Reflections and Reverberations
One of my favorite musical artists, Jason Mraz, recently posted the video, "Bathing in Sound." A camera follows Mraz, as part of his "In Search of Incredible" project, to the Mojave Desert where he visits the Integratron. For those, like me, who didn't know, the Integretron is "...an acoustically perfect tabernacle and energy machine sited on a powerful geomagnetic vortex..." Basically, it's a place where the sounds you make reflect back to you exactly as you've made them; it is considered acoustically perfect.
When Mraz first enters the dome and begins to sing, you can see that his excitement falters...just a teeny bit. Then, as he steps into the center, and nears the floor, he hears his own magnificent voice echoing back to him in absolutely perfect resonance, and he beams. From the video, the magic of the Integretron seems to coalesce when the sound comes from the grounded center. The metaphor stayed with me...when we are centered, grounded, and tapping into our unique gifts (in Mraz's case, his voice) what we put out into the world reverberates back to us as a mirror manifestation of our essence. It's like mailing yourself a love letter...even if it gets "returned to sender" it's exactly right.
Within days of watching "Bathing in Sound," Steve Jobs died. I know...I hear your groan from here. The media blitz about Jobs has probably left you numb to any more praise or criticism of the man and his inventions. Bear with me, if you will, as it ties into my theme. I can't speak to who Jobs was as a man, beyond whatever public information is available to all of us, and other than two iPods, I don't own any Apple products. So, I don't pretend to be an expert in all things Jobs or Apple, but I find it impossible to ignore his contributions to the world. When he tapped into his gifts and sent that energy out into the world, Jobs changed how we work, play, and communicate with each other. He didn't do it alone, of course, but the reverberations of his essence bounced back to him in perfect pitch with every successful product he created and every connection made easier through one of his innovations.
I believe we, like Steve Jobs and Jason Mraz, all experience our own version of the Integratron...every day...moment to moment. When our thoughts, words, and actions come from our core, the reverberating sound is magnificent. If we're a little left of our own center, the feedback gets a little pitchy.
If you've read some of my other columns, you may be asking: "Is she really telling us to be defined by the feedback from outside?" NO! It's still me, silly, and that's never the message I'm sending. All of us will experience, from time to time, coming from our most authentic self and find that we meet another who's a bit "off key" in the moment. The integrity comes from our ability to stay present, even in the face of another who may range from "out of sorts" to "off the deep end." This very presence creates an invitation for the other to come back to himself...in effect, you may provide the mirror of who the person is under the flack...an Integratron of their true self.
For some reason what comes to mind as I write this is a story that Prita Manganiello tells from her life-guarding days. Before every swim lesson with her students, Prita would remind them that they were all swimming in the same pool. Therefore, if someone urinated, they'd all be swimming in it. Her supervisor said he'd never seen so many kids use the facilities during a lesson, as when she taught.
How does this tangent relate? I believe it truly matters what we put out into the world, because we really are all swimming in the same pool. And when we offer the best of ourselves in our thoughts, words, and actions, the reflective sound touches us all. The harmony created by our own essence is beautiful.
Reflecting the love,
Joanne Lutz