October 2026
The sounds of fall are so delightful. The birds chirping, the mellow breezes at your back, the whipples of leaves falling on the ground. It's a season for letting go and cozying into our internal landscape.
This month I was lucky enough to travel and attend a Vedic recitation retreat in the Netherlands at Maharishi European Research University (MERU) for some of the days of Navratri, the annual Hindu festival that honors Shakti, the divine feminine power in Hinduism. Each day I sat in on four hours of beautiful sounds of the ancient Vedic texts that pandits begin to learn at a young age. The harmonies of sounds from the pandits at MERU and the few hundred who live- streamed from India lulled me into such deep relaxation that I fell asleep most days, as did many others with me there.
Sound waves heal the mind and body in profound ways. Scientific research has shown that Vedic chanting deactivates the human body’s tendency to stay stuck in a limbic fight or flight by activating the parasympathetic nervous system. Doing so subsequently lowers blood pressure and cortisol. For the pandits, their consistent learning and chanting of these ancient Vedic texts has been shown to thicken their prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for executive function and emotional regulation. What a beautiful phenomenon simply through the air we breathe and the sounds we take in.
I like to think that this fall season will bring more peace into the world. I like to stay hopeful for human dignity because I continue to be given opportunities to heal and wish this for others. I think we all do. Creativity is how we do this. Telling our stories, dancing to our songs, making art. In the book, Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transforms Us, authors Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross explore how the arts and aesthetic experiences change the body, brain, and behavior of humans. For example, arts engagement activates the sensory and motor systems (motor skills = think handwriting), and thus quiets judgment in the prefrontal cortex while allowing the release of feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. Engagement with music or drawing or painting or cooking or exercising allows the mind to let go of tightness and relax into something good. To feel connected to our creative spirits and let go of the barriers of the mind.
Now I may be too hopeful for some, but I think that hope and courage is what the heart is made of, and sound is what carries us to our greatest work. If you could have any sounds soothe you throughout your day, what would they be?
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