Whatever we are dealing with in life, one simple and proven de-stressing technique is to work with sounds that heal, in other words, using a process known as integral sound healing.
Sound as a therapeutic tool has been used since ancient times. Different healing frequencies and sounds can affect different parts of our mind and body. When done in an intentional way, it can significantly improve our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health.
In this article we will talk to one of our amazing Sound Healing Academy Associate teachersEric Lindstrom, on his story of embracing healing sounds as part of his daily life.
How Healing Sounds Became an Important Part of Life: by Eric Lindstrom
Eric Lindstrom is a Sound Healing Associate Teacher at the Academy and teaches sound healing workshops in North Carolina. He has had a colorful and interesting background from a young age, and we couldn’t be more excited to learn all about it from him!
What is your background and how did your journey with healing sounds begin?
I have been an explorer of vision for many years. Eight years ago I first came across the path of working in medicine. When I think about it, I realize that this path started many years ago.
My mother worked at the International School Of Bangkok in Thailand early in her life. There I was immersed in a completely different world. Living in Thailand with its bustling markets, filled with smells and sounds, its beautiful Buddhist temples with incense and chants, and its royal palaces with ornate architecture and extensive history, opened my eyes to different ways of being.
During this time I had the opportunity to travel throughout Southeast Asia, visiting India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and a temple across the border in Tibet. The experience was profound. During that time, a foundation was laid that would influence a lifelong journey of spiritual discovery and healing.
I returned to America changed!
When I went to college, I studied Cultural Anthropology, focusing on shamanic practices and traditional healing ceremonies. During this journey, music has been in my heart. I have been expressing myself creatively through music for over 20 years. I toured as a guitarist, performed as a drummer and now I play percussion in a marimba band, playing the traditional music of Zimbabwe.
Always seeking new ways of expression, I have expanded my playing to include frame drums, African drums, handpans, Native American flutes, harmoniums and any other instruments whose healing sound frequencies draw me in.
I’ve worn many hats throughout my life: chef, landscaping, and sales, but I’ve always returned to sound. I found the Academy of Sound Healing and knew I had found a way to use my experience and skills. Through healthy healing, I find each of the facets of my being coming together in a way that is both beautiful and helpful to others. Using Sound as a healing modality is an alchemy of personal experience and spiritual development.
It is the heart in the center, held with the palm of compassion for others. The elements of sound as a healing modality are ancient and rooted in connection. I am grateful for each experience because they have taught me about connection, holding space and being present.
How has sound healing been integrated into your life in recent years?
The past few years have brought many changes to my life, and healthy healing has been an integral part of adapting and moving with those changes.
Developing a relationship with healing sound is a practice and a meditative process. Working with others has shown how amazing and effective this modality really is. Every day brings new challenges, and focusing on the vibrations helps me maintain a positive perspective and outlook.
As I continue this practice, I notice that all aspects of my life are affected. My awareness of the surrounding sound field and my part in it continues to grow. In these subtle relationships, sound reveals itself as a wonderful source of information and tool for understanding the human experience.
How do healing sounds impact your family life?
My family is so incredibly supportive!
Healing sounds brought my wife and me together in a unique way. In 2018 she opened a studio for healing arts. As a gift for her opening, I gave her a gong, which was the start of a beautiful relationship. We started organizing collaborative events and eventually our bond grew, and in a beautiful ceremony in the woods in 2020 we got married.
Our vows were said over a crystal singing bowl filled with water. We sounded the bowl together to consecrate our union, and the water was considered sacred and was drunk on special occasions to renew our devotion. On our wedding altar we had a series of Himalayan singing bowls with fire offerings for each guest to tinkle and choose an offering. To end our ceremony, we walked around together and chanted a mantra. Sound was integral to honoring and strengthening our connection.
The birth of our child was also supported by drums and singing. She experienced sound for the first time in the womb as my wife, and I chanted mantras and sang songs to her. I introduced sound healing concepts to help regulate my daughter and encourage her to sleep when she was just a few months old. She has become fascinated by sound and has an incredible feeling for it.
When she is only two years old, she asks to play the Himalayan bowls and the gong regularly. She has her drums and Native American flute. It’s so amazing to see her exploring sound, singing mantras with us and expressing herself creatively through songwriting.
What positive experiences have you had since working with healing sounds?
There have been many positive experiences during my journey with healing sounds.
Clients have expressed profound revelations that have emerged during a session, as well as in subsequent dreams. Others have experienced less pain and inflammation, increased mobility, mental clarity, blood pressure reduction and stress relief.
It is so satisfying to know that healing and helping others is possible through these good experiences!
Any advice for people looking to follow a similar path?
The best advice I can offer to those who want to pursue the healing modality of sound is to follow their heart!
Many can make sounds with a crystal bowl or other sound healing instrument, but the real work begins in the heart. It’s important to educate yourself on working with sound and really connecting with the modalities in your hands.
The Sound Healing Academy has been an incredible resource for me. Through their educational programs and integrated sound healing method, I have found guidance, great courses and great support.
Listen to your heart, and you will be in tune with your path!
Final thoughts
It’s wonderful to see how healthy healing can truly change someone’s life in such a positive and powerful way!
If you would like to learn more about our teachers’ stories of healing sounds, be sure to read our articles at: