Energy is in everything around us, including sound frequencies. When I explain the nature of “energy” in our environment, music/sound is an easy way of making people understand the transformative nature of energy-meeting-energy and transforming into something unique. This principal of energetic transformation is at the core of Feng Shui.
The frequency of music has an instant, direct impact on humans and other living things. There has been considerable research on how music and other sound frequencies can even impact water molecules and other inanimate elements, not only humans and other life. In humans it’s known that sound frequencies change neurological pathways, connecting experiences to the sound. This changes us forever since these pathways are imprinted in our emotional memories.
Music can instantly reference us to a specific time and/or place in our lives. We hear a tune from our past and we are transported either to an era in our lives or a specific time and place. Some frequencies can evoke a visceral and immediate response even when we first hear it because of how the pattern or frequency affects us. The first time I heard Madam Butterfly in a music appreciation class in 6th grade, I wept. I didn't know the storyline, but the music raised bumps on my skin and evoked unexpected tears. Every single performance I've attended and every time I've heard even a portion of that score since has evoked the same response. There’s something in that musical pattern that touches me deeply. A different example is that of a song that was sung at my father’s funeral when I was 11. Since that day every time I’ve heard that song I weep uncontrollably. Even though I’d heard that song many times before, my neural pathways were reprogrammed to connect with the emotions of that traumatic moment.
Music therapy has been used for patients with cognitive and neurological disorders to connect them to an earlier time in their lives to “awaken” them from their disorder. It’s so powerful that even if only for a brief time, they are highly animated and connected to those around them. If they have been non-verbal, they suddenly become very chatty, talking about the things that the music connects them to from an earlier time. It’s truly transformative.
The profound ability for music or sounds to affect us, both positively and negatively, can be experienced all around us. From a march to a lullaby, the melody and tempo instantly changes our mood. Other sounds have the same effect, from a bell-tower carillon to the sound of jackhammers. Whether we perceive it as pleasant, or dissonant it informs and influences our mood. Music and frequencies can shatter glass and create patterns in the sand. It’s no wonder we are so susceptible to the transformative nature of music and sound patterns.
Selecting music for a large group of people can be difficult. Specific groups like one thing and others like another depending on their musical preferences. But the sounds of nature seem to have universal appeal. The sound of rain, waves, fluttering leaves, chirping birds, and even a night owl make us feel peaceful. Selecting frequencies that will support you in your work is solely dependent upon the music that you're most drawn to, but universally the most supportive frequencies will be those found in nature: in a forest, on the sea, or in the peace of a plains, desert, or mountain wilderness.
