Throughout the ages sound and music has been utilized to open the heart, quiet the mind and open a pathway to the divine. The universe was created by a sound, but before the sound there was the silence space where only God existed. Therefore as important and useful a tool as music and sound is, it is more important to go to the quiet space within your own heart where God resides.

Satya Sai Baba commented on the usefulness of sound and music in a discourse given on October15, 1966 when he stated, "Ananda (spiritual bliss) is the best cure for mental depression; as a matter of fact, it is when the inner springs of ananda are ignored that man gets depressed. India has recognized the salutary effect of music on the mind; its potency to restore calm and equanimity, to still the waves of agitation and worry. Music is the instrument by which passions are sublimated, emotions are tamed, impulses directed to higher purposes." Once the mind has been quieted and tamed by sound, when one sits in silence the heart can be more receptive to one's true inner Self.

I have had several personal experiences that have taught me about sacred sound and the inspiration and transformation that can come from the silence that follows. I would like to share one of those. Sept.11, 2001 was of course a tragic day for many individuals in the United States and around the world. I was at work and people kept coming to me and giving me updates from the news. It was so hard to believe when I was told the first tower fell … and then the second.

I felt myself in an energetic 'free-fall.' I recall silently going inside my heart and asking, "Baba, what's going on? Baba, what's going on?" a number of times. From inside a silent answer came. It wasn't verbal, but more like a picture, a "knowing" that came to me. It became clear in my mind that no matter what may arise from the events that day, no matter the chaos, no matter what wars may result, in the end peace would return. Having that reassurance I was suddenly very centered and focused. That sense of free-fall and anxiety left me.

That night there was to be a prayer vigil at my church at 7:30pm. I arrived very early and I sat on a stone seat silently sitting when from my heart I had this desire to write a poem that reflected on my feelings of the day. I took out a piece of paper, and began to write. The words flowed, as if they had a life of their own. I was just the scribe to what unfolded in my heart.

When I was done I shared the poem at the vigil and many people afterwards told me they were very moved by the poem. Their hearts responded to the message. I knew it was not my own. I used the poem as an inspiration to write a song and shared it with members of my Church and Sai group. Sacred sound has a transformative nature and can influence and quiet the mind; leading the way to a quiet space within the heart. I have turned to sound in the form of song and divine inspiration during times when I have needed it most.