I grew up with my older brother listening to the Beach Boys. One of their songs, Good Vibrations, was a hit and just had a good vibration about it, excuse the pun. I think the unusual use of a theremin, an rather strange musical instrument that dates from 1928, was the reason for the connection people felt. I doubt seriously it was the lyrics. The instrument is not touched but the hands move over it causing changes in the electric/sound waves. If you hear it, you instantly recognize it. And that is about all I know about how the thing works. What I do know is that there is just something haunting and strange about it.
We all resonate, did you know that? The human body vibrates, due to all of the electrical pulses that the body generates every moment. In veddic chants, the om sound resonates in our very soul and becomes meditative. In a more manipulative form, I learned that all of the bells and sounds in a casino are tuned to one note so that the whole room vibrates at the same speed as the human body. Now how is that for pure manipulation?
The vibrations can also be used for great good. In biofeedback, I help people heal, control pain, and even some body functions. Again, all that electricity. And I firmly believe that when we say, “that person just gives off a good (or bad) vibe that it is true. I believe that is what drew people to Jesus. His words were great, but words were not enough, I believe it just “felt good” to be in his presence. The French would call it a certain je ne se qua, which literally means I don’t know what.
And we each vibrate in the world. The question we need to consider is are they good vibrations? If we are called to a love affair with the Eternal, it should resonate within us. I have a friend who is a pagan. I know, not Christian, but before my friend is completely dismissed, I have to say they are right in that they find the Eternal, the Sacred, in everything. Trees, birds, dogs, cats, cows, the very air we breathe. Does that sound far fetched? It shouldn’t, Richard Rohr, in a current devotional series points out that if we do not see our faith as nature based we miss the whole meaning of God in all of creation. The Christian scripture begins at, well the beginning, when God put all things into motion by the very presence of the Eternal God. I will go one step further and reference Colossians 1:17 that tells us that Christ is in all and holds all things together.
So, today, why not get some good vibes from your dog, cat, spouse, kids, parents, or even the next person you meet? I mean it, learn to become sensitive to the Eternal presence in all things. Of course, that means that you start by finding that Eternal vibration within yourself. It is there, it always has been. God is not something we have to acquire to be in our lives, it is something that we simply must become aware of, that Vibration of life. Once you find it in yourself, it will begin to reveal itself in others, in the world around you. And, if it helps, listen to the Beach Boys once, for my brother Jon.
TMM