11.30.10 Wholistic Hearing

I used to hear with my ears. Now I often seem to experience "hearing" with my whole body. I spend so much of my time working with so many forms of sound- tuning forks, acoustic instruments, crystal and Himalayan singing bowls and listening to and experiencing the vibrotactile effect of music as part of my treatments. I have always had an extreme sensitivity to sound and for many years as I have immersed myself in the field of sound healing, I have developed a tremendous curiosity about the evolution of hearing from an essential tool for survival to a sense which can transport us to realms of ecstasy.

In the last several years however I have also become aware of a new level of experiencing sound within my own body, especially peripherally. It seems to be a reactivation of this ancient instinctual awareness of sound. A door opens into the room, I hear a voice breaking through the every day ambient sounds, at night lying in bed I hear the rustle of a possum or raccoon outside and my whole body reacts. It feels as though the entire surface of my body- my skin, my pores, the fine hairs on the surface of my skin- instantly respond to these unexpected sounds.

I watch body signals and am extremely attentive to my clients response to sound and music during sound healing sessions- is it too loud? Too quiet? Is it time for a different instrument? Is the air conditioning too loud? Is the singing bowl harmonious with the music? The bass too strong? I am in a constant state of meditation and on another level on constant alert while giving a session- a very interesting balance. Often it is just an inner knowing that tells me it's time to make a change in the music or place my hand on their solar plexus.

In this moment as I am examining this process I am thinking that it is the attention to my intuition that has led me to a greater sensitivity within myself to the sounds around me. It is interesting and also sometimes disturbing to be so acutely sensitive. The gift is that it allows for a tremendous sensitivity to facilitating the healing process, allowing the body to gently finds its way back to balance through all the subtle changes that can occur during a sound healing session.

11.26.10 Stand By Me

This morning's inspiration... Laugh and cry and sing it one more time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

11.25.10 Thanksgiving

This was my morning meditation- quite different from the last one I wrote about.

Buzzing of electric saw, water flowing into the garden pond, hand and pen moving across the paper. I rub my chin with my hand and am aware of the sound carried through my skin and bones. An occasional car passing by, a small propeller plane off in the distance, the swimming pool pump... the sound of a jet mingles with the sound of the smaller plane, a man's voice shouting- I lean into it with my attention- he is shouting with excitement, not anger- I can tell by the tone although I can't make out the words. Now another engine, this time a motorcycle starting up harshly and then as it leaves the sound quickly fading into the distance.

A bird with an intermittent high short whistle pierces through all the sounds of cars, engines, motors, pumps, changing everything- the quality of a bright star piercing the night sky. Sound has the ability to pierce our awareness, breaking the trance. Sound can be used to induce a trance or break a trance.

Whenever I pass through Lynn Carol and George's bedroom the door swings gently shut behind me and the delicate sound of a zither follows me for just a few seconds, a reminder of the present. Usually reminders are of the past... how funny to be reminded of Now.

11.23.10 Sacred Sound

Woke up this morning and bathed in the River of Sacred Sound, the inner nadam. In this moment it continues, a light silvery crystalline sound that calls for my attention. When I closed my eyes and put my thumbs in my ears to listen more deeply I heard a low slow steady chime in the deep distance of my consciousness. The sound current is steady, constant, underlying my awareness. The sound of my breath ebbs and flows like waves breaking on the shores of my consciousness.

11.22.10

A while back I received a demo copy of Marjorie de Muynck's "Vibrational Healing" CD. It said in the liner notes it was dedicated to the honeybees, cricket and bat population. My intention was to try it out on a vibroacoustic sound table and I wasn't sure I liked the idea of lying on a bed of insect sounds but I figured I might as well try it. It turned out that the music itself was incredibly beautiful and the sounds of the insects were deeply nurturing and comforting- and within about thirty seconds I realized what a powerful effect the sounds of nature have on our physiology. The sounds of crickets, cicadas, honeybees, the sound of running water, rustling leaves, falling rain and the sound of the wind- all of these sounds stimulate the brain and nourish the nervous system. Sometimes the effect is soothing, sometimes stimulating. A negative reaction to certain sounds heard in nature- wind, for example- may also be an indicator of stress or imbalance. Food for thought...

11.21.10

Sound is a catalyzer- it has the ability "to produce fundamental change in; transform", specifically the bioenergetic system, and in fact all matter when used with intention and understanding. Wholistic Sound... therapeutic sound, healing sound, sacred sound... all varying shades in the spectrum of wholistic sound, all have the power to heal and transform us from the inside out and from the outside in.