Sounds to soothe and stimulate
Pandemic Peace
Here in Melbourne we are still locked down to curb the spread of the coronavirus. During our curfew (8pm to 5am) the roads outside no longer have heavy traffic sounds and it is unusually quiet at night. As we get out for our one hour of exercise each day, we seem to be more attentive to the songs and warbles of the birds.
This Might Give You a Buzz!
Slovenia has a time-honoured tradition of harnessing the sound of bees to calm your nerves and help you to relax. Those in stressful jobs like firefighting use the sound of bees to calm them down. Many Slovenian schools have beehives and if children are anxious, teachers send them to the apiary until they regain their composure. Slovenians often put beds at the back of their apiaries because the buzzing sounds seem as if you are lying under a waterfall.
While Slovenians might find the buzzing of bees to be soothing, those from other countries may find the thought of sleeping next to bees, to pump up their anxiety levels. Beauty is in the ear of the hearer.
What Sound Do You Need at the Moment?
Stéphane Pigeon has a strong passion for sounds, so much so that he is developing a sound bank. myNoise.net has become one of the most visited web sites in the world.
Many people use the sounds of rain on a tent or the sound of a waterfall to help them sleep.
The sound of a Japanese Garden or a Gregorian Chant may bring calm and peace.
The sounds of an Irish coast may be used to mask the sounds of a noisy office.
The noises of a café may help us to focus and boost our productivity.
Check out which sounds help you to meditate, which inspire your creativity, which sounds rejuvenate and which sounds create the best ambience for different occasions.
Spiritual Sounds
The mystics and the prophets have always believed it possible to hear the divine voice. Elijah, the Hebrew prophet, sampled different sounds and discovered God neither in the sound of the wind, nor in the earthquake or the fire but in ‘the still, small voice’. The prophet Job, similarly, came to recognise the divine voice in a whisper. Which suggests, in addition to seeking sounds for stimulation or soothing, it may be beneficial to slow down, get accustomed to stillness and be intentional about listening for the whispers of love and truth.
Geoff Pound
Image: Thanks to Rowan Heuvel for sharing their photo on Unsplash.