Do Spiritual Beings Share a Universal Melody?

What if we were all born with a song stuck in our head? And what if that song was a shared universal melody?

For me, music is a necessity just like air, food, water and shelter. But as important as I regard music, I have struggled to explain why I have such a strong emotional reaction to it. Such an elusive explanation about such a basic human creation made me think about how much music is a part of me—part of all of us. I’ve often wondered if music could be part of our genetic makeup, or even deeper, part of our spiritual being? And if that is the case, I joyfully wonder if our reaction to music is really based on a single tune, a universal melody, emanating from our soul like an anthem banding us all together.

It’s a lovely thought and recently I stumbled upon two studies that helped me refine my thinking around why a universal melody might exist and who created it.

While looking at literature regarding why humans have an intrinsic aptitude for music, I found a study¹ that linked listening to pleasurable music to the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine in our brains. The reward response of dopamine can produce temporary feelings of euphoria. This is the same response we experience when we are exposed to sex and good food.

Okay, I get why we experience a dopamine rush when exposed to sex and food – it’s about remaining strong and propagating the species! It makes sense to gorge ourselves and breed—the good life! But what did not make sense to me is why we experienced the same euphoric response when exposed to sounds? Is it a vestige of an old defense mechanism?

Then one day when I had a song stuck in my head and was pondering how disturbing to my inner peace it was, I found a study² that revealed that nearly 92% of people are plagued by this experience, known as an “earworm,” at least once a week. That seemed pretty common!

When I connected these two-phenomenon I had my “ah-ha” moment! What if the dopamine reward we experience isn’t for enjoying music, but a mechanism to encourage us to keep our internal music receiver turned on? In this way our music receptors, especially the unconscious, remain active to search for a special sound, or more specific, the universal melody. The earworm would be the tool that brings to our consciousness melodies that require further consideration.

I now strongly believe the melody this apparatus would be searching for would be whispered to us by the divine. It would have been composed at the dawn of humanity and act as the social glue that would keep all spiritual beings, including those of us now enjoying a human existence, connected and feeling safe.

I Believe a Universal Melody Exists
The followers of Plato believe in a mathematical Platonism, which purports that a universal mathematics exists. If I had any followers, we would believe in a musical Aielloism, which supposes a universal melody exists.

My musical Aielloism would have a few guiding principles. First, as spiritual beings, we are part of One Mind or a collective consciousness within a sea of energy. Our individual consciousness would be like a drop of water within this sea. Many believe the collective consciousness is the living spirit, the uniting force of all life. And the tool used by the living spirit to keep us unified—is a melody! The melody expresses feelings of unconditional love, compassion, peace and joy. When we feel those, someone is singing the melody in our ear.

Second, many believe when you leave this human existence, only then do you surrender your individual consciousness to the collective. I disagree. Within the collective, the past, present and future exists together at one time. This means we are no different than those who have passed and those yet to come, we are all together—and we play an active role caring for each other.

And that is what makes the collective special. The guardian angel is a myth. Here it’s reciprocal. In the collective, we all have an active role watching out for each other – we have each other’s back. And we do this by singing to each other the universal melody which reassures all of us that we are never alone.

We Can Sing to the Living Spirit
That’s my musical Aielloism! I believe this universal melody exits. And though I cannot recite it, it dances on the fringes of my consciousness. I feel reassurance knowing on a deep level I use it to communicate directly with the living spirit.

Spoiler alert: my musical Aielloism is based on a deep spiritual apprehension rather than any proof. I like to think the universal melody is a lot like certain dreams. When you sense it, and you try to remember it, it remains just out of your reach. You can focus on it, and try to force it but the more you do the more you seem to push it away. But perhaps if you are patient and you hold still, maybe, just maybe, you will hear it.

David Aiello is a writer, photographer and musician (his triangle love affair) based in Portland, Oregon. He had mastered the roll of corporate executive but realized it was caging his true, authentic self. He now spends his time following his passions and trying to make each day a little better. Follow his exploits at @mytriangleloveaffair and www.mytriangleloveaffair.com. Reach out to David at david@mytriangleloveaffair.com.