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As a musician and singer, I have been fascinated with the subject of sound and the recitation of prayers having the power to heal. Besides reducing stress levels, improving sleep, lowering blood pressure, enhancing happiness, and a host of other benefits; in scientific studies, it has been shown the brain actually gets thicker and functions better with the recitation of prayers. Prayer can literally reshape your brain! Richard Davidson, a Neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin, has said, “You can sculpt your brain just as you’d sculpt your muscles if you went to the gym.”
Ancient masters knew what modern day scientists have begun to prove—when particular sounds are applied to an object or organism, its condition can change, in a positive or negative way. Sound has been used in various cultures for thousands of years as a tool for healing as well as for accessing higher states of consciousness. When we recite a prayer, we are in effect connecting with the sacred energy of it. Sound healing is founded in the scientific principle that everything is constantly vibrating at specific frequencies. When we recite words that are sacred and that are imbued with a higher frequency, we are in effect increasing our frequency and coming into a higher state of being.
I have personally found this to be true with the Ana b’Koach, one of the most powerful prayers in the Jewish faith, composed by Rav Nehunia Ben Hakannah. A sports injury in Australia that catapulted me into years of chronic pain also gave me the priceless gift and introduction to the Ana b’Koach.
I recite this prayer regularly before a performance, before my weekly MSB TV show with the Bravehearts (my fan base), before any public speaking engagements, whenever I have negative thoughts, whenever I find myself getting off track during the day and feel the need to center myself…it is a constant source of comfort for me.
“Known as the 42-letter Name of God, the Ana b’Koach is a unique formula built of 42 letters written in seven sentences of six words each. Each of the seven sentences corresponds to the seven days of the week, seven specific angels, and to a particular heavenly body. The letters that make up Ana b’Koach are encoded within the first 42 letters of the book of Genesis.
The Kabbalists explain that this combination of letters takes us back to the time of Creation, and each time we meditate on a particular sequence, we return to the original uncorrupted energy that built the world. By performing the Ana b’Koach meditation, we enrich our lives with spiritual Light and positive energy.”
The first line of the Ana b’Koach is inscribed on this black cuff that I regularly wear; it contains the energy of the prayer.
In Taming Chaos: Harnessing the Secret Codes of the Universe to Make Sense of Our Lives, author and Kabballah teacher Rav Berg, describes the Ana Beko’ach in this way…The Ana Beko’ach is like a ”climb into a metaphysical vehicle so advanced it makes a Lamborghini look like an Edsel. The name of this wondrous vehicle, which comes with a guarantee that it will skip over or fly around every barricade to prayer…is Ana Beko’ach.”
Hear the Ana b’Koach here:
I invite you to visit me at My Silent Bravery.com and join me on Tuesday evenings at 8:30 pm EST for my weekly Facebook Live show.
“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.” Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Sources:
National Public Radio: “Prayer May Reshape Your Brain … And Your Reality”
The Kabbalah Centre
Taming Chaos: Harnessing the Secret Codes of the Universe to Make Sense of Our Lives, Rav P. S. Berg, Kabbalah Centre Books, (2004, Hardcover)
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Photo: Tokkoro