Welcome –– Paul Temple here from the Diamond Light Network. Thanks for checking out my blog. All of my blog posts are rooted in a basic premise about human evolution and the human heart which may be helpful for you to understand before delving into the writings here. There is a summary of the premise below, or you could go and read Blog #1, which gives a full statement of the premise and groundwork for these other posts.
Namaste, Paul
Prelude: The Next Step in Human Evolution (extract from Blog #1)
My premise is quite simple, but of great importance to the survival of our human species. It is about the next phase of human evolution. The premise is that humans can – and really must – continue to evolve so we can grow into a more enlightened species to create a more peaceful and collaborative civilization. We cannot solve the many, many challenges facing humanity with the same level of consciousness from which they were created. There is too much conflict and stagnation in our economic, political and social structures to manifest the changes needed to create a bright and sustainable future for humans on Earth.
So I offer a vision for this evolutionary step: I invite people to consider the possibility that the next step in human evolution is to awaken the full potential of the human heart so we can fully embody our spiritual nature and higher consciousness.
Most people know what I mean by the human “heart”. I am not referring to the anatomical heart, nor the heart chakra, but to that energy center in our being that is the place of love, truth, courage and deep knowing. Some call it “the seat of the soul” or “the seed of divine consciousness” that resides in every being.
In most indigenous cultures this heart center is considered an obvious and instrumental part of human existence. It connects us with truth, wisdom, the ancestors, the Creator and all beings. It is the moral compass – or more of a moral gyroscope that keeps us centered, balanced and on course.
While western-rationalist culture has marginalized the heart as a mythical or poetic phenomenon, I believe the heart center is much, much more than we are taught. In fact, I believe it is one of the most profound, powerful and untapped resources in human existence.
I believe that if a critical mass of humans were to activate their heart centers that we could take not only an evolutionary step, but a quantum leap in our comprehension of human existence on Earth and in the Universe — and thus come to create a very different kind of “civilization” than exists at this time.
What is most remarkable about this simple solution is that YOU have the evolutionary potential to have a fully awakened heart. Right now you can change the world by activating your heart center and helping humanity evolve. This is something anyone and everyone can do.
While the vision I offer may be grandiose, my mission is very simple: to remind (re-mind) people of the great power and abilities of the heart center – and to help us as a species remember (re-member) who we can become as we activate our heart centers. Much of my intention is to simply initiate conversation about the reality of the heart center – and to invite people to feel and perceive the potential that exists in acknowledging the heart center. I invite you to come into that conversation. Talk to your friends about this premise. Bring awareness to the reality of the heart.
Namaste, Paul Temple
SOUND TEMPLE: The power of sound & music to awaken consciousness
“Nada Brahma” is a phrase from the Vedas that translates as:
Nada = Vibration: the primordial vibrational pulse of the universe
Brahma = the supreme creative force of the universe
So “Nada Brahma” is a reminder that vibration, sound and music are powerful phenomena that tap into the primordial energies of creation. Beyond our commercialized, stylized, monetized and digitized world of popular music there is a deep power that can help us remember and connect with extraordinary dimensions of being.
I offer this information as prelude to further notes below about Nada Yoga, Vajrayana mantras and insights about my music album SOUND TEMPLE – which title reflects the sacred inner space – the heart sanctuary – that the Tibetan bowls and chanting are meant to create.
The purpose of the album is to let people have a recorded version of what I offer in RadianceMatrix concerts. People have very deep and transformative experiences in the concerts so I want to make that musical offering more widely available.
The core of the album is Tibetan bowls and Vajrayana throat chanting – which offer a transmission of the Vajra – or the pure Diamond Light. The Vajrayana chants are from an ancient Tibetan mystical tradition that is said to be the “speedy path” to enlightenment. These practices activate our heart centers and raise our level of conscious awareness.
The album moves through a sequence that can bring the listener into an inner mystical state. The first track is called SONIC ARCHITECTURE and it builds a set of sonic geometrics through the use of certain intervals and overtones that initiate sacred space in the mind of the listener and the energy field in the room. This creating of sacred space is like casting the circle or calling the directions in a ceremony. It prepares us for inner work.
The next set of tracks are the Tibetan Vajrayana mantras that generate and transmit the energy of the Vajra — or pure diamond light. These are ancient sonic practices that invoke teachers and emanations of the Vajra radiance and allow people to experience the pure Vajra essence. These two tracks are the core generators of the ceremonial sequence.
Then there is a meditation with just Tibetan bowls, and then the beautiful “Dedication of Merit” chant that offers the good energy generated by this practice to the benefit of all beings. It translates as:
“May great waves of beneficial energy – of Boddhicitta – be manifest in all realms,
without obstacle, for the benefit of all sentient beings.”
And through this prayer we send the good energy we have generated with the chanting out through “matrix” – the grid of light – to bring benefit to all beings.
I realize this all may sound a bit weird or fantastic to some people, but as one comes to work within the realm of Nada Yoga – which is the yogic study of vibration and sound – one realizes that the phenomenon we call music is really something much bigger and more profound. When working with vibration, sound and music we are tapping into a primordial creative force that has amazing mystical dimensions.
This is why people “love” music and feel so deeply touched by it. Music has become highly commercialized, monetized, digitized and stylized in our world, but as one steps out of the glamors of the contemporary music scene, sound and vibration can be a gateway to a world of great mystery and power – as many people experience with these chants and the magic of the Tibetan bowls.
“Vajra” is the Tibetan’s word for the pure radiant light in our hearts: the light of our essential nature. Some call it the Sacred Heart, the Heart of perfect Wisdom, the seed of divine consciousness, seat of the soul.
Many people know the famous Tibetan mantra Om Mani Padme Hum – which translates as “jewel in the lotus”. That jewel is the Vajra – or diamond light – in our heart center, which is protected by the layers of petals of the lotus flower. As we chant the mantra, the lotus begins to open so our hearts can begin to shine like a diamond. That particular mantra is not on this album, but there other mantras that have similar effect.
I have heard the Vajra best described in this way – which is from a Tibetan Lama who’s name and source I have lost, but it is an eloquent explanation:
The Vajra or “pure radiant diamond light”, clears the mind of perceptions that obscure our clear, awakened nature. It helps us embody the primordial purity of our ultimate, unfabricated reality and recognize that we are an inseparable part of the jewel-net of the universe. The Vajra – Diamond – manifests as pure light floating in a sphere of omniscient awareness, radiating our pure innate nature: the Diamond Light of clear mind.
These teachings are from Padma Sambhava, who as a 7th Century mystic who brought Buddhism to Tibet (which reminds me to give thanks to my teacher, the Venerable Dhyani Ywahoo who initiated me into these Vajrayana practices).
RadianceMatrix is the name of my music project with the Tibetan bowls and chanting. The “Radiance” part refers to the radiant sound field created by the Tibetan bowls. The bowls are from an ancient Himalayan healing tradition – made as a special tool for meditation and vibrational healing. They are hand hammered from seven metals by families in Nepal who have been making them for generations.
I have come to understand that the energy field the bowls create is very similar to the energy of the Vajra – or the pure Diamond light – so the bowls not only take us into deep meditation, but the also awaken the Vajra light in our hearts through the process of resonance.
The “Matrix” part refers to the network of light that we connect into whenever offering this work. Through this grid of light we are connected to all beings and our heart becomes a diamond in that “jeweled fabric of the universe.”
The phrases “Sound Healing” and “Sound Healer” are being used these days, but it is a phrase I tend to avoid. I prefer to use the term NADA YOGA to describe what I do. The word healing implies I am doing something to someone – that I am fixing something – which is a construct I am wary of. Something powerful and magical happens in the sound field, but it isn’t about me being a healer and fixing people.
Nada Yoga is a Sanskrit phrase that encompasses the mystical powers of sound and vibration. In formal Sanskrit NADA refers to the primordial vibrations of creation – the first pulse of light and consciousness in the universe. That concept expands into the realms of vibration, sound and what we call music.
It is funny that in Spanish NADA means “nothing” – because the Sanskrit NADA is about the primordial pulse that arose from the nothingness. My teacher, Dhyani Ywahoo says that “From the emptiness came forth the song of creation”… scientists call it the big bang. The bible says “In the beginning was the word” – a sound with meaning. These are all different creation stories with similar themes of sound, vibration and the birth of consciousness.
YOGA in NADA YOGA means UNION, just as other forms of yoga are modes of generating union of body, mind and spirit. In Vedic studies NADA YOGA covers practices of chanting, mantra, kirtan and classical Indian music. But its broader aspects encompass the mysteries of sound transformation and consciousnes, which is the best way I find to describe what is happening with the bowls and chanting I do.
People often ask I what I offer is a “gong bath”. This is a subtle distinction where I need to tread carefully. Gong baths are another form of Nada Yoga – and people call it sound healing. I personally find the sound field created in gong baths to be chaotic and dissonant. They say this is breaking up stagnation in the energy field, but I end up feeling a little chaotic and disjointed afterwards.
I find the energy field of the Tibetan bowls to be very pure, sweet and calming. My bowls are tuned to harmonic ratios so the geometrics of the sound field are very harmonious and resonate the harmonic structures of our own energy body. I work a lot with overtones which activate the upper chakra system – or the outer layers of the energy body.
Just as a cathedral – or a shree yantra – are designed based on sacred geometry, the harmonic ratios of my bowls, chanting and flutes create a sacred architecture in the sound field. My experience, and what others have told me, is that this is quite different – and more calming, enveloping and transformative than most gong baths.
While speaking about the SOUND TEMPLE album, I would like to mention the beautiful artwork that is on the cover. There is a magical performance space in Tucson, AZ called the Galactic Center where I have given several concerts and there is amazing visionary art on display. The first time I visited I was drawn to a particular piece that had a Pearl of Light connected to the six directions inside a diamond-shaped double tetrahedron. For those that know the Diamond Light meditations I teach, this image is the core of the visualization practice. So there it was in an amazing painting with Isis and Osiris. I asked the gallery owner who had painted the piece – and amazingly she said she had. Her name is Kati Astraeir. The name of the piece is DIVINE BLUEPRINT.
Kati and I have developed an deep connection since then. It seems we have similar guides to our differing arts. I was really pleased when she agreed to let me use the piece as the cover to Sound Temple. Kati has a facebook page where you can see more of her amazing art. Again, her name is Kati Astraeir.
And as a final note on the SOUND TEMPLE album, I should mention that the last to pieces on the album are also pieces from my live concerts and workshops. The 7th track – Chakra Song – is a singing practice to awaken the chakras. We sing up and then down the chakras, using the standard major scale. It is a wonderful daily practice to activate the energy body. The chakra system I use is a little different from the well known Vedic system. I will be making an instructional video on this soon for the Diamond Light Network video series.
The last piece on the album is the wonderful dedication mantra we close all my concerts and workshops with: Loka Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu. It offers all the good energy we have generated out to the benefit of all beings… much like the DEDICATION OF MERIT track. This then changes into and OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti, Om – offering peace for all beings.
It might be nice to close this podcast with the translation of the Loka mantra:
May all beings be happy and know the causes of happiness.
May all beings be free from fear and the causes of fear.
May all beings dwell in equanimity and never be parted from true joy.