Music is something that has always had a huge impact on me and has always been a big part of my life. In the mid-90s I discovered that was such a thing as “Pagan rock” and “spiritual rock” music that wasn’t Christian in nature. That was huge! It might sound kind of naive but I really didn’t think such a thing existed. But when you get onto that internet for the first time you discover all kinds of crazy things!

As I started to discover the first glimpses of what would years later become a very active Pagan and new age podcasting and internet radio scene, I was learning some of the real power that music has on the soul and spirit.

It’s not like you don’t know this already. You know certain kinds of music makes you feel a certain way. Some things energize you and some mellow you out. But I think having it all put into terms that were very specifically spiritual it changed how I looked at the energetic power of music.

Today I listen to a pretty wide range of music. Especially spiritual music. This has really everything to do with the fact that my spiritual path is so winding, so where I’m feeling called in the moment is going to dictate the music I’ll be drawn to listen to.

Truth be told, as I’m writing this I’m actually listening to The Lemonheads album It’s A Shame About Ray. The thing that lead me listen to this after years of it being on a shelf comes from a surprising spiritual song called “Lokah” by J. Mascis.

OK – the train of thought that got me to The Lemonheads.

J. Mascis is the lead singer, guitarist and co-founder of the alt-rock band Dinosaur Jr. They were most popular in the mid to late 90s during the alt-rock boom, as it were. They were one of my favorite bands when I was in college. I loved their use of distortion and J’s very melancholy-sounding vocals. They were based out of the Boston area, where I was going to school at the time, and often played clubs in the city so I had a chance to see them a handful of times at places like Avalon, The Middle East and T.T. The Bear’s.

At the same time another Boston band, The Lemonheads, were getting really popular. My senior year of high school they released their hugely popular mainstream release, It’s A Shame About Ray.

So the reason that I thought of The Lemonheads today was that while I was thinking of this post and what 5 spiritually focused songs and chants that I love and wanted to share, I thought of the first time I heard “Lokah” by J. Mascis.

I was listening to Krishna Das Yoga Radio on SiriusXM Radio {which I listen to quite a lot}. I was listening while I was working, just going about my day, and this song comes on. At first the music is so pretty and mellow and different from the other kirtan type stuff that they usually play. Then the singing began and I literally dropped everything I was doing because I was rocked by a familiar voice.

Is that J. Mascis? Singing a devotional chant? What the what?!?

Sure enough it was!

The title of the song, “Lokah”, is short for a mantra chant – Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu – which means “May all the beings in all the worlds be happy.”

So when J. Mascis popped in my head writing this that lead me to thinking about Dinosaur Jr. and then to The Lemonheads and thus I felt like I needed to listen to them. So because of all that I’m going to lead off this 5 song list with “Lokha”.

Here’s the thing about these 5 songs. A few are songs and a few are chants. Chants aren’t about singing, they’re about vibration. The vocalization of the words create a specific vibration in the body which causes the change in mindset, perception and feeling that we experience.

The same can be said for singing in general, but with chanting it’s a bit more deliberate and done with specific intention in a way that’s different from lyrics in a rock or pop song, even if they make a deep spiritual connection for us.

All 5 of these are favorites of mine and they span a range of music styles, from kirtan to hip-hop.  It’s just a bit of a testament to the fact that music can be a simple and easy way to bring spiritual awareness into your everyday life. You can use it as a tool for spiritual awareness without anyone even realizing you’re doing anything other than listening to some cool music.

 

1. Lokah – J. Mascis

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu – which means “May all the beings in all the worlds be happy.”

 

2. Krishna Das – Om Namah Shivaya

Loosely meaning “I bow to Lord Shiva”. There are a lot of different variations to the meaning of this one and many different ways that it gets picked apart, but it’s basically a chant to honor Shiva, let go of blocks {as Shiva is the destroyer} and bring peace {because Shiva is also the creator}.

 

3. A.U.M. – MC Yogi

I’m a big MC Yogi fan. This one talks about the power of meditating on and chanting the sound of creation, AUM.

 

4. Deity – Wendy Rule

“I am the Maiden. I am the Mother. I am the Crone.” This is one of my all time favorite Wendy Rule songs and any time I see her live and she sings this, it makes me cry.

 

5. The Earth The Air The Fire The Water – Libana

This sone of my all time favorite Pagan chants and I find myself signing it to myself all the time. When I first learned this one for a public ritual I was going to be in it really touched something in me. This one will always be part of my music soul.

 

 

What are some of your spiritual chants or songs? Share them down in the comments, I’d love to hear them! 

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