Music Notes

As I feel the warmth of the crackling fire in our den, and plan for all the holiday music in the days to come, I look ahead to the New Year we face and aim for an easy entry.  The first service I’ll lead is chanting, intoning and Taizé singing on January 6th.  This is as kind a beginning I can imagine: using music intentionally for healing body, mind and spirit.

Using our voices as tools for meditation has physical benefits. I learned from Keith Arnold and David Burrows, who led a UU music and healing group in Colorado, that ten minutes of intoning produces the same stress-reducing effect as two hours of silent meditation.  Most of us can use that kind of benefit.

We will also sing in the Taizé tradition: lovely, short songs in various languages sung repetitively as a form of prayer.  Taizé services are often conducted entirely by candlelight, and they have a very meditative nature.

The songs invoke peace for all.

Soon this whirlwind of holidays will be over, and then the daily challenges restart.  However, I’m looking forward to sharing this quiet service with you, reminding myself how to live easily.