The indroduction below was given at a Healing Service.
Go forth singing songs of joy to the Eternal – these words of invitation open up the weekly ritual of welcoming in the day of rest – the day I often refer to as the day where we switch from “doing” to “being”. Turning towards just “being”, we might face inconvenient and painful mental and physical states we don’t like – diseases and lack of wellness and yet, with those states alive within us, we sing and go forth with songs of joy to the Eternal. Is it in the music that we’re able to more skillfully be with that which arises?
While the vibrations of musical notes and their healing effect upon our bodies and minds are only now beginning to be considered scientifically – our ancient stories and spiritual traditions had noticed that healing power of music hundreds of years ago:
Abraham Abulafia, the founder of the school of “Prophetic Kabbalah” in his writes:
See, when a lyre and harp combine their sound, combining their voices, the ears hear the fluctuation and interchange in the pangs of love, the strings struck by the right hand or left, vibrating, bring a sweet taste to the ears. From the ears, the sound passes to the heart, and from the heart to the guts and joy is renewed between them, through the pleasure of a melody’s fluctuation.”
Gan Naul/the locked garden
Even if our physical or mental diseases don’t dissipate, music allows us to see the life that we yet have within us, to appreciate what’s there, to find joy within the sadness and to break out of the gloom and anger that surround our sickness – so let us go forth singing songs of joy to the eternal and allow the music to serve us in reclaiming our joint humanity.