That's Good!
Phoenix Rising's New Mantra for a New Century

By Philip Zittell and Lynn Hazeltine

The ancient Chinese tale of "That's Good" is one of Yuan Miao's favorite stories. First let's tell the tale, then we'll return to Yuan Miao.

There once was a king who had a wise and loyal advisor who had the annoying habit of responding to every occurrence in life, no matter what it was, by simply saying, "That's good!" One day, the King lost a finger in a hunting accident, and when he returned to the palace, his advisor said, "That's good!" The enraged king fired him and had him removed from the palace. On his way out the door the advisor said, "That's good!" Several months later the king was captured by a group of barbarian tribesmen who planned to use him in a sacrificial ceremony. While preparing the king for sacrifice, the tribe's shaman discovered that the king's finger was missing, and declared him "imperfect" and unfit to be sacrificed. The tribesmen let the king go. Once safely back in the palace, he ordered that his former advisor be found and reinstated to his former position. "You were right," the king said, "It was good that I lost my finger, for it saved my life today. But why did you say it was good when I fired you from your job?" The advisor answered. "Your Highness, I cannot see the future, but I have learned to trust that some good always comes from each event. Today I see what that was for me. For as you know, I am loyal to you, and had you not fired me, I would have remained with you when you were captured by the tribesmen. And because I have all my fingers and toes, I would have been next in line to be sacrificed. So, that's good!"

Doesn't this tale hit a note for our times? Most of us are aware that our world is in a precarious balance - a balance that is threatened daily by on-going war, poverty, famine and both natural and man-made disasters. Even our seemingly ever-powerful economy is shaky and unstable. But being aware of the news does not bring us great comfort or insight. People are now faced with an unprecedented challenge: how can we look beyond these dreadful disasters to find a place of equilibrium? How can we be receptive to ageless sources of guidance and higher intelligence? And how can we come to understand more deeply and then truly say, in the face of all this adversity, "That's good!"?

Phoenix Rising

The Phoenix legends of Western and Eastern cultures both tell of a great bird that consumes itself in flames and is reborn in each millennium. The great Garuda bird, spiritual progenitor of Tibetan culture, is what we westerners generally refer to as the phoenix. The phoenix is a transformative energy which, rising from out of the ashes, brings with it a new higher level order, harmony and balance.

The legend holds a hidden message - that we are each bearers of this joyful and transformative rising phoenix energy held deep inside - and in times like this it can be awakened. The cultivation of this new energy within each of us can counterbalance the  "turbulent dragon energy" we are experiencing now in the world, and transform it into a "peaceful dragon energy" bringing with it a new higher awareness and a deeper connection to our own higher nature.

A powerful way to call the phoenix energy to life is through sound, specifically ancient mantras. Mantras carry a sacred vibration that unites us with the Universe in order to receive healing energy, courage, freedom, wisdom and blessings. No matter what your religious background, you can use the vibration of mantra to connect with your own personal Divine guidance.

The Phoenix Rising Experience* features the mystical mantric voice of Yuan Miao. Miao is not a professionally trained singer and she does not sing songs. In her "concerts" she sings mantras spontaneously – in front of hundreds of people – without knowing what words will come out of her mouth. The sounds that emerge are, for the most part, of no known language, yet they speak a universal language. The results have been called inspiring, empowering, captivating, powerful, and ecstatic. Many people report transformative and healing experiences from hearing Miao's mantric singing.

These ancient mantras are a universal vibration and do not belong to anyone or any one religion. Anyone who comes to one of Miao's concerts, regardless of their religious background, can use the vibration of the mantras to connect with their own inner guidance. Says Miao: "If they believe in Jesus, they will feel closer to Jesus. If they believe in Mother Mary, they will feel closer to Mother Mary. If they are Buddhists, they will feel closer to the Buddha".

In 2008, the performances gained impetus through the participation of Lama Norbu, a worthy lineage-bearer from Tibet, turned yogi. Lama Norbu's energizing presence and classical harmonic overtone chanting lends a rich synergistic dimension to the experience.

Collaboration

The collaboration between Yuan Miao and Lama Norbu is a unique combination of three lineages:

Miao is the product of two lineages - her great grandfather was a Nyingma Tibetan Rinpoche, and her grandfather was a Zen Master. Unbeknownst to her as a child, both of these lineages were transmitted to her through her grandmother's mantric singing. Through eons of recitations with pure motivation and devotion, mantric songs develop extensive healing power. "My grandmother was a great master. When I was very young, she was singing all the time. In this way, she planted the dharma in my heart."

Lama Norbu is a geshe (equivalent to a PhD) lama of the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism. Raised in a matriarchal society near Lugu Lake in Tibet, Lama Norbu made the arduous journey over the Himalayas from Tibet to India when he was only twelve years old to reunite with his guru at the Sera Monastery, where he studied and practiced for twenty years. Since meeting Yuan Miao in the U.S., Lama Norbu's personal transformation - shedding the formal robes of a Tibetan Buddhist monk to become the smiling, high-flying "Love Sutra Lama" he is today, has been his own phoenix-like rebirth.

The Phoenix Rising Experience is perhaps the first time in the history where a classically trained Gelugpa geshe lama and a female Nyingma yogini have appeared together on stage. Together, they express the love, compassion and wisdom from both their lineages through the power of mantra, to help release our inner phoenix from the ashes of ignorance, sadness, fear and doubt, to rise again and be reborn.

The Healing Power of Music

The very essence of life is vibration. By means of graceful, harmonious melodies and rhythms, music can directly enter a person's heart; it can attune one's spirit and change one's life.

Modern scientists have discovered that music can produce curative results because the human body is a system composed of various regular rhythmic vibrations: electrical fluctuations in the cerebrum, pulses of the heart, contractions of the lungs, peristalsis of the stomach and intestine, and the pulsations of the autonomic nervous system. Vibrational frequency consistent with a musical rhythm will cause bodily resonance, giving rise to pleasure and, many believe, the possibility of healing.

As early as 2,700 years ago, the ancient Chinese discovered the therapeutic benefits of music to enhance mind-body health. Music can vibrate key epidermal points and act upon the body's over 360 acupressure points. Its vibrations gradually work their way inward until they exert positive effects on internal organs.

The Chinese Taoists and Tibetans use a variety of instruments to tune body feng-shui. Instruments that are made of different materials have differing healing powers. The musical vibrations that are created through the five material elements - fire, metal, earth, water and wood - can become healing medicines.

For example, "Wood sounds" from a bamboo flute connect with the liver and benefit the gallbladder as the sound waves stimulate their meridians. In the same way, "Fire sounds" reverberate through string instruments to benefit the heart, and "Water Sounds" pound through drums to stimulate the kidneys. The principles of music therapy are consistent with traditional Chinese medicine.

The human body is an excellent resonator. Singing can be much more than music - through resonance it also serves as an optimal mode of massage for the human body.

The energy of mantric singing comes from a state beyond the spatio-temporal framework. It is a state which lifts our spirits to resonate in unison with heaven and earth. Thus, when mantric singing is being created and performed, we can sense that something timeless is being drawn down into the present moment. We open naturally to this wisdom from those who came before us, and whose vibration still resonates with us, reaping the benefits of this Eastern sound therapy.

It is not surprising that the healing potential of Yuan Miao's mantric singing has gained the attention of Steven Halpern. This award-winning Bay Area composer, recording artist and producer is generally acknowledged to have pioneered the awareness of Healing Music in the West. He is among the first to scientifically validate the healing effects of music with his landmark research exploring the connections between sound, consciousness and healing. Steven says, "The appropriate use of sound and music can assist the body to heal itself. We can work with the application of specific frequencies to assist different parts of the body to become more aligned with their natural pattern of perfection." Steven will be joining this September's Phoenix Rising Experience, appearing as a special guest performer in both Marin and Berkeley.

"That's good!"

Though we can't predict the future, we can learn to trust that there is a bigger picture – why not take the advice of the king's advisor? – that some good always comes from every event, no matter how bad it may seem, if we can see deeply enough. For, like the mythical Phoenix, each one of us is capable of rising above the pain of our own suffering to experience a transcendental reality of pure joy, and "That's good!"

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