The Dance of Sound & Silence

I’ve always been enamoured by the phenomenon of sound; how something that is intangible can have such a palpable and physical impact on our lives. Think of how a mother’s lullaby can soothe a crying child, or how the crash of thunder can startle us into alertness. Consider how a particular song can transport you to a time of joy or tears etched in memory, or how the sound of rain can kindle nostalgic yearnings for chai and pakoras. Sound moves not just through air, but through time, through memory, and through consciousness itself.

In the realm of meditation, sound offers us something unique – a gateway that’s always open, always inviting us into the present moment. Unlike the breath which we may consciously control, sound simply is. It comes and goes on its own, teaching us about impermanence with each passing note, each fading echo.

But we don’t need to look so far – the truth of sound’s power is evident in our daily experience. Have you noticed how certain sounds can instantly alter your state of being? A door slam could trigger anxiety, while the sound of the ocean could bring calmness. A child’s laugh could uplift you, while a distant siren could create unease.

Sound can also be consciously employed as a technology to cultivate deeper states of awareness. In fact, sound was my doorway into meditation. When I was first dabbling with meditation, I found it very difficult to sit still in silence for prolonged periods of time – even 5 minutes was impossible for me. As an extremely cerebral person, I needed something to direct my thoughts towards, so that I could anchor into the present moment. Focusing on the breath felt gruelling, as my body was an unsafe place for me, which can often happen for those who have experienced trauma in their lives. After all those “failed” attempts I had given up, simply warranting that meditation just wasn’t for me. However no matter how many books I read, they all pointed towards meditation as the ultimate form of self-knowledge. That’s when I decided to try Deepak Chopra’s 21-day meditation challenge, trusting that his wisdom and guidance could illuminate a path I couldn’t see yet.

While these are all examples of how sound can evoke unconscious responses, It was then that I had discovered Transcendental Meditation (TM). This was a breakthrough moment for me, being able to focus my mind on a word and having the sound of it ripple through my being awakened me to the power of meditation. Unlike the struggle with silence or the complexity of watching my breath, here was something both tangible and ephemeral, a sound that could carry my awareness beyond the busy mind and into the ‘now’.

Traditional wisdom traditions have long recognised sound as a divine messenger. The Vedic seers heard the cosmic Om resonating throughout creation, developing a sophisticated understanding of sound. The ancient Greeks spoke of the Music of the Spheres. Indigenous cultures worldwide use sound as a bridge between worlds, connecting them to the spirit world of their ancestors.

The Sacred Technologies of Sound

Across cultures and time, humans have developed sophisticated practices for using sound as a spiritual technology:

• In the Vedic tradition Mantra Japa is a practice where each repetition of a mantra creates ripples in consciousness, like dropping pebbles in a still pond
• In the Hindu tradition Kirtan is where voices merge in devotional songs until the energy around the group becomes charged and the singer and song become one
• Icaros, the medicine songs of the indigenous people of the Amazon, is where melody becomes a map for inner journeys
• Tibetan singing bowls that seem to vibrate at a frequency so potent that they impact not just the air around them but seem to resonate with space itself.
• The didgeridoo of Aboriginal Australians that resonates the primordial sound, unlocks hidden memories to access deeper states of consciousness
• The whirling and chanting of the Sufis, where movement and sound combine to create an ecstatic state that dissolves the boundaries between lover and beloved, between human and divine
• Native American drumming that synchronizes human heartbeats with Earth’s pulse
• The ethereal harmonics of Gregorian chants that create sonic cathedrals of consciousness

Each tradition has discovered that different sounds affect us in different ways. The deep resonance of a gong speaks to our bones and belly. High bell tones light up our crown. Certain frequencies align with our nervous system, others with our subtle energy bodies. Modern science is beginning to understand what the ancients knew – sound has the power to alter consciousness, heal bodies, and transform states of being.

If you’ve ever wondered how sound can affect us so profoundly, it’s because vibration is the very foundation of our universe and reality. What appears as solid matter is actually energy vibrating at extremely high frequencies, creating the illusion of density and form. Nature offers us a visible demonstration of this principle through cymatics, where sound waves create intricate geometric patterns in sand or water – showing us directly how sound shapes physical reality. When we engage with sound in meditation, we’re not merely working with an external phenomenon, but connecting with the fundamental vibratory structure that underlies and binds all of existence. This is why sacred sounds can touch us so deeply at both physical and subtle levels.

This understanding is echoed in modern physics, where researchers like Nassim Haramein describe our entire solar system as a cosmic waveform, with planets spiraling around the sun as it moves through the galaxy. We see this same spiral dance mirrored throughout nature – in the graceful unfurling of shells, in the elegant twist of our DNA’s double helix, encoding genetic heritage. The universe, in its deepest nature, is not static but in constant motion – an eternal dance of vibrating energy expressing itself as both matter and sound.

Sound & Silence

But perhaps the most profound aspect of sound isn’t in the sounds themselves, but in the silence from which they emerge. Just as music lives in the relationship between notes, sonic meditation thrives in the living silence that holds all sound.

Have you ever noticed how silence isn’t really empty? Remain in quietitude for a moment and you might discover that silence has a presence, an experience, a quality all its own. It’s not the absence of sound, but rather the canvas upon which all sounds are painted. Like the space between breaths or the pause between thoughts, this silence is pregnant with possibility.

In deep meditation, we can begin to experience silence not as a void to be filled, but as a living presence to be discovered. It’s the ground of being from which all sounds arise and into which they dissolve, like waves appearing and disappearing in an infinite ocean. This silence exists before thought, before language, before the very concept of “me” and “other.” It’s what the mystics point to when they speak of the absolute – that which remains when all else falls away.

As we deepen our practice, we might notice how sounds and silence dance together in an eternal embrace. Each sound emerges from silence, lives its brief life, and returns to silence, teaching us about the rhythmic nature of all existence. A bird calls – silence – another answers – silence. Traffic hums – silence – footsteps pass – silence. Even in what we consider noise, we can find the silence subtly hidden beneath the sound waves, as an all-pervading ever-present cosmic quality.

Yet this profound silence isn’t something we need to seek or achieve. It’s already here, always here, like the screen behind every movie or the sky holding every cloud. Our practice is simply to notice it, to rest in it, to let it reveal itself as our own true nature. When we discover this, even the busiest street corner can become a sanctuary of silent awareness, and every sound can be heard as it truly is – a momentary dance of energy in the vast space of consciousness itself.

The Practice

Sonic meditation invites us to use sound not just as background ambiance, but as our primary gateway to presence. Unlike breath meditation where we focus on physical sensation, here we open our awareness to the vast landscape of sound that surrounds us at all times.

Find your seat in your sacred space, settling into a comfortable position that allows you to remain alert yet relaxed. You might choose to close your eyes to heighten your auditory awareness, or keep them softly open with a downward gaze.

Begin by simply listening to any meditative music of your choice. If you’re looking for inspiration, I’ve curated a playlist of sounds and music from the many cultures across the world that work with sound.

Listen intently, while making no effort to find or focus on particular sounds – instead, let the sounds find you. Notice how the sounds change and evolve, or arise and pass away, like waves in an ocean of awareness. Some sounds may be prominent – others more subtle, notice if you can find the silence between sounds.

It’s important to include the sounds of your environment into your practice – a car passing, a bird calling, the hum of an air conditioner, or perhaps the sound of your own breath, or a distant conversation. Not all sounds from your environment may be ‘meditative’ yet by including your environment into your practice, you can allow yourself to be present with the fullness of your experience. (More on this in the ‘Working with Challenges’ section below)

As you practice, you might notice how your mind wants to name or categorize sounds, or create stories about them. This is natural, tend to them with open curiosity; noticing how each sound creates a response to your thoughts, emotions, body, and your consciousness.

Notice too how sounds have different qualities – their pitch, volume, duration, and texture. Some sounds might feel pleasant, others unpleasant. Can you remain equally present with all sounds, without preference or resistance? This is where sonic meditation becomes a profound practice of equanimity.

Gently return to the pure experience of hearing, to the raw sensation of sound before the mind labels it. Can you listen as if hearing these sounds for the very first time?

Reflection Question:

What changes in your experience when you shift from hearing sounds to truly listening? What stories or judgments arise about different sounds, and can you notice the space between the pure sound and your interpretation of it?

Working with Challenges

One common challenge in sonic meditation is our tendency to filter sounds based on preference. We might focus on pleasing sounds while trying to block out those we find disturbing. Yet every sound, whether we label it as pleasant or unpleasant, can be a doorway to presence. A neighbor’s loud music, construction noise, a crying baby – all can be included in our field of awareness with the same welcoming attention we give to birdsong or gentle rain.

Another challenge might be encountering what we perceive as “silence.” In reality, absolute silence is rare – there are usually subtle sounds we can discover when we tune our attention more finely. Even in a quiet room, we might begin to notice the sound of our own breath, the subtle ringing in our ears, or the way silence itself seems to have a texture or quality.

For those with tinnitus or other auditory conditions, sonic meditation can initially feel challenging. However, many practitioners have found that including these persistent sounds in their meditation, rather than resisting them, can lead to a different relationship with these experiences. The sound becomes not an obstacle to overcome, but another aspect of present-moment awareness to explore with curiosity.

As we learn to welcome all sounds – both the pleasing and the challenging – our practice naturally begins to deepen. What started as a simple exercise in listening gradually reveals itself as a gateway to profound understanding. The very sounds that once disturbed our peace become our teachers, showing us how to remain open and equanimous to all of experience. This is where our practice begins to mature from a technique into a way of being.

Deepening the Practice

As your practice develops, you might begin to notice the spaciousness in which all sounds arise and pass away. You may discover that just as there are gaps between thoughts in mind meditation, there are spaces between sounds in sonic meditation. These spaces can become as fascinating as the sounds themselves.

Begin to explore different “layers” of sound in your environment. Like a classical raag has different instruments playing at various depths, your sonic landscape has foreground sounds (close and immediate), middle-ground sounds (ambient noises from your surroundings), and background sounds (distant and barely perceptible). Can you hold all these layers in your awareness simultaneously, like an audience member witnessing the raag of your life play out?

You might also start to notice how your own presence affects the soundscape. The way sounds change as you turn your head, even the quality of silence that develops around your body whilst in stillness – all become part of the meditation. This intimate dance between listener and sound reveals the artificial nature of separation between subject and object.

Try experimenting with different times of day. Dawn and dusk often offer particularly rich sonic environments as the world transitions between its day and night rhythms. The pre-dawn hours carry a special quality of silence, while sunset brings its own unique symphony of changing sounds.

Remember, as with all meditation practices, there’s no goal to achieve and no particular experience to create. Each sound, each moment of listening, is complete in itself. We’re simply opening ourselves to the symphony of existence, allowing sound to guide us back to the ever-present now.

Reflection Question:

Notice how this practice affects your relationship with sound throughout your day. Does traffic noise still irritate you as much? Do you hear birdsong more often? Has your listening become more nuanced?

For the next two weeks, I invite you to explore these dimensions of sonic meditation. Human voices, nature’s symphony, mechanical sounds, even the subtle whisper of your own thoughts – all are invitations to presence. Let every sound be your teacher and each silence your guide as you deepen into this ancient practice of listening with your whole being. In this way, the whole world becomes your meditation hall, and in truly hearing the symphony of existence, we discover our own nature as the awareness in which all sounds arise, dance, and dissolve back into the eternal silence.