Music
Touches the Soul, Heals the Spirit:
An Introduction to Sound Healing
By
Donna Packard, M.Ed.
Staff Writer
Everyone has been moved by music, whether moved to tears by a song that triggers your emotions, or being moved to ecstatic joyful dancing from music with a rhythmic, uplifting beat. Sound and music, which cross all barriers of language and differences, have been with us, and a part of us, since the beginning of time
The idea that sound is intertwined with creation is a thread that runs through cultural stories from many traditions. In Hindu traditions "Nada Brahma", the Great Tone is described as being the primal sound, or tone, from which God made the world. It also is described as being that which penetrates through everything. Ancient Egyptians believed the god "Thoth" created the world by his voice alone. There is a Hopi legend that tells of how when the First People were created, Spider Woman appealed to the Universal God to bless these beings with the gift of the voice. With the voice came the wisdom and power of reproduction, of creation. Pythagoras told us of the 'music of the spheres" and indicated that the universe is shaped by the way it would sound. Barbara Hero, creator of the Lambdoma keyboard (www.lambdoma.com), reminds us that Pythagoras said: "There is geometry in the humming of the strings. There is music in the spacing of the spheres."
Sound is vibration. Everything is energy, everything is vibration. Quantum physics tells us that the universe was set into motion by vibration, and that, through this creative force, all things are related no matter how different they may seem. In fact, various world cultures point to sound as being an underlying force that weaves our world together. Our global culture, that has brought music and sounds together from around the world, has played a strong role in our realization that we are all connected. Did you know that there are geographical acoustics? Imagine the various sounds of nature in each part of the world. There are different sounds in nature in the rainforest than would be heard here in New England. Our ears are attuned to the frequencies of the places of our roots. That is why sometimes it is easier to learn one language over another. We may not be hearing the tones of the language with which we are having difficulty. In learning to listen in new ways, we may be able to better understand and relate to the world around us and to our co-inhabitants on this planet.
The research of Dr. Alfred Tomatis has shown that we listen with our ears attuned to certain frequencies developed in the womb, and from the world around us. He found that children who may have 'missed out" on certain tones in the womb, can have their listening ear re-trained to hear those tones. Amazingly, the results of this work have done wonders for helping children who otherwise were thought to have learning disabilities, as well as this work done with adults has moved them out of depression and towards finding passion in their lives. If as a child, one's parent have yelled at them at a certain tone or frequency, may have trouble learning in the first grade if the teacher speaks in those tones, or they may have 'closed down' certain frequencies of listening that have also closed down parts of themselves. These patterns get carried through to our adulthood if we do not re-train ourselves.
Eduardo Martinez, of Holos-Media LLC, (Healing Music, Sounds and Images) tells us that the voice is also being used currently as a diagnostic tool. By analyzing the voice, we can tell what frequencies are missing from the voice, and consequently from the person's body, and can pinpoint where problems might arise because of this. In relation to this, Dr. Tomatis discovered that we can only express vocally that which our ears can hear. Our breathing also holds a rhythm, or pattern. When we are 'in sync' with nature, similar to the ocean waves flowing in and out, our bellies rise with the inhale which is connected with the exhale in a perfect circle. If you watch a new baby breathing, you will see the belly rise with the inhale and relax with the exhale. The baby, not yet conditioned otherwise, is still 'in tune' with the pulses and rhythm of nature, not yet having been conditioned otherwise. The stressors we face in our lives, repression of emotions, and cultural 'norms' that tell us such things as to hold our stomachs in and wear tight clothing, and that tell us that we are not okay and need something from the outside to "fix us" cause us to re-pattern our breathing and to shut down.
Unfortunately,
80% of people are breathing barely enough to stay alive! The more freely and
fully we breathe in harmony, the more alive and well we become. Changing one's
breathing patterns changes their lives. Through the rhythms of the breath,
together with the beating of our hearts, we reconnect with our very nature,
with the pulse and rhythm that pervades all things. We also connect with one
another for the breath that you or I breathe has also been breathed by someone
in Africa or Iraq, and has been breathed by Ghandi and will be there for future
generations as well. Breathing in harmony, and adding sounding to the breathing
cycle is a powerful force for healing, both personally and collectively. Speaking
of harmony, and remembering that everything is vibration, shows us that all
of the cells and organs of our bodies have tones. When we are healthy, our
body is vibrating in harmony, when unhealthy, we might see ourselves as being
'out of tune'. And, as Robert Miller Foulkrod, Conscious Creating and Awakening
Coach, tells us: "All healing is self-healing, so believe completely
in the healing and inspiring power of your choice of treatment." Believe
in the healing power of sound.
Sound, music and rhythm can be used to 'tune' us, attune us to our Source,
relax us, inspire us, to heal us, to move us, and to reconnect us with our
spirits and with the earth. As sound can uplift and heal us at a personal
level, imagine what might happen as we join together through sound and rhythm
on a global level? And, as we open to new frequencies, we may find the key
to tapping into the large parts of our brain that we do not currently access,
thus, opening us to new worlds and dimensions of knowledge. I am reminded
of the story about an explorer, Magellan, who was discovering new worlds.
He, together with his comrades, was greeted by the natives. The natives, never
having seen a ship before, could not see the ship the explorers had sailed.
Thus, they thought the explorers were gods since they seemed to appear out
of thin air. It was not until their wise men, or shamans, assisted them in
seeing in a new way that they could see the ship. Before this, the natives
had never seen a ship and did not have a reference for it, or even for the
idea of a ship. Their seeing was limited to that which was currently built
into their belief structures, to that which was familiar to them from their
conditioning.
Perhaps listening works in a similar manner. It may be possible for us to learn to expand our listening levels, to hear new frequencies, and tap into new realities beyond what we currently recognize or comprehend. And, remembering what Dr.Tomatis discovered, we can only voice what we can hear. So, as our listening abilities expand, we will be expressing new sounds, manifesting new creations. In other words, we will be 'vibrating' and creating in new ways and perhaps, together, bringing our world into harmony. The implications of these possibilities are phenomenal. We have begun to recognize sound and music as valid tools in therapeutic and educational settings. We can only guess the possibilities of what shall come to be!
Find your voice, express your spirit, listen, open to the possibilities, and allow the rhythm and sound of creation to move through you as you play your part in this cosmic orchestra that is joining together to create peace and harmony in our world. The possibilities that lie before us are as boundless and far reaching as sound itself.
****************
Donna
Packard, M.Ed., is a singer/songwriter and founder of Full Circle Celebrations.
Ms. Packard is a Certified Transformational Life Coach who offers sound healing,
motivational, and breathwork workshops. She is also a member of the New England
Sound Healers Research Institute. Check out their website at www.NESHRI.org,
or www.fullcirclecelebrations.com.
