Being In Tune

en.wikipedia.org

I'm sure we've all heard a skilled musician play. The melody coming out of the instrument, whether it be a violin, piano, saxophone or guitar can evoke everything from the deepest emotions to long-forgotten memories. A well-tuned instrument played by a skilled musician is truly food for the soul.

If any part of the instrument were misaligned or otherwise out of tune, only discordant tones would come out, a vibration that will set anyone's teeth on edge if played long enough. Every aspect of the instrument has to be in harmony, every string at just the right tension, every part aligned just so, in order to accurately express the message in melody that the musician wants to bring out.

Unfortunately, there can be times when people fail to appreciate good music when they hear it. For instance, in 2007 the Washington Post ran an article about how world-renowned violinist Joshua Bell was for the most part ignored when he played in a subway station in front of a rush-hour crowd. And to think, a few days before Bell did this experiment, he played his US$3.5 million violin (the same violin he used in the subway) in Boston's Symphony Hall where the good seat prices started at US$100. What does this say about how people prioritize their lives?

Like a musical instrument, the human body (including the subtle bodies) is like a finely tuned instrument, ready to shine with the soul's inner light, our soul song, except that one's personality can make one "tone deaf" to this inner melody. One spiritual teacher recently said that our physical body is already optimized for good health, with antibodies ready to defend it from any infection. The same goes for our astral and mental bodies, that also have inherent "antibodies" to naturally protect us from malignant influences.

However, people get sick precisely because they sabotage their own bodies and fail to listen to inner signals of disharmony and chaos. What is true for the physical body is also true with our subtle bodies. Harboring anger, jealousy, greed, pride and other negative traits and emotions overpower our natural tendencies to be in equilibrium and harmony. More often than not, going on the spiritual path is simply one's effort to get back into the spirit's natural state of harmony, the same way that eating healthy combined with proper physical activity will allow the physical body to pretty much heal itself.

Ancient philosophy speaks of a "music of the spheres" that refers to the underlying harmony between celestial bodies. While our understanding of the Universe may not be as deep, we do have to ask ourselves if we are in tune with the signals that the Universe is giving us.

People usually learn the value of something only when they lose it. But one who is tuned in is better prepared to handle whatever changes that life can bring. Does our lifestyle make us the person who would ignore a Joshua Bell subway performance? Would we fail to notice a thing if its value does not reside in its price? The answer is well worth considering.