Wellbeing

The Sound of your Soul

We already know that music can be incredibly moving and help release pent-up emotions, but join us now as we investigate the allencompassing power of pure, powerful sound

If you’ve ever danced around the room to your favourite song, meditated while listening to the rhythmic sound of crashing waves, sung a lullaby to soothe a crying baby or felt the reverberation of a Tibetan gong deep within your soul, you’ll know just how powerful sound can be.

With this in mind, it’s no wonder that sound therapy is so popular. This holistic treatment is one of the oldest forms of healing known to man and it’s believed its roots can be traced as far back as the ancient Egyptians, Aztecs, Incas and Mayans. At its core is the idea that sound produces vibrations, and these vibrations can help rebalance the motions of our own cells. Therapists claim that every part of our body is in constant movement and all our cells and organs vibrate at their own specific frequency. However, certain lifestyle choices and emotions such as stress, negativity and grief can tip our body’s movement out of balance, which often results in physical and emotional problems. It’s through the use of sound and music that we can encourage blocked energy to flow once again.

Anne Malone is a sound explorer and healer, and the founder of Oasis of Sound (oasisofsound.com). She offers sound healing sessions and has produced a variety of music that can be used as meditation or relaxation tools. For her, the right sort of tones and rhythms can be incredibly healing.

“Vibration makes the molecular makeup of water quite literally ‘dance’, and as we humans are approximately 60 percent water, it follows that sound – which is essentially vibration in the air around us – can move us physically, emotionally and spiritually,” she explains. “When we feel and experience loving or pure vibrations, we tend to respond to these as they can move and clear energetic, emotional and physical blockages, thereby retuning our whole being on a cellular level.

“For me, using sound in this way is all about love,” she says. “It’s about coming home to the heart and being reminded how simple it is to be a human being. When I share my songs and sound healing, I share my heart, my love and my humanity. My biggest wish is to share this ‘heart space’ with others and hopefully remind them that their own heart and love is there to experience, and that they can come home to their heart.”

Sound therapy traditionally uses items such as tuning forks, gongs, singing bowls, drums or human chanting in order to allow our bodies to resonate with their powerful frequencies. But, music and sound can be used in a variety of other ways too – and the term ‘sound therapy’ could be applied to any way that certain notes or melodies help us emotionally or physically. Many of us use music to support our meditation practices and quieten the chatter in our mind, and many of us also use it to boost our mood, release our emotions and connect with our feelings.

Music to your ears

It’s not just traditionally spiritual instruments that can help us attune to our spirituality in this way – although they can certainly be useful for this. Any music that awakens our soul can help us transcend the edges of our world. When listened to from the heart, and with the right intention, music and sound can be an expression of our authentic self.

Paul Foss, a professional composer and music producer who works alongside his wife Daisy to create spiritual music for Alchemysts of Sound (paulfossmusic.com), agrees.

“All music is spiritual and all music touches us inside in one way or another. Our sense of sound is our strongest emotional barometer – more so than vision, smell or touch,” he says. “It has the power to make you feel happy, sad and relaxed, and take you to a higher place. I feel the power of music in any shape or form has the power to transport the listener to a deeper sense of feeling and awareness within themselves. All of these responses tap into your spirit and enhance your connection with your inner self. “Whatever music you choose to listen to will elevate your feelings and increase your sense of wellbeing,” he adds.

The music in you

While listening to music and sounds can unlock pathways within, the same is true for making music yourself. If you’re not a musician or singer by profession, you may well feel embarrassed trying to produce sounds that you’re not used to, but Ashley Kirkham, a specialist vocal tutor (@specialistvocaltutor), says it can be life-changing. His new book, The Voice Revealed (£9.50, amazon.co.uk), looks at how singing can help break down barriers within yourself and transform your confidence. Throughout his work, he’s found a deep connection between our voice and our deepest emotions.

“Many of us unintentionally develop fixations, misconceptions and fears throughout life,” he explains. “As the voice is the only instrument that is actually inside us, it is connected directly to these very perceptions and as we seek to develop our singing abilities, we find these perceptions often limit us. As we are carefully guided towards recognising the way in which we have unintentionally sabotaged our own expressive abilities, we begin to recognise who we really are, gradually learn to relinquish the perceptions that are not serving us. Slowly our invisible true self – and, in turn, our voice – is revealed to us.”

Strike a chord

Whether you feel inspired to make your own music or prefer to listen to that created by others, the key is to really feel and listen to the sounds – and allow music to speak to parts of your soul you may not know exist. As the renowned spiritual teacher Swami Paramananda said: “There are certain things that have universal attributes, like music. Something of greater magnitude is conveyed by them. They connect us with the universal storehouse of life and knowledge.” Tap into this and you have power at your fingertips.