Sound is Vibration, Vibration is Spiritual Connection

St. Johns Passion was an eruption of sound, a tremendous drama it seemed. Not being able to understand any of the words, I let the sounds wash over me, explosive in its volume and harmonies. I did not feel any particularly religious connection but I did feel the energy vibrations throughout the room increase exponentially. As the tones within the ensemble moved from full, passionate and voluminous, to calm undertones with a single voice cascading over them, I was able to feel invisible strings tugging at my emotions. I wasn't just hearing the music anymore, I was feeling the music throughout my whole body. This sensation put me in a state of feeling more connected to "something" greater than myself.

This altered state of feeling includes a multitude of experiences: vibrancy, clarity, jubilance, clearance of negative feelings, being at ease and connected to everything and everyone around me. From my experience, I believe this sensation arises from being physically immersed in higher energy vibrations, which one can accomplish through external means or internal means such as: meditation, singing, dancing and exercising. One example of where this concept is applied is through a method of healing called Reiki. The key component of learning Reiki involves going through a ritual called an "attunement", where the Reiki Master imparts a large boost of "healing energy" also known as "life energy" to the student. The attunement is supposed to help you open up to the energies of life and healing. Having spoken to people who have experienced an attunement, it seems mirrors the same feelings of vibrancy, clarity, jubilance and connection that one can experience through music and meditation.

Watching the clips of Indonesian music in class, I have come to believe that through the singing, the drumming, the dancing and the chanting, this same higher level of energy vibration is reached and experienced by all of those participating. It makes sense that this sensation is used in religious settings because of its ability to make humans feel open and connected to everything around them. It is a very powerful sensation that can induced and seems synonymous with many other spiritual experiences that people have. Whether or not they involve a God or gods or any other kind of spirituality. This experience of connection and openness of all the senses is one way that I believe the 6th sense is demonstrated. Some may not refer to this as the 6th sense, but from my experience, the 6th sense if all sense that cannot be described by the other five and the experience of energy, connection, spirituality is all sensed through something more than just our five physical senses.

Examples of other sounds that lead to this same phenomena are found across cultures in religious and non-religious rituals. The Ohm sound that is often used to many meditation and yoga practices (get specifics). The mediation done by the Tibetan Buddhist monks which certainly achieves that level of energy vibration if not higher. The African chanting, drumming and singing, that is portrayed as the stereotype of their musical culture. The gospel choirs that sing in church even the organ accompaniment with its deep-long lasting tones.
Similar to my experience of the St, Johns Passion and the Indonesian music clips we heard in class, these are just a few instances where sound has been incorporated into ritual that bestow upon participants and onlookers the feeling of connection to something greater than yourself.

One other example of where this energy can be found that is very close to my heart, is within the purring of a cat. I know some people would argue with me, but my cats are on top of me and purring away, it feels gives me a similar sensation. There is a reason that some people say that cats have the ability to help heal through their purr. The purr itself causes a very deep and strong vibration that is activated the moment they appear to feel pleasure and happiness. The vibration they create, contains tremendous amounts of life energy that is found inside all of us and when the choose to share it with us, we are benefitted by the energy boost, to positivity and the connection we feel to them (if you ever feel connected to cats).