Singing is for Everyone

A song that we sing regularly in our Mystery School meetups is called The Doxology. It means “a study in praise”. We sing it as a prayer before meals and it goes like this:

Praise God from whom all blessings flow

Praise him all creatures here below

Praise him above ye heavenly hosts

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

Amen

Whoever wrote this song understood the hermetic nature of our cosmos (“as above, so below”). There is a correspondence between the heavens and the earth and the blessings which flow freely between them. It is also trinitarian, praising the the gifts of the Father (creator/future), the Son (preserver/present), and the Holy Ghost (destroyer/past).

I have noticed that many people are afraid of singing or feel unable to sing for various reasons. This may be a result of our current times in which people are led to believe that only professionals are worthy of singing. Everyone has their Spotify, and their YouTube, and all the ways we listen to professionals making music, but not so many people simply engage in music for the pure joy of it without feeling they need to master it in some way.

However in past ages (even when I was growing up), people weren’t so concerned about this. Singing in particular was something that people just did without much fuss or concern. In earlier times I have a feeling that people simply sang all the time as a natural accompaniment to various activities as they went about their day. It wasn’t done to impress anyone, but simply as a way to express emotions, and absolutely as an expression of praise and joy. For me, going to a protestant church in which singing was a large part of each service, and everyone in the congregation, young and old, sang enthusiastically together it was just a natural part of life.

Sometimes, if you begin to sing in a halfhearted mood, you can sing yourself up the ladder. Singing will often make the heart rise. ~ Charles Spurgeon

So for anyone feeling stuck in this regard, I encourage you to not worry too much about it. Simply let your voice come out however it comes out and stay present in the moment as much as possible. And then if you also feel inclined to go deeper into learning about singing, that’s wonderful, but it’s not necessary to enjoy singing. The more you do it, the more comfortable you’ll become, and the better you’ll be at it! I think we are meant to sing as a natural expression, just as the birds do!

May your heart be like a singing bird,

Jean