The Power Of Sound

Rudolf Steiner described the higher spiritual world as essentially a world of flowing tones—the “music of the spheres.” According to Steiner, during sleep, the higher members of the soul leave the physical and etheric bodies and dwell in this world of tones, absorbing its harmonies and rhythms, even if unconsciously.

Awake or asleep, sound has the power to enter into and alter our deepest parts. It can teach us high and lovely things, or it can wreck us, depending on the kind of sound it is. In today’s world, we have too much of the wrong kinds of sounds and not enough of the right ones. This phenomenon is new in history, so I am not sure there is a roadmap for how it will play out. What I do know is that it costs us, body and soul. Tuning in to the sounds we hear every day and how they affect us is as simple as it is important.

The natural sounds of the world are part of the environment in which we, as human beings, were placed to grow. The sound of wind in the grass, the sound of falling water, the clear song of a lone bird at dawn—these sounds speak of life and meaning to the human soul. They contain the wisdom, truth, and being of the ages, uplifting and educating us through their rhythms and tones.

Music is humankind’s natural contribution to the true sounds of the world. Whether it takes the soul higher or lower, it should still teach us something and contribute to our own being by communicating something beautiful or deeply true from one human being to another. On the other hand, the noise of machines, the hum of a high-powered streetlight, or the incessant rumble and honking of cars on a busy road do not contribute to our well-being. They were not born from the flow of this world but from what we have made of it. These sounds do not carry beauty or truth. They exist solely as byproducts of utilitarian creations.

If a person is exposed to endless utilitarian sounds without silence or the natural sounds of being, this can lead to problems of body and soul, including nervous system disorders, insomnia, restlessness, and depression. We are not designed for inane noise, and it is not designed for us. When it enters us, our own being does not quite know what to do with it. At this point, it becomes necessary to grow conscious of the sounds we take in and how they act upon us.

Deliberately freeing ourselves from the constant noise of industrial sounds is one way to improve our spiritual well-being. Deliberately exposing ourselves to the right sounds is another.

I like to listen to a stream when it rises after the rain. The gurgling, sucking sounds of a deep, swirling mass of water dropped from the sky, gathering from drips and rivulets to form a heavy self, only to be raised again into the sky, show me how the true world works. We fall, we rise, we fall, and we are born again.

Natural sounds not only ease the nervous system; they can actually teach us something about existence itself.

Listen.