Sometimes we don’t really pay attention to something we’ve been doing until it finds a way to grab our attention.
That was me and toning.
One day I was out walking my dog in an open hilly area of nature with no one else around. While standing on the side of a large hill looking out at my surroundings I felt like I needed to open my mouth. As soon as I made the motion to do so, all of a sudden an A tone (as in aaaaaaaa) came out.
It felt so right and so in alignment to make that sound.
That’s when it dawned on me that I had been doing that other places too, like in the shower. During those times, I felt like I just had to open my mouth/I was drawn to do it, and when I did, sound would spring out.
So that day, when I found myself in the middle of a vast open area of nature toning over the land it really put what I was doing into perspective. It caused me to notice and question what I was doing in a way that I hadn’t before.
There is a vibration that emanates from us, and a frequency that comes through when we make sounds that are so natural to us, so inherent, that come from somewhere within us.
It’s an intuitive art that we all can easily do.
Over the past few months I’ve found myself more fascinated with the various properties of sound (for putting us into alignment, healing, relaxation, etc.)
Our own voice is immensely powerful, healing, and balancing, and can create harmony.
I’ve had dreams where I was toning, and it has been an interest of mine that I’ve explored before, but now it seems to be coming back more prominently. It’s as if I’m not pursuing it as much as it’s pursuing me.
Toning or chanting is a form of meditative practice
There are many forms of meditation (not only the traditionally thought of stillness or physical silence). When we tone or chant we are able to feel the vibration resonate through us. We can use our intuition to make the sounds that we feel drawn to make, that feel right to us. We can make any sounds we feel like. I often sound out melodies and song tunes. Whatever we feel is calling to us is the right choice for us.
When making the A sound (aaaaaaaa) it felt like it was an initial or beginning sound, like something that would come first (that is how I felt about it). Interestingly, the creator sound/sacred sound of AUM (often written as OM) is composed of three sounds, with aaaaaaaa being the first in the sequence.
Chanting AUM is said to have many physical and emotional benefits. When I chant in meditation I notice a difference occur in my mind and being. As if something has shifted.
I also believe toning in whatever way we feel drawn to, using the sounds that we are intuitively drawn to use, is beneficial because it involves listening to our own inner guidance.