The Harmonic Union of Imagery & Sound Healing
Published in “Health Wisconsin” August 2010
The Power of Vibrational Healing
Think of your favorite song. Or maybe the song you were married to. Or the lullaby your grandma used to sing to you. Or your favorite mantra or chant. Go ahead and imagine it. Actually sing it to yourself in your head.
And now, how do you feel? Any different?
It’s common sense that music affects mood, but the vibrational energy that makes up sound can affect us in much more significant ways. Sound therapists recognize that vibrational energy can slow the heart beat, relax the rate of breathing, lower blood pressure or skin temperature. From a soulful perspective, sound energy healing can foster subjective levels of spiritual unfoldment. Pythagoras said, “The first important lesson to learn, is that which subsists through music . . .” for it “possesses remedies of human manner and passions that are able to restore pristine harmony and faculties of the soul.” These natural rhythms of the body are susceptible to external patterns of vibrational energy, which have been proven to affect the mind and body, but because they come through the brain, even purely mental imagery can have affect.
Tapping Into Subtle Levels of Self with Guided Imagery
Recall the little experiment from before. There was no music playing, but even thinking about it can elicit emotional or physical responses. This is where we turn to guided imagery. Guided imagery is a sort of meditation in which an instructor leads you through script of images. These need not be purely visual but can include all of the senses.
This sort of imagery has the ability to access parts of the self on a subtle level. Each guided journey is different for everyone (even if it is the same session). Certain images will stand out, different aspects will be emphasized, or the listener may even zone out for parts of it. All of this is okay. In fact, it may be one of the most vital aspects of guided imagery. The most important thing from a session is that the listener takes something away from it, spends time and interprets what they experienced. Sometimes it’s just as simple to notice what you notice.
Using Guided Imagery and Vibrational Sound Healing to Manage Wellness
Guided imagery can be used for many purposes and produce many different affects. As a form of meditation and reflection, it can induce a relaxed state, lowering blood pressure and alleviating stress. It can be used to help attain goals by imagining the change of a behavior (not smoking, more healthy) and helping the end come in sight. Similarly it can help prepare for specific events that are a locus of anxiety, such as a public speaking engagement or even an athletic event. Equally, the guidance can assist attainment to higher levels of consciousness.
Both vibrational sound healing and guided imagery are useful tools to help manage wellness in one’s life. However, when synthesized, their effects become even more substantial. A well-facilitated session combining both methods can synchronize the body’s emotional rhythms with the release of a visualization, amplifying the final catharsis. Together these methods become more effective at managing pain as well as promoting healing—spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and even physically.
[SIDE BAR]
Notice yourself in the experience and allow yourself to be receptive to what is presenting. Realize you are always in control of the experience, while trusting the facilitator, you may step out of the journey anytime. Now – “Ride the rhythm of the wave of your breath, with each exhalation, feel yourself sinking down into the supporting environment below, give into gravity, release . . . relax… and let go . . . Be like a Bamboo Tree, strong and flexible, hollow inside. Be empty. Empty. Clear. Quiet. Be. ———– Imagine your path of life, as it meanders through a meadow of healing lush green grasses, laced with colorful flowers. See, feel, sense, or know, an image of a dew-touched rose or lotus, beautiful as the first flush of sunrise, placed by a divine hand in your heart center. Or a perfect lotus floating upon your heart’s pure light – allow whatever color to present. Hold this image. Breathe in the healing fragrance, its essence of divine and human love. It emanates a “peace which passeth all understanding’ – a fount of purity. Relax and just be, with whatever presents . . . trust the moment . . . free from judgment or force . . . allow the moment to shift. Allow the presence of truth to reveal . . . In the center of this flower is a brilliant, clear sparkling crystal. A jewel. A light. An essence. It fills you from the inside out, an illuminating splendor, gradually integrating your inner-world and outer world, in balance and harmony. Notice what you notice. Soften and deepen . . . a seamless reality. The fire of golden sun offers a vision of hope and expansion. While the waters of life teach to flow and be calm. The light blue canopy of sky enfolds you with intuitive clarity. The soft winds of change signal to purify thoughts and words. Upon the path – The New Earth provides an awakening of stability, strength and new beginnings. Sit in your heart center. Breathe at the center of the ‘mind in the heart’ — the inner gateway to your Truth of Being. Feel the joy, the love, the truth. ‘Pause’ . . . Focus on your inhalation phase of your breathing rhythm, gradually bring your awareness back into the room, notice what you notice. And always be grateful for the change.” – Lee Ann Dzelzkalns