Sound is innocent. In and of itself, sound is neutral and it has no meaning. Whatever its quality or level of intensity - if there isn't someone listening, taking it in and giving it meaning - sound is innocuous. It takes the presence of a witness hearing the sound, giving it meaning or having an opinion about it, for the sound to become "something". As an example, a dog can bark its heart out all night; if I am not next door getting irritated because the noise keeps me awake, the sound of the dog's barking is innocent and harmless. In the same vein, someone can say mean words all day long; if there is nobody listening, making meaning and taking the words personally, they will leave no trace.
It is safe to say that we only react to sound, if there is a meaning associated with it. Only then does sound become real, for with the giving of meaning, we ascribe qualifications and quantifications to it. The sound will then be deemed beautiful or not, soothing or a nuisance. We like it - or we don't.
For sound to have meaning, the presence of an individual mind perceiving it is necessary. This is how subject, object and the relation between the two come into play. The subject - I, is witnessing an object - the sound. The mind perceiving the sound is the meaning-making machine between the two. That's how innocent sound becomes something we either like or dislike. In other words, what was one field of vibration has become two. This is a simple way of illustrating how indivisible Oneness appears to become duality.
The human mind gives meaning to sound that is inherently neutral and undivided, since it is designed to interpret and have opinions about what it perceives. All sensory perceptions are processed and made sense of through the mind. Living life as a human being creates constant repetition of these perceptions, until they form into a story which appears to be real. Eventually, the individual mind will call this story "my life" and believe it to be the reality. Of course there is nothing wrong with this mechanism. It allows us to navigate our human lives, to perceive beauty and to differentiate between what serves us and what doesn't. The mind's only shortcoming is the fact that it is limited to perceiving separation. It makes us forget the underlying Oneness and innocence of Life itself.
If we want to live life fully, in awareness and realization of our True Nature as Oneness, we need to engage in a practice that allows us to go beyond the deficient perceptions of the mind. That is why Meditation is such a gift. It offers the possibility to dissolve the sense of separation and to experience the Reality of Oneness in our own being. A regular practice of Meditation will open our vision and allow us to remember our Nature as Oneness, even when our eyes perceive separate forms and our ears hear sound as separate. We will be able to hear the dog barking, without becoming victimized by our mind's opinion about it. We will register someone's unkind words without making meaning or taking them personally. A beloved Sage once said: I always know who is insulting me, but I am never insulted...
Through a regular Meditation practice we get established in a space where we perceive fully and live freely - in the knowledge that all is One.
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