Finding My Frequency by Meditation Teacher Training student Jaclyn Shumate

Jaclyn Shumate found a musical insight during Vipassana meditation.

One of my childhood violin teachers, Norman Goldblatt — a WWII veteran who directed air traffic on aircraft carriers by identifying the pitch of the engines to know if they were ready for takeoff — used to tell me that older violins sound better because over time violins learn the music. They vibrate and resonate with each composer and player over time, and the imprint is left in the fiber of the wood.  A violin is unique — and reflects its previous players and the history of the wood. A violin holds magic; we shape it with our playing; and in turn it shapes our playing and connects us with all who played before us. 

Lately, about thirty years later, I’ve been thinking about how the brain, and who we are, isn’t so different. 

I imagine my neural pathways like the resonant wood of a violin.  Every experience, every challenge, every act of love or fear has left a groove. I was given my DNA — the wood — but what happens to me over time shapes my story. 

I’m at a crossroads in life; I’ve just come out of almost 10 years of a challenging job at a major technology company, with a child who is also 10. It’s been an incredible period of growth, for my daughter, our life as a family, my career, the products I’ve built, the friendships created, and the people I’ve impacted and who have impacted me along the way. I’ve grown in ways far different than I could ever have imagined. 

Although during this period my neural pathways have strengthened and developed in new ways, they’ve also weakened. I used to be able to see and understand and feel beyond what was said or seen.  I had an intuitive understanding of the world and how my own vibrational energy affected it, and how the energy around us impacted me.  I now find myself more tapped into a world of logic and reason, of ‘supposed to’ and ‘can’.  I know that I am not resonating often enough at my truest frequency, and I’ve lost a magic I once wielded. 

Which brings me to Vipassana. The other day, during a meditation, it came to me that I need to practice scales on my violin.  For the first half of my life I was a serious violinist.  I saw that growing up, practicing scales for hours wasn't just practice; it was a kind of vibrational meditation that was imprinted in my body. It was a tool that honed intuitive clarity.  My neural pathways are built for resonating with scales, and thus scales are a gateway to my true resonant frequency.  My job right now is to re-tune myself and realign with my resonant frequency.   And, as my mind and body become more in-tune, the right path for my next phase of life will unfold in the way it is meant to be. And very possibly it will be serendipitous and magical and authentic and true.  What a blessing it is to be aware of intangible energy once again, and to have the time to pursue it.