Poetry Writing Exercises
Toning Exercises
In the Interest of World Peace
Some of us are feeling very unhappy about what is going on in our world right now. Many people do not agree that a war is ever a solution to anything. We have thought deeply about this and have decided that peace is more likely to be the chosen option if we can introduce some sense of harmony into the world. Therefore we would like to offer a suggestion that we believe can open the door to peace.
We have read some things about toning as a meditation process, and tried it a little. It seems like a good way to bring a group's positive energy together. While we wish you could join us in our toning circle in person, we realize that is not always possible. We do not think it is necessary for like minded people to be physically together in order to further the intention to encouraging the idea of peace, therefore we are offering you what information we have found about toning so that you may join us, wherever you are, if you would like.
Our hope for encouraging peace through this process is based on the idea that we all share one environment, and the lessening of fear in any part of that environment will reduce the amount of fear in the world and open the way for the possibility of compromise. We are writing up what information we have put together on toning so that you may tone with us in even though you cannot come physically to join us. Unchallenged fear generates more fear and stands in the way of logical interactions among people and nations.
You will find a bit about the theory following the practice after the toning instructions. We have cut right to the instructions because we believe that toning together is the something that may need no explanation. Singing brings a group into a shared sense of harmony. Not all of us can sing, so this is just another way of harmonizing.
This is the way we Tone
What we do is, quite simply, stand comfortably, breathe easily and repeat the simple names of a few Sanskrit letters shown on the chart below. We are told that the people who thought up the original Sanskrit alphabet believed them to be a magic thing. The saw these individual sounds as having the power to be arranged in such a way that they represented the actual spirit of things. We have read that repeating the sounds will release blocked energy. We have tried it and it feels like it works. When you repeat the name of the letter while thinking of clearing up any energy blockages in the related chakra. Understand that it is OK to stop anywhere in the process if you find that you are feeling spacey. The next time you will go further, hold the note longer, have more fun. If you get to feeling spacey, collapse on the couch and put your feet up. Giggling is good.
On the chart you will see the sounds these letters make and the chakra (energy center located along the spine) that they are associated with. It might help if you were to visualize a picture of your spine and try to understand the placement of the charkas mentioned. On top of your head, see the crown chakra. At the base of the spine, cradled in that final curve, is the root chakra. The other chakras are strung out like beads along the curving spine. Now, let that go and think of the spine as a sort of crystal tube, filled with white light. Think of a sort of prismatic image, dividing the light into something like a sun dog, or a slice of the rainbow. The crown being the shimmering white just before and including purple bit and the root chakra being the red bit and the other colors being arrayed in between.
| Tone | Chakra | Color |
| LAHM | Root | Red |
| VAHM | Sacral | Orange |
| RAHM | Solar Plexus | Yellow |
| YAHM | Heart | Green |
| HAHM | Throat | Blue |
| OHM | Crown | Purple, the palest lavender and white |
Now here is the way to tone:
If you are toning with friends, arrange yourselves in a circle facing each other. Stand with your feet well placed, about pelvic width apart. Think of your feet and feel your connection with the earth beneath your feet. Take a few easy breaths and imagine you can feel the exchange of energy between your feet and the earth. When you are all comfortable and feeling grounded, begin to repeat the names of the Sanskrit letters holding the sounds as long as is comfortable for you.
Root Chakra
Begin toning with the root chakra. Its color is red, its stone is ruby or garnet, and its physical function relates to survival. It is responsible for the colon, and in men, the sex organs. The sound for this chakra is LAHM. Now, take a nice easy breath and make that LAHM sound for as long as seems appropriate. Then take another easy breath and repeat the tone. Now, do it a third time to get this chakra resonating on the right vibration.
Sacral Chakra
Move up to the sacral chakra, located about three fingers below the belly button. Its color is orange, its stone is carnelian or any orange rock, and its physical function is to oversee the small intestine, kidneys, etc., and in women, the sex organs. The sound is VAHM. Make the sound for as long a time as seems good. Do this three times.
Solar Plexus Chakra
The next chakra up is the solar plexus. Its color is gold, its stone is citrine or perhaps gold or silver, and its physical function supports your personal power, your ability to do the things you want to do, be all you can be, etc., and it integrates all bodily functions. It is the house of the Sun. It is responsible for your liver and everything in the midsection below the diaphragm. The sound for the solar plexus chakra is RAHM. Make the sound for as long as seems good. Do this three times.
Heart Chakra
The next chakra up is the heart chakra. Its color is green, its stone is emerald or jade, and its physical function relates to receiving love. It is the center of the rainbow and is responsible for the right functioning of the heart and lungs.
Here we need to review an electricity fact. When you turn on the light switch you don't let the power in, but rather, you let it out. Therefore, for this chakra to function properly you must learn to RELEASE love so that you can RECEIVE love. Receiving love is much more difficult than giving love. This chakra is responsible for one's ability to love one's self, which is a very important function, for how can we love our neighbor as ourselves without first loving ourselves. The sound for the Heart Chakra is YAHM. Hold the tone as long as seems right. Do this three times.
Throat Chakra
Next is the throat chakra. Its color is blue, its stone is lapis lazuli, aquamarine, or sapphire, and it is in charge of communications, hearing and being heard. It is located all along the neck, down to the points of the shoulder blades, and up to the top of the ears. The sound for the throat chakra is HAHM. Hold the sound and feel your neck relax. Do this three times.
Brow Chakra
We are mentioning the brow chakra, only to tell those of you who are familiar with the third eye concept that we are skipping it in the toning. The reason for this is that the brow chakra has the responsibility to oversee the inter relationship between a person's internal and external realities. This chakra is so responsive that it will come into harmony on its own and does not need to be toned.
Crown Chakra
The crown chakra is located on top of the head sort of at the fontanel spot. Its color is white, pale lavender, or purple. It is your connection to the heavens. The sound for the crown chakra is OHM. Draw and easy breath and hold the sound as long as is comfortable. Do this three times. Smile and feel the glory of being
By this time you are either totally clear, or utterly dizzy. It is a good idea to put your feet up and enjoy the sense of harmony within.
Thoughts on Toning for Peace
There are miracles out there and we can be part of them. The trick is to learn to slip past the traps we have set for ourselves in our thinking patterns. A major pitfall that we have learned from well meaning instructors is cynicism. While the implementation of prudent decisions does rely on the engagement of the analytical mind, if we can just get past that one crucial pointÑour learned cynicism-we can open the door to peace and well being. Much of what we are taught in the way of prudent planning is quite simply cynicism. This jaundiced view of the world stands in the way of accomplishment.
Unfortunately, we often make the mistake of thinking that critical analysis equates to the acceptance of preconceived notions as established facts. This limits our ability to achieve our dreams. We convince ourselves that since we are not the ones who make the executive decisions and that there is nothing that we can do to change the course that those in charge have set. This is not true. We can encourage the consideration of the idea of peace even those who have assumed more power than we has decided to have a war. Thoughts, like all things, are made up of minute subparticles-more subtle, perhaps, than solids, liquids or gases-but, like all things in constant flux, and subject to environmental factors. We can, through prayer and meditation, through thought, word and self-understanding change the environment in which that power is exercised.
At the present time the national dialogue is increasingly saturated with the fomentation of fear. Fear is, in essence, something on the order of an electrostatic disturbance that prevents us from trying to understand other viewpoints. One way to encourage the growth of the hope for peace is to help establish an intellectual environment that is free from fear and is supportive of the development of peace.
We believe that toning will help to clear up the problem that exists in our world today. This is how we see it working: All things are made up of particles, which are always in motion. If some particles stop moving, the little atoms collide into each other causing dysfunction. Since a person is also made of these little particles, they are subject to those same causes of dysfunction, which results in disease and unhappiness. In order to avoid and clear up internal traffic jams and maintain well-being, we suggest you use and electrical model to think of your body's energy. We have little substations along the electrical system that parallels our spine. If one of the substations gets out of sync, problems are created. We use toning to get that substation back into sync. The idea of toning is that by bombarding the little atoms in the substations with the correct sound, they will understand and return to the harmonious vibration.
When you do toning, the out of sync chakra (the substation on the electric field that parallels the spine), responds to the vibrations of the note you strike. Over time it corrects the tune of the chakra.
Summary
Along the way we have come across a lot of ways of thinking about energy and the body. We have chosen a certain set of the information we have come across. This is what makes sense to us at the moment. You may have come across other information that makes more sense to you. We hope you can find a way to link your peace hopes with ours. Use your best interpretation to augment the toning process.
You can, if you think of it, repeat these same Sanskrit letters silently in order to tone when you are out in public and your nerves are feeling jangled or you just want to elevate the level of peace in the world.
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