EAST COAST CHANT
NECTAR FOR THE SOUL!
Kirtan - Performance ~ Participation ~ World Service ~ Personal and Social Healing
Divinely inspired voice, percussion, atmospheric sounds, singing bowls, guitar, and more
~ Chants ~
sing-a-long, call & response, originals &
from various cultures and traditions
~ Music ~
unexpected genres and styles
both improvised and composed
~ Spoken Word ~
poetry, commentary, invocation,
guided imagery, journeys
~ Healing Ritual ~
inspired intentions for personal and planetary
transformation using sound, light, and energy healing
~ Mystery ~
unplanned, transcendental soul experiences
~ Joyful Dance ~
[inner] children welcome!
Divinely inspired voice, percussion, atmospheric sounds, singing bowls, guitar, and more
~ Chants ~
sing-a-long, call & response, originals &
from various cultures and traditions
~ Music ~
unexpected genres and styles
both improvised and composed
~ Spoken Word ~
poetry, commentary, invocation,
guided imagery, journeys
~ Healing Ritual ~
inspired intentions for personal and planetary
transformation using sound, light, and energy healing
~ Mystery ~
unplanned, transcendental soul experiences
~ Joyful Dance ~
[inner] children welcome!
NOTE: East Coast Chant events were suspended in 2010.
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East Coast Chant is divinely-inspired contemporary kirtan. It's a tapestry of music, sound, chants, guided imagery and planetary service woven together with threads of Light by everyone present. It’s an uplifting, transforming, expressive and participatory experience for everyone. "Nectar for the Soul!"
East Coast Chant builds on the powerful foundations of traditional Kirtan and devotional singing from India then adds other musical cultures and channeled mantras to create a contemporary experience that embodies both established and emerging spiritual, metaphysical and scientific knowledge, and sound healing practices for this new millennium. East Coast Chant offers tidbits of wisdom and opportunities for personal healing from the inside out. At the same time it's an opportunity for world service. As a group we remain awake and aware of our oneness in the Source of All There Is as we create a powerful energy field that we consciously use to send out waves of Divine Energy and Light to heal ourselves, our loved ones, and the planet. East Coast Chant invites you to have both an intimate time with your inner Divine and a unique experience with heart-kin where you can enjoy yourself and lose the world for awhile. |
Why the name East Coast Chant?
East Coast refers to the East Coast of the United States, though it could also represent the east coast of any continent. I chose ‘East Coast’ because I’ve lived in and around Boston Massachusetts my whole life so far, and this is where the concept was created. The Sun rises in the east and the ocean is a powerful force of nature and life, so East Coast conveys images of new life and beginnings, and forces that are powerful, encompassing, and life giving. In a musical context, East Coast also conveys a cool, contemporary sound that hopefully brings to mind the unplanned, Divinely inspired, improvisational nature of some of what happens. I chose the word Chant rather than Kirtan or Music or Sound, or the name of a specific musical genre, because what we sing isn't just one kind of music and the audience isn't just listening. People are invited to experience the unifying power and healing force of sacred sounds, syllables and intentions when sung, spoken or danced together in a group along with the focused healing ritual or guided meditation that's included for personal and planetary healing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
East Coast Chant Tonia Pinheiro, vocals & singing bowls, Mark Nathanson, guitar, percussion & Ukumbwa Sauti, midi-keyboard & percussion. ~~~~~~~~~~ |
Kirtan is a form of Bhakti Yoga using chants and songs to become one with the Divine. Bhakti Yoga is the path of devotion and surrender to God, where one opens the heart until one merges with the Divine. Singer and Sound Healer Tonia Pinheiro leads Kirtan at the Center at Westwoods. Kirtan is sung in call-and-response or choral style. Join Tonia in singing mantras and devotional songs from India and other cultures and traditions. She will also share original chants she has created and offer Higher Self attunements in the Oneness Chair.
MORE ABOUT BHAKTI YOGA AND KIRTAN
“In Bhakti Yoga, the yoga and path of devotion and surrender to God, each deity in the Hindu pantheon is seen as a different aspect or face of the Divine Beloved. The meaning of "yoga" is "union," and the goal of any yogic practice is to recognize our true Divine Nature. Devotional practices are used to bring one closer and closer to our Divine Nature, until devotee and Beloved become one.
"Kirtan is the music of the heart, and it is sung freely from the heart. Although kirtan involves singing or chanting, it is not necessary to have any musical talent or background, or even a good singing voice. The words to kirtan songs are often repetitions of different names of the deities, usually in the Sanskrit language, or in a language derived from Sanskrit. The focus on the deities, and the repetition of their names releases the mind from its usual associative patterns, which keep us caught in the cycles of pleasure and pain that come with the ups and downs of everyday life. The vibrations of the Sanskrit sounds expand our hearts and minds beyond their normal limitations, into the depths of Spirit and the recognition that we are never away from the Beloved.” – Uma Reed
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“In Bhakti Yoga, the yoga and path of devotion and surrender to God, each deity in the Hindu pantheon is seen as a different aspect or face of the Divine Beloved. The meaning of "yoga" is "union," and the goal of any yogic practice is to recognize our true Divine Nature. Devotional practices are used to bring one closer and closer to our Divine Nature, until devotee and Beloved become one.
"Kirtan is the music of the heart, and it is sung freely from the heart. Although kirtan involves singing or chanting, it is not necessary to have any musical talent or background, or even a good singing voice. The words to kirtan songs are often repetitions of different names of the deities, usually in the Sanskrit language, or in a language derived from Sanskrit. The focus on the deities, and the repetition of their names releases the mind from its usual associative patterns, which keep us caught in the cycles of pleasure and pain that come with the ups and downs of everyday life. The vibrations of the Sanskrit sounds expand our hearts and minds beyond their normal limitations, into the depths of Spirit and the recognition that we are never away from the Beloved.” – Uma Reed
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You Are The Altar/Temple of Silence (8:11): Excerpt from a live meditation by Tonia (c) 2010. In the Temple of Silence by Paramahansa Yogananda with additional lyrics by Tonia. Music by Ukumbwa Sauti and Mark Nathanson.
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