On a ride up north for an adventure and hike with one of my favorite fellow travelers, my youngest son, we listened to some pretty righteous music.   A rather informal definition of righteous is something that is really good.  A more spiritual use of the word righteous dates back to the New Testament and means to get right with God.   Both of these definitions work for me with this particular song choice by Tyler Childers.  I had never heard the song The Universal Sound before, but I was silent and spellbound with perhaps a rhythmic sway to my body, as I sat in the passenger seat and took it all in. 

One of the lyrics of the song was woven through like a well-crafted poem and whispered to me of a known truth stated in a resonant new way; I focus on my breathing and the universal sound.   He eloquently writes about how this was all he needed as a baby, before the complexity of adult life; I recall when I was a baby, I didn’t need nothing around but a little bitty rattler and the universal sound..  I’d close my eyes; it was all so clear. It was all right then. It was all right here.

My son is an old soul, and I know he knew what Tyler was talking about, this universal sound but I treasured our discussion.  I shared an experience I had had while meditating on a rock by a river, a place where I have always felt a sacred connection.  As I sat focusing on my breath, I heard God say I am underneath the breath.  So, I stopped controlling my breath and just let it be and I then felt God’s eternal presence deep within me and all around me. 

  I think Tyler might agree this felt sacred presence is only encountered when things are quite and even stronger for me personally, in nature. Time in nature is akin to the universal sound but as Tyler alludes to it is often tied to the breath, the slowing down, the connection to the One and the many.  We remember that this life is graciously breathed into us.  The breath of spirit that sustains us is ever present even when we forget to acknowledge it. The sacred sound can often be heard in the moments that take our breath away.  We breath in again and breath out, we remember where our breath comes from and sense the web that unites all like an eternal resonance.

This sacred universal sound is not only within us but it sustains all life.  This concept can help us when we feel overwhelmed by the details of our lives.  Nature always helps me to take a more spacious stance and to sense the universal sound all around.  Music can be another doorway to this feeling of spaciousness.  Some say the reason why music can make us feel so inspired spiritually is actually the pause between the notes, that sacred space where everything is pure, still and lacking nothing. 

This got me thinking of two more expressions of the universal sound.  Most yogis are familiar with chanting Ohm at the beginning or end of some yoga classes.  Ohm is considered by many Eastern religions to be the primordial sound.  Ohm is the backdrop to everything as it is said to have the same frequency as the universe.  When one chants Ohm the exhalation naturally extends which calms the nervous system on a neurologically level but also affects one spiritually.  After the chant we are drawn into the spacious place within us, the backdrop of peace that underscores all of our moments.  We may even feel this resonance, the vibration of Ohm deep within us, a reminder that we have come home to ourselves, the same frequency of the universe.

The other expression of the universal sound is from Genesis when Moses asks God what to call him.   God first says “I am” or “I am who I am”.   This is clearly stated in Exodus 3:15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: YHWH the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you. This is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations.  Jewish tradition associated the covenant name of God, YHWH or Yahweh with breath. The natural sound of an inhalation sounds like “Yah,” and the sound of the exhalation sounds like “Weh.” Thus, with every breath we take, we may say we are speaking God’s name. He breathed into us the breath of life, and we still retain that breath.  Just as YHWH means the one who is eternal our breath also resonates his name and presence resonating His sound through the universe.

Circling back to Tyler Childers like the stone thrown in the pond that started this discussion.  I quote him one more time; I focus on my breathing and the universal sound; I let it take me over from the toenails to the crown of the body that I’m in ’til they put me in the ground and I return to the chorus of the universal sound.   Truly reflect on this and let it speak to you in the way the universal sound can.   Of course, we can only here if we are open to this line of thinking that is really beyond words and even ideas.  I invite you to hear this sound in the language, tone and resonance that you can understand.  It is a conscious practice to keep our ears and hearts open to receive what is ours to receive, that which is freely and lovingly available within and without, always.

Let it not be lost that the universal sound envelopes all, I have deep respect for all wisdom traditions both Eastern and Western. Let us all hear the universal sound of unity and peace, put down our defenses and choose peace.