Sound healing uses specific rhythms and music to guide the body from stress toward a calmer state, according to medical hypnotherapist Dr. Susan Sophia James. She tells Jeremy Van Wert how entrainment works, why guided sound can be easier than sitting in silence, and why she says the change is subtle and builds with practice.
ᛉKey takeaways
- Susan explains entrainment as an outside rhythm that your heart rate and breathing begin to follow.
- She says sound is easier than silence for many people who believe they cannot meditate, because the rhythm holds their attention.
- Susan describes her programs as a system you can reuse, not a one-time fix, and says the changes are subtle and incremental.
- Jeremy shares that a 20-minute frame-drum session took him further into a visionary state than the breathwork he had tried.
- Both guests stress that the person is the one doing the healing.
ᛃ Moments in this one
ᚠWhat sound healing means to Dr. Susan Sophia James
Susan is a medical hypnotherapist with more than 25 years of experience. Her sound healing programs pair a guided meditation with a specific, curated pattern of sound and music. She says the pattern carries the listener so that heart rate, brain waves and breathing move together into what she calls restorative states.
She stresses that it is not a one-time intervention. In her view, the programs teach people how to reach those states again, and she still uses the sound patterns herself. Early on, a voice guides the listener, and at some point it drops away because the person can hold the state without it.
ᚢCan you meditate in silence? Why sound can be easier
Susan says many people tell her they cannot meditate. They have too many thoughts, they need to move, or they picture sitting cross-legged and feel blocked before they start.
Jeremy, who has ADHD, shares that he can meditate on his own for short periods but struggles to hold focus, and that it seems to get harder as he gets older. Susan answers that silence is more likely to let thoughts run, while a steady sound captures attention. She says people who think meditation is not for them are often more open to it because they only have to listen.
If sitting still is the hard part for you too, ADHD coaching for high achievers from Jeremy is one place to start a conversation about what works for your mind.
ᚦEntrainment: how rhythm may support the nervous system
Susan defines entrainment as an external stimulus to which you respond by resonating with it. If a group listens to the same rhythm, she says, the people fall into resonance, much as they do with music they love.
She also points out that music is often treated as background noise even though it affects a room. She believes ancient peoples used repeated tones and patterns to bring groups together, and mentions first nation tribes and cultures in Africa as places where this can still be seen. Her sound programs are built on the same idea, and she describes their aim as nervous system regulation by helping the body settle.
Susan says her programs lower cortisol and inflammation and build resilience. Those statements come from her own bio and her experience with clients, so they are her claims, not established results.
ᚨA frame-drum vision and where psychedelic work fits in
Jeremy describes a session during his psychedelic therapy training at the California Institute of Integral Studies. A shaman played one beat on a frame drum for about 20 minutes. Jeremy says it took him further out of himself than the breathwork he had tried, and he saw visions, including flying with ravens.
Susan says her programs can sit alongside other work. Her spiritual awakening program is meant for individuals or guides who want a structured sequence, and she compares the difference to using psychedelics alone versus having someone prepare you and guide you through. Jeremy adds that in his own practice, he teaches meditation first, then uses music during sessions and helps clients practice reaching a calm state without a substance.
Jeremy offers psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy as legal clinical work in the Light in the Mountains retreat, a three-day small-group experience in the Sierra Nevada.
ᚱDream walking and dreams of loved ones
Susan describes dream walking as entering another dream or dimension and interfacing with it, which she distinguishes from lucid dreaming, where you know you are dreaming. She learned about it while studying with several teachers in Tucson.
She says many clients who have lost someone describe dreams that feel "more real than real," with smells, sounds and touch. In her view these are real connections. Jeremy agrees that such dreams can be healing, and says they are not widely discussed. These are their personal beliefs, and the episode does not offer proof.
ᚲHistorical trauma, an age of anxiety and slow change
Susan believes many people operate from inherited trauma and stay in a hypervigilant state, which makes it harder to think clearly. Jeremy says that when he cannot place a client's anxiety, he asks about their parents and grandparents. He mentions his own grandfather's experience in World War II.
Susan is clear about how change feels. She says that, unlike a dramatic psychedelic experience, the shifts from her programs are subtle and incremental. It is not magic, she says, and you have to keep using the tools.
Jeremy closes on the idea that people hold the power to heal themselves. If you want to explore that alongside others, the Thriving Spirits community offers live conversation and a course library.
ᚷYou are the one doing the healing
Jeremy says he gets to sit in a comfortable chair next to clients while they do the work, and that it gives them the driver's seat instead of making them feel they must be in a clinic to get well. Susan agrees that once someone has felt a state other than anxiety, they can retain the feeling and return to it.
If you are wondering whether this kind of deeper work could suit you, Jeremy offers a straight read on whether therapy and retreat work is a fit.
Psychedelics and plant medicines may be illegal where you live and aren't right for everyone. Nothing here is a recommendation to use any substance. Sound and meditation are discussed as the guests' own experience and aren't a substitute for medical or mental health care.
ᚨ Questions people ask
What is sound healing meditation?
Susan describes it as a guided meditation paired with a specific, curated sound pattern. She says the sound carries the listener, so heart rate, brain waves and breathing move into restorative states together.
Do you have to meditate in silence?
Not according to Susan. She says silence tends to let thoughts run, while listening to a steady rhythm captures attention, which is why people who think they cannot meditate often find sound easier.
What is entrainment?
Susan defines entrainment as an external stimulus that you respond to by resonating with it. In her description, your heartbeat and breathing follow an outside rhythm, and people listening together can share the same state.
What is dream walking?
Susan says dream walking is entering another dream or dimension and interfacing with it, unlike lucid dreaming, where you only know you are dreaming. She also believes others can interface with you in your dreams. This is her belief and experience.
How long does sound meditation take to work?
Susan says the changes are usually subtle at first and build as you keep using the tools. She is clear that it is not magic and does not replace continued practice.