Healing Journey through Ancient Sites in Southern England

I invite you on a memorable healing journey through some of the ancient sacred sites of southern England.

As a child, I lived in southern England and most weekends we walked in the gentle rolling hills of the North Wessex Downs in the countryside around Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Hampshire.  This landscape is alive with numerous ancient sites built thousands of years ago.  Walking in this countryside instilled in me a strong connection to this landscape, which I only became aware of after we moved to Norfolk when I was 12 years old.  I now realise I had taken this connection for granted and remember feeling a sense of loss from this area in my early teens.

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Nature’s Healing Music

“There’s music in the sighing of a reed; There’s music in the gushing of a rill; There’s music in all things, if men had ears: Their earth is but an echo of the spheres.”

Lord Byron

In times past, mankind lived closer to nature, dwelling in small towns and villages, without the stimulating hustle and bustle of urban city life.  As a result, people were more in tune with the sights, sounds, scents and cycles of nature, the knowledge of which was passed down from generation to generation as a part of the journey of life.  In the present day, it would appear that the further we have moved away from nature and an understanding of her cycles, the greater the levels of stress we experience in our daily lives. Continue reading Nature’s Healing Music

Playing Music for Global Peace

Every week Louise Oliver uploads a new focus for the Rays of Peace global peace meditation.  I like the fact that anyone in the world can engage with Rays of Peace throughout the week, wherever they are.  The meditation times are 3, 6, 9 or 12 o’clock local time, to keep an ongoing focus around the Earth.  I regularly connect by playing my harp at any one of these hours.

I have always been interested in doing something beneficial for the environment and have always loved playing stringed musical instruments (see: Playing Music in the Environment).  Rays of Peace has allowed me the opportunity to bring these two passions together.  Although I enjoy playing music for music’s sake, I find that when I play for the weekly focus, I feel a sense of purpose, as well as a connection to the greater whole.  I also feel fulfilled in the knowledge that I am doing something of benefit to the planet. Continue reading Playing Music for Global Peace

Playing Music in the Natural Environment

“Music, when healthy, is the teacher of perfect order and when depraved, the teacher of perfect disorder.”

John Ruskin

Following training in Musical Medicine with The Academy of Spiritual Sciences, I learned that playing harmonious music in the natural environment can be healing because it encourages us to reconnect and harmonise ourselves with nature.  This activity can help us gain a greater awareness and respect for our environment, including the rocks, rivers, trees, animals, birds, skies etc., which are all made up from the four elements of fire, air, water and earth.  Simply play a musical instrument or sing, hum or whistle out in the environment, focus on the surroundings, relax into the experience and observe yours and the natural world’s behaviour. Continue reading Playing Music in the Natural Environment

Harp Music in Bluebell Wood

 The Earth has music for those who listen.

William Shakespeare

Music in the air, music in the sea, music in the animals, music in the trees – the music of the spheres is there to be heard within everything upon the Earth.

The sound of the bird song, the sparkling of the spring and the whistling of the wind all contribute to the song that nature constantly sings.  By spending time in nature, we can feel rejuvenated as our stresses and tensions melt away with the sights, scents and sounds.  We can breathe in the fresh air and allow ourselves to be serenaded by the birds and wind in the leaves.

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