The Power of Sounds To Take You Places

As I sit here, rain is drumming on the velux window in my dining room ceiling. I love the height of this room, not just for the sense of space and light, but also for the way the windows replicate those of my childhood bedroom. To me, the sound of rain falling on the glass is deeply comforting, its the sound of home.

This morning, a playlist transported me back to 2008, to the people and events of that joyous year. I danced around the kitchen with abandon, much to the amusement of my daughters, who were unsure whether to join in or laugh at me!

It’s been a day of reminders of the evocative nature of sound. Memory is not only a chronological function, our memories are linked by common factors, be they sounds, smells, tastes, visual effects or feelings. A cue or trigger can take us right back there, with no deliberate effort on our behalf.

This gives us many options when we want to re-create a state that we wish to experience. I can play the playlist and feel joy and excitement. I can sit under the rain falling and feel deeply loved and comforted. There are many places I can go, just by using cues that I associate with them.

So, where do you want to go today? And how are you going to evoke a sense of it internally?