What Happens in a Softening Heart Session?
How the session unfolds is based on your needs. Some of my clients are open to using vocal tones, and others are not. There is no pressure to use the vocal work. A good many of my clients work with me for awhile before we introduce the nonverbal sounding into the therapy.
If you are open to using sound healing, we will begin by talking about the issue you brought in with you that day. I will then guide you in paying attention to the physical sensations that are in your body at that moment. Perhaps you might discover there is some tightening in your neck or belly, for example. The next step is to give voice to those sensations. Some of my clients aren't comfortable making sounds themselves, in which case, I sound for them. Either way, this allows you to connect with whatever feelings that want to be heard.
Listening to feelings allows for a deep shift to occur. An example of this is what happens when you are angry with someone. If they don't listen to what you are angry about, and defend themselves or attack you, you will probably get even angrier. Now think about what would happen if this person really listened to you. Perhaps they would even say to you "oh, I understand why you are angry. That makes a lot of sense, and I'm sorry". What would happen to your anger? Wouldn't it begin to melt?
How about if you were feeling sad? If a person close to you pushed you away when you tried to share it with them, wouldn't the sadness tend to get stuck inside? If they, instead, were to put their arms around you and hold you while you expressed your sadness, wouldn't the sadness feel less heavy?
There is great healing in listening. Giving voice to feelings allows you to hear yourself on a deeper, more profound level. With couples, giving voice to feelings allows for a deeper understanding than usually occurs through verbal discussion.
There is a natural shifting of the sounds at this point to ones that are more harmonious. Just as there is an organic healing of feelings when someone listens to your sadness or anger, so is there an organic healing when you listen to your own feelings. The sounds then naturally change to more harmonious ones. The feelings often change from ones of anxiety, fear and depression to ones of lightness, calm, serenity and wholeness.
Another way I do these sessions is less verbal than the above. After we talk about the issue, with my clients' permission, I will vocalize the sounds that I sense are needed for healing. I am what you could call a "vocal intuitive", and make sounds that my clients tell me move them deeply. I receive internal images and intuitive understanding of the feelings and issues that need expression. This work is shamanic in nature, and can be extremely powerful. This work could be called "soul retrieval" in that it helps to bring back disconnected parts of the self for a greater sense of wholeness.
