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Good Vibrations

“Good Vibrations”

In 1966 The Beach Boys defined a musical style and changed the way music was recorded with the song “Good Vibrations.” Part “sunshine and psychedelia”(1) the song went on to not only define the Beach Boys but also to define a way of thinking. At the time, the U.S. was in turmoil with the war in Vietnam; the anti-war protest though out the nation and the Civil Rights movement was in full steam with marches and protest through out the South. During this time frame, the assignations of several Civil Rights leaders and the thousands who took to the streets in protest provoked our country to a level of chaos like never seen since the Civil War.

There was the need for calmer heads. We could no longer think our way out of the problems. The problems were too big. Something had to change. We had to make a bigger change.

“(Brian) Wilson has recounted that the genesis of the title “Good Vibrations” came from when his mother explained to him as a child that dogs sometimes bark at people in response to their bad vibrations. Fascinated by the concept, Wilson turned it into the general idea of limbic resonance or extrasensory perception, and developed the rest of the song as it was recorded.”
~ wikipedia

In a simplistic term, vibration takes place when one object (energy) is reflected by the other and creates a reaction (oscillation). This can be a physical object or as Brian Wilson, who wrote “Good Vibrations,” knows … it can be an extrasensory thing.

We know when we meet someone the “Vibe” we get from that person if we are “tuned in” to the moment. The same is true for a place. Recently going to a restaurant, I didn’t pay close attention to “The Vibe” of the place and was following my stomach as I was hungry. Forty five minutes later I walked out due to smelly floors, cold food and poor service. If I had paid attention to the “Vibration” of the place – I would have saved myself some aggravation.

Question: What Vibration are you accepting into your world?  What Vibration are you extending into the world? What tone are you setting?

As Sound Therapist it is our job to create an atmosphere where the Vibration is resonant to harmony.  Not only in our studio with our Tuning Forks, Tibetan Bowls or Quartz Crystal Bowls but also with ourselves. We are called to be a Resonant Vibration of Harmony in all we think, say and do. The Vibration within us then is expressed in the Vibration outside of us.

Looking at the world around us now, we may not be that far off from 1966. Turmoil is on a Global level, escalating daily in the streets; in the corporate Board Rooms and public schools; and even in our country’s hallowed halls of government. It is up to us, Sound Practitioners, to lead the way in circulating Good Vibrations. We are trained in Vibrational modalities. It’s what we do!

“Good Vibrations”:
~ Grammy nomination Best Vocal Group 1966
~ inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1994
~ number 6 on Rolling Stone ‘ list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
~ The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll

enjoy this rare footage of the Beach Boys in the recording studio:

Biographer Jon Stebbins

© 2015 Don Simmons

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