Tapping the Power of Sound to Heal Your Life By Samantha Fey

Everything has a sound, a vibration, all its own. It’s been said that at the moment of our birth, we created our own sound, our unique vibration. Sound has the power to excite, upset, encourage and heal. Music for centuries has told our stories, maintained histories and captured emotions of the human heart. Tapping into the power of sound healing can help relieve stress and anxiety, improve concentration, increase creativity, balance brain hemispheres, restore balance in the endocrine system, relieve sinus pressure and headaches, increase energy, and balance the chakras. It’s also been known to relieve insomnia, increase psychic ability and create feelings of unity. The opposite of sound healing is also true. In a study by Dr. Tomatis, he showed that children who are screamed at learn to survive by blocking out these noises. Once their hearing shuts down, they will find it hard to learn. But it’s never too late to heal the brain and the soul. The Sufi expression for sound and music means “food for the soul.” Read on to learn how different types of sound can heal your body and mind.

Classical Music

At 16 weeks old, the fetus becomes aware of sound as vibration. Studies have shown that exposing a fetus to classical music makes them calmer, happier and potentially smarter babies. Classical music works on the whole brain while other types of music such as country and pop work only 1 side of the brain. A French scientist named Rauscher popularized a theory known as The Mozart Effect. His studies show that after exposing volunteers to Mozart’s sonatas for 10 minutes, the subjects showed a marked increase in their spatial reasoning abilities. So can Mozart make you smarter? Well, several animal studies have exposed rats to white noise, Mozart’s music, and other composers. The rats who listened to Mozart’s music completed a complex maze with significant speed and fewer errors than the other control groups. For more information, check out Don Campbell’s book The Mozart Effect.

Chanting

Gregorian chanting -- developed in monasteries more than a 1,000 years ago – has been steadily increasing in popularity because people are learning the powerful, healing effects of listening to this music. Dr. Alan Watkins of the Imperial College of London says, “the musical structure of chanting can have a significant and positive physiological impact” that has been shown to “lower blood pressure, increase levels of the performance hormone DHEA as well as reducing anxiety and depression.” Learning the Gregorian Chants requires four years of training by a master teacher. There’s a belief that there’s so much positive energy mixed into these prayers being chanted throughout the centuries that simply playing the Gregorian Chants in your home can absorb and erase any lingering negative energy caused by stress, arguments and worry. Studies have shown the chants to increase the release of endorphins and to help the left and right hemispheres of the brain communicate more easily. Chanting synchronizes brain waves to help us achieve high levels of relaxation. Dr. David Simon says that chants act as “internal pain killers.”

Singing Bowls

Tibetan singing bowls and crystal bowls will break up negativity and increase good vibrations. They also establish deep feelings of connection and unity. Two metronomes, for example, in the same room will harmonize and beat in synchronicity on their own – so sound for us helps up to link in with the rhythm of the universe, the harmony of nature. Singing bowls, crystal bowls, gongs, drums, and bells have been used in space clearing to break up and dispel any negativity. Some paranormal groups use singing bowls and bells to get rid of unwanted earth bounds. Dr. Jeffrey Thompson’s studies have shown that singing bowls produce a sound similar to the ring of Uranus. He believes singing bowls help with learning disabilities as well.

Sound healing really works. Try it for yourself. Listen to more classical music. Play Gregorian Chants in your home to clean and clear your space. Practice mantras and pick up a singing bowl. You’ll find yourself feeling better and more connected to nature and those around you. If illness represents disharmony then sound can bring the body back to health and harmony.