‘Art’ as in the playful crafting and stirring of inner peace and healing using sound and voice and
silence. No rules yet there is structure. A structure that first calms the energy in the room,
creates a safe, protected space, grounds the body and then untethers the spirit, allowing it to
soar. By quieting the Cartesian mind that believes only what it sees, we visualize colors and
movement and if we’re lucky, the cosmos itself. We also go deep inside ourselves, to the level
of cells and energetic connections and the quantum world that awaits our guidance. The
sounds take us on a journey with harmonies coaxed from crystal bowls, cymbals, chimes, rattles
and music created to resonate.
It all sounds very esoteric and unattainable. It isn’t. Participants sit in chairs, covered with a
shawl to keep them warm for the hour. Some have never meditated and wonder how they’ll be
able to sit still for that length of time. I reassure them that if they want to get up, move,
stretch, leave, they’re welcome to do so. Will it bother the rest of the group? It might. It will
also help train us toward equanimity – staying in the moment and just breathing through any
disturbance. This hasn’t happened yet but it might one day.
The vibration of the crystal is so powerful, it burrows deep inside us and starts to remove
blockages. The first session may be one of offloading. Opening up and letting fear, worry and
stress out. There may be tears. This has happened, often. This shedding opens up space within
for a sense of lightness of being and peace to fill up the space. Each session is different
however the intention, set at the outset, is to raise our level of inner peace. Using various
resonance levels to direct our thoughts of wellness, we shift.
For example, music at 528 hertz, the prime resonance of the heart, offers the opportunity to
visualize coherence of heart and mind and gratitude to this tireless, faithful organ that works to
keep our bodies alive even if we don’t give it a thought. We consciously focus emerald green
light to the heart sending it love and the suggestion to open our hearts to an increased sense of
self love and wellness. This may seem to be simply wishful thinking but thinking wishfully is very
powerful. All manifestation begins as a thought.
How does an entrepreneur, author, lecturer come to be a sound healing practitioner?
Since the 1990’s, I’ve sat in a meditation circle. Sitting together for 2 hours a week, eyes closed,
has been the single most positive consistent action that helped build my wellness, my resilience
and a greater level of joy in my life. For almost a decade, we sat in silence, offering up a
collective chant or song from time to time. We learnt to empty the mind but it so loved to
wander! Then came that first crystal bowl and the experience of meditating changed. It became
expansive and life changing. We were introduced to Resonance.
Dr. Mitchell Gaynor, director of Medical Oncology and Integrative Medicine at the Cornell
Cancer Prevention Center in NY has been using sound, including Tibetan bowls, crystal bowls
and chanting in work with cancer patients for many years. ‘If we accept that sound is vibration
and we know that vibration touches every part of our physical being, then we understand that
sound is heard not only through our ears but through every cell in our bodies. One reason
sound heals on a physical level is because it so deeply touches and transforms us on the
emotional and spiritual planes. Sound can redress imbalances on every level of physiologic
functioning and can play a positive role in the treatment of virtually any medical disorder.’*
My experience as both a participant and a leader of sound healing meditation corroborates Dr.
Gaynor’s conclusions. We live in an experiential universe. Try the experience for yourself and
open up your wellbeing to the power of sound. For further information, contact me at
info@andreacourey.com.
Andrea Courey, MEd
www.andreacourey.com
*Retrieved from: https://allyoucanyoga.com/read/nadayoga
Pictured above is a crystal pendulum