Brazil sounds help calm your mind

An individual recently took an online Sound as Medicine workshop with Phyllicia Victoria through the Omega Institute. The participant described the experience as beautiful.

For the past eighteen months, the person had been facing what they called the hardest time in their adult life. They traveled back and forth across the country multiple times to support their father through brain cancer treatment. At the same time, they were homeschooling their oldest son, adapting to changes in their industry, and coping with estrangement from a close family member. Life felt heavy, overwhelming, and relentless. The person relied on self-care routines such as walking in nature and reading in the bathtub to maintain balance.

After taking the workshop, the individual said they now believe sound baths should be a regular part of that routine. Phyllicia Victoria is an artist, yoga teacher, reiki practitioner, and sound healer. On her website, she wrote that she grew up feeling broken, lonely, and unworthy, with trust issues. The workshop participant felt a sense of connection because they could relate. Victoria began facilitating sound baths because she noticed how sound helped settle her thoughts and quiet the chatter in her head.

That is exactly what the workshop did for the participant. The combination of Victoria’s soothing voice, uplifting words, and the resonant, hypnotic sounds created a transcendent experience. After the practice, Victoria led gentle movements and stretches, then invited participants to journal about what came up during the meditation. The person started by writing words that came to mind: release, peace, spaciousness, ease, clarity, calmness, gratitude. Then they wrote a longer reflection: “I felt a deep sense of relief from the stressful thoughts that had been gripping me earlier. The sound transported me in a way words alone could not. I felt the vibrations deep within my body, and it felt like they were cleansing me of the noise of my own mind and creating space to just be, without judgment.”

When the person heard other sounds — some from Victoria’s environment and some from their own, like their father moving around and turning on a faucet — they told themselves, “No judgment — just new sounds.” They reminded themselves to simply hear those sounds mixed with the calming sounds of singing bowls and chimes, and then release them without thinking the sounds should not have been part of the experience. The participant thought this was a wonderful practice for life. Often people hear more dissonance than harmony in their days, but sometimes it is the other way around. The person described it as a gift to train the mind to hear dissonance without getting lost in the story of it, so focus can shift back to what is beautiful and healing.

After the journaling, the individual decided not to listen to the Q&A session at the end of the workshop in order to remain in the space they had created within themselves. They had read that sound baths can calm the nervous system, reduce stress, and help relieve tension and physical pain. After the session, they felt deeply relaxed, both physically and mentally, and better equipped to handle whatever might come in the day ahead.

The person expressed gratitude for their recent partnership with Omega because they genuinely appreciate what Omega offers. They also noted that Omega put together a page of free resources specifically for the Tiny Buddha community. The individual mentioned several workshops offered at Omega’s campus in New York this summer: “Get Healthy with Sound: Tuning Forks & Voice for Vibrant Health,” “The Journey Inward: Frequency, Neuroscience & Longevity,” and “Holotropic Breathwork: Sacred Geometry & the Healing Nature of Mandalas.”

They also reshared programs recommended in a previous email, including Omega’s emotional resilience workshops — which focus on training the mind for the best life possible, healing from betrayal and toxic relationships, and more — and Omega’s nervous system regulation workshops, with programs focused on accessing neuroplasticity, healing the nervous system, and more. The participant said that if they could take an in-person workshop at this time in their life, they would go immediately, as they know the campus is a sanctuary for meaningful connection and deep healing. They encouraged others who feel the same way to explore the free resources and to share their experience if they take a workshop.