Last week I talked about how sound travels and about how sound travels through your body. Some of these sounds are beneficial and some are not. Do you know how to tell the difference?
Here is an experiment that offers you a physical experience of two contrasting sounds:
- Take a deep breath. Release the breath slowly with a big sigh.
- Check in with your body. How are you feeling right now? Don’t judge it. Just notice.
- Click on the track below to listen to its sounds. The track is 22 seconds long. Don’t feel bad if you need to turn it off after a few seconds – it’s rather hard to listen to.
- Check in with your body again. Do you notice a difference from how you felt before listening to the track?
- Click on the track below to listen to its sounds. This track is 30 seconds long.
- Check in with your body again. Do you notice a difference in how you respond to these sounds?
- You can repeat this experiment with your attention to what is going on in your mind instead of focusing on how your body feels.
- You can repeat it again with your attention to what is going on in your emotional state to increase your awareness of how sound affects you on all levels.
The next time you go shopping for groceries, listen to the music playing. Decades of research have shown that music with a slow beat can increase sales by up to 40% in grocery stores.
The next time you go to the mall, listen to the music played in the various stores. Most retailers know what music will keep customers in their store longer. If the store belongs to a national or international chain, the type of music played may be determined by company policy and sent to all stores.
Popular restaurants may also have similar policies depending on whether they want to keep diners at their table longer or turn over tables faster. Does fast music make you eat faster?
We need to remember that sound is a nutrient for our body. It feeds us. Particularly our nervous system. As you become aware of how you respond to sound at all levels, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, I encourage you to ask whether a particular sound feeds you or whether it doesn’t.
Actually, the one sound that has the most power to change your physical, mental, emotional or spiritual state is the sound of your own voice. But that is a whole other blog topic.
If you live in an area of the world where sound inundates your day, developing an awareness of how that sound affects you can make a difference in how you choose to maintain good health and wellness.