The musician side of me likes order. After all what is music? An ordering of sounds. In many ways this can stimulate both the left brain and the right brain. The left brain, as I looked at in an earlier post, has as one of it's main functions the ordering of chaos in a seemingly chaotic world. We find this pleasing, but musically speaking we tend to also like a little chaos...some dissonance or some syncopation in music to keep us guessing. It gives us some tension, but then it feels nice when it resolves. It's like little game of musical peekaboo or a puzzle that keeps the left brain engaged. Some music therapy uses this part of the brain, the left brain. It can be useful in triggering old memories or stimulating existing pathways of thought. (Check out this amazing video)
Another type of music therapy, which is what I am mostly interested in now, is what I call Sound Therapy. This type uses sounds to affect the body and mind on a deep level. I feel that because of the lack of structure or form this is very effective at engaging the right brain. From my experience with this, I feel that sound therapy can not only affect me on a deep subconscious level, but I also feel that being exposed to certain frequencies, overtones and vibrations affects my physical body as well.
Just soaking in the random sounds of these tones without needing to focus on a musical "order" allows the left brain (ego mind) to temporarily disconnect and permits a deep state of relaxation. It's a sound massage. In a way, I feel that this is returning to our roots or the original mind of our truest self.
The Growth of Complexity
Music is a great analogy to the growth of complexity in our own consciousness, Looking at music through the ages it is also easy to see the added complexity that each stylistic era of music brought about.
Whether we realize it or not, much of the way we see the world is based on scripts or mental computer programs that shape the way we see the world. I think we naturally develop this, as we develop and mature, as a way of understanding the world. This can become more complex subconsciously as we age. This is very evident too in the way we "hear" music. We can usually make up our minds whether we like a song within a few seconds, mostly based the pre-existing biases and subconscious structures that have become part of what we like. Of course, the ones that I usually end up liking the most are the ones that take a few listens to grow on me. It's also fun for the brain to find new pathways.
I think we have formed these "scripts" to help us create subtext and understanding so we can make an educated guess about the nature of a situation in which we don't have all of the facts. It's an attempt at finding order in a world that can produce the unexpected. This is how we have evolved to handle day to day life. However, it's important to realize that this is not necessarily a good thing. Most of the time these educated guesses are informed by our previous experiences, good and bad, which may not have any bearing on the present situation. They can also produce unnecessary stress. Getting outside of these preconceptions gives us a way to recalibrate the mind.
Return to Simplicity
Sound Therapy (I mainly use Tibetan bowls) scraps this pre-judging consciousness altogether. Sound Therapy, helps us to return to square one, our primordial consciousness, our "baby mind", and allows the right brain to experience sounds as they are without the need to impose order or judgement on the experience. This gives the mind a much needed rest. Simultaneously, the body has the added benefit of actually feeling the vibrations and sinking into the relaxed space on a physical level as well. In my experience, being able to enter this state of relaxation and rest also raises the body's life force energy, known as Chi or Prana. The pleasant side effect of this is feeling "high".
Finding Ease
To sum it all up, this is all about finding ease and letting go of stress and relearning how to be happy from the inside out. Sometimes things like music therapy can help to find this place of ease and stillness which can sometimes seem elusive. After all, if it was easy to do with our conscious mind, there would be no stress in the world. There would be no need for drugs, alcohol, prescription relaxants etc.. So, I have found that letting go of stress via music therapy is a great way to find that ease of "just being" again, and letting go of stress, dis-ease and disharmony in the body and the mind.
Here's a clip of the Tibetan Bowls. Even though you can't really "feel" the vibrations, like you can live, it's still gives a taste of Sound Therapy.
Just a personal note: There is nothing new under the sun. I am just attempting to present info. here that has helped me. I hope to present it in a clear way based on my experience with anxiety which was a spiritual, psychological and emotional awakening for me. In retrospect of this experience I have been reading as much as I could to come to a deeper and more grounded understanding of this seemingly mystical thing that happened to me (so that I could share it with you). I'm not a doctor or a scientist. Please know this is only my experience. Yours will obviously be different, but since my experience was so similar to others I've talked to, I am hoping this may be helpful or useful to you in some way. That is my purpose here.
For sound downloads click here.
Another type of music therapy, which is what I am mostly interested in now, is what I call Sound Therapy. This type uses sounds to affect the body and mind on a deep level. I feel that because of the lack of structure or form this is very effective at engaging the right brain. From my experience with this, I feel that sound therapy can not only affect me on a deep subconscious level, but I also feel that being exposed to certain frequencies, overtones and vibrations affects my physical body as well.
Just soaking in the random sounds of these tones without needing to focus on a musical "order" allows the left brain (ego mind) to temporarily disconnect and permits a deep state of relaxation. It's a sound massage. In a way, I feel that this is returning to our roots or the original mind of our truest self.
The Growth of Complexity
Music is a great analogy to the growth of complexity in our own consciousness, Looking at music through the ages it is also easy to see the added complexity that each stylistic era of music brought about.
The earliest music in recent recorded history (Medieval music) was mainly chant, like Gregorian chant. Harmonically, this type of music is very basic by today's standards. Later in the Renaissance music started expanding somewhat in complexity, but still kept to very basic harmonies or modes. The Baroque and classical periods produced another evolution in expanding musical form and into a more elaborate "key" structures. The Romantic period, introduced even more harmonic complexity that continued on into the the impressionist periods. In each case more notes and structures were introduced into the public consciousness that challenged the notion of what dissonance was and how harmony is interpreted. Basically, music became more complex and the collective public consciousness eventually developed a taste for that style, until it became passe, and then evolved into something else.
Whether we realize it or not, much of the way we see the world is based on scripts or mental computer programs that shape the way we see the world. I think we naturally develop this, as we develop and mature, as a way of understanding the world. This can become more complex subconsciously as we age. This is very evident too in the way we "hear" music. We can usually make up our minds whether we like a song within a few seconds, mostly based the pre-existing biases and subconscious structures that have become part of what we like. Of course, the ones that I usually end up liking the most are the ones that take a few listens to grow on me. It's also fun for the brain to find new pathways.
I think we have formed these "scripts" to help us create subtext and understanding so we can make an educated guess about the nature of a situation in which we don't have all of the facts. It's an attempt at finding order in a world that can produce the unexpected. This is how we have evolved to handle day to day life. However, it's important to realize that this is not necessarily a good thing. Most of the time these educated guesses are informed by our previous experiences, good and bad, which may not have any bearing on the present situation. They can also produce unnecessary stress. Getting outside of these preconceptions gives us a way to recalibrate the mind.
“We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.” ― Anaïs Nin
Return to Simplicity
Sound Therapy (I mainly use Tibetan bowls) scraps this pre-judging consciousness altogether. Sound Therapy, helps us to return to square one, our primordial consciousness, our "baby mind", and allows the right brain to experience sounds as they are without the need to impose order or judgement on the experience. This gives the mind a much needed rest. Simultaneously, the body has the added benefit of actually feeling the vibrations and sinking into the relaxed space on a physical level as well. In my experience, being able to enter this state of relaxation and rest also raises the body's life force energy, known as Chi or Prana. The pleasant side effect of this is feeling "high".
Finding Ease
To sum it all up, this is all about finding ease and letting go of stress and relearning how to be happy from the inside out. Sometimes things like music therapy can help to find this place of ease and stillness which can sometimes seem elusive. After all, if it was easy to do with our conscious mind, there would be no stress in the world. There would be no need for drugs, alcohol, prescription relaxants etc.. So, I have found that letting go of stress via music therapy is a great way to find that ease of "just being" again, and letting go of stress, dis-ease and disharmony in the body and the mind.
Here's a clip of the Tibetan Bowls. Even though you can't really "feel" the vibrations, like you can live, it's still gives a taste of Sound Therapy.
Just a personal note: There is nothing new under the sun. I am just attempting to present info. here that has helped me. I hope to present it in a clear way based on my experience with anxiety which was a spiritual, psychological and emotional awakening for me. In retrospect of this experience I have been reading as much as I could to come to a deeper and more grounded understanding of this seemingly mystical thing that happened to me (so that I could share it with you). I'm not a doctor or a scientist. Please know this is only my experience. Yours will obviously be different, but since my experience was so similar to others I've talked to, I am hoping this may be helpful or useful to you in some way. That is my purpose here.
For sound downloads click here.