Ms Hernéndez will lead a weekend retreat, "Sound As Prayer: The Sacred Art of Chant," from 7 pm on Friday, February 24, until 1 pm on Sunday, February 26. Â

By SHANNON HICKS

Published: Feb 17, 2006 12:00 am

Ms HernÃ¡ndez will lead a weekend retreat, âSound As Prayer: The Sacred Art of Chant,â from 7 pm on Friday, February 24, until 1 pm on Sunday, February 26. Â

Ten years ago, spiritual chanting experienced widespread popularity when Benedictine monks in Spain released an album of ancient sacred chants. While their work peaked at number three on Billboard magazineâs chart of bestselling albums, few people at the time realized that they could create their own spiritual sounds by chanting, and that active participation in chanting can enrich lives in ways that simply listening to chants cannot.

Participants will spend the weekend singing and deep listening. They will learn how their voice lives in their body and how to use it to generate health and healing.

Ms HernÃ¡ndez, who travels throughout the year teaching workshops on chant, draws on several different faith traditions, proving that chant is not just for monks or Hindu gurus. Everyday people can find ways to incorporate chanting into their lives, and will find themselves more spiritually centered for doing so.

Ana HernÃ¡ndez is a composer, arranger, and performer of sacred music. She is also a member of the recording group HARC. For more than a decade, she has conducted workshops that encourage people to explore the effects of rhythm and chant on their bodies.

Cost for the workshop is $195 for a shared room, $235 for a private room, or $120 for commuters. Meals are included.

To register or for further information call Wisdom House at 860-567-3163 or send email to programs@WidsomHouse.org.

Patricia Anzellotti

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John, you raise an important point — these situations are tragic, complicated, and often far less clear-cut than the headlines make them seem. In the Fredericksburg case, the full facts still aren’t publicly known, and like so many of these stories, there’s conflicting information. It was apparently the back door at 3 a.m. — was it justified to use deadly force? We don’t know yet. What we do know is that the homeowner has been charged, and as you rightly noted, that is very serious. But this is also where perspective matters. These cases are quickly sensationalized in the news and on social media, yet when the dust settles, the outcomes are rarely publicized. People forget that in our system, you are innocent until proven guilty. Try to find much coverage of the convication in the case of the Fairfield Realtor vehicle homicide, or updates on the woman who shot her husband a couple of Christmases ago, or even the pedestrian death in Sandy Hook a year or so back. The follow-through simply isn’t there, and public opinion is often shaped only by the first round of headlines. At the end of the day, these situations remind us how split-second decisions in the middle of the night can change lives forever — which is exactly why the right to protect one’s property, home and family is so fiercely debated, and lucky constitutionally protected.

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Ms Hernéndez will lead a weekend retreat, "Sound As Prayer: The Sacred Art of Chant," from 7 pm on Friday, February 24, until 1 pm on Sunday, February 26. Â

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