Hello Dear Family,

Thank you for your love and support of this music. I hope that it enriches your life in ways that bring peace and joy! I realize that we are living in unprecedented times and that all of our usual ways of being and of working are shifting. At this time, with so many cancellations of events, I, (like many other musicians), am looking at various way of generating the income that I require for paying rent, buying food, paying bills etc. If you feel that my music has value to you that you would like to acknowledge by making a contribution, you can do so here:

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme2/BrendaMcMorrow

Much love and many thanks!

Brenda

May I open into Truth and may I be of service to the One.

May I see the places in me that are unconscious or wounded,
and may I face them and feel them truthfully and with courage.

May I not take things personally and may I be in allowance
of others having their own experience.

May I have love and joy and affection in my life and may I share this with others.
May I have health.

May I follow my own nature with ease and an open heart.

May I take responsibility for myself and my choices and may light shine on the places where I have been in avoidance and untruth.

With full abandon, may I radically open into WHAT IS.

May awakening to the Truth of Who I Am be something that is not only possible for me, but something that I come to know is who I have been all along.

– Brenda McMorrow

I fly off to Europe on Sunday and have the blessing of being invited to sing in Spain (Cataluña), Estonia and Sweden! All the details are below. Please share the word if you feel inclined!

June 21:
¡Estoy emocionado de venir a tocar a un concierto en la hermosa Torre Amat en Barcelona!
Con Raffa Martinez en percusión y voz y con invitados especiales Ravi Ram y María Di Pace para algunas canciones 
https://www.facebook.com/events/216668915761722/

Yoga Mela

Torre Amat, Barcelona 

Tallin, Estonia

Link to the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3BRh6Gm3i4

(All quotes in video are included below)

There are certain teachers with immense clarity and an uncanny ability to point towards -through words and energy- Ultimate Truth. Nisargadatta Maharaj (Mumbai, India 1897-1981) is one of these.

Through his razor sharp insight, he guides us to step towards (or more accurately, back into) knowing that we are NOT what we actually take ourselves to be, opening up the possibility for actual Being, actual Love and actual Life to be embodied as consciousness itself, without the confines of the idea of the personal “I”. (And then to go even beyond and prior to that…into what no words could never begin to describe).

As Jesus of Nazareth said: “Be in the world, but not of the world”.

It seems Nisargadatta was pointing there too.

“Wisdom is knowing I am nothing,
Love is knowing I am everything,
and between the two my life moves.” – Nisagardatta Maharaj

Making this video has been a deep meditation for me and I share it in case it can be of benefit to you. Who knows, perhaps it will touch a chord of deep familiarity within you that is already being lived or that is ready to be awakened. Perhaps it’ll just be really groovy to hang out in the amazing vibration of Nisargadatta’s words, and the sounds of some really awesome (very old) Tibetan singing bowls that I have the honour of being the custodian of.

Love, Brenda

 *********

The Following is a collection of short quotes taken from “The Nisargadatta Ultimatum” which was compiled by Pradeep Apte. The quotes are from the books “I Am That”, “Prior to Consciousness” and “Consciousness and the Absolute”

As Apte has written: “These short quotes have the power to take you straight to the Parabrahman or the Absolute.”
Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj has himself said: “Take one sentence of what has been said here, and stay with it. That is enough; that will lead you to your source.”
“The sentence could be a question or a statement; either, if closely observed and pondered over, have the ability of right away catapulting you into the Parabrahman or the Absolute, which you actually are”

******

From “I Am That” 

Before all beginnings, after all endings – I am.

What you are, you already are.

Everything is local and temporary, except you. Don’t forget what you are.

Ultimately I am beyond being and non-being.

Find that which was present at your birth and will witness your death.

You were never born nor will you ever die.

There is a state beyond forgetting and remembering.

Find what is it that you have never lost.

Overlook the movable and you will find yourself to be the ever-present.

Whatever happens, I remain.

I am neither born nor can I die. I have nothing to remember or to forget.

You are beyond the experiencer, ever unborn and deathless.

Reality is not an event, it cannot be experienced, for reality neither comes nor goes.

There is no such thing as experience of reality.

There was no coming. It was so – always.

You can only be what you are in reality; you can only appear to be what you are not.

What changes is not real, what is real does not change.

Don’t pretend to be what you are not, don’t refuse to be what you are.

You are neither the body nor in the body – there is no such thing as body.

The Absolute precedes time. The Absolute – is.

Your body is short of time, not you. Just understand yourself – that itself is eternity.

I know for myself. I was never born.

Both the subject and the object exist in you, but you are neither.

You are complete here and now, you need absolutely nothing.

That which makes you think you are human is not human.

The real is always with you; you need not wait to be what you are.

You are not what you perceive.

You are yourself without knowing.

Transiency is the best proof of unreality.

You cannot know your real being. You can only be what you are.

To Know that You do not Know, is True Knowledge.

In reality you were never born and shall never die.

One can only be it, without knowing.

 *****

From “Prior to Consciousness”

Prior to this identification with the body, you must recede into that.

Before the beingness was there, look at that, be in that state.

As the eternal principle you prevail in spite of all happenings.

Not-knowing is perfection, knowing is imperfection, fraudulent.

When the ‘I am’ goes into oblivion, that is the eternal state, no form, no beingness.

It is quite simple: all that which is time-bound is untrue.

What was your state before the ‘I am’ arose? Go back to the source.

In the Absolute there is no need of any kind, even the need to know oneself.

Sat Guru (Parabrahman) is your true nature.

In the Absolute the ‘I am’ comes, they are not two.

You just stumble on the knowledge that the individual was never there.

You are prior to the idea ‘I am’, camp yourself there, prior to the words ‘I am’.

With reference to your true Parabrahman state Maya does not exist.

You know what you are not – what you are you cannot know.

Death is inevitable so why not accept it right now that it cannot affect you?

You are changeless and permanent.

You have no beginning and no end, you are eternal.

Parabrahman is your eternal state; you cannot remember it because you have never forgotten it.

I as the Absolute do not need this consciousness.

Where is the question when the instrument of questioning is kept aside?

On your no-knowing state suddenly the knowingness has appeared and created all the mischief.

I am before anything can happen.

Knowledge is ignorance, it has a beginning and an end, had it been real it would be eternal.

Sat Guru means the eternal state, which will never change, what you are.

To know you are nothing is real liberation.

When all your knowledge including yourself is liquidated – then you are liberated.

The unknown is the truth.

You are prior to consciousness. In that state there is no pleasure or pain.

The ultimate knowledge does not have any knowledge.

If you have really understood, no questions can arise; questions arise only to an entity.

As an entity you want to know the Absolute, it’s not possible, because you are the Absolute.

You true state was there before the body and consciousness arose, is there now and will be after the body and consciousness go.

Even when the consciousness goes you prevail – you always are – as the Absolute.

It is the consciousness that gets liberated – there is no entity.

No-knowing is highest in the hierarchy of spirituality; the Absolute transcends both knowing and no-knowing.

*****

From “Consciousness and the Absolute” 

Everything is beingness, but I, the Absolute, am not that.

The body-form is merely an opportunity to experience time.

I am the principle which survives all the creations, all the dissolutions.

Attain that state which is and was prior to the body.

When beingness forgets itself, that state is Parabrahman.

How did I come about? That is the question which needs investigation.

It is only the consciousness that is going to disappear, the Absolute is always there.

The uniform (‘I amness’ known through the body) is available to you, by all means use it but understand that you are not the uniform.

Once you discard this ‘I amness’ uniform, what remains is the Parabrahman.

Feeling that I am present depends on having a body; I am neither the body nor the conscious presence.

You should not get involved in what has appeared.

Consciousness alone feels the expanse of consciousness, but I, the Absolute, am not that
The Absolute always remains.

There is only one thing to be understood, and that is that you are the formless, timeless unborn.

Nobody is dying, because nobody was born.

I was possessed by the five-elemental ghost, but having stabilized in the Parabrahman, I know what it is and I am out of it.

Prior to your birth and receiving the message ‘I am’ how did you function, what were you?

When the body and mind drop off, nothing happens, only I, the Absolute, prevail always.

Be what you were prior to the label or title, be that.

Give up all that you have read and just be. Even the experience that you are is not your true nature.

Whatever you are prior to the appearance of ‘I am’, that is your true nature.

It is sufficient to understand, without the slightest doubt, with great conviction, that there is a state prior to the arising of consciousness.

Waking, sleeping and the sense of presence are all temporary states that have come upon me, I am not the states.

Whatever is temporary and time-bound cannot be the truth.

All this play is going on in the flash of your consciousness and it will come to an end.

When you finally know that there is no individual there will be no questions to ask.

What is, is the Absolute unmanifested. What appears, as if in a dream, is the manifested.

If you do not take delivery as an individual but as total functioning, then you are free of whatever is happening.

The Ultimate is prior to any experience. ‘I amness’ is the beginning of experience.

You are the Absolute, you swallow the entire universe.

When nothing is, you still are.

I am the total functioning every moment, millions of years ago or now.

The Ultimate principle which knows this beingness cannot be named at all.

When one subsides in one’s true identity, nothing matters, because nothing is.

You are not that ‘I am’. You are, as the Absolute, prior to this ‘I am’.

Without the feeling of ‘I am’, still you are.

When your individuality is dissolved you will not see individuals anywhere, it is just a functioning in consciousness.

A sound is emanating out of the body, just words, it is not somebody talking, just happening, not doing.

Consciousness has not happened at all. When it tries to understand itself it gets stabilized in due course in the Absolute.

Stabilize in the knowledge “I Am” and in the process, transcend it.

We are in such a time of confusion, with fear and hatred rising to the surface and being demonstrated in such shocking and sad ways. And it can be easy to just shake our heads and perhaps shut down and pretend that it’s not happening or just move on to the next sensational, distracting thing that might appear on our Facebook or Twitter feed.

I’m Canadian and throughout my life I have witnessed us being able to fall into complacency quite easily, thinking “everything’s ok here, we’ve got it figured out”. But let us remember that a young, Trump-supporting Canadian man killed six people who were in prayer at a mosque in Quebec City (directly after the election- somehow the timing matched up too eerily to ignore), and that bigoted, racist, xenophobic, homophobic, mysoginist attitudes are alive and kicking here, whether we want to admit it or not.

“Your own Self-Realization is the greatest service you can render the world.” – Ramana Maharshi

Dear Friends,

I would love to personally invite you to join me and my dear friend and truly inspiring teacher and writer, Erica Taxin Bleznak, as we go on a 5 day journey of discovery during our Self Inquiry Through Mantra and Movement Retreat at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Western Massachusetts, April 23-28.

If something tells you that there is much more to your Being than your thoughts, identities, feelings, beliefs etc., you will be in good company here.

These 5 days will be spent exploring those corners of ourselves that are ready to be brought into the light so that our true nature can shine. We will do this through exquisitely guided yoga asana that is tailored to your level of experience; the joy and depth of mantra singing and recitation; supported self-inquiry exercises done in groups and dyads; meditation practices that encourage us to rest back in the conscious awareness that holds us always; fun and connection with like-hearted fellow participants and facilitators. This is all set at the gorgeous Kripalu Retreat Center where incredible views, lovely accommodations, delicious organic food, workshops, body work and therapies and more help to nurture you on this journey.

Have you spent enough of your life trying to “fit in”, to do the “right thing”? Have you come to a point where you are ready to “return home” to who you really are?

Sometimes coming together with others who are on the same path is exactly what we need to gather the courage and inspiration to keep expanding and deepening.

Join us. We would love to have you.

Love,
Brenda

April 23-28, 2017
Self Inquiry Through Mantra and Movement

We hope you can join us for this deeply transformative and heart opening experience!

Join us for a program that includes mantra, kirtan, asana, vinyasa flow, pranayama, and meditation. Create space for the Truth to arise as you develop
Self-inquiry and reflection skills
A personal mantra practice
Insight into blockages and holding patterns in the body
Self-awareness and connection with others, to support your ongoing practice of internal reflection and self-discovery.
Erica Taxin Bleznak and Brenda McMorrow utilize journaling as well as dyads and experiential exercises in this potent self-inquiry retreat.

“If you want to know your true nature, you must have yourself in mind all the time, until the secret of your being stands revealed.”
– Nisargadatta Maharaj

Mentoring Sessions with Brenda

Brenda is very pleased to offer individual sessions. Receive support and guidance around what is relevant in your life right now, eg. kirtan leading, your own personal mantra practice, creative expression, songwriting and guidance for your own spiritual journey.

Brenda can meet with you by telephone or by Skype

• Investment: $150 USD

Please send an email to info@brendamcmorrow.com to arrange your meeting with Brenda!

photo by Jeremiah Hill

In the month leading up to one of my favourite events of the year -Bhakti Heart Fire – Kirtan Academy – I posted a video of one of the mantras, chants, devotional songs contained in our Heart Fire Manual!
If you would like to join us for this transformative 5 1/2 day immersion into everything Bhakti and Kirtan, please go to: http://devatree.com/calendar/event/317/

Bhajamana Ma Ma Ma
Ananda Mayi Ma Ma,Ananda Rupa Ma Ma

Oh Mind, chant devotion to the Mother.
Divine Mother full of bliss.
Divine Mother, whose form is bliss.

Sri Ma
Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu Shakti Rupena Samstitha Namastasyei Namastasyei Namastasyei Namoh Namah

Ya Devi Sarvabhuteshu Shanti Rupena Samstitha Namastasyei Namastasyei Namastasyei Namoh Namah Namastasyei Namastasyei Namoh Namah

Om Mata Saraswatiyei Om Mata Jagatambe

Sri Ma Jai Ma Jai Jai Ma Sri Ma Jai Ma Jai Jai Ma

“To that Goddess who is established in all beings in the form of the mother, in the form of power (Shakti), in the form of peace (Shanti), salutations to Her again and again”
(From the Devi Mahatmyam)

A song of reverence to the Great Mother, naming Saraswati (Goddess of arts, music, knowledge and wisdom) and Jagatambe (Mother of the Universe, another name for Durga)

“Om Dum Durgayei Namaha”
“Om and Salutations to that feminine energy which protects from all manner of negative influences.”

Durga Mantra explanation on syllables:
* Om – The sound of the universe; The essence of everything; The root of Hinduism itself; Usually begins and ends all Hindu prayers.
* Dum – The seed mantra (sound) of Mata Ji Durga.
* Durgayei – The complete, formal Sanskrit pronunciation of Maa Durga’s name.
* Namaha – In Your essence, we bow to You; In Your presence, only You are recognized.
Chanting Om Dum Durgayei Namaha benefits:
The Goddess is said to have the combined powers of Lakshmi, Saraswati and Kali. This mantra is often used for protection against internal or external negative forces. Also, chanting Durga mantra removes the effect of all types of black magic, unfavorable effect of negative planets, bad luck or health problems.

Kali Durge Namo Namah
Jai Jai Jai Mata Kali
Jai Jai Jai Mata Durgayae
Om Dum Durgayae Namaha
Om Dum Durgayae Namaha

A chant to Kali and Duga, both representations of the Divine Mother.
“To She who liberates the mind from all illusion”
“Victory to Mother Kali! Victory to Mother Durga!”
Om Dum Durgayae Namaha (Mantra of Protection) Another one of the transliterations is: “Salutations to She who is beautiful to the seekers of Truth and terrible in appearance to those who would injure devotees of Truth”

GAYATRI MANTRA

Om Bhur Bhuvaha Svaha Tat Savitur Varenyam Bhargo Devasya Dimahi Diyo Yonah Prachodayat

The Mother of the Vedas

“Salutations to that sacred sound present in the earth, the heavens, and that which is beyond. May the glorious splendor of that Divine life illuminate our meditation”

In his book Sadhana, Sri Swami Shivananda wrote:

“Of all the mantras, the supreme and the most potent power of powers is the great, glorious Gayatri Mantra. It is the support of every seeker after Truth who believes in its efficacy, power and glory, be he of any caste, creed, clime or sect. It is only one’s faith and purity of heart that really count. Indeed, Gayatri is an impregnable spiritual armor, a veritable fortress, that guards and protects its votary, that transforms him into the divine, and blesses him with the brilliant light of the highest spiritual illumination.
… It is universally applicable, for it is nothing but an earnest prayer for Light, addressed to the Supreme Almighty Spirit.
… This single mantra, repeated sincerely and with clear conscience, brings the supreme good.”

ANANDAMAYI (mantra by Sri Aurobindo, adapted by B. McMorrow)

Om Anandamayi Chaitanyamayi Satyamayi Parameshwari

“OM, O supreme Goddess who art all bliss, consciousness and truth of being” Ananda: Bliss. Chaitanya: Consciousness. Satya: Truth

LOKA SAMASTA SUKINO BHAWANTU

“May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.”

From Sharon Gannon:

Lokah: location, realm, all universes existing now

Samasta: all beings sharing that same location
Sukhino: centered in happiness and joy, free from suffering

Bhav: the divine mood or state of unified existence

antu: may it be so, it must be so (antu used as an ending here transforms this mantra into a powerful pledge)

OM GAM GANAPATAYE NAMAHA
“I offer my love and devotion to Sri Ganesha; please grant me success in my noble endeavor”

Asato Ma Sat Gamaya
Tomaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya
Mrityurmamritam Gamaya
“Lead me from ignorance to understanding as from obscurity to light. Lead me from the non-being to true being, from darkness to light, from death to immortality. Om Peace, Peace, Peace”

Om Krim Kali Kayei Namaha
“Om and Salutations to the Primordial feminine energy”

Om Eim Saraswatiyei Namaha
Om and Salutations to the feminine Saraswati Principle. (Mantra for success in Education, Music and Artistic endeavors)

Maha Mrityunjaya
OM. Tryambakam yajamahe
Sugandhim pushti-vardhanam
Urvarukamiva bandhanan
Mrityor mukshiya mamritat
“The Maha Mrityunjaya mantra restores health and happiness and brings calmness in the face of death. When courage or determination are blocked, it rises up to overcome obstacles. It awakens a healing force that reaches deep into the body and mind.
Just as a plant patiently gathers nutrients from the soil, so healing and nourishing forces enter the human body through foods, medicines, supportive emotions, and encouraging thoughts. The Maha Mrityunjaya mantra attracts these forces and creates an inner environment to enhance their effectiveness. Thus the mantra can be used whenever any restorative process is undertaken.” From Yoga International

OM TARE TUTARE TURE SWAHA

An invocation to Tara, the female counterpart of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion. The Tara is pictured many – armed, symbolizing the powers and attributes she has cultivated to save all sentient beings.

OM SHRIM MAHA LAKSHMIYEI SWAHA
JAI JAI MA JAI MA JAI MA JAI MA JAI MA

“OM AND SALUTATIONS TO SHE WHO MANIFESTS EVERY KIND OF ABUNDANCE – PRAISES TO THE DIVINE FEMININE. VICTORY TO THE DIVINE FEMININE!”

SRI RAM JAI RAM JAI JAI RAMA
SITA RAM SITA RAM JAI JAI SITA RAM
RAMA RAMA SITA RAMA RAMA RAMA SITA RAMA

“Glory to Sita and Ram” A song to Lord Rama and his beloved Sita
Jai or Jay = Glory to, Victory to
Sri = a term of reverence at the beginning of a name
“May the Divine as Light and virtue that dwells in my heart be victorious over all (internal and external) obstacles and difficulty”

OM Shri Hanumate Namaha:

I bow to Hanuman for protection from dark forces & for healing energy. Hanuman is the symbol of devotion & selfless action.
“I bow to the son of the wind-god, the beloved devotee of Sri Rama, the chief of the monkeys, the repository of all virtues, the foremost among the wise, a fire to consume the forest of the demon race, possessing a body shining as a mountain of gold and a home of immeasurable strength.” ~ Ramayana (Tulsi Das)

AHAM PREMA
“I am Divine Love”

Durga Mantra:
OM Eim Hrim Klim Chamundayei Vicche Namaha

“OM and Salutations to She who is Radiant with power and wisdom”

MAHA MANTRA
HARE KRISHNA HARE KRISHNA KRISHNA KRISHNA HARE HARE
HARE RAMA HARE RAMA RAMA RAMA HARE HARE

The GREAT manta
“A spiritual call to the Divine”
“‘Hare’ is the power or energy of Krishna (Radha/Shakti)”

GANESHAYA NAMOH NAMAH
JAYA JAYA VINAYAKA
SRI SRI JAI SRI
JAI SRI GANAPATI

OM GUNG GANAPATAYEI NAMAHA

“Salutations to the remover of obstacles. This sound formula assists us in the removal of obstacles. In order for that to happen there is no need to know the exact nature of the hindrances. Just the awareness and recognition that there are obstacles and then chanting this mantra with the intention for resolve is enough. This mantra unifies us within.
When there is oneness there are no obstacles. This mantra is also used for the beginning of any endeavor. Whenever we start anything and we can bless the project with the energy of Ganesh through this mantra”

Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru devo Maheshwara, Guru sakshat, param Brahma, tasmai shri guravay namah
“Our creation is that guru (Brahma-the force of creation); the duration of our lives is that guru (Vishnu-the force of preservation); our trials, tribulations, illnesses, calamities and the death of the body is that guru (devo Maheshwara-the force of destruction or transformation). There is a guru nearby (Guru Sakshat) and a guru that is beyond the beyond (param Brahma). I make my offering (tasmai) to the beautiful (shri) remover of my darkness, my ignorance; (Guru) it is to you I bow and lay down my life (namah).” Thank you Jivamukti Yoga for this explanation.

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya
“Salutations to the Indweller who is omnipresent, omnipotent, immortal and divine.
This mantra is called the Great Liberation Twelve-Syllable Mantra.
It frees our minds and spirits from negative patterns in this life.
Vasudeva is the individual aspect of God that dwells inside of us.”

OM MANI PADME HUM (Buddhist Mantra)

“The jewel is in the lotus” or “Praise to the jewel in the lotus”

“The six syllables, om mani padme hum, mean that in dependence on the practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech and mind of a Buddha.”

OM SHANTI
Om Peace

SHANTI MANTRA

OM Sahana Vavatu
Sahanau Bhunaktu
Saha Viryam Karavavahai
Tejasvi Navaditamastu
Ma Vidvishavahai
OM Shanti Shanti Shantihi

OM, may we all be protected. May we all be nourished. May we work together with great energy. May our studies be enlightening. Let us not give rise to enmity. OM, peace (within), peace (with each other), peace (universal).

Aum gum shreem maha lakshmi yei namaha
“Aum means pure force. Gum means removal of obstacles. Shreem is the sound of abundance. Maha symbolizes the increase of energy. Lakshmi yei represents purpose. And Namaha represents completion.”

Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Om Namah Shivaya Shivaya Namah Om
“I bow to Shiva.” Shiva is the supreme reality, the inner Self. It is the name given to consciousness that dwells in all. Shiva is the name of your true identity- your self.”

OM SHRI GANESHAYA NAMAHA
A chant to Ganesh, the remover of obstacles!

Om Namah Shivaya Gurave

Saccidananda Murtaye

Nisprapancaya Shantaya

Niralambaya Tejase

“I offer myself to the Light, who is the True Teacher

within and without (the teacher of all teachers),

Who assumes the forms of

Reality, Consciousness and Bliss,

Who is never absent and is full of peace,

Independent in its existence,

It is the vital essence of illumination.”