QUESTION: Can I use n.o.w. with my animals? - Alene Sibley
“We have animals in our home and I’m wondering if you know anything about using Tone Therapy with them? Can we play n.o.w. for our animals?”
Before I shout YES! let me say that I really like this question, and the care behind it; first, it’s about animals, and secondly it shows a desire to not make assumptions. Animals do not always like what we like, or respond as we might expect. Also, their responses are pure—you generally can’t sway your pet with a psychological suggestion.
From the start, one of our goals was to allow people to discover, for themselves, how effective listening to the 3 minutes of n.o.w. Tone Therapy could be. While we suggest to listen twice daily for the full 3 minute experience (more times if desired), we want every listener to find their own relationship with the tones. It is not “our” system; it is yours. Free of musicality or any language as a barrier, it is for anyone and everyone (including non-hearers due to the vibrational aspect of the tone play—more on that another time). Can this extend to benefit our animals?
As it turns out, the benefits are real, and varied. Undoubtedly over time we’ll know much more, but we have heard from cat, dog and horse owners and it sounds like the tones are shared often with these companions. A pair of newly adopted cats learned to nap together peacefully while the tones played from n.o.w. speakers placed on the bed. There is a terrier who wakes each day to enjoy his listen before breakfast—he leaves his bed to have a big stretch only when the tones finish. There are many reports of dogs settling down, sighing and relaxing to the tones, and we’ve received happy stories of cats stretching toward the sounds as they play. Additionally, several users report setting the speakers on their animal, and it seems that many of them enjoy the feel of the tone vibrations.
Horse owners carry the speakers to the stable and share listening sessions with their horses, often to create a sense of connection and relaxation before a ride. One woman, an adaptive riding instructor at The Bridge Center—a nonprofit in Mass—told us this:
“Each morning throughout the week we give therapeutic lessons to different school groups of special needs students. Our students have a variety of diagnoses, but the majority of our clients are on the autism spectrum and deal with anxiety or attention difficulties. Recently we had a volunteer bring in your Tone Therapy System and we’ve been using it in these groups. The difference in both our students and horses has been amazing! In the classes where we’ve used your system, we are seeing greater levels of relaxed, calm engagement in both the students and their horses.”
And it only takes 3 minutes!
I think the effectiveness with animals is two-fold. First, animals appear to experience the sounds directly as soothing, (although once as stimulating, which happened with a dog who shot up and down his hallway, sliding on the wood floors in some crazy sort of rapture). But a second key is in the animal’s relation to the person and surroundings. The tones are intentionally designed to be experienced in and with the environment—no headphones, which allows for the sharing of a moment. As most people living with animals know, our animals respond very acutely to our mental state. As we take a breath, they often can as well; a little more peace for their person is probably experienced as a lot more peace for them.
The feedback we receive is of course anecdotal, which is more than enough for us. An original intent for n.o.w. was that it prove itself, and continue to prove itself, to a world that we would not try to convince. It had to be that good, or we felt that it should not be at all. It’s exciting for us to know that the positive effects of the tones continue to stretch beyond our own vision.
So to close, with enthusiasm: YES… you can use n.o.w. Tone Therapy with your animals. Just keep it unforced, with no expectations. Allow your animal to guide itself and you in their comfort level.
And let me know what happens! Big Cheers, Alene
Enjoy a 3-minute demo of n.o.w. for yourself—click here.
Thank you to our animal listeners Maya, Picchu, Lucy, Mushroom, Bentley, Basil and Apollo.
