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TO OM OR NOT TO OM by Michelle Thielen, Founder of YogaFaith
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
John 1:1, KJV
From the beginning, and when I say, “beginning,” I am referencing the very beginning. The first scriptures found in the Bible describe the beauty and power of spoken words. These creative and sacred words hovered over unoccupied atmospheres bringing life out of absolute nothingness. A holy sound, a holy utterance spoke into emptiness forming life, earth, day, night, creatures and man. These spoken words and holy utterances brought forth existence. From dark to light, emptiness to fullness, creation was birthed from a holy sound.
For when He spoke, the world began! It appeared at His command.
Psalm 33:9, NLT
Instead of me writing it for you, I extend an invitation to open your Bible. Not your app, but the real book, the real thing. Feel the weightiness of God’s written word, the power, the width, height, length and depth of His real Words. Now, I invite you to turn your attention to Genesis 1. Read Genesis 1:1-31. Highlight or circle the phrase, “God said” and “God called.” You should find these phrases approximately 15 times. You can also take note of the phrases, “He created” and “He made,” but let’s focus on the ‘speaking’ and ‘calling forth.’
Fifteen times God ‘speaks’ and ‘calls’ Earth into existence! And this is only the first chapter of the entire Bible! Because the Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament was written in Greek, we will explore the original word and intent from the beginning.
As written in Genesis 1, the Hebrew word for ‘speak, ’spoke’ and ‘called’ are all the same Hebrew word: לַהֲגוֹת. A verb translated: dabar (daw-bar’), meaning; pronounce, articulate, meditate, vocalize, speak, or utter [1].
As God “dabarred,” as He pronounced, as He spoke, as He uttered, and as He meditated, He created. The question that may come to your mind is, “Which one actually took place? Did He speak? Meditate? Vocalize or utter?” I would answer you with a resounding, “Yes!” The original word is defined as each verb. I believe He used them all to create everything seen and unseen.
His Word spoken, not returning any void.
His Word sent forth, His Holy Spirit moved, breathed and shifted atmospheres.
We are going to revisit the word utter towards the end, but first, let’s talk more about the Creator of all.
THE ‘OM’S’ OF THE BIBLE
OMNI
Let’s begin at the very root shall we? Our root word is Omni. When you study a dead language, opportunities to use it are few and far between, so I’m excited to revisit my four years of Latin with you. In Latin, the root word “Omni” means; all. What can we add to all? All is all. Like God and His Word, it’s ‘all the all’s’, it’s everything in its totality. We cannot add to it, we cannot deduct from it, it’s finished, it’s whole, complete and includes everything-all of it.
I am the Lord; there is no other God.
Isaiah 45:5
God is all things at all times. He says, “I am that I am!” in Exodus 3:13.
The first few “om’s” that we are going to explore are not written in the Bible. They are the words that define the attributes of God.
OMNIPRESENT
Throughout scripture we read that we cannot get away or hide from the presence of God. God is everywhere, meaning He is Omnipresent.
Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me.Psalm 139:7-10, NASB
To be everywhere at all times is the Omnipresence of God. Unlike Christ, satan is unable to be everywhere at all times (see Job 1:7, 1 Peter 5:8).
Further study of God’s Omnipresence: Jeremiah 23:23-24, Proverbs 15:3, 1 Kings 8:27, Acts 17:24, Colossians 1:17, Matthew 18:20, Isaiah 57:15, Hebrews 4:12, Psalm 32:8, 113:4-6, 139:3-5 and 7-10, Isaiah 66:1, Acts 17:27, Matthew 6:6, and Job 34:21
OMNISCIENT
God is all-knowing or Omniscience. God’s knowledge is total. You and I cannot surprise God. He knows the beginning from the end, the end from the beginning and everything in between. God knows the minuscule details of your life (Luke 12:7) as well as the grand design (Jer. 29:11). He knows all that there is to know and all that can be known.
Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?
Isaiah 66:1-2
God is all knowing, therefore Omniscience. Unlike Christ, satan is not all knowing (Matthew 4:1-11).
Further study of God’s Omniscience: Isaiah 40:13-14, 46:9-10, Psalm 33:13-15, 1391:1-4, 15-16, 147:4-5, Job 21:22, 37:16, Romans 11:33, Hebrews 4:13, Luke 12:7, 1 John 3:20, and Matthew 10:29-30.
OMNIPOTENT
God’s power of manifesting creation is defined as Omnipotence, meaning: all-powerful. Nothing or nobody else holds more power than our God, the Creator of all things. To list just a few wonder-working power stories, realize that numerous scripture references could be listed beside each miracle. I’d love nothing more than for you to explore His Word to read more on God’s omnipotent attributes.
Our all-powerful God parted the Red Sea (Ex. 14:21), caused water to come out of a rock (Ex.17:6), He heals blind eyes (Acts 3:16), cures diseases (Ex.15:26), He speaks and moves mountains (Matt. 17:20), casts out demons (Acts 19:12), multiplies food and provision (Luke 9:16), turns water into wine (John 4:46), and He raises Lazarus from the dead (John 11:43).
God holds supreme power.
Even from eternity I am He, and there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?”Isaiah 43:13
God is all powerful, He is Omnipotent, satan is not all powerful. You can read about the enemy’s limitations throughout Job and how satan had to ask God’s permission to attack Job. Ephesians 6:10 commands us to armor up in defense of the enemy’s attacks, testifying that we have power over satan to protect ourselves against his fiery arrows! Though his deepest desire is to be all powerful like Christ, he never will be. You and I hold more power than satan through Christ.
For further study on Omnipotence: Genesis 18:14, Deuteronomy 33:27, Daniel 4:35, Job 42:1-2, Jeremiah 32:27, Isaiah 14:27, 26:4-5, Matthew 19:26, Luke 1:3, Acts 26:8, Ephesians 1:19, and Revelation 19:6.
OMNIBENEVOLENCE
From our Latin word Omni meaning; all, bene-meaning; good and volens meaning; willing, God is always all good. Psalms 138:8 says, “God is perfecting everything that concerns you.”
I often say, “It’s all God and it’s all good!” Whether our circumstances feel good or not, James 1:2 reminds us that in every circumstance, “It’s all good.”
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may
be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4
For God so Loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him,
shall not perish but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16, NASBGod is love.
1 John 4:8
God is love. We could (I hope you do) spend a lifetime exploring God’s love. It’s vast, deep, high and wide. We cannot fathom it, it makes zero sense. God’s Omnibenevolence provides us with daily love, protection, mercy and His great grace. Through His Omnibenevolence is the abundant life, the wide-open spaces that He promises us. You can live in the jet stream of His grace each and every day!
For further study on Omnibenevolence: Deuteronomy 7:9, Psalm 36:7, 86:5, 86:15, 136:26, Jeremiah 31:3, John 15:12-13, Romans 5:5-8, Acts 17:25, 1 John 3:1, 4:18, Zephaniah 3:17, Galatians 2:20, and Ephesians 2:4-5.
OMEGA
In Revelation 22:13, AMP, God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End [the Eternal One]. The Message Version reads: “I’m A to Z, the First and the Final, Beginning and Conclusion.”
The first and the final, don’t you love that? Nothing before and nothing after. With God there is no “pre” or “post.”
He is Alpha and He is Omega, the First and Final.
Omega defined by Strong’s #5598 refers to God’s infinite and limitless characteristics. Ō or Ω, (long ō, originally formed by pronouncing two short o’s/omikrons together, the final (24th) letter of the Greek alphabet; (figuratively) God’s infinity (endlessness), in contrast to alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet which represents the Lord as the unoriginated originator of all life and all that is eternal.
In the New Testament, #5598, Ōmega, is always used to glorify Christ (Rev 1:8, 21;6, 22:13), referring to His absolute limitlessness to meet all the needs of finite (limited) people.
Alpha and Omega means: to include everything.
SHALOM
Shalom is the Hebrew word: שָׁלוֹם defined as; peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility. It can be used idiomatically to mean both hello and goodbye. Hello and goodbye-another beginning and end. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to greet one another with Shalom? It’s a beautiful, all-encompassing word meaning wholeness, or, “May the peace of God be with you,” very similar to “Om Shanti,” which we explore below.
Shalom by itself is a very common abbreviation, and it is used in Modern Israeli Hebrew as a greeting, to which the common reply is, Shalom, Shalom. It is also used as a farewell. Its frame of reference throughout Jewish literature is bound up with the notion of shelemut, perfection. In this way it is similar to the Hawaiian aloha, the English good evening and the Indian namaste. Also, in Israel, “bye” (English) and “yallah bye” (a mixture of Arabic and English) is popular. Shalom is also used by Jewish people around the world, and even by many non-Jewish people [2].
As a Christian, or Christ-follower, these “Om words” set us far apart from others who serve any other God. Our God is the only God who is still alive! Our God is the only God who is: all-knowing-Omniscience, all-present-Omnipresent, all-loving-Omnibenevolence. He created existence, defining Him as all-powerful! He isn’t subject to physical limitations or atmospheres. Omnipotent means that He has the highest, the most supreme power over all creation. His power is infinite, or limitless as we also observed with Omega; God’s infinite and limitless characteristics. He is love, and He is Shalom.
If you’re having a tough time wrapping your mind around this, don’t worry, you are in the company of every other human being. We are limited by our finite brains. Scripture tells us the Kingdom of God holds numerous mysteries, He reveals some and others we will only understand when we stand in His presence in glory.
Do you think you can explain the mystery of God? Do you think you can diagram God Almighty?
God is far higher than you can imagine, far deeper than you can comprehend,
Stretching farther than earth’s horizons, far wider than the endless ocean. Job 11:7-10, MSG
UTTERANCES
Let’s revisit the spoken word or dabar and Qal from Genesis: as God ‘spoke’ and ‘called’ things into motion. Both dabar and Qal are defined as utter or utterance. An utterance in scripture means: The expression of a thought (3056 lógos, from 3004 /légō), speaking to a conclusion, preeminently used of Christ (John 1:1), expressing the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit.
“Speaking to a conclusion” means that it hasn’t happened yet. Scripture tells us speak (utter), pray and/or praise as if it’s already happened (Romans 4:17). Look at the last definition. “Expressing the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit” ([3] Notes for scripture study on speaking things into existence).
If you have ever been to the Secret Place (Psalm 91:1), you know it’s the most beautiful and sacred place. I believe it is what Patanjali (Author of Yoga Sutras, thought to have lived approximately 2nd century BCE) was attempting to describe in his eighth limb, known as ecstasy. I’m eternally grateful for the gift of YogaFaith as the mission redeems all things that God created for His glory. Ecstasy is one of God’s gifts, created for us to enjoy.
There are no words to describe the oneness you experience when communing with Christ. Attempting to describe it with words, I liken it to sitting on His lap. My head on His chest, listening to His heart while His arms are wrapped around me, we are one. This is the eight limb, this is my ecstasy: one with Christ. It’s the deepest and most profoundly intimate place I have ever visited. When I say there are ‘no words’ to describe it, there are no human words to articulate God’s presence or experiencing Him. We try, but our words fall short. Sometimes we groan, make utterances, speak in tongues, or dance like David did. There isn’t a right or wrong way to respond to God’s majesty. We respond in the matter that God created us to respond, it’s personal and intimate for each and every one of us. This is why nobody can judge one’s expressive response to Christ.
We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. Romans 8:26-27, Bold mine
Our prayer language, our groans, our speaking in tongues or any other expressive praise comes in all kinds of packages that we may or may not understand. Some speak in tongues and some translate tongues (1 Corinthians 14), who among us can understand God’s mysteries? When God’s Spirit speaks to your spirit, there will, most likely, be no words to describe the experience.
Expressing the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy [sound] gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:1-2, ESV (Bold added)
Here we see speak as the verb lalew (Pronounced: lal-eh’-o). It’s Strong’s #G2980 meaning: Utter a voice or emit a sound, to utter articulate sounds. Noisy, or sound here is the verb hcew (Pronounced: ay-kheh’-o), Strong’s #G2278 meaning: To make a loud noise, i.e. reverberate: roar, sound.
After this I looked and there was a door that had been opened in heaven. The first voice that I had heard, which sounded like a trumpet, said to me, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” At once I was in a Spirit-inspired trance and I saw a throne in heaven, and someone was seated on the throne.. Revelations 4:1-2, CEB
‘Trance’ is not a word I typically relate to as a Christian, but here it is in the Bible.
And here we are, you and I, diving deep into God’s Word, chewing on every bit of it so that we can redeem all things for His glory! Revelation 4:1 speaks to our intuition, which doesn’t necessarily use the vocal cords. It speaks directly from the intelligence of God, which is omniscient.
Dancing, meditation, chanting, ecstasy and uttering is just the beginning of scratching the surface with creations that I desire to redeem and restore to their original creation.
Then the spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice (lew) of a great rushing saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place. Ezekiel 3:12, ESV (Bold added)
“His place” is the heavenly region; the great rushing is God’s voice, like the sound of the ocean, the sound of many waters, the voice of the multitude. This is what some call the ‘cosmic energy’ rushing into us from Heaven.
And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice (lew) was like a noise (lew)of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.
Ezekiel 43:2, KJV (Bold added)
Lew, pronounced: kōle, is Strong’s #H6963. It’s from a root meaning to: call aloud; a voice or sound: aloud, bleating, crackling, cry (cry-out), fame, lightness, lowing, noise, proclamation, sing, voice, yell or sound.
Both Ezekiel scriptures reference voice as being a sound, not necessarily words, and lalew as utterances.
Sound, utterances and speaking all carry tonal vibrations. Sound therapy is solely based on tonal vibrations used in healing the body and mind. One receiving sound therapy could listen to music, perhaps to a specific megahertz, meditate or experience singing bowls. If the recipient is deaf, healing can still take place due to the healing vibration and frequencies of what their brain, body, mind and spirit are receiving. Tuning fork therapy uses calibrated metal tuning forks to apply vibrations to a specific body part to aid in healing. It works similarly to acupuncture, using sound frequencies for point stimulation instead of needles. There are numerous variations of sound therapy you can explore.
Sound 101
You can feel the vibration of sound when you speak or hum. Your vocal cords are stretchy-like folds of skin in your throat that vibrate to make a sound. Air must move past our vocal cords in order to speak and cause the vibration. As air is forced out of a very narrow passageway causing the vibration, this generates waves through the air to our ears, translating into the sound we hear. We are able to change the sounds we make by stretching or contracting the muscles attached to our vocal cords. The sounds “OHHHHH” stretch the vocal cords in different way than SEEEEEEK. When our vocal cords are ‘stretched’ we make higher-pitched sounds, when they are ‘loose’ lower sounds are….