“Do you know that our soul is composed of harmony?”
Leonardo da Vinci, Notebooks (1451-1519)
After three people telling me this year that I should look into using the voice for healing, I finally took the hint and enrolled in a sound healing course at The College of sound healing. So, last weekend I found myself in Cheltenham with 10 other students, led by Simon Heather, founder of the College of sound healing, who has been practicing sound healing for over 20 years. http://www.collegeofsoundhealing.co.uk
The practice centers on treating the body as an instrument whose energy field, when out of balance or out of harmony goes ‘out of tune’. By working within the energy field with pure vibrations (set with channeled loving intention), we can help the healing process of bringing the body back into balance. It’s not supposed to be a cure all treatment, as there are many layers to illness that can be psychological, genetic, etc. But sound can be a powerful tool for healing, and Scientific research is continually releasing more and more evidence to support this idea.
For example, if you take 2 tuning forks in C and G creating a perfect fifth- 3:2, this has recently been shown to help lower high blood pressure, which is ideally at the same ratio of 3:2 (180: 120). Sound waves are now used in modern medicine to eliminate Kidney and Gallstones in the body. Certain frequencies help the body back into harmony by locking into the energy of the pure sound vibration. This explains why we can feel relaxed when we listen to relaxing music, or energised or tense when listening to other music. The principle of ‘entrainment’ is at work. The theory is that energy field’s lock into one another, and if there is a powerful vibration, the less powerful vibration will tend to lock in to the more powerful one. This appears to be at play when women who spend a lot of time together start to sync menstrual cycles, when grandfather clock pendulums sync together in a room (Itzhak Bentov), and when choir singers’ hearts beat simultaneously when they sing together in harmony!
“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.”
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
There is surely something powerful and sacred about music that ancient cultures seemed to understand very well, that in modern times we have neglected by focusing on music as a form of entertainment. It’s interesting that Einstein himself, one of the greatest minds of all time, said that if he were not a Scientist he would be a musician. I am sure he understood quite well how the sacred geometry of music links to the constellations in the Universe and mathematical patterns of nature! (Fascinating stuff - I am currently reading about it, and trying to get to grips on it!)
My favourite author of all time, Sufi Master ‘Hazrat Inayat Khan’ said this- “Divine sound is the cause of all manifestation. The knower of the mystery of sound knows the mystery of the whole universe.”
Indeed, we all intuitively use music for healing by listening to specific songs for relaxation. At special occasions, we use music to celebrate. Television and film use music to set the mood. In almost all religious traditions music is a sacred element, drawing us closer to God.
“Music should be healing, music should uplift the soul, music should inspire; then there is no better way of getting closer to God, of rising higher towards the spirit, of attaining spiritual perfection, only if it is rightly understood.”
The Sufi Master Hazrat Inayat Kahn (1882-1927)
There has been a lot of research into the power of Gregorian chant, and evidence that chanting helps to combat lethargy, depression and anxiety. The neurological effects of music are many, and new studies also suggest that music can stimulate the production of endorphins, help the left and right sides of the brain to communicate more effectively with one another and help create new neural pathways in the brain! Simon mentioned during the weekend that musical conductors live the longest, and it’s true! Musical conductors have the No.1 longest living profession. Perhaps the arm movements are also at play… but I’d bet that it’s really the gorgeous feeling of orchestrating wonderful music at play. "
(Image via www.leonardbernstein.com)
Within the sound of your voice are the keys to innumerable worlds."
The Hathors
So, on this course, I am learning about how the human voice can be used in healing practice. By creating simply sung soft over tones close to the body, it is possible through a process of trust and surrender, to detect areas of the body that are in disharmony/ pain. As simple vowel sounds are softly sung on a sustained pitch over the body, certain areas can effect and produce wobbles in the voice, or even cause vocal production to halt. You focus on these areas, using tuning forks as an additional aid, with important breaks into silence to allow the sound to penetrate and heal.
"You can look at disease as a form of disharmony. And there's no organ system in the body that's not affected by sound and music and vibration."
Mitchell Gaynor, M.D., Sounds of Healing
I am sure some of you reading this will be skeptical. However, I discovered that even I was able to detect disharmony in the knees of one student (she didn’t tell me this before), and mid back pain in another. I also suffer sometimes from tension in my upper back/ shoulders, and after the practice treatment I literally felt a weight off my shoulders! One of my practice students was suffering from a sore throat and cough, and said that after the treatment she felt much clearer in her throat. It was quite incredible. I also slept better than usual that night, and awoke feeling unusually fresh.
Simon shared with us an account of a student who found that even after three sessions with a patient they would encounter disharmony in one part of the client’s body. They suggested to the client that they should get it checked out just in case, a tumor was discovered and they had it successfully removed!
It struck me during that the course, that things leading up to this in my life are making more sense. Since I was born I sang, and it made me a happy baby. Growing up, we experienced a lot of drama and chaos in our household with some troubled fostered teenagers, there was violence, loud arguments, regular visits from the police, and I intuitively used singing and songwriting in my bedroom to escape into a fantasy world. Without realising it, I was transforming the negative energies, and healing myself!
'I don't sing because I am happy, I am happy because I sing'
William James
Possibly my best experience of singing was when I moved to London and started performing original music around town and at music festivals. I was living in the moment, following my heart, and I was free! Then I moved to Dubai and things somewhat changed. Now I truly understand now why I struggled with performing background or party music in Dubai for rich folk at fancy events. My heart was not engaged. I tried to ignore the stress inside of me, and sometimes this worked; or sometimes a child in the audience would allow me to connect; of course some gigs were great, or just one person in a crowd could help the exchange of energy. But other times I would feel like I was having entering a vortex of energy, and would leave feeling drained!
Adding to the stress I was performing at times up to 5-6 times a week/ 3 hours a night in air conditioned venues. My voice often started to close up, and from there I would struggle with pitching and projection, which would then become a kind of circle, as I would notice it and then become insecure about my own singing. It was extremely frustrating. I didn’t understand why I seemed to be going backwards, I knew more about music, and yet I wasn’t singing as well as when I knew less?! And I felt I needed to keep going because it was my main source of income.
This last year since being back in London, I have been studying from time to time with incredible voice teacher Neil Semer, and healing through meditation, spiritual counseling and sound healing with amazing healer Urtema Dolphin. In life and music, I have been working on lowering my voice out of my mind and back into my heart. I’ve been letting go of the fear and anxiety that has plagued me at times, and I am learning to surrender and trust.
My best performances have always been when I believe every lyric, ride the melody, and plug into a higher energy. I can sometimes feel myself channeling a beautiful message, intended to penetrate and inspire the ears of the person listening. The moments of letting go are the moments that I love, and all good musicians know exactly what I’m talking about. Your mind is completely switched off and you just flow and create. The same feeling is experienced in deep meditation, and in literally any other act where you let go of the mind and just flow in the action- it could be something as mundane as cleaning or something as prolific as gymnastics. It’s something innate, free, incredible, that we can all access and experience.
So, in one year’s time I will be a qualified sound healing practitioner! I look forward to sharing this with others that are open to it. It is not meant to be a cure all, but just one more tool for healing (like aromatherapy, yoga, acupuncture etc.) that can be used as part of the healing process.
I will still be writing my album and releasing original music as an artist, and I still see that as my main path, but the plan is to incorporate what I am learning into my own singing and writing, and hope that some day my music can help heal and inspire others. Already I can feel my heart and voice opening up, being inspired with every sound, even every word that I speak. I am listening even more intently to not only the words that I hear, but the inflections and tones in the voices around me, that tell us so much about how another person feels. There is unfortunately a lot of disharmony in the world, but these can be fixed through the sounds and the silence. As we heal ourselves and bring ourselves into harmony, we help to lift others around us. I’ve always said that maybe you can’t change the world, but you do make a difference. And yes, I am becoming a healer, but it doesn’t make me an inch better than anyone else. Every single person on this planet has a unique tone, very person can sing (yes-you!!), and we can all tap into our innate healing powers.
So, to finish up, if you would like to bring more music into your life, here are a few ideas!
1. Let it out! The shower is the old favorite. Let it rip. Sing the songs that make you smile, make you cry, make you feel. Go into your heart and ask your heart what it desires to express.
2. Join a local Choir! If you have a local choir- nothing really beats singing in harmony in a group. You'll also make friends, have fun and probably get to perform at some point too. Good for your health and fun!
3. Learn an instrument. Obvious one really, but honestly- why not? It's never too late to learn anything. You can always go old school and start with something sweet, simple and handy like the penny whistle or the harmonica. Ukelele's are always fun too ;)
And here are some (I think) fascinating video links if you would like to find out more about the healing power of music:
Scientific research into sound healing: Simon Heather
The Healing power of music by Robin Spielberg, Ted Ex
Music on the brain by Jessica Grahn at TEDx
Benjamin Zander: The transformative power of music, Ted Talks (I was lucky to hear him talk live- amazing man!)
In the comments section, I would love to find out your own personal experiences with the healing power of sound!
Love & Light,
Melisa Le Rue