The Sounds of Now

Sunday, September 24, 2006 ~ Rapid City, South Dakota

I'm reminded in this moment of some of the reasons why the sound healing work I do is so powerful...for me.

Of course, it's gratifying when participants share their experiences of an event, as they did this afternoon here in Rapid City. And when I'm making a return visit to a place, as I've done today, it's also gratifying to hear about the life changes sparked or supported by my previous visit.

Though my human self welcomes the validation, it's my experience of the sound that keeps me coming back for more.

As meditation and other spiritual practices do for some of you, the sounds that vibrate through me take me to a different place, a higher place, a truer place.

Sometimes, like today, I have a profoundly physical experience, feeling the vibrations in particular parts of my body as it shifts, aligns, recalibrates.

Stephen, one of this afternoon's participants, spoke of feeling as though he was a car and was in the shop for a tune-up during the sound initiation. I'm very aware of experiencing that same kind of realignment and recalibration whenever I sing the sacred sounds and light codes that have chosen me as their transmitter.

Today's sound, though, is something apart.

Just as some people sense a connection to the dolphins of a particular region, I have a powerful connection to the buffalo herds of the Black Hills south of Rapid City.

I had my first experience of them last year. As I drove into the area's wildlife preserve that is their home, I declared, I want to see buffalo.

Then call them in, with sound, I heard in reply.

And so I did, singing sounds I had never before sung. Within moments, a giant herd was crossing the road (see photo).

Today, as I begin to sing, I'm aware once again that these sounds are different. Almost immediately, I realize that it's the song and energy of the buffalo that's moving through me. Not just any buffalo, but the buffalo of the Black Hills.

Something else about today's sound: It's totally unpredictable. While that's always true, that unpredictability is even more pronounced this afternoon.

Today, there's little melody. Instead, the style of the sound shifts frequently, dramatically and without warning from moment to moment, forcing me, even more than usual, to abandon any pretense of control.

Which brings me back to the power for me of these sound initiations and sessions. They move me into profound levels of surrender, insist that I live in the certainty of uncertainty and draw me away from the limitations and constrictions of my mind. And they accomplish these in ways that speaking and writing rarely do quite as fully.

Drawing comes comes close. But even there, my mind can more easily intrude as it tries to figure out that which transcends mind-meaning.

And so what did the buffalo sing this afternoon?

Many things, most of which lie beyond human understanding. One thing, though, they always remind me: that it's possible to be powerful and strong, to have a mighty presence, to carry the wisdom of the ages and to hold the medicine of the gods...to do all this and more while remaining firmly anchored on this earth at this time and in this moment.

Photo by Mark David Gerson: The Buffalo of Custer State Park, Black Hills, South Dakota