{"id":1012,"date":"2010-04-14T14:35:09","date_gmt":"2010-04-14T14:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/freshliving\/2010\/04\/the-meaning-of-om.html"},"modified":"2010-04-14T14:35:09","modified_gmt":"2010-04-14T14:35:09","slug":"the-meaning-of-om","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/freshliving\/2010\/04\/the-meaning-of-om.html","title":{"rendered":"The Meaning of ‘Om’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"om14s.jpg\"<\/span> <\/p>\n

On my iPod, I have a small playlist called “Meditation.”  It contains various and sundry chants, affirmations, and soothing sounds I’ve collected over the years.  Lately, though, I’ve returned again and again to one particular piece.<\/p>\n

It’s called “Om with Harmonies” (you can find it here<\/a>), and it’s basically “om” chanted in harmony for 30 minutes or so.  In a doctor’s waiting room, waiting for a computer program to boot up, sitting in traffic–the number of places this has come in handy for me in recent weeks is staggering.<\/p>\n

But what is “om” again?  Many of us chant it at the beginning and end of yoga class, and many see it as the single most identifiable symbol of a meditation\/yoga\/holistic lifestyle.  But what does it mean<\/i>?<\/p>\n

Seek and ye shall find….right here on Fresh Living!  I rediscovered a post Valerie wrote last year on just this topic: “What Does ‘Om’ Mean?<\/a>”  She covers the roots of the word–it’s actually 3 Sanskrit letters strung together into one mystical syllable that is thought to be the sound of the Universe–but here’s my favorite part of what she wrote about chanting “om” in harmony with others:<\/p>\n

“It doesn’t matter if we know what it means or not, it’s a moment when
\nall these people, usually strangers, join their voices together in
\nharmony. It’s a brief communal moment when we’re all acknowledging the
\n“it”–the divine, the thing we’re all trying to get. It’s like a tiny taste<\/a> of
\nenlightenment.” <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A tiny taste of enlightenment indeed.  Sounds like a worthy goal, and something I want to flow through my earbuds and into my deepest self.<\/p>\n

Like what you see? <\/strong>Click here to subscribe<\/strong><\/font><\/a>
\nand get Fresh Living in your in-box every day!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On my iPod, I have a small playlist called “Meditation.”  It contains various and sundry chants, affirmations, and soothing sounds I’ve collected over the years.  Lately, though, I’ve returned again and again to one particular piece. 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A graduate of Cornell University and Harvard Divinity School, she has more than a decade of experience writing about religion and spirituality for Newsweek, The Washington Post, Spa Finder, Sojourners, Search, and many other publications. Her commentaries have also been heard on NPR\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153All Things Considered.\" When not at her desk, you can find her baking, in her garden, or rockin' out in water aerobics class. She lives in Arlington, Mass. Visit http:\/\/www.hollyrossi.com for more.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/freshliving\/author\/hrossi"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/freshliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/freshliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/freshliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/freshliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/freshliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1012"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/freshliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1012\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/freshliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/freshliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/freshliving\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}