Songs of Praise for Don Campbell
With the passing of Don Campbell earlier this month on June2, we all lost a great friend in the world of sound healing. I believe it was Don who brought more attention and acclaim to this field through his teachings and book The Mozart Effect. What stands out most for me was his generosity of spirit. It was through Don that my book Sacred Space-Sacred Sound: The Acoustic Mysteries of Holy Places found a publisher. Don was encouraging in the early stages of the books evolution, reading my initial proposal and then inviting me to spend several days in his home pouring through his extensive library. There is one moment that is burned in my heart forever. We entered into his meditation room where I could feel the years of his own sound practice still resonating through the space. He placed a large heavy rare edition of C.W. Leadbeater’s The Science and the Sacraments into my hands. There was a strong charge, as if Don had placed not just this book, but entrusted into my keeping an archetypal Book of Life. I felt many lifetimes of knowing Don converge into that destined moment.
Reading C.W. Leadbeater''s book was a revelation. This clairvoyant Theosophist described what he saw when music was being sung in a holy place. He believes that the purpose of singing is to create an etheric edifice around the cathedral. “The whole ritual is aimed rightly at building this form, charging it with divine force, and then discharging it and each canticle or recitation contributes its share to this work, in addition to the part which it bears in the preparation of the hearts and minds of Priest and people. The edifice swells up from below like a bubble which is being blown.”1
This etheric edifice created by song becomes an energetic substance that is then distributed by the angels to the surrounding land. This one understanding led me to shift my own perception when leading toning and song circles. While we all need to break free of silencing factors in our lives and find our true voice, it is not for ourselves alone that we sing. We sing to create this sweet song food that is then used wherever there is need. We sing to bring healing to our communities and to enchant the land.
As we remember Don let us raise our voices in song, creating the etheric bridge between the worlds helping him on his next evolutionary adventure. I am sure his teachings will continue to stream forth as we listen for his new voice
1.C.W. Leadbeater, The Science and the Sacraments, The Theosophical Publishing House, Adtar, Madras, India,1949, p. 12.
