chants, Liturgy, Psalms

Opening To Ease and Flow: Poteach

Poteach et Yadecha u’masbiah l’chol chai ratzon.
Opening to ease and flow in Hebrew
You open Your Hand and all desire is fulfilled. (Psalm 145:16)

Opening to the flow of goodness allows me to relax, and then when I relax, I open even further to that flow which fills me and satisfies a deep yearning for connection to my Source. In letting go of struggle, tension and attachment to outcome, I am freed to embrace this moment just as it is, and receive the gift that I am being given. When I open to this moment’s gift, I become available to receive the ongoing flow, which is always flowing.

To hear the chant, use the audio player. To download the chant, right-click the note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Opening To Ease and Flow PDF.
To download the chant’s notation, click Opening To Ease And Flow Music PDF.

Chants, Psalms

Sitting in the Secret of the Highest: Yoshayv

Yoshayv b’sayter Elyon,
b’tzayl Shadai yitlonan
Sitting in the Secret: Hebrew
Whoever sits in the secret of the Highest
will abide in the shade of Shaddai (Psalm 91:1)

This line from Psalm 91 is such a vivid and precise description of my meditation practice. I created this practice to illuminate my intention as I sit. I am sitting in the secret of the Highest. I am releasing all the content of mind, so that in that spaciousness that is created, I can receive the secret, the still small voice that has been whispering to me all along. The secret of the Highest is most often conveyed to me beyond words or concepts. It comes to me as a sense of Presence, and as a glimpse of a larger unknown Reality in which my “known” world is embedded.

This practice reminds me to keep at it, even if that spacious secret High place lasts for just a moment… those moments will guide me onto a path of living in the Presence. To abide in the shade of Shaddai is to know the truth of our ultimate safety. Shade represents nearness and shelter. Shaddai is an ancient name of God (usually translated as Almighty) rooted in the word for Breasts (Shaddayim). To call on God as the Breasted One is to rest into Her nurturance and protection. My practice reminds me that I am sourced in the Oneness.

To hear the chant, use the audio players. To download a chant, right-click a note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Sitting in the Secret PDF. To download the chant’s notation, click Yoshayvb’sayter notation PDF.

Chants, Psalms

Sing Your Joy: V’ran’nu

V’ran’nu v’zamayru,
Zamru l’Yah b’kinor, B’kinor v’kol zimra
Sing Your Joy in Hebrew
Sing your joy, and chant, connect with joy to God,
With the harp and the sound of chanted praise!(Psalm 98:4-5)

Our heartfelt expression is what connects us to God, the Great Mystery. Melody can unlock the portals of connection. Yet we each have to find the God-spark deep within and send it forth with force and intention and curiosity and chutzpa, connecting that spark to its source. The joy that we sing is not a superficial passing emotion, but rather the authentic yet buried Divine essence that makes us who we are.

To hear the chant, use the audio players. To download a chant, right-click a note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Sing Your Joy PDF. To download the chant’s notation, click Sing Your Joy notation PDF.

Chants, Psalms

Your Throne: Tzedek u’Mishpat

Tzedek Umishpat m’chon kis’ech:
aish l’fanayich telech
Your Throne Hebrew
Justice and Impeccability are the Foundations of Your throne:
Fire will go before You. (Psalm 97: 2-3)

As we take our seat for spiritual practice we are establishing our throne, our sovereignty over our inner state of being. That autonomy and freedom are undergirded by the values of Tzedek and Mishpat. It is our grounding in Justice (which embraces our integrity, honesty, compassion and wide perspective) and Impeccability (which suggests a commitment to fully showing up for this moment) that provides the foundation for this sovereignty.

When we really sit on that throne, then the way is prepared for us. A Divine fire clears the way and illuminates the path before us.

To hear the chant, use the audio players. To download a chant, right-click a note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Your Throne PDF.f5

Chants, Psalms

Accessing the Highest: Va’azamra

Va’azamra Shaym-Havaya Elyon
AccessingTheHighest_Hebrew
I will sing praise so that I may know the highest Essence of Divine Existence. (Psalm 7:18)

When I chant, I can lift myself up into a soul perspective and enter into the highest level of perception of and communion with the One. Instead of just focusing on the content of my Life’s drama, I can glory in the miracle of existence itself.
The four letter name of God is unpronounceable, just as the Divine is unfathomable. When I chant, the music, rhythm and intention lift me up beyond Reason, and connect me with a Mystery. There I can experience the Essence of soul which was there before “I” was born and will be there beyond death.

To hear the chant, use the audio players. To download a chant, right-click a note and save (or download) the linked MP3 file.

To download the PDF file for this chant, click Accessing the Highest PDF.
To download the chant’s notation, click Accessing the Highest notation PDF.