Guest Blog: The Healing Power of Sound
The first of our five senses to develop in utero, and the last to fade as we pass from this world, is our sense of hearing.
Throughout our lives, sound is a magical, mysterious medium that surrounds us, moving, inspiring, enchanting and healing us. Sound is a gateway to the NOW moment, and the healing shift into pure presence and awakened awareness. Music offers a vibrational bridge to the ineffable and unseen worlds, to our undefended heart, and is medicine for our bodies, mind and soul.
We are vibrational beings, and the health of our mind, body and spirit is influenced by our environment, and the sounds we are exposed to.
the soulful voice of Canadian singer/songwriter Pamela Jane Gerrand paired with the exquisite angel photography of Janet Sinclair
Conscious music and sacred sound has the ability to bring us into our heart center, bypassing our busy minds, allowing us to ‘feel to reveal what is arising to be healed’. Music has the unique ability to deliver the truth to our body/mind, and can take our breath away, or bring tears to our eyes, as we feel the resonance of this sensory sonic massage.
Sound, offered with the intention to heal and uplift, creates a vibrational bridge to the NOW moment, where all healing occurs. Music can slow down and equalize brain waves: music with a pulse of about 60 beats per minute can shift us from the beta waves of ordinary consciousness to the alpha waves of heightened awareness and calm.
Music helps us feel good because it allows us to befriend the entire spectrum of our emotional landscape. There is beauty in the light and the dark, and music takes us on a journey to every corner of our human heart, allowing us to love every part of ourselves through the sonic experience of emotional catharsis and release.
Music and sound therapy has many physical benefits
that have been documented by scientific research, ranging from reduced blood pressure and heart rate to increased energy, stronger immune function, and an overall sense of peace and well-being. The miraculous power of sound to bring healing and inner harmony has been known for centuries; Pythagoras used ‘musical medicine’ to eliminate inner dissonance, and alleviate ‘passions of the mind’. Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, took patients to the healing temple of Asclepius, and used music to restore inner harmony and physical vitality.
Modern day applications of sound healing are vast and varied, from music therapy, drumming circles and kirtan singing, to the use of instruments such as didgeridoo, gongs and Tibetan singing bowls. In my sound healing circles, I use a variety of world instruments, including the Indian shruti box, buffalo drum, quartz crystal singing bowls, rattles, shakers and xylophone. The voice is a powerful healing tool, and singing together is a sacred way to create community, relieve anxiety and depression and literally ‘raise our vibration’ with the collective energy generated by the circle of sound.
“To sing is to use the soul voice. It means to say on the breath the truth of one’s power and one’s need. It is to breathe soul over that which is ailing or in need of restoration”
My vision and intention with every sacred sound circle is to breathe soul through our voices, to create a space for deep listening, and to heal ourselves and our ailing world with love, harmony and compassion. It is a joyful experience to carry our woe and wounds on a wave of love, and sing ourselves into a holy wholeness.
Pamela Jane Gerrand
Pamela Jane Gerrand is an internationally acclaimed singer/songwriter, poet and speaker. She has traveled widely, performing her original songs and poems at festivals and forums around the world. Pamela’s wisdom teachings are offered through songs and sacred sound that allows us to quiet the mind, and experience the holy beauty of our soul. She is an animal lover and sacred activist, a creative artist devoted to uplifting humanity and making a difference through her work and her message.
Pamela travels widely, and has performed at festivals across Canada, the US, England, France, Sweden, India and Costa Rica. She has written original songs and poems for many international initiatives, including the 1000 Goddesses Gathering in Washington, D.C., and the March For Our Lives. Pamela has had the honour of performing her original music at keynote talks given by Deepak Chopra, Byron Katie, Bruce Lipton, don Miguel Ruiz and Barbara Marx Hubbard. In 2004 she won the ‘Women in the Arts’ award for outstanding achievement and contributions to the arts in Perth County, and in 2017 she was honoured in Delhi, India with the ‘Iconic Women Creating a Better World for All’ award.
Learn more about Pamela here.
Reflections from a Hospice Veterinarian
In Dreams’ by the kundalini yoga teacher and singer Jai Jagdeesh: Know you are loved.
Love poured through my every being as I walked back in through the family’s door to hear this powerful song being sang a capella by the beautiful voice of my client, Pamela Gerrand. She was sitting on her couch holding her beloved Rufus in her arms as he welcomed sleep from the injectable medications given earlier. I felt this very special energy set with love, intention, and vibration. It filled the house, it filled me up, I can only imagine how it must have affected both Pamela as she sang and Rufus as he listened and felt the healing power of this gospel sound. It was only after our time together that I read this blog by Pamela, originally written in 2019 and these words really resonated with me:
Music can slow down and equalize brain waves: music with a pulse of about 60 beats per minute can shift us from the beta waves of ordinary consciousness to the alpha waves of heightened awareness and calm.
Music is so very powerful.