As a lover and student of music, I have spent my life listening. Listening very closely. Sound, as it turns out, resonates instruments in a way that resembles the way our own bodies resonate. An old story about sympathetic resonance describes two violins sitting several feet from each other: when a string on one of the violins is played and begins to vibrate its pitch, the string of the same pitch on the other untouched violin will also begin to vibrate. I believe this phenomenon, of sympathetic resonance, also happens between people.

We've all heard about people giving off "good vibes" or "bad vibes", and it seems that when we consider how our nervous systems function, there is a level of physical accuracy to this statement. In the context of working as a vocal coach and counselor, consciously using my nervous system as a tool in the room is part of my technique. Am I saying that being around someone with a calm, grounded nervous system can help in the context of personal growth work? In as much as our nervous systems are sympathetically resonant, yes, it helps.

Another aspect of my concept of Resonant Self, is that the thoughts we have going through our mind have an immediate expression in our body, via the nervous system. For example, if I began to have anxious thoughts -even subtle or not fully conscious thoughts- it will immediately manifest in tension held somewhere in the body, perhaps the shoulders. This tension, both in mind and body, creates an energetic snag or knot. The picture of free flowing, unfettered mind and its reflection in body is another picture I envision as a "Resonant Self".