we're singing the songs
speaking the poetry
and saying the prayers
we're blowing them with the spirit
which carries them like dandelions on wind
gently holding them
until they arrive at your door
and land softly on your
broken and ragged heart
peace friends
the song is being sung
the truth being spoken
love is being sent
peace
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Prayerful Vibrations Coming Your Way !
I’ve been thinking about singing and prayer.
Ever since the dawn of humans, people have had this strange urge to connect with their creator, to discover this unexplainable connection we feel exists between us and the universe, between each other. And ever since we’ve had a clue what that is, we’ve been singing to worship, to express and to connect. Singing a prayer is one of the most natural things in the world. Every religion, every culture sings or creates music to worship and to pray.
But let’s take a moment to step back and study the situation for a moment. Let’s observe first what happens to the individual person when they sing and second what happens to the group when we sing together.
What happens when you sing? When you go from speaking to singing (whether you’re in tune or not), what happens to your body? You need more air right? You have to breathe differently. That brings up for me the question, why is air so important? What is happening to us when we are breathing?
When we breathe, we take in oxygen and let out carbon dioxide. Breathing keeps us alive. IT is our life. The words for breath and spirit are the same in Hebrew. In the creation story, God breathed life into Adam or to put it another way, God placed his spirit into Adam. Adam came alive. When we sing, we focus this breath in a different way and we take bigger and deeper breaths so we will have enough energy, enough life to produce this focused sound. Simultaneously, we also focus our awareness of self in particular direction so that we can create a sound that reflects what we want to express. Often our whole body moves. Singing and prayer are made for each other.
What happens to the group when we sing together? Why do we sing together in church?
We sing together mostly because it comes natural. Everything about singing together creates a stronger worshipping community and a stronger community in general. Think of what happens to a crowd of strangers at a sports event when they first go from just cheering to cheering the same thing and then move that into a fight song. The joined voices, the joined breath is actually joined spirit. Unity is formed and the crowd becomes a community. The song strengthens. Professional teams encourage this because the players can feel the difference when it happens. It is called “The home field advantage.” The same thing happens in worship. We raise our voices together and it strengthens the community, it unifies all in the spirit, the breath, the focus. But more than that happens. Together we create a song, a prayer, a sound that we cannot do alone. Our joined prayer creates a higher energy in the room and in the world. That energy brings life and healing and draws us together. And what is prayer but an intention to draw our energy and our will together with God’s?
So when we want to ask for healing or wholeness, we ask for the community to pray. When we want to connect with the Spirit we sing alone or together. The more voices we have, the more breath and spirit the song has. The more spirit, the greater chance there is that suffering turns to healing, fear turns to love and anger to forgiveness. The vibration that we create when we sing together is more than just a sound that surrounds us. It both enters our bodies and continues out past the walls and circle and keeps going and going. Sound travels where our bodies cannot. This is the miracle, the blessing of our prayer and our song.
Next time you are in a community for worship, think of this. Next time you want to create a stronger community, just bring a guitar or a CD player or just your voice and share a song. IT won’t matter if you speak the same language because the song will explain what words cannot. The same is true of our prayers when they are sung. And it won’t matter if your voice is in tune. The community will create a song together that no one could sing alone.
Whisper a prayer
Breathe a song into the air
Add your love to the atmosphere
It won’t cost you a dime
It won’t take much time
Give the world a break
Return the favor
Create love
All it takes is a whisper
Ever since the dawn of humans, people have had this strange urge to connect with their creator, to discover this unexplainable connection we feel exists between us and the universe, between each other. And ever since we’ve had a clue what that is, we’ve been singing to worship, to express and to connect. Singing a prayer is one of the most natural things in the world. Every religion, every culture sings or creates music to worship and to pray.
But let’s take a moment to step back and study the situation for a moment. Let’s observe first what happens to the individual person when they sing and second what happens to the group when we sing together.
What happens when you sing? When you go from speaking to singing (whether you’re in tune or not), what happens to your body? You need more air right? You have to breathe differently. That brings up for me the question, why is air so important? What is happening to us when we are breathing?
When we breathe, we take in oxygen and let out carbon dioxide. Breathing keeps us alive. IT is our life. The words for breath and spirit are the same in Hebrew. In the creation story, God breathed life into Adam or to put it another way, God placed his spirit into Adam. Adam came alive. When we sing, we focus this breath in a different way and we take bigger and deeper breaths so we will have enough energy, enough life to produce this focused sound. Simultaneously, we also focus our awareness of self in particular direction so that we can create a sound that reflects what we want to express. Often our whole body moves. Singing and prayer are made for each other.
What happens to the group when we sing together? Why do we sing together in church?
We sing together mostly because it comes natural. Everything about singing together creates a stronger worshipping community and a stronger community in general. Think of what happens to a crowd of strangers at a sports event when they first go from just cheering to cheering the same thing and then move that into a fight song. The joined voices, the joined breath is actually joined spirit. Unity is formed and the crowd becomes a community. The song strengthens. Professional teams encourage this because the players can feel the difference when it happens. It is called “The home field advantage.” The same thing happens in worship. We raise our voices together and it strengthens the community, it unifies all in the spirit, the breath, the focus. But more than that happens. Together we create a song, a prayer, a sound that we cannot do alone. Our joined prayer creates a higher energy in the room and in the world. That energy brings life and healing and draws us together. And what is prayer but an intention to draw our energy and our will together with God’s?
So when we want to ask for healing or wholeness, we ask for the community to pray. When we want to connect with the Spirit we sing alone or together. The more voices we have, the more breath and spirit the song has. The more spirit, the greater chance there is that suffering turns to healing, fear turns to love and anger to forgiveness. The vibration that we create when we sing together is more than just a sound that surrounds us. It both enters our bodies and continues out past the walls and circle and keeps going and going. Sound travels where our bodies cannot. This is the miracle, the blessing of our prayer and our song.
Next time you are in a community for worship, think of this. Next time you want to create a stronger community, just bring a guitar or a CD player or just your voice and share a song. IT won’t matter if you speak the same language because the song will explain what words cannot. The same is true of our prayers when they are sung. And it won’t matter if your voice is in tune. The community will create a song together that no one could sing alone.
Whisper a prayer
Breathe a song into the air
Add your love to the atmosphere
It won’t cost you a dime
It won’t take much time
Give the world a break
Return the favor
Create love
All it takes is a whisper
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