I was a drum circle last night with a variety of women. As we sat around the “mother drum,” a huge drum big enough for eight of us to use together, we chanted together. Our leader was Jewish and she chose a Jewish chant consisting of one Hebrew word: hineni, “here I am.”
Adam used this word as a response when God called him in the Garden of Eden. Abraham and Moses use it when God calls them as well.
The response seems to imply something more than the typical one given when someone takes attendance, “I am here.” This means simply, I’m present and accounted for.
When we say Hineni,” we mean, “I am here, and I am ready, willing and able to as God asks.” Basically, I’m ready to do God’s will–or to fulfill my Divine purpose.
Beyond that, there’s a sense of showing up in the world when we say hineni. When we are called by God, we must show up, not like Jonah, the biblical character who runs and hides and ultimately ends up in the belly of a whale, but instead we must come forward and stand tall and proud.
The fact is that those of us who believe in God feel a sense of being called every day–not from without but from within. Thus, we must stand tall and proud and be present at all times. We must show up every day.
Those of us that don’t believe in God may feel called anyway—by our sense of justice or righteousness or simply by what we call our Higher Self or some Higher Power. Maybe we get a sense of intuition, or we believe in our soul in general and the messages we get from our soul.
As I chanted hineni last night I realized I have not being showing up–not really, not totally. I haven’t been fulfilling my purpose. I haven’t been doing what God or my Higher Self has called me to do on the Earth in this lifetime.
What about you? When you say, “Hineni,” how does it make you feel? What does it bring up for you? Are you simply present and accounted for or are you making a difference, living up to your full potential, fulfilling your purpose, and hearing and doing God’s will or the will of your Higher Self, your soul or the best you that you know you can be?
I think about my purpose frequently and have learned to follow the still small voice inside. It has become easier with age as there are less distractions in my daily life.
Nature continues to be my greatest asset.
Listening to the Still Small Voice is so important! While doing so when we have less distractions is easier, I find it’s most important to be able to do so when there are lots of distractions. I’d love to know what you mean by “nature being your greatest asset…” Do you get signs from nature? Do you connect while in nature? I go out in nature to get grounded, actually putting my hands in the dirt. Thanks so much for your comment.