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About Chanting YHWH's Name
Out of the hundreds of pages on this website, the following paragraph has
been "voted" (via the emails we have received) as the #1 most
scandalous and controversial. It is contained in "God
is Not God's Name", toward the end, in the "Four Practical
Meditations" section.
"Sit down and say out loud or to yourself "Yod-He-Vav-He" 100 times in the
morning and 100 times at night. Every month, add 100 times. This is not meaningless
repetition - it is the most meaningful. And you are not doing it to be heard. You are
doing it so that you can hear. As you call upon the name of YHWH, think about its
significance to you. Over the course of a few months you will find the heavens opening and
that the name YHWH is indeed full of all power and revelation."
The summarized email we get is along these lines:
"This is wrong. Jesus commands us to NOT use meaningless
repetitions. And if God is real, then we don't need to so this
repeating stuff. I just don't understand why this is here."
Here's our answer.
Let's start with a modern American example.....The football fan follows his team
during the off-season.....buys the posters.....reads all the newspapers....buys the ticket to opening day....and stands there FOR HOURS, SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF
HIS LUNGS: <<<DEEE-FENCE, DEEE-FENCE>>>. And nobody pays any attention or thinks it odd.
And yet, Dear Reader, you would not BELIEVE (maybe you would) the "hate-mail"
we get about the notion that we could benefit from chanting YHWH's Name(!!!!)
Now, what is going on here with Mr. or Mrs. Football fan? Simply put, the Fan is BATHING his/her consciousness in football. They are, quite literally,
SWIMMING in an ocean of football.
And, within that context, we actually know quite a lot about the physiology / psychology link between SPEECH and THOUGHT.....Those people in the football
stands <<ACTUALLY, REALLY>> think that if they chant (!) (aka "root", which is
the secular term) hard enough, they can effect the outcome of a play or they game or the season.
Now (are you ready?) here comes the fun part.......According to DECADES of data,
where this experiment has been performed MILLIONS of times in sporting events across the globe, it has been proven STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT THAT THE FAN IS
RIGHT!!!!!!!! Chanting for the home team WORKS.....Having many people work together, focusing their consciousness, "chanting" for victory, is a
contributing factor to making it happen. The home teams win WELL above a statistical average of 50%....Yes, there are many factors, but the "home crowd"
is consistently credited with playing a major role.
Like I said, I should probably write a book (or 20 of them....anyone know a good
transcriptionist?!?).....The examples are legion where a chant / mantra / confession, which is a FOCUSING of the mind & soul, actually
works.
Now, when it comes to YHWH, what's really going on?
1) God always hears you....I am sorry, Dear Reader, that sometimes it does not seem that way, but it is true.
It's just that His timeframe is so different than ours.
2) So we are not chanting to be heard, but to HEAR God.
3) What I mean is that, like the football fan, as you chant you are removing all
other thoughts and "bathing" your consciousness / soul with ONLY GOD. That
really is very powerful...People should do it more often!
I mean, look at the art world....Forget about, for a moment, the whole financial / investment side of
it.....Why, WHY does someone put something on their wall to stare at for YEARS??!?!? Well, in
"pre-industrialized" countries, such a thing is called a "Yantra", a visual chant
or meditation. Here's how it works:
(WARNING! Terms that were invented thousands of years ago, in India, are
about to be used. We do this not to be cultic or scandalous, but simply
because these ideas have not been nearly as well developed in the West.
However, all of these ideas have Biblical counterparts.)
The MANTRA is the VOCAL representation of the idea (chant / word / name)
The YANTRA is the VISUAL representation (drawing, painting, even a simple line drawing) of the idea, and
The TANTRA is the LIVING representation (actions, deeds) of the idea.
Things work best when the Mantra, Yantra and Tantra are focused and united.
Another simple example. I know a couple in their late 50s...Simple, honest, hard-working blue collar (he's a butcher, she's a
grocery checker) folks. Their life's dream is (and has been for years) to visit Australia. Of course, with
limited means, they can't just buy a travel package. So, what have they been doing?
Mantra: "Australia in 2005" posted on their fridge......They talk about the trip between themselves, with friends, confess to one another "We're going to do
it, honey!"
Yantra: The pictures, travel brochures, videos from "down under".....I could go on & on.
Tantra: The monthly savings plan....the approaching retirement....the deposit on
the package deal
Now, there's nothing particularly odd about any of this......It's just normal stuff and how people live & reach for goals. The only thing that starts to look
odd is when we talk about such things in the domain of religion!
And notice how wonderfully YHWH has placed His Name into this 3-fold context:
The Mantra is the chanting of the Name,
the Yantra is the pictogram of the human
being YHWH spells vertically (not to mention the mind-blowing fact that, properly understood, every human being is a living YANTRA of YHWH(!!))
And the Tantra is the loving, devout religious life.
Again, these are Jewish / Christian ideas, but we haven't defined the terms
as clearly as the Hindus have. Sorry if this offends you.
So.........anyway........"Just" chanting God's Name, in and of itself, will probably do very little.....We are not talking about a "magic incantation"
here.....BUT, in the presence of a focused mind, where you clear your head and
heart of EVERYTHING (money, problems, health, sex, work, politics, I mean EVERYTHING) except your loving heavenly Father / Mother and your relationship,
done in the context of a life that is trying in all ways to "get in tune" with God, chanting
can and WILL prove to be an incredibly powerful tool.
A tool. Another very powerful idea we will talk about tomorrow....So
often religion in America (the area I know the most about) centers on arguing
about ideas that can neither be proved or disproved, only argued about, instead
of equipping the faithful with tools to be used.
And the bit about "100 times every morning and evening" is just a
recommendation. It is, and has proven to be, a very easy / convenient /
powerful method, but it is only that. Official notice from our legal
department:
"The Church of Yahweh wishes to state categorically that there is
absolutely no magic power or formula stated or implied here, either in the
practice or theory of meditating on or chanting YHWH's Name. Neither is
there any implied or stated magic to the number 100. Tax, license and
dealer prep extra. Thank you."
There....Feel better?
2 final comments.
About the history of Chanting. In the West, this tradition is referred
to as "Calling on the Name of The Lord", or, more properly (if or
Bible translators cared enough about God to actually use His Name),
"Calling upon the Name of YHWH." We will not give you the
Chapter:Verses (you can find them easily enough if you really care), but the
Bible is full of references to the Saints and Patriarchs of old "Calling on
the Name of the Lord." This practice (which is, in fact, still
carried on today) consists in sitting quietly, focusing on YHWH, and slowly (or
quickly) silently (or out loud) repeating His Name. The historical fact is
that this has been done by Jewish, Christian and Moslem devotees for
centuries....And still done today by the football fan and his millions
of secular counterparts....So we are not inventing something new or injecting
Eastern mysticism into the "purity" of Western Dogma. We are
only reviving it, and attempting to transform the omnipresent secular practices
of our society into something a bit more elevated.
Finally, as to Jesus' exact quote "prohibiting" chanting. It
can be found in Matthew 6:7:
"And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the
Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many
words."
Of course, He is right. We shouldn't do that. However, Chanting
YHWH's Name has NOTHING TO DO with this prohibition:
- The repetition is not "meaningless." YHWH's Name is the
most meaningful Word known to us. Only the Churches and Bible
translators consider it meaningless. Sorry to be so direct, but this
is a fact.
- We know that YHWH (as I said before) always hears us....Again, (and I hope
this is not meaningless repetition), we chant not to be heard but to hear.
- There are not many words....There is only One: YHWH.
- And there is no "supposing" about it....We know the power of
YHWH's Name for a fact.
That's the best (short) answer I can give you.
Love and peace, Ahyh
Email:
LOVE THIS SITE!!!!!! I am by profession a licensed massage therapist who
was Scripturally trained by Jehovah's Witnesses. Disillusioned. But thankful
for valuable Bible knowledge. One day as I was finishing up a treatment the
thought occurred to me that I might find an interesting site using the
Divine YHWH, and voila there you were! Divine providence at work.
I have since sent it to my poor ol born again brother hoping it will help
him find some balance. I love your humor and good sense, I've omitted the
word common for obvious reasons. I would love to hear from you 1 on 1 if at
all possible, I know you're a busy guy. Just want to share one thing for
now. Since I have learned to put my affairs in YHWH's hands my life is a
breeze. Chanting THE name is a common ritual while driving, it really
works! I find myself singing it to various off-key tunes and some that are
even right on-key as well. I do love my maker and his creation
and one of the things I hope I will see in my lifetime is the fulfillment of
Rev 18:11. May YHWH continue to bless and keep you on the web. ALOHA Diana
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