One night while on retreat many years ago, I found myself in a different state of consciousness. Suddenly, I felt shaking at my feet. As I tuned in, the shaking spread, sending waves of energy throughout my whole body. At the same time, I heard beautiful celestial music. Then I saw a man with white hair and beard standing at the foot of my bed and told him that I didn’t know who he was, but thanked him for coming. The experience ended as quickly as it came and I found myself wide awake.
This encounter helped me understand what many mystics mean when they speak about the music of the spheres. My first spiritual director told me how he often heard beautiful music beyond any he’d listened to on earth. I’ve listened to earthly music similar to what I heard that evening, but it lacked the ineffable beauty and depth of celestial music. I wondered if composers of this lovely earthly music experienced celestial music and then tried to express it as best they could. Their attempts to approximate this music still inspire and elevate the listener. I also wondered if the saccharine pictures of angels playing harps in heaven depict a core of truth.
Sound as the Origin of Creation
Many religious traditions claim the origin of creation is sound or vibration. The ancient Egyptians claimed the god, Thot, created the world by voice alone. Hinduism teaches that creation arose from the first sound of the universe, Aum. Hebrew scriptures declare that when the earth was formless, empty and dark, “God said, let there be light (Genesis 1:3).” The Christian Gospel proclaims, “In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God and the Word was God” (John 1:1). We miss the boat if we think this refers to the literal rather than symbolic meaning of “Word.” After all, the Divine lies beyond all words and concepts. It’s more accurate and makes more sense to declare that in the beginning was sound.
Music Permeates all Creation
Even though it’s difficult to directly access the music of the spheres, we can, however, connect with a stepped-down version, if we deeply tune in to the natural world. The law of music (vibration and harmony) permeates the whole universe, wrote Hazrat Inayat Khan in The Mysticism of Music, Sound and Word. If you contemplate the harmonious movement of the planets, stand near running water, or listen to leaves rustling in the wind, you may get a sense of this cosmic music as it’s reflected in nature. I was amazed to hear a recording of cricket sounds slowed down to match human’s natural vibratory rate. It sounded similar to celestial music. I realized that all creation, even down to the tiniest creatures, contains within it the harmony and rhythm of the spheres. We are drawn to a beautiful scene in nature, uplifting music, or elegant works of art because they echo this celestial vibration. They act as tuning forks, enabling our bodies to harmonize with the same glorious tone. As a result, we begin to feel relaxed and peaceful.
Finding Your Natural Rhythm
It’s sad to realize that our artificial everyday life is very much removed from this natural, harmonic state. We mostly vibrate at a faster rate, trying to accomplish all we deem as necessary. The actions and speech in most movies and TV shows are more rapid than they were even a decade ago.
How do you find your natural rhythm so you don’t get swept up in this faster pace? How can you hear the music hidden in creation? It helps to reserve time each day to take slow, rhythmic breaths and gaze for a few moments on some aspect of creation—your pet, a plant or tree. As you listen closely, does your body begin to attune to the same rhythm? Do you feel it bringing you closer to your true royal nature? You might only stay in this place briefly but that’s okay. If you keep returning to this soothing vibration each day, it will seep into other times in your life.
You are surrounded by the music of the spheres. Are you able to let that sink in? Do you find it comforting to know there’s a primordial rhythm supporting you, others and everything, that there’s more to life than you think? You are not alone, hanging out to dry, as you navigate the earth plane. There’s some place in the universe that is beautiful and harmonic and dwells above and beneath all worldly strife.
