What is Om?

Om.... what does OM mean for real? 

Om or Aum as it's sometimes spelled, is also called the "God syllable."  The symbol stands for the universal, the unknowable, and the source of all manifest in existence. It's much like the yin and yang symbol is in the Asian philosophy, showing both the feminine and masculine, the om shows the unknowable and all that is knowable. 

Om or Aum is of paramount importance in Hinduism and it is called pranava, to mean that it pervades life and runs through our prana or breath.
 
I listen to Wayne Dyer and other spiritual leaders and they routinely discuss meditation as a daily practice for getting in touch with the spiritual part of you. Now this can be sort out there for the straights, I mean, where are we, the Haight Ashbury district in 1963 discussing comparative theology? No, we're not, but I think what I found so interesting about this when Dr. Dyer started to talk about using some relaxing chants to focus, he mentioned that the "AH" sound was present in nearly ever religion's name for God. If you think about it, it's pretty fascinating. Even if you're an atheist, there's some compelling similarities in many of the world's religions and this, this God syllable, was an amazing common thread... it made me wonder why we get caught up in all this crap. We fight so hard to be right and we condemn others as wrong, yet really... how wrong are they? Or conversely, how right could we be? But I digress. 

So then, why "The Omth Degree" ... and aside from it being sort of catchy, the reason I do anything and the purpose that is threaded through all my writing and my life, is because of the universe, because of the power referred to as God, or Brahman, or Allah, or Jehovah, the Force, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster... Whatever that thing is, that's Om. It's the limit and beyond, it's the beginning and before... it's everything.