a song can shift a mood...instantly
it can bring peace........effortlessly
A song can stir your soul.
Bring a tear to your eye.
Move your spirit to dance.

A song can enfold your heart.

When I’m not listening to music, people that know me well ask me if I’m okay. Yet, people laugh when I say that I’m addicted to sound. After four years of making sound in therapeutic and ritual situations suddenly, circumstances gave me a dry spell. I listen to music constantly and yet no amount of playing music on my stereo, discman or computer filled a need inside me that was aching for attention. I asked my mentor, a wise man, why regular music couldn’t replace my need for live, organic sound and his answer was “good question!” Turns out he’s a wise guy.

And like the dedicated sound explorer that I am, off I trekked in search of an answer.
While spelunking through nooks and crannies, I discovered the three Rs on a cave wall. No, not reading, writing and rithemtic (whoever came up with that obviously hadn’t mastered the writing yet). The three Sound Rs....
• Ritual • Resonance • Receptivity

Of course! Suddenly it all made sense to me. Rituals are created out of seemingly simple things. We create ritual by focusing our attention to a set time and space. Ritual becomes our cycles in life. We all have our morning ritual that we follow and like all things in life, even our rituals flow and change into new ones constantly. Sound becomes ritual when we set aside the time for its practice. It reaches us when we set aside the stresses of everyday life, turn off the computers, televisions and cell phones and allow ourselves to be moved into the bliss of sound’s offering. Through ritual, we connect to the spirit, the miracle that gives us life. It’s our direct plug-in to the Universe (One Song).

Resonance takes us back to the basic physics. Our bodies are a collection of molecules bumping into each other in space creating a mass. We are actually 90% space. The kinetic energy of these active molecules creates vibrations. The essence of sound is vibratory and our physical bodies are vibratory. Our skin is a perfect medium for sound receptivity. When we listen to sound, our bodies get a vibratory massage which can be easily felt with a buffalo drum. When our body vibrations blend with sound we create our own unique songs.

Receptivity requires deep listening. Our receptivity increases when we are in ritual space. We tune our listening ears, our listening hearts and our listening bodies to the caresses of sonic expression that we make and receive. With our attention focused on sound making we become more aware of the harmonies, dissonances and blends with the sound of others.
Engaging in the three Sound Rs is an extra ordinary experience. On a regular basis it can definitely become addictive. But I can’t think of a better addiction to have than sonic bliss.

~ Sonic Blissings, Anoushka