Meditation and Sound

 

Photo by Margaret Stockley, Kauai. (Copyright)

The sights and sounds of nature soothe the mind.

“Music of the right type helps in achieving relaxation by soothing the nerves and through that, peace and stillness of mind.” Sri Ganapati Sachchidananda Swamiji

Throughout history, humans have used music or sound for a variety of purposes including warning sounds, calls to action to signify the beginning or end of an event, and even to promote a romantic atmosphere.
We all know about sound’s ability to provide happiness and comfort or to make us feel like dancing but it is only recently that it has been possible to PROVE the effects of certain sounds upon the brain and how they impact human behavior and healing.

When we think of what it means to be healed, we tend to think of someone whose body is weak, diseased and injured being made well. However there are many areas in which an individual can long to be healed:
• Wanting to experience a release from painful memories
• Removing desires and addictions
• Gaining freedom from depression, anxiety, and sadness
• Feeling whole and less distant from God
• Released from loneliness
• Seeking forgiveness for wrongs done

The brain responds to information received via the senses, mental images, and from memories. Mental visualization or sensory induced stimulus creates changes in the heart rate and respiratory rate and is depicted in four brain wave patterns: Beta, Alpha, Theta, and Delta.

Music, rhythmic breathing, and meditation alter the brain waves and promote healing by bringing the mind into Alpha rhythm, promoting a calm and relaxed state of mind. Alpha rhythm is the frequency that the brainwaves settle into during certain pranayama practices such as Sun/Moon (Surya/Chandra) breath as well as meditation.

Where the breath goes the mind follows and where the mind goes the body follows.

Staying in control of the mind enables you to take control of your thoughts and subsequent actions thereby helping you to maintain a positive and peaceful state of being.

It’s exciting to note that music is shown to increase the Pituitary Growth Hormone by up to 50%. This hormone is known to stimulate healing.
However, with all sounds and music, listening repeatedly to the same notes diminishes the beneficial effects on the body. Hearing a sound fresh brings back the desired experience.

Music and sound are everywhere in nature:
in the songs of birds
in the laughter of children,
in the flow and ebb of our own breath and heartbeat

We are sentient beings and are indeed affected by what we hear around and within us and the mind-body connection shows that whatever you pay attention to, you become.
Meditation enables you to be mindful of this connection and ensure that you consciously and purposefully choose the right thoughts and actions.

Sacred Sounds
Mantra, AUM, singing, chanting, prayer, and silence are sacred sounds that harmonize and purify the energy centers of the body, removing obstacles, and promoting health, love, joy, and bliss.

Sacred sound removes the seeds of obstacles to health by promoting calmness and freedom from distractions, both external and internal.
A mind absorbed in sacred sound is free from attachment to the material world and loses its tendency to wander. As you maintain a regular meditation practice, you will eventually learn to hear and experience sacred sound arise spontaneously from within.

The mind can only focus on one thought at a time.
Try it!

This is different from multi-tasking where you are doing two or more tasks in a specific time period.

You can only hold one thought at a time. You may flit back and forth very fast between one thought and another, but there is still only one thought occurring at any given moment in time.

Let meditation guide you to release that which you no longer need and replace it with more appropriate thought patterns that lead to success, empowerment, and well-being.

With a regular meditation practice, the mind becomes attuned to the vibration of the sacred sound and aligns itself to its energy.
When the mind is fully concentrated during meditation, a feeling of inner bliss can be reached. So, rather than think a sad or unhealthy train of thought which will eventually make you miserable, agitated, and even ill, recite a mantra, or sing and shift your mood to one that promotes love, inspiration, and growth of purpose.

There are many chanting CD's available that you can listen to, or place a windchime next to an open window, or listen to small indoor water fountain to emulate the sounds of nature.
Let your meditation practice and your imagination guide you to find a sound from nature that makes you feel at ease and comfortable.

Challenge your thoughts.
Through the use of sound you can stay in tune with the rhythm of the body and rediscover peace and joy, and a deepening awareness of spirituality.

Musical Neural Pathways are more complex and widespread than those involved in performing a function such as talking.
Music helps to re-route paths and is a useful tool in helping to establish new neural pathways by improving cognition, motor function, and communication

The old adage “music calms the savage beast” is particularly applicable to humans.

The 19th Century Scottish Philosopher Thomas Carlyle said:

If you look deep enough you will see music; the heart of nature being music everywhere.

I say,
"Listen to the music that is within you and let it be heard. Join with others and together we can all make a beautiful sound to heal ourselves and the world."