There is a hypnosis that comes over humans whenever we hear the natural sounds of water - falling rain, running rivers, waves crashing on the beach, the quiet murmur of lakes and marshes. Sounds of water reach in and captures our psyche, soothing away stress and tension, relaxing our body. We will stop our activities to listen to the rain - sometimes even stepping outside to stand in it. We crowd the costal shores of our respective countries, and travel great distances to spend vacations on the Earth's various bodies of water.

The combination of water falling from the sky meeting the bodies of water on our planet, is a true joining of heaven and earth - representing nature's cycle of life, the breath of our planet. Maybe that's why we're so drawn to water - it's a giving life-force we need to physically survive, while its sounds comfort us on a deeper emotional level connecting us to the fundamentals of our existence.

Maybe that's why we like noise machines that mimic the many sounds of water - to lull us to the point of relaxation or even to sleep. I know that the white noise app I like has about 6 different water sounds - and while they aren't exactly like the real sounds, it does the trick when I need to dial down my brain.

As I write this, we have experienced a summer of unusual droughts and storms - not enough or too much water. But as I created this piece, I was remembering a vacation on the islands, when a minor storm moved through during our visit. We sat on the beach and watched the rain fall on the ocean while the waves came in... it was oddly peaceful, even though we didn't go in the water (there was some lightning over the ocean), it's a clear memory that makes me smile.