Vocal Expression
Meditations through Words
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Although "vocal expression" implies the activation of one's vocal chords, not every prayer, affirmation or mantra needs be expressed beyond a mere thought. However, speaking up and letting your thoughts be known to another soul, to the universe, and to the Force has a greater vibrational effect within the Force, and is strongly encouraged.
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Affirmations
Positive statements that can help you to challenge and overcome self-sabotaging and negative thoughts. When you repeat them often, and believe in them, you can start to make positive changes.
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Many of us do repetitive exercises to improve our physical health; affirmations are like exercises for our mind and outlook, reprogramming our mental patterns so that, over time, we begin to think – and act – differently.
When developing your personal affirmations, consider the following steps:
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Think about the areas of your life that you'd like to change -- be sure they are compatible with your core values and the things that matter most to you, so that you'll feel genuinely motivated to achieve them.
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Be sure that your affirmation is credible and achievable -- if you can't believe in them, it's unlikely they'll impact your life.
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Turn negatives into positives -- take note of any negative self-talk, then choose an affirmation that is the opposite of that thought and belief.
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Write your affirmation in the present tense -- write and speak it as if it's already happening. This helps you believe that the statement is true right now.
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Say it with feelings -- give them emotional weight. You need to want this change to happen, it should be meaningful to you.
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-- Mind Tools Team || Using Affirmations: Harnessing Positive Thinking || MindTools.com
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EXAMPLES:
"I create my own path and walk it with joy."
"Good health is a practice, and I have patience."
"My potential is limitless, and I choose where to spend my energy."
"The Force is with me and I am with the Force."
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Luke Skywalker: “I can't believe it.”
Master Yoda: “That is why you fail.”
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Chants and Songs
Chanting is a highly charged, focused, and repetitive form of prayer; an invocation using carefully selected words, syllables, or sounds for their inherent power.
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Chants have been traditions among many cultures for millennia of generations. Be they Native American, Aboriginal, Maori, Hindi, as well as Buddhist and Christian monks, chants have cultural significance for their people and the people observing them.
A chant is a short musically rhythmic passage, typically performed solo or in unison by a group, used for speaking or singing unmetrical words such as a psalm, canticle, or mantra.
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Example: "Aham-Prema", as a chant, is meant to be repeated a total of 108 times in full, using a perfect fourth interval.
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The mantra, "Om Mani Padme Hum," as a chant, is sung four times as a single phrase, then the phrase is repeated 108 times, which are kept track by counting on a mala. On the repeats within the phrase, "Hum" seamlessly transitions into the subsequent "Om", almost sounding like "Om Mani Padme Hum Mani Padme Hum Mani Padme Hum Mani Padme Hum"
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Western cultures are more likely to recognize the following chant from the 1975 film, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," which was borrowed from the "Dies Irae" used in Catholic funeral masses, and which translates from Latin as "Holy Lord Jesus. Grant them Rest."
"“Pie Iesu Domine. Dona Eis Requiem." *thwack*
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Comedy aside, It takes great dedication to complete an entire chant in this manner; often an hours-long process. For this and many other reasons, chants are often done in tandem with meditation, and typically only by the most devout practitioners.
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What ultimately distinguishes a chant from a mantra is rhythm and/or musical intonation.
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Furthermore, a song is different from a chant in that the lyrics are more poetic and metric; less mantric and repetitive. In its own way, however, a song is capable of being just as or even more significant, and emotionally / spiritually uplifting.
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“Through [music], things you will see. Other Places.
The future... the past. Old friends long gone.” – Master Yoda
(aah-ham-pree-mah)
( 🎵 ♩ ♩ ♩. )
Mantras
In Sanskrit, Mantra is literally interpreted to be "a thought, thought behind speech or action." At its very core, a mantra is 'the thoughts that inspire us to do and say what we do,' put into words.
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As many can attest, our thoughts are not always coherent. To be efficient, our minds produce mere concepts of our intent, that we then attempt to express in a way that we, ourselves, and others might understand and relate to.
A traditional mantra, then, might be viewed as a way for us to revert back to that pure, intentional mindfulness that is Mantra.
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To do this, we identify our intent, stripping it down to its most simplistic conceptual form. We then express it as a brief verbal phrase (and/or action) -- often a few choice words, imbued with the profound essense of intent -- to represent that concept.
EXAMPLES:
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Satcitananda – reality, seen through the discovery of Brahman; literally, "I am consciousness and bliss"
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Sat (sat)– existence / that which really is / good / true​
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Cit (cheet) – consciousness / spirit
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Ananda (aah-non-dah) – happiness / joy / bliss
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Anæ sövi, sövi, sövi – profound peace within the Force.
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Anæ (ah-nay) – the Force​
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Sövi (saw-vai) – peace
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Om Mani Padme Hum
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Om (aum ) – all – the totality of sound, existence, consciousness, and [silence / nothingness]​
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Mani – jewel – method
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Padme – lotus – wisdom
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Hum (hung) – unity – indivisibility
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Om Ah Hum
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Om – form – seeks to purify and forgive the body​
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Ah – sound – seeks to purify and forgive our speech
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Hum – mind – seeks to purify and forgive the mind
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Aham Prema – "I am divine love."
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Aham – (aah-ham) – the supreme heart / transcendent self / supreme awareness / infinite consciousness​
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Prema – (pree-mah) love / affection
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Nahe ko; lyha neth a – "Without a body, I am a soul."
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Nahe (Na-heh) – body
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Ko (koh) – not / without
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Lyha – ( ) – soul
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neth – I / self
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A (ah) – am / existence
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Often, Yoga practices will blend the concept of mantras and affirmations, adapting positive statements that can help center the practitioner and reinforce their role in the broad scope of the Force.
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PLACEHOLDER
Samples of accompanying mantras or chants include:
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"Sat, Chit, Ananda"
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Sat – existence, being present, being alive, surviving, being true, being good, being right, natural, knowledgeable, honest.​
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Chit – sense, feel, recognize, comprehend, acknowledge, to think about something, to form an idea, to be conscious, to consider
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Ananda – joy, bliss, pleasure, enjoyment, happiness, pure elation
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"Lumen de Lumine"​
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Known as 'the chant of the light.' It may be used as a blessing on one's self, or on a beloved, that the recipient may be immersed in spiritual light and energy. The perfect balance between power and peace.​
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"Anæ sövi, sövi, sövi"
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"it's about the Force bringing layers of peace and expanding into a broader sense of being at peace with the world."​
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Samples of accompanying mantras or chants include:
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'I Am' Mantra
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I am here, I am present, I am alive. The Force flows through me.
I am one, I am connected, I am life. The Force is part of me.
I am emotion, I am peace, I am whole. The Force is with me.
I am active, I am stillness, I am complete. I am the Force.​
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Outreach
"If you start with a smart strategy, and clear vision, you will be able to achieve superior results to reach the right audiences, through the right channels at the right time."
-- Germany Kent
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We recognize that 'outreach' carries a lot of overlap with other Expressions. Our administrative team debated which category it might best fit under and settled on 'Vocal' in the sense that – at the core of it all – outreach is about communication – the before, the during, and the after of serving others. It is the act of discovering the needs of others in order to best support and sustain them – whether a communal group or an individual. It is following up on mental health; it is inviting friends, family, and strangers, alike, to participate in social events, and helping them to feel welcome, and that they belong.
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Outreach is also about educating people in order to raise awareness of existing services. This may come in the form of face-to-face conversations, printed materials, or remote (pre-recorded) audio or video spots.
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Outreach is not stationary. As the name literally implies, it requires reaching beyond yourself. More than that, though, it means going to where others are and respectfully digging into the core needs of a person or group to better understand how those specific needs might be met. It requires us to ask questions, with the genuine intent to learn and understand, not just to "fix." And sometimes we must be able to admit that we simply don't have the knowledge or resources to address someone their needs; but by understanding them and the core of their need we can better guide and direct them to someone who is qualified to help; and then we can still be there to support and sustain them, rather than allowing them to feel as if they've merely been 'passed along' as 'someone else's problem.'
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Outreach, like Service, is as much for you and your cause as it is for the recipient of your outreach. It edifies and uplifts; it creates community. It promotes a mutual good-will ought to benefit all who engage.
Prayer
"Why must people kneel down to pray? If I really wanted to pray I'll tell you what I'd do. I'd go out into a great big field all alone or into the deep, deep, woods, and I'd look up into the sky--up--up--up--into that lovely blue sky that looks as if there was no end to its blueness. And then I'd just feel a prayer."
-- Anne Shirley
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Although verbal utterances are not requisite to qualify as a prayer, Jedi prayers are considered to be one of a number of "vocal expressions" with the intent to focus one's self or one's congregation within the Force.
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While the Temple of the Jedi Order has assembled and published the Jedi Liturgy & Prayer Book for the Jedi's convenience, the expression of prayer is not limited to pre-approved, formalized utterances.
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At its core, prayer is an invocation that seeks to activate a rapport with a higher power. Prayer can be as simple and uplifting as a "thank you for this beautiful morning," or as formal as a Council Mass celebrating a very special occasion. It may be a solemn request for help, an expression of gratitude or of praise, or an incantation of a charm or spell.
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Secular Spirituality – a type of worldly mysticism in which the one praying seeks to immerse their life with the world; a type of inward meditation.​​
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Primitive Prayer – a superstition-based prayer, derived from felt needs and fear, with a focus on deliverance from misfortune and danger.
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Ritual Prayer – prayer with the aim of replicating the results of primitive prayers, wherein it is believed that the form, instead of the content, is thought to produce the results.
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Greek Cultural Prayer – a refined primitive prayer where more emphasis is placed on the moral needs than physical needs.
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Philosophical Prayer – contemplative examination of the relationship between creation and creator.
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Mystical Prayer – a unification of self with a higher power.
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Prophetic Prayer – the highest form of prayer. In this model, there are no stages, no formula, and no limits.
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While the latter end of the list may be what the supplicant ought to strive for, each type of prayer is of value to a Jedi.
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Direct Petitions – to directly appeal to a higher power to grant one's requests.
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Educational – to instill certain attitudes, such as peace, reverence, stillness, etc.
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Rationalist – to train a person to focus on divinity through philosophy and intellectual contemplation.
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Experiential – to experience divine mysticism.
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Many supplicants might aim to cram all four approaches into a single act of prayer. While that may be achievable -- just as with the utilization of meditation crystals -- sometimes choosing a single approach can garner the best results.
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Note that ALL Expressions are optional / NONE of them are expected – let alone required – for anyone to be considered a Jedi. Practitioners are encouraged to communicate what helps them to feel one with the Force.
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Here are some additional examples of Vocal Expressions that we found worth mentioning, but with disclaimers.
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Jedi are not asked to proselytize by spreading the "good news" of the Force. There is no special calling to be missionaries for the Order. We are humble travelers in our own personal journey along our path with the Force. This does not mean that we keep our beliefs hidden, as if we are ashamed; rather, we show ourselves – who we are – through example, and share with those who may to inquire into our beliefs. There is no such thing as "conversion" of others to Jediism. We each must choose our own path. Therefore, we honor all that are living within the Force in their right and privilege to worship how, where, or what they may.
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As stated under the 'Prayer' category, Vocal Expressions do not require verbal utterances. The playing of musical instruments may equally qualify as a valuable expression, and is even encouraged as a Trial of Skill.
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Any Vocal Expression that a Jedi chooses to adopt is for themselves, and nobody else. As with all things, extremes are discouraged. Loud or otherwise disruptive practices do not behoove a Jedi. Likewise, the extreme of something akin to a "vow of silence" may arguably be utterly unnecessary, and even disruptive to one's daily life. Be mindful of how your expressions may affect your life and the lives around you.