I just came back from a stormy beach, where the waves are thunderous as they pound against the sand; and darts of rain  pepper my face as I dare to turn into the wind. The wetness is something I can tolerate, because I love this awesome sound!

Pranic energy generated by water invigorates me and fills me with a fresh sense of life. New inspiration and awe. Water alone, would be enough to stir my emotions, activate my creativity, or move me to tackle something difficult, but the SOUND of water in one of its myriad forms gives me the energy to accomplish the impossible!
 
Today, I am truly humbled by an aspect of water we often forget - namely the sound of water. Within the energies created by movement of water, lies sound - an energy so mystical and powerful that it has been used in countless ways as a life force and healing medicine for man and beast since time began.

If no one has suggested sound should be given the distinction of an  "official" earth element, let me be the first!  Ether is often given the status of being the fifth element in the natural world.  But sound is prevalent in ether, air, earth, water and fire. Sound is everywhere, whether we hear it or not. And water is everywhere, whether we see it or not.

Today, it is the roar of the ocean that opens my soul with new wisdom and understanding; but other days, it is the sound of a babbling brook, a rushing river, and even the dripping kitchen faucet! Underneath the obvious surface "noise," there is a voice that speaks to me in rhythm and song. Sometimes this voice sounds like mystical murmurings uttered between councils of ancient spirits. Have you ever heard this? I heard it just today as I stood in front of the powerful stormy sea. I was reluctant to leave, and could have stood longer dripping, but I wanted to snuggle up and contemplate this sound/water phenomenon in dry clothing and a warm blanket! I headed home!

Sound waves are conducted extremely well in water. Sound and water both move in waves,  so it is natural that they would complement each other. This is why we can sing or say words to our water and the molecules "hear" our waves of intention and respond by transforming themselves based on the information to which they are exposed. This is why I always recommend saying a blessing to water in addition to placing the word on the container. Be aware of what you say. Sound carries more than simple meanings. It carries the intention of those words. Water does the same.  Sound and water are waves that permeate and influence all living things.

How can this be a path to enlightenment? While most would think something much more complex than this is the path, I believe it can be this simple.

Listen to the wind, or put your ear to the ground. Find a tree and hear the sap move in the trunk. Hold a seashell to your ear. You will always hear the movement of energy and it sounds like an ocean wave, or a machine, or a bee hive, or . . . the sounds are like so many other things we hear in our world. And yet, when those sounds are heard out of context and we give our complete attention to them, something enters our consciousness that wasn't there before. Abstract sound and can be heard in many forms. Abstract sounds are the sounds we THINK we don't hear; but upon focused attention, find we actually do hear them. Those sounds are bringing us energy or information, whether we are open to receiving or not. Most of the time most people miss these mystical communications because they don't tune-in.

We make anything sacred by giving it our  reverent attention. Water doesn't need to know it is sacred, nor does sound. We don't need to put our reverence into informing those elements of their specialness. So we don't need to build shrines to sound or water. We simply need to put the divinity of their reality INTO US! When we change our perspective and learn to appreciate the gifts given to us in the form of healing, wisdom, nourishment, etc., we stop taking them for granted and realize the power they have on life.

This is what awakening is all about. With more of these moments of awakening we become enlightened. One moment leads you to another, and another. The most enlightened masters among us are the ones who have listened to sound and experienced the power of its energy in water, air, fire and earth. The most enlightened among us never lose their awe or gratitude for these gifts.

Many people become overwhelmed by sound when it comes in the form of "noise." Many people think the ocean sound is too loud for them. Some people have trouble with the sound of cities or power tools, or the sounds of children playing. All these sounds are forms of energy we can use to open our minds and use as inspiration. If we get "under" the obvious objectionable sounds, we can hear varying qualities of rhythm, song and mystical conversation - but only if we LISTEN, and not just hear. We can make these undertones sacred in our lives by giving them undivided attention and inviting them into our consciousness. These abstract sounds carry information our cells can use to repair themselves or recharge their lives.

Ancient masters listened to Abstract Sounds and were ultimately inspired to write spiritual truths they received through the "whisperings." From those great whisperings came sacred texts, gospels, scriptures and great wisdom traditions that have been passed down to us and are still in use today.

Abstract sound, called sawt-e-sarmad by the Sufis, or anahad nada in the Veda (unlimited sound), is a source of all revelation, of all freedom, of all understanding, and is present in everything; but is amazingly accessible when being transmitted through water. The messages in water will come to all who can hear them. 

There is no new information about the Truth of life in our universe, but if one were to adjust their hearing/listening to the wisdom that is carried by the sound waves, and let those insights lead them to the silence of the inner life, spiritual masters believe that all sorrows, fears and diseases would leave our consciousness and liberate us humans for a much more meaningful life experience.

Are human beings ready for this? Some are . . .

Hazrat Inayat Khan, a Sufi Master, explored both water and sound in the late 1800s and early 1900s. He wrote, "The sound of Truth is revealed from within and every aspect of sound [or water] has a particular effect upon life as the vibrations resonate in every direction." 

What we do with the information we receive from sound and water has the ability to reshape our reality. When we receive a ripple of Truth, a sound wave of Truth, or a wave of water carrying Truth, we know, from every aspect of our being, we have received something sacred.

I am heading back to the stormy sea, now, where I am sure I will hear the ancients talking to me again . . .

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In the past couple of months as I have been doing water/sound experiments at the beach and this has lead me to become acquainted with the local dolphin and seal populations that live in the harbor.

After moving to a coastal town recently, I had been feeling some degree of loneliness. Being a lover of water and sound, I began to sing at the beach to fill my emptiness. About 6 weeks ago, I noticed that seals were following me as I sang and walked in the surf. After 4 or 5 days of doing this, something amazing caught my eye. It was a dolphin swimming in close on the incoming tide. No, it was THREE dolphins, all swimming in unison near me! I continued to sing. As I did, they moved in closer and played and jumped. It was delightful to witness, and I felt the most amazing heart-opening every time they surfaced for air. (I thought I already had an "open heart," but nothing even compared to this!) There was a sensation of something huge and warm coming into my chest, as well as something huge pouring out. And it filled my entire body with tingles! Anyway . . .

The next day, I sat and sang for about 20 minutes. From one direction came the seals and from the other direction came the dolphins. Since then, I do this every day. When I sing lively music because I feel lively, the birds come a little closer and bob their heads. Seals keep their heads above water longer, too. Dolphins rise up and jump in the air doing aerial ballets. But it is when I sing my soft, tender emotional songs that they teach me the greatest lessons.

Sometimes emotions have no corresponding language and yet, the energy or wave of sound that is made during sad times, is understood as it gets carried by the water. When my tone turns somber, filled with sustained slow notes and microtones reflecting the breaking of my heart, my sound waves are filled with distinct meaning.  That is when the dolphins swim slowly in a large open circle in the same place, staying gently with me for a while. Could compassion be any more understood than this display? They teach me how to BE - just be!  All spiritual masters agree that when the heart is heavy - don't try to fix it, change it or overlook it- and in that state of mind, healing and answers will come, inspiration will come, and this, too, shall pass. How many times have I read this or heard it? But the dolphins SHOWED me by swimming slowly in the same place helping me see how to slow down and experience this part of life.

When I have questions and need answers, my song is different. My emotional tones ask for answers as they ripple into the water alerting the natural world that I am on a quest. Before long, the answer comes. We may think we create our own wisdom - figure things out for ourselves, generate "new" insights; or that we somehow possess some special capability to capture wisdom. But I've learned that wisdom is available all-ways. Abstract sound carries supreme wisdom. But we must pay close attention because sometimes the answers don't show up in a form we expect.

One day, I sat on the beach and pondered my personal healing challenges. I have some nerve damage in my arms, and often have great difficulty with full movement. This day, I wondered about finding a new practitioner and maybe trying a new therapy. Within a few minutes I saw something startling rise out of the sea and wave at me. It was HUGE! Oh my gosh! It was a whale's flipper. I grabbed my binoculars. It was waving not randomly, but in a particular rhythmic motion! And it continued for a little while. Later that week, I saw a new physical therapist who showed me the latest exercise technique to help my arms heal. Right then, I realized the technique was identical to the motion shown to me by the whale! In awe, I can only whisper this in reverent tones . . . pay attention to the extraordinary, because it usually indicates evidence of ancient Truth being shared with you. I

Had I realized what the whale was showing me, I could have saved myself the price of the office visit!

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