Breaking Through Your Terror Barrier: Super Simple Ways to Reclaim Balance & Joy through Sound

Breaking Through Your Terror Barrier:  

Super Simple Ways to Reclaim Balance & Joy through Sound

Last week, I found myself at one of those pivotal turning points. I am pretty sure you all know the kind to which I am referring. The moment where you either stay focused on your Heart’s True North OR give in to a particularly humdinger of a crazy habituated unconscious pattern hellbent on sliding into immeasurable pain and suffering. (Hmmmmmm …. which way should I go???) Forget all the personal growth work you’ve done, all the mantras and chants you’ve chanted, all the qigong, yoga, seminars, workshops or sound healing events you’ve attended (not to mention all the ones you have personally led). This brilliant pattern absolutely, categorically has no intention of shifting without a fight. Period. In other words, get out of the way because things are about to get really, really messy.

This was Ashana on Thursday evening of last week, nose up against the ceiling, arms thrashing and please protect my husband from anything I say or do because if I open my mouth whatever comes out is not going to be pretty.

“You need to go find your center,” my husband James sweetly said to me. Too late and definitely NOT helpful. Having been down this road before (been there, done that and the not-so-proud owner of multiple t-shirts in a variety of colors, styles and sizes) my response to him was something akin to “bugger off, there’s no help for me now, this ship is going down” — or words to that effect.

Fortunately, I am married to a man who has learned that trying to fix his wife when she is in this state is an exercise in complete futility and a no win situation for either one of us. Thank you, God. So he smiled, attempted to kiss me (to no avail) and spent the day happily on his own.

40 years of practicing yoga and sound healing and god knows how many mind/body/ spirit techniques, my unconscious mind was gearing up for a fabulous, all too predictable ride.

Finally, after avoiding myself for an entire day, including three telephone conversations with unsuspecting financial institutions who wish I had never called, I admitted defeat. My distractions were not helping. Because that old, contracted energy is, god knows, so boring now, I trudged upstairs to my bowl room, leaned into one of my crystal singing bowls and started to play. Then I began chanting. Chanting and playing until the vibration began sinking into my belly. Within a few minutes, I could feel space beginning to permeate the insanity of my thinking mind. Eventually, my shoulders dropped and the sound saturated my being so much I could finally hear the voice of my guides, angels and Higher Self whispering me back Home, into my Self. 20 minutes later, I stopped, thanked my bowls, took a bath, went to bed, and woke up at 4:00 am, flooded with clarity.

All the crazy thinking, the old patterns, the mishegas I was creating had surfaced because I was bumping straight up against my Terror Barrier. That place that sits in front of us just as we are about to make a Big Shift. That invisible, self-generated glass ceiling that keeps us from sailing past our edges and prevents us from diving into the Unknown. The Terror Barrier sits like a Temple Guardian in the primal, unconscious mind, so committed to our survival it will fight to the death anything new, different, or expanded that is outside of what it recognizes as our Comfort Zone. The Terror Barrier was erected to keep us safe at all costs and would, if perceived necessary, destroy everything we say we want, love and believe in in order to maintain the status quo.

Playing a Therapeutic Gold crystal singing bowl for the trees.

Nothing is exempt from the Terror Barrier’s icy glare and peculiarly skewed logic. No relationship is sacred. No vision, dream, life’s work, career, health, destiny path or sense of well-being can be trusted when it is in the driver’s seat. It knows only one thing: maintain tried and true at all costs. I saw this as clear as a bell and broke down, sobbing, not as much from grief as from the emotional release brought with awareness. And relief because I didn’t have to continue feeding the stress generated by this formidable pattern for one moment longer. “I see you,” I reassured this part of me. “And we’re going to be okay.”

So the next time your nose is up front and personal with your own Terror Barrier and it feels next to impossible to remember who you really are or what you really want, know that you’re not alone. We’ve all been there and done it, too. To give you something to lean on when you’re in the snarky spots, here are some of my all-time favorite:

5 Super Simple Things to Help You Navigate Your Way Back Home

1. Inhale deeply into your belly about 2-3” below the navel and gently blow the air out on the exhale through slightly pursed lips. Do this 10 times. When we exhale like this through the lips, we’re sending a message to our body that it is safe. This can be incredibly helpful when fear has taken hold and you feel anything but that. I love this breath because I can do it anywhere at any time and after a few minutes, my mind and body begin to calm down and center. 

2. Hum. It doesn’t matter what you hum or what your voice sounds like. It can be tuneless meandering or something you know. Focus on the vibration of the sound through your lips, mouth, head and chest. Humming is one of the most calming things you can do for yourself to help your nervous system find ground zero. I hum all the time when I go to the dentist. My dentist thinks it’s hilarious; whatever works for you, she says. Trust me. This works like a charm. :-)) And combining 1 and 2 together feel especially good.

3.Move your body. Go for a walk, a bike ride, do some yoga or jump on a rebounder. Put on some music and dance. Emotions are energy in motion. When they get stuck and you find yourself contracted and unable to find your center or connect to your expanded state, it is incredibly helpful to MOVE. I have on occasion found myself in a state of sleepless agitation during the wee hours of the morning. During those moments, I have been known to relentlessly pace around and around the living-room until the emotion releases and I feel ready to rest. If you are able, movement is seriously good medicine.

4. Play a crystal singing bowl (my personal favorite!), a drum, a gong, or put on your favorite music and chant or sing along. Crystal Singing Bowls are particularly A-MA-ZING when it comes to shifting energy, raising your vibration, creating clarity and focus, and clearing and releasing intensely stuck unconscious patterns. Sound is vibration and vibration is by its nature energy in motion. Making sound will vibrate every cell and atom in your body and make it easier to clear and release pent up emotion, stuck or rigid thoughtforms, blockages or density trapped in the cellular memory. Making sound is good for you. So if you’re in a place where it’s not going to disturb the people around you, by all means Rock the House. Go For It. You will feel sooooooooomuch better. I promise.

5. Go outside and sit on the earth. Ground your body. Find a big rock, a patch of grass or hang out with the trees. Do some or all of the above barefoot. Take a walk in nature near a lake, river or the ocean. The negative ions in ocean air are profoundly uplifting and nourishing for the body and spirit. Let the healing frequencies of the earth reset your nervous system. Consciously give Mother Earth all the excess dreck in your system and let Her handle it. This is like food for her. Let her transmute all that blocked energy into new energy she can use.

“Making sound will vibrate every cell and atom in your body so you can more easily clear and release pent up emotion, stuck or rigid thoughtforms, blockages or density consciously or unconsciously stored in the cellular memory.”

I know I said 5, so consider this the Bonus Super Simple Thing: 

Three of my loves who helped that night to find my center.

Ask for help. It can be really tough to shift on your own. We are not meant to live in isolation, especially when we are facing deep, long-standing unconscious patterns. Reach out. Call on someone who can help you navigate the waters and see things from a different perspective. A coach, a mentor, a friend who loves you who’s a good listener is an invaluable ally during times like these. If you’d like support exploring and opening your voice or diving deep with the healing sound of crystal singing bowls, I offer Transformational Coaching through Healing Sound sessions online or in person. You can find out more about them here. My husband James is a Native Hawaiian Healer who does phenomenal work helping people through big inner shifts. He’s also a great resource and you can reach out to him here.

Many people find listening to music with crystal singing bowls especially calming and helpful for centering and reconnecting with your expanded self and inner wisdom. To experience the beauty and peace of the crystal singing bowls and angelic vocals, visit www.SoundofAshana.com and we’ll send you a free download of Soulmerge. This is stunning music especially created to reconnect you with your Higher Self. It is expansive, calming and profoundly healing. It’s my joy to share these sounds with you.

My passion is helping people to find their voice and connect to the peace within through healing vibration and sound. If I can support or be of service to you as you move through your own personal transformation, I invite you to reach out and start the conversation.

Sending you waves of love and aloha, from my heart to yours.

ASHANA