What Are The Benefits Of A Sound Bath?
As a species, we are now understanding that it is much better to prevent and do constant maintenance rather than try and fix broken pieces of machinery – be it a car or someone’s mental health. Mental health issues vary immensely and don’t always manifest themselves as fully blown medically treated diseases. But, does this mean we should all just accept the way life is when it could clearly and easily be made more harmonious?
A lot of us could be seen as thriving on the outside but may well just only survive on the inside. We also now know that external riches and success/fame aren’t enough and we may be wondering where to look now? One thing we know for sure is that we all really want to be thriving on the inside and find a way to grab hold of life and give it a nice big hug. We just don’t quite know how – it’s like we have forgotten what we had perfected as babies and children.
So, what are we to do then you may ask?…
Well, the way to ignite a powerful chain reaction is to do a lot of prevention by facing our own self. By that I mean our current situation or reality if you will. We have to be taking an honest look at ourselves and assess the paradigm we live in – who we surround ourselves with, how much negativity we allow into our personal space, our habits and limiting beliefs, what we think is possible and impossible, what we believe matters and what doesn’t, the list is endless and you need to make your own as we all have different stories. We need to face the woman or man or child (or perhaps all 3 simultaneously) in the mirror and be brutally honest. But the issue is, how can we be honest with ourselves when our mind and general systems are overloaded with broken internal information as well as profoundly wrong information from the outside? In other words, what is a truth and what is a lie? And perhaps even more importantly: is a half-truth enough or does it lead to a full lie anyway?
WHAT IS SOUND HEALING AND HOW CAN IT HELP?
One way to face both lies, truths as well as semi-truths whilst upgrading our mindset is to expose ourselves to sound and vibration. Sound meditation can help you bridge the gap .
Sound breaks through the limits of general mindfulness practise because it is constantly interrupted by words. Words are wonderful but they can only point to something – they never are the things that they describe themselves. But if you start with words and initiate a self-inquiry process, then the sounds can take over and lead you to heights you wouldn’t have even thought of in a dream.
Sound is most likely the first language we have developed or realised on earth, unless you count silence perhaps. Sound travels – it crosses borders and thus facilitates communication between individuals from our very first day until our last. Sound can affect our body and shift brain hemisphere dominance through brainwave pattern synchronisation. Can you imagine the kind of difference you get by simply shifting from right to left hemisphere activity? I don’t think many people realise the extent to which it can change the way we perceive and live life.
BRING OUT HIDDEN EMOTIONS
It can be intense and bring to the surface some old traumas and forgotten memories and can at times be likened to the transformational plant Ayahuasca, though it is nothing like it.
It can make you cry for no particular reason and in a very different way. It can be emotional crying but it can also be euphoric crying. And I am sure there may be more out there!
REVITALISE CREATIVTIY
Sound can take you into a deep sleep state which sometimes sees me having to wait for people to come to before I start packing my gongs for my next session! But you also get people who have colourful visions and others who end up collecting an outstanding amount of ideas! That’s right, people get very creative during and after a Sound Meditation.
MAKE NECESSARY CHANGES IN YOUR BRAIN + NERVOUS SYSTEM
Sound can generate profound changes in your brain and nervous system (parasympathetic and sympathetic) which you then find translate in your day to day life. You know, mindfulness doesn’t have to be taught as a primary practice or product, it should really be an outcome – a by-product if you like…and that is what happens with Sound Meditation.
HEAL YOUR BODY + AID SLEEP
Sound can alter our vagal activity and thus improve our gut health (now pretty much confirmed as our second brain, no big deal hu?) as well as our heart frequency field (much more powerful than the brain’s frequency field). Within the body, sound vibrations interact with our cells and thus can help facilitate a better communication amidst mitochondria (the energy and life factory within each cell). This means better immunity and better sleep! Did you know that mitochondria communicate between each other at night in the dark? That’s exactly why we are told to sleep in the dark and avoid staring at a blue lit screen at night.
CALM A BUSY MIND
As a therapist itself, sound can help someone’s busy mind like no portion of silence or spoken word can. Sound can generate experiences akin to those generated by plant medicine but can be interrupted at any time and are also short lived with no side effects. It’s a lot safer, easier and gentler but also has its place firmly rooted in every culture and every nation with integrity.
Sound helps with communal bonding and collective awareness. Sound helps us communicate things we know and things we don’t know. Things we tell ourselves and things we don’t tell ourselves. Sound makes you resilient and capable of dealing with life no matter how harsh it can be.
WHAT DOES SOUND THERAPY ENTAIL?
It can all seem a little mumbo jumbo-ish but just like life itself, it is not about the theory of it all but instead the action or practice. People could tell you a million things about the benefits of Sound Meditation but if the experience itself doesn’t quite match the theory then the latter is obsolete at best.
For a lot of us, sound is exactly what we have been waiting for and I am glad to be able provide the world with this brand new, yet very old form of meditation and transformation through my app Third Ear (iOS & Android) as well as my seminars across the globe.