Sound Meditation & Manifesting

After my spiritual epiphany (see Hotel Rwanda article), I was finally able to get out of bed, and I began a search for my new reality. Being such a religion-based person before, I was left with many questions. I still had a sense that the universe was something magical. The logic, beauty, and genius of it all just couldn’t be random. I still had a notion of “all that is good,” which eventually evolved into “all that is good” having a consciousness, and I wanted to connect with that consciousness.

In my search, I started reading, and one of the first books I ran across was Wayne Dyer’s The Power of Intention. I liked his concept of Source — as in the source of everything. I really despise all the hideous things done on this earth in the name of God, so I generally avoid the word.

I took quite naturally to the (then-new) concept that our reaction to anything, is our choice. I can let something upset me, or I can choose to not let it upset me. I can let myself get swept up by my partner’s rant about this or that, or I can choose to let him fall down the rabbit hole all by himself, shaking my head as he comes back to reality and to the exact same situation. (Bad Jo… bad!) Hehe.

Dyer’s assertion that ego is the cause of most of our problems also made sense to me. Trying to be better than—or superior to—anyone or anything just goes against what feels right to me. We are all human! We all Love, hurt, bleed, and die in the same way. I also found relief in his idea of letting go of the concept of scarcity, and breathed in the notion that through connecting with the Divine we can draw in all we’ll ever need. It was and still is—INVALUABLE!

As I kept exploring, I started to investigate the concept of meditation. It had always seemed like such an ashram-in-India concept before, but now I wanted to learn more. I discovered it’s just basically sitting quietly and going within. Hhmm… I guess I can do that. Then I learned it’s not so easy to shut off the constant chatter of the conscious mind. This is also where I started to discover self-care and being gentle with myself. If my mind wandered to my to-do list or whatever, I learned to gently forgive myself and shift back to the inner peace I was seeking. Now, 15+ years later, I can still get distracted, but I imagine a soft breath scattering dandelion seeds—floating the disruption away.

By the time I got to his book, Manifest Your Destiny, and his concept of Sound Meditation, I was hooked. You’ve probably heard of the scientific principle that everything is basically energy, and all energy has a vibration. So for me, the next step of sending your vibration into the universe to manifest your intention hit home.

Sound Meditation uses the sound of creation, which according to many sacred traditions is the name for the Divine that contains the sound “ah”: God, Krishna, Allah, Jehovah. Hhmmm, So you’re breathing out to the sound of “ah” as you visualize what you want to manifest in your life, and connecting to Source through your emotions of Love, compassion, and gratitude. Your feelings are essential here! Our emotions are what connect us to the quantum field and the Divine. Connecting must be a quiet, purposeful, and deliberately concentrated act, not just a passing thought or notion.

Over the years, I’ve become quite the little manifester. From a stunning apartment with an astonishing view of San Francisco Bay and Alcatraz, to saving my kitty Lei Lani, to landing that job at Aramark I was SO sure I wanted—be careful what you wish for, right? 😉

The point is: Manifesting works. The key? Emotional connection. Passion. And above all, gratitude.

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