Cecily’s Whale Tale
18th February, 2009 - Posted by admin - 1 Comment
Photographer: Lisa Denning (She is amazing. Check out her work!)
Years ago, while snorkeling with wild dolphins I heard whale sounds unexpectedly. The sounds were audible just a few feet below the ocean’s surface and that indicated the whale was in close proximity. Exposed to a whale’s sound for the first time, I listened intently to the wide range of foreign, yet emotionally nurturing, sounds. The deep tones played like a song in surround sound. My psychobiological system seemed to metabolize the long, sinuous, tonal sound waves as they moved through and around my body.
The sounds appeared to entrain my whole system to comfort, as if comfort was a sound frequency. The location and direction of the whale sounds were indiscernible, because the tones seemed to permeate all the water. The self-observations I noted, included (a) my body’s innate response to move into and float in fetal position, (b) the unusual sense that I was not separate from the water or sound, (c) the settling and calming of my body and mind, (d) the synchronizing of my breath and heart beat and, (e) the systemic change from low-level anxiety (related to old fear of deep water) to the emotional regulation of my nervous system.
During this timeless period, I considered the possibility that the effect of sound on babies in the womb could be similar to the neuropsycholgical effect the whale tones had on me in the ocean. I questioned whether nurturing sound during pregnancy soothes pregnant women and neuro-biologically nourishes their babies within the molecular chemistry of bonding and attachment, and overall calm. Hence the conception of my idea to create prenatal lullabies of sounds designed to calm, and support pregnant women’s neuro-emotional regulation and their developing babies.
FUN EXPERIMENT: Walk around with earplugs in your ears for 30 minutes. Notice how you experience hearing yourself drink water, eat and swallow, stretch your body, adjust your neck, knuckles, wrists, humm, read aloud, sing, etc. What do you notice? Post your observations. How might you relate this to the experience you or your child had in the womb?
Copyrighted 2009. All rights reserved.
This material was excerpted from Cecily’s master’s thesis (minus citations). If you wish to reference Cecily’s thoughts, research, and writing in communication with others it is necessary to get permission in writing first. Request Permission
Posted on: February 18, 2009
Filed under: About Baby Welcoming