Sound self: an inquiry to the use of sound to affect healing
Sound Healing is one of the oldest forms of healing known to man. We are now realizing how powerful sound can be when used for healing. In the current climate of modern lifestyle and global pandemic, stress is at an all-time high, affecting individuals' mental health and energy levels. The purpose of this research is to investigate how my sound healing sessions as a musician and sound healing practitioner affect healing and psychological states of an individual while having a deeper understanding in articulating my identity as an artist, healer and teacher. Through a self-inquiry-based questionnaire and interviews, this study was conducted using the phenomenological approach, a qualitative method to understand participants' embodied experiences and perspectives about their stressors, healing, and the effects of the sound healing session. This was done as a focus group with six people: one private client and six people from two online platforms that I work with. For both group and individual sessions, sound healing sessions were combined with a reflective expressive art activity, which provided valuable insight into their sense of self and the world. The results showed that the artful curation of energy flow, within the sound sessions resulted in mental clarity, physical and emotional trauma release, and spiritual growth in participant. Healing is a continual journey in life which brings further research opportunities in developing reflexivity as a practitioner within my work.
