World Sound Healing Day

As Orac wrote here, Wednesday February 14^th has been designated World Sound Healing Day. For five minutes on Valentine’s Day, “sound healers” and other Newage bozos will send “a Sonic Valentine to the Earth with the heart sound "AH" filled with the intention of Peace and Love!”. Note, it’s the “intention” that makes the difference, since:

Sound coupled with intention has the ability to heal and transform.

The sound alone is not enough – you have to have the “intention” to heal too! Now, I find this a little surprising. I could believe that certain sounds might be soothing, could perhaps reduce stress and the like. But why is “intention” needed? What would the mechanism be? “Intention” is basically just a wish. So how does this wish create healing? What is the mechanism that transfers this wish into action? It doesn’t say, so it must be magic.

And does everyone have to do this at the same time for it to be of any use? Well, no, because:

We have found that creating a Global Sacred Sound any time within a 24 hour period on the planet will create a coherent waveform that will affect the entire Earth.

Found how? And can I see your work? Aha, it looks like he’s referring to the pseudoscientific drivel of Masaru Emoto. See the slide of polluted water (right) “after Buddhist monks had offered a prayer over it. Through the monks chanting they were able to purify the water”. Yeeees – well, when Emoto can do this double-blinded, I might sit up and take note. Until then, I am under whelmed.

At least World Sound Healing Day is free. Check out the Healing Sounds Store – “Reiki chants” etc. I especially like the chakra tuning forks for $188.95. Hey, I think I finally get what their intention really is.

Our intention is to sell this crap for nearly $200.

Comments

[Stewart Paterson]

New age weirdness. It is mind boggling in its inventiveness.
Look at this vid on Shamanic Healing and try and figure out what the hell this guy is talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DE_hanEmae4
He charges $1500 for the experience!

[Cosmic Connie]

I've been getting emails about World Sound Healing Day and the Healing Sound Store from my favorite New-Wage spam service. No big surprise about the “intention” angle. Intention is all the rage these days. It's part of the Law of Attraction craze.
http://cosmicconnie.blogspot.com/2006/09/power-of-pretension.html

Masaru Emoto is a big deal too among the Secretrons and Bleepers.
http://cosmicconnie.blogspot.com/2006/10/tats-incredible.html

[Calladus]

Perhaps we could, even as skeptics, join in? Air horns are much cheaper than that tuning fork set - heck you can even get environmentally friendly rechargeable air horns!

If the newage theory is right, our blasting out this sound with a Skeptical intention should guide them all toward rational thinking!

Or just irritate them. Yea, that works.

Ha! Next thing, they'll be claiming that meditation has positive effects.

[Bronze Dog]

Ha! Next thing, they'll be claiming that meditation has positive effects.

And pretend that we don't already know that. Of course, there's no magic involved.

[Algernon]

*Sigh.* As a meditation teacher, I try to stick to the practical side and openly mock any magical claims about meditation. There's nothing wrong with sitting on a beach and humming to save the planet until people start taking it literally, and inevitably start fighting with one another over the exact pronunciation of the magical syllable that's going to - oh, right, well never mind about healing the world.

As a playful metaphor, as a theatrical activity, as a kind of art - sitting on a beach and humming for peace is great. Doing some meditation practice can make you feel good and release some stuff - not bad. Sometimes we use metaphors to talk about why that is, and when we start taking the metaphors literally religious sects are born, New Age hucksters make a profit, and dangerous people find yet another lever for exploiting people.