Ommmmmmmm

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Let me just start out by setting the record straight. I'm not a hippy-dip. I don't wear clothes made from hemp, or burn incense or decorate with crystals. I do practice yoga, but only because it's offered for free during my lunch hour at work. As much as I like the nap-part at the end, I'm really there for the work out rather than any type of spiritual enlightenment.

However, I did want to share with you an interesting experience I had at yoga on Monday. We had a new instructor who was definitely drinking the kool-aide. Every time we went backwards, she said "Look to the past with an open heart." Which was kind of a cool saying, but also a bit outside my comfort zone when it's said to a room of women in spandex bending in unnatural ways.

At the end of the session, she asked us all to join her in saying the word "Om". Being the good student I am, I joined in. And the surprising thing? I got chills. It felt like there was a vibration in the room; an energy. I've gotten that feeling a few times before in a variety of settings - church, travelling, being outdoors on a gorgeous day.

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History of the word "Om" is a very interesting subject. I remember from my time in India - where Om symbols are everywhere, even painted on the outside of a home near our school- learning that some scholars believe a variety of cultures and religions have valued derivations of the word "Om" as holy words. Most notably, they argue that "Om" and "Amen" are linguistically related. Similar words have been identified in Greek, Egyptian and Islamic traditions. The theory is that the word and it's relatives has a power transcendent of religious, geographic and historical boundaries.

Honestly, as crunchy as it may be I love this idea. I'm all about there being something larger that unites and overshadows religious differences. So while I don't know that I'll be adding "Om" to my normal rotation of words, I like that saying it has reminded me of the interconnectedness of this world we call home.